A Home For the Holidays!

Don't miss this heartwarming holiday special that will air on CBS on Wednesday, December 22, 2010, featuring all-star talent. See the joy of having a family through the eyes of a child -- not just for the holidays, but forever.

Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5, Ricky Martin, Nelly, Katy Perry and Jimmy Wayne will perform. Presenters include Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete, Leah Remini, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Mira Sorvino.

RAPP - Relatives As Parents Program

Did you know that there are thousands of West Virginians who are taking care of a relative child? This is called a kinship family and it is a situation where a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other family member is raising children instead of the biological parents. The Relatives As Parents Program, also known as RAPP, offers services and support to these families and there are RAPP support groups throughout the state.

On January 8th at 1PM, the Charleston RAPP group will be meeting to discuss the topic of child welfare provisions of WV State code 48 and 49. The discussion leader is Sara Thompson, Education and Outreach Services Librarian of the WV State Law Library. To learn more about Chapter 49 on child welfare, click this link: Chapter 49. To learn more about code 48 on Domestic Relations, click here: Chapter 48. The meeting will be held in room E-314 in the East Wing of the State Capitol Building in Charleston. Room E-314 is on the 3rd floor. There is free-metered parking on California Avenue.

Services to kinship families include cash stipends to RAPP groups, a resource library, workshops, a list serve, and kinship information and resources on the Mission WV web page. Additionally Mission WV maintains a warm line. Kinship caregivers can call 1-866-CALL-MWV to ask questions, receive resource information, or a listening ear. For more information about RAPP, contact Laura Lou Harbert at Mission WV. Her phone is 304-380-6775.

RAPP is a joint effort of Mission WV, the WV Department of Health and Human Resources, WVU Extension Services, The Bureau of Senior Services, and Legal Aid.

Join us for an Adoption Day Celebration!

The WV Recruitment and Retention Collaborative invites you to a day of celebration in honor of National Adoption Day. On November 20th starting at 2PM, participants can explore the Clay Center's Avampato Discovery Museum, which houses two floors of hand-on exhibits featuring more than 12,000 square feet of nonstop fun. At 4:30 we will head to the Intermezzo Cafe for refreshments and to hear guest speakers. Ending the celebration at 6 o'clock we will hold a candlelight ceremony outside of the Clay Center. Please feel free to join us at any time during the celebration event. To view the flyer for the event, please click here: Adoption Celebration Flyer

Open House!

Mission WV is organizing another Adoption/Foster Care Information Open House in Beckley, WV on November 6th at 11AM. The event will take place at the Prosperity First Baptist Church located at 308 Prosperity Road Beckley, WV 25801.

At the Open House, potential foster/adoptive parents will learn more about waiting children in WV, the certification process to foster and/or adopt,what to expect as a foster parent, international adoption and how the adoption process works, and get to hear the personal story and advice of an experienced foster/adoptive parent.

By attending this event, you don't have to make any commitments, we just hope that you will join us to learn more about foster care and adoption if it is something you are interested in. If you have any questions about the Open House or would like an information packet about fostering and/or adopting, we can send that to you today! Just call 866-CALL-MWV or email Carrie at crobey@missionwv.org

Thanks and we hope to see you on the 6th!

Foster Care/ Adoption Information Open House

Please click on the image above to download the flyer.

On Thursday September 30th at 6PM please join us for a foster care/ adoption information open house in Romney WV. If you don't live near Romney, don't worry, we plan on having one open house event in each region of the state. The first open house will be held at the Bank of Romney Community Building.

The open house is a no commitment relaxed atmosphere event for people who are interested in adopting or providing foster care in WV. An experienced foster mother who has also adopted will be at the open house to speak about the kind of real life experiences you can expect. Also, we will have speakers from the WV Dept. of Health and Human Resources, Children's Home Society and most likely Burlington United Methodist Family Services. At this event, you will be able to learn more about the foster/adoption certification process, waiting children and international adoption.

This open house is FREE and light food will be provided! If you have any questions or would like more information, please call 866-CALL-MWV or email crobey(at)missionwv.org

We hope to see you there and if you would like to help plan the open house events in either region I,II or IV, please call!

What exactly is PRIDE training and how do I sign up?

Any family who is interested in becoming certified to provide foster care and/or adopt a foster child, must complete the PRIDE training course and have a completed homestudy. PRIDE stands for Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education. The training covers topics including child abuse/ neglect, emotional and behavioral issues, discipline, and overviews of adoption and foster care.

While at the training you will have an excellent opportunity to meet with other families who are also going through the certification process. We also have a letter from a couple who took the PRIDE training and wanted to share more about their experience.

"My husband J and I completed the PRIDE classes last month. We were told we needed 27 hours of training to become foster/adoptive parents. We couldn't imagine what they would teach us since we already raised two boys and have two grandsons. Not that we know it all, but 27 hours?!?! Well, now we would like to say this: The classes provided us with so much information and necessary skills to prepare us for a child who has experienced losses. We had a wonderful teacher who did a great job sharing her knowledge and experiences. We learned things we didn't know anything about and now realize how important this information will be in caring for foster/adoptive children." - J & B from Pennsboro WV

We thank this couple for sharing their story and if you have a positive and encouraging foster/adoptive story to share, please email us! Our email is adopt@missionwv.org

If you are interested in becoming certified, please give us a call at 866-CALL-MWV and we will send you more information. Also, there is a calendar of PRIDE trainings listed on the WVDHHR website and can be viewed by clicking here: http://www.wvdhhr.org/oss/adoption/adoption_calendar/diary.asp

MWV is hiring 4 more Resource Navigators

Mission WV is hiring four "Resource Navigators" to assist and provide resources to families within their own community. Navigators will be available for one on one discussion, attend foster/adoptive related media events, recruit foster parents and spread a positive message about foster care/adoption throughout their community and seek out resources for foster children and kinship/relative families.

If you are intersted in becoming a Resource Navigator, please click here to read more: Letter describing the position and requirements. After reading this information you may decide to apply and you can find the application by clicking here: Resource Navigator Application.

The deadline for the application is September 10th. If you have any questions, please call 304-562-0723 and ask for Carrie. Thanks!

luggage for foster children and youth!

We would like to thank the Charleston Gazette for publishing this article: Luggage for foster kids to help our mission of providing luggage for foster children. We would also like to thank all of the kind people who have called in and donated luggage for foster children. There is a camp for foster children this month in WV and we are most certain all of the children will be able to leave camp with their belongings in luggage - not trash bags! Many foster children end up carrying their belongings around in garbage bags and we are trying to change that. With the kindness and generosity of others, we can accomplish this goal. Pictured above is just a portion of the luggage we have been able to collect as a result of this article. Thank you again and again.

If you have gently used or new luggage to donate, please call 304-562-0723 and ask for Carrie.

New Carrie's Kids Segments!

News anchor/reporter Carrie Cline of WSAZ does a segment called Carrie's Kids. On this segment, Carrie interviews children form KY and WV who are legally eligible to be adopted and they are waiting on a forever family. The Carrie's Kids segments run every other TUESDAY on Channel 3 WSAZ news at approximately 5 o'clock PM. If WSAZ news isn't available in your area, you may watch the videos online by visiting www.wsaz.com/carrieskids

On July 9th, the owners of Camden Park generously opened their park to KY and WV foster children and workers so that Carrie could interview several children. Toby was interviewed while playing a game of air hockey and you can watch his video on the Carrie's Kids page linked above. If you live in WV, expect to see children from WV featured on August 10, September 7, October 5 and on November 2.

If you are interested in providing foster care or adopting a child/youth, please call us at 304-562-0723 or you can reach us by calling our toll free number at 866-CALL-MWV. You may also reach us by email at adopt(at)missionwv.org

Thanks for reading and please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you WSAZ news, Carrie Cline and Camden Park for making this wonderful day at Camden Park possible for foster children.

Announcement: Mini-Grants for adoptive and foster family support groups in WV

Five $500.00 mini-grants will be issued to adoptive and foster family support groups in West Virginia. To apply for a mini-grant, please send your completed application packets to Mission West Virginia by June 25th, 2010. The grant application can be downloaded by clicking here: MWV Mini-Grant Application.

Preference will be given to newly formed or start-up groups. Preference will also be given to groups that have never received a mini-grant from Mission West Virginia before.

There are a few grant guidelines that can also be found by downloading the application.

If you have any questions about the application please call Rachel Probst at 866-CALL-MWV or email rprobst@missionwv.org

This project is made possible by the support of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

Walk Me Home Photos!

WOW! Walk Me Home was AWESOME again this year! Check out this animoto video of photos that were taken at the walk. We can always add more photos to the video, so if you have some to share - please send them our way!

Thanks again to everyone who took part in making this event so successful and fun!

Walk Me Home was a success!

Pictured above: Kaitlyn Boyles, daughter of Rita and Bob Boyes, at Walk Me Home 2010

Thank you to everyone who made Walk Me Home a successful event this year! We were able to raise near $10,000 and around 150 people came out on May 15th to walk.

There have been a couple newspaper articles published about our walk, so please click on the links below to read more!

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x631787634/Walk-for-foster-care-a-success

http://wvgazette.com/News/201005211040

We will be posting more photos soon!

Walk Me Home

Click here to watch the Walk Me Home video: Walk Me Home

Walk Me Home is on Saturday and we hope to see you there! It is really important that we recognize National Foster Care Month and honor those who open their homes and provide foster care. In America, there are over 500,000 children in foster care and in WV there are approximately 4,000 children in the state's care. Please help us to recognize the compassionate people who make a difference in the lives of children by serving as foster parents, relative caregivers, mentors, advocates, social workers and volunteers. Thank to these people, many children and teens will either safely reunite with their parents, be care for by relatives, or be adopted by loving families.

There are approximately 1,000 children in WV who are legally eligible to be adopted. Some of those children as well as adoptive/foster families are featured in a video we have made that features the Walk Me Home theme song. To view this video, please click on the link at the top of this article.

We thank all of those who work to better the lives of children. And while a lot is being done to help our youth, more help is needed. According to information provided by the National Association of Foster Parents, if nothing changes by 2020:

- Nearly 14 million confirmed cases of child abuse and neglect will be reported
- 22,500 children will die of abuse or neglect, most before their fifth birthday
- More than 9,000,000 children will experience the foster care system
- More than 300,000 children will age of our foster care system, in poor health and ill-prepared for success in higher education, technical college or the workforce
- 99,000 former foster youth, who aged out of the system, can expect to experience homelessness.

So please, if you haven't already registered or sponsored a walker, visit http://www.walkmehome.org/ to do so!

We can't wait to see you all on Saturday!

Save the Date! Another FREE workshop!

FREE Workshops on:

"What the Fostering Connections Act Means to You and Families" presented by Joanne M. Brown, JD, MSW, National Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues
AND
"An Overview of WV Grandparent Visitation and Minor Guardianship Law" presented by Honorable Mike Kelly, Eleventh Family Circuit Court.

When: Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 - 10 AM to 3PM

Where: YWCA 305 Washington Ave. Clarksburg, WV 26301

Who Should Attend: Kinship families including grandparents raising grandchildren, Foster Parentes, Attorneys, Judges, FRN Directors, DHHR Staff, WVU Extension Services Staff, Private Agency Staff, CASA Staff and Volunteers, Social Workers, and other interested people.
Lunch and child care up to age 12 provided.

Preregistration for workshop and childcare must be made by MAY 14th. To register, call Mission WV toll free at 866.CALL.MWV (866-225-5698) or email Laura Lou Harbert at lharbert(at)missionwv.org

This workshop is a joint effort of Mission WV, the WV Department of Health and Human Resources, the Supreme Court of Appeals of WV, Legal Aid of WV, the American Bar Association, WVU Extension Services and the Bureau of Senior Services.

FrameWorks Newsletter Spring 2010

We know you have been waiting in anticipation for the Spring 2010 issue of the FrameWorks Newsletter and now you are in luck! We hope you take a couple minutes out of your busy day to read the newsletter and comment as well. You can open a PDF file of the newsletter by clicking on the image above. If you have any problems opening the newsletter, please let us know.

What do you like most about the FrameWorks Newsletter and what would you like to see more of? Is there a topic you would like to learn more about? Let us know and we will try our best to get it into the Summer 2010 newsletter.

Also, if you would like to read past FrameWorks Newsletters, click here: Newsletter Archive

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day!

MWV has billboards!

Mission West Virginia has billboards going up throughout the state! We hope that those who see our board, give us a call! There are two billboards in Clarksburg and one in Fairmont. There are three more and we will give an update soon so you can seek them out.

If you do live in Clarksburg or you are in the area, you can see our billboards on Rt. 50 near Minard's Spaghetti on "dealership row" and on West Pike St. just off of Rt. 50 headed into downtown Clarksburg.

The board in Fairmont is on Locust Ave at Beverly St. near intersection routes 250 and 19.

And out of curiosity, do you pay attention to billboards when you are out and about? If so, what makes one catch your attention. Where do you go to seek out information?

Thanks for reading!

Support foster/adoptive programming and win!

The Hurricane Rite Aid has generously provided an Easter Basket valued at $216.87 to be raffled for a good cause. All funds raised from the raffle will be donated to Mission West Virginia’s FrameWorks program, which works to find loving families for foster children in WV.
The Easter Basket contains a Polaroid MegaPixel Camera, a remote control Mini Cooper, a Hurricane Redskin Hoodie, two Hurricane Redskin bears, Disney Pez, and a variety of candy and other goodies. You may purchase a one chance ticket for $1 or ten tickets for $5.

We hope if you live in the area you stop by and buy a few tickets!

Adoption/foster Resource Library

If you are interested in learning more about adoption, foster care, kinship care, child behavior, mental health, parenting, etc. it is likely that you will be able to find the information in the FrameWorks' Resource Library. A variety of books,DVDs, periodicals and articles are available for loan and three (3) books can be "checked out" at one time. (Photocopied copies of articles and other publications will be provided and will not count toward your borrowing limit).

To view a complete list of the resources available through the FrameWorks' Library, click on the following link: FRAMEWORKS RESOURCE LIBRARY

Books are due back three weeks from the date of being mailed or given to recipient. A pre-addressed and stamped mailing envelope will be provided. Materials should be returned via media mail. If books are not returned within one month , the borrowing party will be responsible for the replacement costs.

Borrowing requests may be made by phone (1-866-CALL-MWV/304-562-0723) or by e-mail (rprobst(at)missionwv.org).

Requests may be made for materials which are not currently available through the resource library. Materials will be purchased based on funding availability and relevance of topic.

Thanks for reading the FrameWorks Blog and please call us if you have any questions.
866-CALL-MWV

Thanks and have a great Wednesday!

FREE Relatives as Parents Legal Workshop

FREE Workshops on:

"What the Fostering Connections Act Means to You and Families" presented by Joanne M. Brown, JD, MSW, National Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues

AND

"An Overview of WV Grandparent Visitation and Minor Guardianship Law" presented by Honorable Mike Kelly, Eleventh Family Court Circuit.

When: Saturday, March 27, 2010 - 10AM to 3PM

Who Should Attend: Kinship families including grandparents raising grandchildren, Foster Parentes, Attorneys, Judges, FRN Directors, DHHR Staff, WVU Extension Services Staff, Private Agency Staff, CASA Staff and Volunteers, Social Workers, and other interested people.

Lunch and child care up to age 12 provided.

Preregistration for workshop and childcare must be made by MARCH 19. To register, call Mission WV toll free at 866.CALL.MWV (866-225-5698) or email Laura Lou Harbert at lharbert(at)missionwv.org

This workshop is a joint effort of Mission WV, the WV Department of Health and Human Resources, the Supreme Court of Appeals of WV, Legal Aid of WV, the American Bar Association, WVU Extension Services and the Bureau of Senior Services.

To view and download the flyer, visit this link: http://www.missionwv.org/frameworks/News.html

Kanawha County Schools Parent Educator Resource Center Support Group

All families, Educators and Community members are welcome to attend the Kanawha County Schools' Parent Educator Resource Center Support Group.

Date: February 12, 2010
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: South Charleston Middle School
Topic: School Age Children and Medication and The Importance of Good Nutrition
Speaker: Bill McFarland, Owner/Pharmacist of Loop Pharmacy located in Charleston and St. Albans.

For more information you may contact KCS Parent Ed. Res. Center at 304-348-7715 or email perc(at)kcs.kana.k12.wv.us - if you bring a friend, both of your names will be entered into a door prize drawing.

All KCS employees may receive Staff Development Credit.

If you would like to have an event posted on the FrameWorks' Blog, please email crobey(at)missionwv.org

Thanks!

Walk Me Home 2010!!!

FrameWorks is excited to announce that we have a date set for the Walk Me Home 2010 event! Please join us on Saturday May 15th at the Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, WV for a foster care celebration and fundraiser.

The website is now open for registration and we hope that you register soon! By clicking here: Walk Me Home 2010, you can visit the Walk Me Home website and either form a team, register as an individual, or make a contribution.

We are really excited to see everyone who attended the walk last year and we hope to see new faces this year. Walk Me Home provides a great opportunity for foster care supporters from all over the state to come together in celebration of those who dedicate their lives to improving the lives of children while also remembering the thousands of West Virginia children in the foster care system.

Last year, the weather was beautiful and we all had SO MUCH FUN! We hope that this year is just as wonderful and we will have prizes for the top 3 fundraisers and a plaque for the top fundraising team.

Funds raised from the event will go towards the Recruitment and Retention Collaborative and to FrameWorks Programming, which works to empower the lives of WV foster children and recruit families for children who are legally eligible for adoption and waiting for a forever family.

If you are interested in volunteering, we would appreciate your help!

We look forward to another great Walk Me Home event and hope to see you there!

12 ways to support foster care all year long

After the blog article I wrote about resolving to make the difference in someone else's life this new year, one of our facebook "fans" asked for suggestions of how they could help to empower the lives of foster children and those who are dedicated to either finding or providing forever families that can provide a home filled with support and love. So, we came up with a list! If you would like to do everything on this list or just one thing on this list, it will provide more support and encouragement than you could ever being to realize. Also, if you would like any help in fulfilling any of the "ways to help" on the list below, just call us and we would be more than glad to help out.

Thanks for reading and we hope to hear from you. Do you have any ideas to add on to this list?

FrameWorks' 12 ways to support foster care:

1. January - Write a note to a foster kid that provides encouragement and advice for the new year.
2. February – Bake heart shaped cookies and donate them to a group home facility.
3. March – send flowers to a social worker who works hard to find families for children. A group of people could chip in on this and a member of the FrameWorks staff could help you with finding a social worker to give to if you don’t already have one.
4. April – put together a “rainy day” care package for a kid living at a group facility.
5. May – Make a team for Walk Me Home! The walk will be May 15th this year!
6. June - Time for another care package that could include sidewalk chalk/beach towel/sun screen.
7. July – Send a note of encouragement to a foster or adoptive family! They would probably really appreciate a small gift certificate for a family activity like a visit to the ice cream store or a night out to the movies.
8. August – School will be starting and a little pencil pouch full of cool pencils, pens and erasers would be a handy gift to give a foster child.
9. September – this is a time of year when a lot of kids get to go school shopping with their families and children living in a group facility don’t get to enjoy that experience. A gift card to a clothing store would come in handy and an adoption recruiter could go for a one on one shopping trip with one of their kids. This way, the kid would get to feel extra special.
10. October – My favorite, Halloween! Send a group home a bunch of candy or Halloween themed baked items. Maybe by now you have been buying for one special foster kid who needs a family and you would like to buy them a mask or something fun to wear on Halloween.
11. November – November is National Adoption month and a tough month for kids who don’t have a family to eat Thanksgiving Dinner with. This month, you can help out by attending a National Adoption Month event and saying a special prayer for foster children who are waiting for a family.
12. December – The holidays are here! You know what you can do!

Computer training for WV foster children

During the week after Christmas, our e-impact tech program at Mission WV was able to team up with FrameWorks on a project that combined the mission of empowering foster youth's lives and teaching technology to the youth throughout our state. Thanks to a grant given by the Mollohan Foundation, Mission West Virginia was able to provide free computer training to a few of the foster youth who live at Stepping Stones, a group facility for foster children. The program called BIKISI, stands for Build it Keep it Share it. Youth who participate in the program are given the tools, parts, and knowledge to build a computer of their very own that they are allowed to keep at the end of the week.

“These young men were not able to visit with family over the holiday” said Susan Fry, Stepping Stones Executive Director, “and the positive engagement, knowledge and priceless opportunity this program afforded them certainly brought a smile to their faces during a time that is very difficult for many of our kids.”

We are so happy that this was such a good experience for everyone involved. We hope to continue seeking funds so that more foster youth can also have the opportunity to get involved in the BIKISI Program.

Happy 2010!

The staff at FrameWorks hopes you have all had a wonderful holiday season and are now getting back into the routine of daily life. At the office this week, we are reviewing the past year and discussing our goals for 2010. 2009 was a great year and several of the children we work with were placed in permanent homes with loving forever families, but the work isn't finished until every foster child in our state has a family.

Leading up to Christmas and the New Year, I kept thinking about the children we work with who would be spending the holiday at a group home or treatment facility. We do all we can to make the holiday extra special for these children and I cannot thank everyone enough who donated gifts.

With each new year, many of us come up with personal resolutions to lose weight, finish a project, quit smoking, etc. I thought it would be nice if FrameWorks and our blog readers came up with resolutions to help others. For example, what can you do this year to make sure another foster teen doesn't spend another Christmas at a group home? Or, what can you do this year to empower the life of a foster child?

Please comment on this post with resolutions of how you plan to help out someone else this year. By making a donation, buying personal items, etc. What are your ideas?!

Thanks for reading!

Carrie