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!

PRIDE Training - The Adoption Process

There are several steps in the process of certification so that one can adopt, and one of the most important steps is called PRIDE. PRIDE stands for Parent Resources for Information, Development, and Education and is a training is designed to prepare you for fostering/adopting and explain the details of becoming a foster/adoptive family.

The training is designed to help you gain the best possible understanding and preparation for parenting and adopted or foster child. The training provides an excellent opportunity to meet with other families and social workers, answer your questions, ease fears, dispel myths and educate yourself on children in the child welfare system. In a two parent household, both parents are required to attend training. The standard training in West Virginia is called PRIDE. Training schedules vary between agencies, however many try to accommodate workday schedules and host trainings on evenings or weekends.

At this point, you might be asking yourself why you have to take this training. You are probably thinking something along the lines of "I've raised 2 kids, I have grandkids, I know what I am doing!" However, we would like you to read the following story from two recently certified foster parents and hopefully this will ease you into being more comfortable with PRIDE training.

"My husband John and I completed the PRIDE training 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."

We hope that you too are able to register for a PRIDE training and receive such wonderful instruction. If you are interested in becoming a foster/adoptive parents and would like to know more about PRIDE, please give us a call at 866-CALL-MWV. Or perhaps you have a PRIDE training story you would like to share?

Thanks for reading and for the PRIDE training calendar, follow this link:http://www.wvdhhr.org/oss/adoption/adoption_calendar/diary.asp

Dine for Kids

Please join us for another great opportunity to Dine for Kids on Thursday November 12th! That's right, all you have to do is go out to eat, have fun, and you are helping empower the lives of foster children! On November 12th, the IHOP at Barboursville Mall in Huntington, WV is donating 20% of all proceeds between the hours of 5 to 9 p.m. to FrameWorks.

FrameWorks is a nonprofit organization located in Hurricane, WV that works state-wide to find loving permanent families for children who are waiting in foster care and are legally eligible for adoption.

We hope you can join us and spread the word about our upcoming event. Thank you IHOP!

September 13th is National Grandparent's Day!

Did you know that Grandparent's Day was started by a West Virginian? That's right, the founder of what is now a National Holiday was started by Marion McQuade of Fayette County, West Virginia. This year, National Grandparent's Day will be celebrated on September 13, 2009.

The first Grandparents Day was proclaimed in 1973 in West Virginia by Gov. Arch Moore. In 1978, President Carter signed legislation proclaiming the first Sunday after Labor Day as Grandparents Day. The purpose of Grandparents Day is three fold:

- To honor grandparents
- To give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children
- To help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance older people can offer

According to the 2000 US census there are over 24,000 children in West Virginia living in grandparent headed households. The Relatives as Parents Program in West Virginia offers support to grandparents raising their grandchildren. Services include special events, support groups, workshops, a web page, a list serve, a lending library and resource materials.

We hope you take a moment or two on Grandparent's Day to recognize and celebrate your own grandparents as well as others in our state. Do you have plans to celebrate Grandparent's Day? We would love to know what you have planned.

For ideas on how to celebrate Grandparent's Day, please visit http://www.grandparentsforchildren.org/

Carrie's Kids - Day at Camden Park

Above: Carrie Cline interviews foster youth

On Saturday August 29, the owners of Camden Park offered free admission to West Virginia and Kentucky foster children who are legally eligible for adoption with no identified resource. These children were able to enjoy a fun day at the park and get interviewed by Carrie Cline of WSAZ to be featured on Carrie's Kids, a segment that features children who are legally eligible for adoption.

Below: Carrie Cline interviews foster youth

We had a great day at the park, filmed several segments, and had tons of fun! We would like to thank Camden Park for being so generous and helping us to recruit forever families for these children. We would also like to thank WSAZ and Carrie Cline for her dedication to find loving families, the social workers who used their personal time on a Saturday to bring the kids to the park, and everyone else involved.

Above: Foster Youth at Camden Park

Those who worked together to make this event possible include: Mission West Virginia, Inc., Children's Home Society, Kentucky Health and Family Services, WV DHHR, Carrie Cline of WSAZ and the owners of Camden Park.

If you are interested in adoption, please call us at 866-CALL- MWV or email adopt(at)missionwv(dot)org.

What is a Home Study?

A home study is a series of meetings between you and an agency social worker. Once you have applied to adopt, all 50 states require by law that applicants go through a home study, which is a study of a family and their home. This process involves education and preparation as well as a gathering of information about the applicants. As an applicant, you may need to gather documents such as:

Birth Certificates (for yourself and your spouse if applicable)
Your Marriage License
Child Abuse Clearance
Personal References
An autobiographical statement
Some agencies may require a health statement
You are usually asked to verify your income by providing an income statement

You will also go have several interviews with your home finder. It is important to know that the home finder isn't doing a "white glove" inspection, but is learning more about you and your family to verify that the child will be entering a safe and healthy environment.

While it may seem intimidating to face the entire process and gather all of this information, if you are armed with accurate information you can face the home study experience with confidence and the excitement of knowing you will be welcoming a new child into your loving family.

On average, a home study takes between three to six months.

If you have any more questions about the adoption process of home studies, please call FrameWorks at 866-CALL-MWV or email adopt@missionwv.org

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Miss West Virginia!

Yesterday, June 30th, we were pleased to have a meeting with Miss West Virginia 2009, Talia Markam. We would like to congratulate Talia on her accomplishment and we are very excited to partner with her on our common goal of finding permanent loving families for foster children in West Virginia.

Talia is an advocate for children and their right to have a safe home and a loving family. She is very educated and passionate about issues surrounding foster care and we couldn't be more excited to work with Talia during the upcoming year. We will keep you updated on this partnership and again, CONGRATULATIONS Talia!

The children pictured in this photo are legally eligible to be adopted. If you have any questions about adoption and/or foster care, please contact us at 866-CALL-MWV or email adopt(at)missionwv(dot)org