Our Mission:

Foster Our Families!

We support families in Castle Rock, CO and surrounding areas who are currently fostering, have started the process to foster or adopt, have completed an adoption, or are discerning whether fostering/adopting is right them.

Monthly Support Group Meetings

We’ll conduct a poll shortly to determine the best standing days/times for our monthly meetings, post a schedule on our Facebook page, and recruit hosts/co-hosts for each meeting.  Families are free to host in their home or in another location, such a community clubhouse or church; all we ask is that locations be suitable for both parents and kids, as our kids love CRAFF gatherings as much as their parents!  Note:  We are also hoping to arrange free use of Christ’s Episcopal Church’s Gathering Place in Downtown Castle Rock for families who’d like to host but can’t host in their homes.

 Hosting monthly meetings is easy and fun!  Most hosts use a “potluck” format, asking families to bring a dish or dessert to share while providing the beverages, while others ask families to also bring drinks.  Whatever works best for you is fine!

Social Events

Fostering or parenting a newly adopted child can be an incredibly exciting time in our lives but it can also be a very challenging, even isolating time.  Family and friends want to support us but may not know how.  In some cases, family and friends have misperceptions about foster care and/or about foster children that make it uncomfortable for us – or the kids in our care – to engage.  Sometimes -- we just want to be surrounded by Our Tribe, those living our lives, with whom we can be ourselves and not have to explain ourselves or our children.

This year, we plan to host more social activities so we can come together for no purpose other than to enjoy one another’s company and spend time with others who get us and our kids. 

We’d also like to organize some activities for Moms and Tots/Littles, for our Elementary Kids, and for our Tweens/Teens.

We’ll issue a Survey Monkey soon with a variety of opportunities. Please tell us what interests you and your family and PLEASE don’t be shy about stepping up to organize an event.  These don’t need to be elaborate activities. 

Are you heading to a local park?  Post a note on our Facebook page and see if others might like to meet!

Is your tween/teen seriously into Nerf, Minecraft, or Basketball?  Why not see if another family has a child who shares that interest and might want to hang out for a while?

For a child in care, trusting others is hard…and making friends is even harder.  We WANT our kids to have one another for friendship and support.

We will DEFINITELY organize some formal/planned activities for our kids – meaning ALL children in our care -- but our goal is to build a community of friends in which informal gatherings are encouraged.

In terms of planned activities, we brainstormed some activities we thought might be of interest to our kids.  We’re reaching out to local businesses to see if we can work out some free/low-priced activities for CRAFF so stayed tuned for details.  While we don’t have anything firmed-up yet, some of the suggestions we’re pursuing include:

• Splash Pad/Park Meet-up for those w/Younger Kids
• Crafting w/Kids
• Ninja Night @ Ninja Intensity
• Tween/Teen Movie Night
• Tween/Teen Game Night
• Tween/Teen Nerf Wars
• Family Night at the MAC
• Family Meet-up at Movies & Music in the Park
• Family BBQ

We’d also like to organize some social events just for parents, such as:

• Moms’ Night Out
• Dad’s Poker Night
• Parents Bunco (or Game) Night
• Bring-a-Bottle Wine Tasting Party
• Making Weighted Blankets or Pillows Together

Family Welcome Packets

This year we’d like to develop “Family Welcome Packets” to share with local parents who get a new placement.  How great would it be if parents could have a list of doctors, dentists, and other professionals who accept Medicaid?  How about a list of respite care providers in our area, info on sensory tools, or even some diapers or formula? Even knowing who has kids of similar ages is helpful so we can swap cloths or pass along “grow bags” of gently used clothing.  If you’re interested in helping figure out what Family Packets might look like, or have a connection who might be able to donate products or services, please let us know!

Proposed Training and discussion topics

Formal training is great for learning the basics but many of us have learned the hard way these training barely scratch the surface of our day-to-day lives as foster or adoptive parents.  Sometimes it’s also more comfortable to ask questions of our peers than a professional. 

We use part of each monthly gathering to ask questions, share experiences, or even talk with a special guest. The choice of topics/speakers is up to the host, however, we brainstormed some topics for consideration.  Note:  This is not an all-inclusive list, it’s just a brainstorm of issues we thought may be of interest to our families.

Preparing to Foster

• Getting Started, e.g., choosing an agency, training, paperwork, key terms., etc.
• Types of Placements & Goals
• o   Foster Care
  • Goal is reunification w/birth parents or kin, often requires family/sibling visits, transitions to Legal Risk or Legally Free only after reunification with birth parents or kin have been ruled-out by a judge
• Legal Risk Placement
  • Child’s case is headed towards Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) but TPR has not yet occurred
• Children Legally Free for Adoption
  • Primarily older children
  • Important Note:  RARELY are infants or very young children immediately available for adoption through foster care
• Financial Issues
• Legal Processes in Foster Care & Adoption
• Hardest Things About Fostering/Adopting & Best Things About Fostering/Adopting
• Rocking it as a Foster Dad
• Fostering/Adopting When You Already Have Children
• Grief - When a Foster Child Returns Home or Transitions to a New Home

Parenting Foster and Newly Adopted Kids

• Attachment Strategies
• Impacts of Prenatal Drug and Alcohol Exposure
• Transracial Adoption
• Sensory Tools AKA Weighted Blankets, Fidget Spinners, and Slime 😊
• Birth Family & Kin Visits
• Parenting a Medically Fragile Child

Fostering/Adopting Infants & Toddlers

• What Trauma Looks Like in Infants & Young Children
• Attachment Strategies for Infants & Toddlers
• Common Feeding & Sleeping Issues
• Addressing Developmental Delays
• Accepting Uncertainties in Child’s Future
• Importance of Early Care in Lifelong Growth & Development

Fostering/Adopting Tweens and Teens

• Welcoming a foster tween or teen into your home
• What Trauma Looks Like in Tweens & Teens
• Common behavior issues with tweens & teens
• Discipline strategies for children with trauma

School Issues

• Enrolling a Foster or Newly Adopted Child in School
• What to Say…and NOT Say…to School Officials About Your Child
• Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for Foster & Newly Adopted Kids
• Extracurricular Activities

Accessing Services

• Advocating for your Foster or Newly Adopted Child
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy
• Speech & Language Therapy
• Equine & Hippotherapy

Additional Resources

• Local Orgs that Support Foster/Adoptive Families
• Resources for Families w/Special Needs Kids
• Best Online Resources

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October 2017

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