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Toni and Mike Bauer are an example of going the extra mile for a child. When a four-month-old was placed in their home they immediately began working with the biological father who had almost completed his case plan.
Every business has a process for measuring their success. Car dealerships look at how many cars they sell. Schools know they succeed when their students get good grades and graduate. Police departments count tickets….oh, wait, no, that one is just a myth! All teasing aside, we know police departments, too, have many different data points to make sure our communities are safe, such as crime statistics, response times to emergencies, etc.
In the business of supporting families and helping them be successful, we, too, have a way to measure whether families are successful.
Parenting is often referred to as the hardest job anyone will ever have. You may also hear a parent say becoming a parent has been the best thing that has ever happened to them. So which one is it? Best job or hardest job?
This story is written from the perspective of a local adoptive family regarding their journey of their second adoption through public adoption. We thank this family wholeheartedly for sharing this beautiful story!
Take a moment and think back to what life was like when you were a teen. What do you think would have happened to you if you had no place to call home, nobody to help you fill out job applications, nobody to be there to plan a high school graduation party, help you get ready for prom, practice driving, etc.? Even as adults, many of you probably turned to your parents for something whether it was for advice, tips on how to do something, somewhere to go for the holidays, or a good home cooked meal.
You hear time and time again, "Adoption is forever." It is very true that adoption is forever. It is also very true that adoption can impact the lives of an entire family in a very powerful and positive way. In the midst of all the positives about adoption, the truth that adoption can be challenging and have “bumps in the road” years after the adoption finalized is very real.
Through your ministry you inspire and touch the lives of so many children and families. We are in need of leaders of faith based ministries throughout our local communities that will partner with Heartland for Children in implementing a faith-based initiative. This partnership will encompass both universal and targeted efforts to provide family and community supports that will build protective factors for the families within our communities.
We are fortunate to live in the tri-county area of Hardee, Highlands, and Polk Counties where local businesses are not only a part of the decorative landscape but their business practices demonstrates they believe in giving back to support and strengthen children and families.
By the time a student finishes high school one third will experience some type of abuse in their relationships. Who does this happen to? Dating Violence can happen anywhere and to anyone. The only thing that victims of abusive relationships have in common is that they have nothing in common. Dating violence happens regardless of socio-economic status, geographic area, age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or physical size. Even men can be victims of dating violence.
Best friends Maggie Wojtylak and Deanna Johnson have been co-parenting and mentoring biological parents since their home was licensed March 25, 2008. Currently, they are serving as mentors to a birth mother of a child placed in their home and have been supervising visits with her for almost a year.
Lori Wasson was licensed on October 18, 2011 for one child, but when she was asked if she could take two in order to keep sisters together, she quickly agreed. She was later told that they had two brothers who were also in care and she welcomed the idea of having all four siblings placed with her.
When Cebien Alty’s wife, Joy-Lynn, brought up the subject of becoming foster parents, as her biological mother had been during her adolescent years, his quick reply was a resounding “NO!" He wanted to focus on having children of their own and was quite honestly worried about the "type" of children in the foster care system.
The Lecza family had a child placed in their home on a Monday morning in February of 2012. That same evening, the child experienced an accident and broke his femur...
Theresa Mixon has been fostering since 1998 and is currently fostering two children. She has a 17 year old male that has been residing in her home for two years. Ms. Mixon believes in ensuring the children are actively involved in community activities and athletics...
My wife, Joy-Lynn and I became Foster Parent Mentors (FPM) through Heartland for Children in 2012. When we were approached with the opportunity to be an added support for incoming Foster Parents, we jumped at the opportunity because we saw the value in having someone who other Foster Parents could relate to as being an invaluable resource; especially, if the individual(s) were completely new to the fostering and/or parenting experience.
As FPMs through Heartland, we've had the chance to interact with incoming Foster Parents on many levels including assisting with respite, providing guidance or best practices with difficult behavioral issues, advocating for a child who had to be moved from one home to another, making recommendations on working with case management, providing another vantage point through the process of Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), and many other areas that Foster Parents can encounter during their first and continuing years of child advocates.
What we've gained as FPMs is a heightened level of understanding of how important it is to identify the needs of incoming Foster Parents. Being able to make recommendations on how the training component has and can continue to successfully equip incoming parents with the proper training and education; is a value add that Heartland has really welcomed input on.
Cebien Alty - HFC Foster Parent, Foster Parent Mentor