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June 2021 Issue 39

Mindfulness: A Superpower?

Practicing mindfulness is a great way to demonstrate appropriate coping skills for the children in your care.

Juneteenth Explained

Juneteenth is a celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. Below is a short video explaining the celebration and its history.

Arizona Association of Foster & Adoptive Parents

Foster, Kinship, and Adoptive families who live in Arizona and parent children from a state child welfare system are invited to join AZAFAP! We are a nonprofit organization, by families, for families, that provides connections and supports in Arizona! The association includes ALL of the children in the family for our programs that include Family Connections, Family Support Services, Children’s Basic Needs, and Community Awareness. Free basic membership provides our newsletter full of information and resources. Premier membership is a small annual fee that pays for itself multiple times over after you have participated in our shoe, jacket, or bike and toy event! Our family camps were so much fun, and we look forward to our Foster Awareness Month Celebration, our Fore Family Fun at Top Golf event and Staycations this summer! The popular Shoe Event is coming up in early August!

Please join on our website at www.azafap.org under Membership. We have events in Tucson and Phoenix, and we are looking to expand up north!

Arizona Helping Hands

Arizona Helping Hands is the largest provider of essential items for children in foster care in Arizona. Our programs provide a safe place to sleep, clothing, hygiene items, birthday packages, backpacks filled with school supplies, licensing safety items, foster footlockers, and more.

Visit us online at azhelpinghands.org to learn more and make an appointment today!

480.889.0604

Raise the Future Trainings

Raise the Future, previously known as the Adoption Exchange now offers a variety of online training programs. Please check them out at the link below.

Training With Child Crisis AZ

STEP Training- TUCSON

Christian Family Care Training

AZ.127 Foster Family Support & Connections

AZ.127 will be offering support via Facebook & Instagram mini-sessions of techniques and tools from the Trust-Based Relational Intervention program. Additionally, they will be matching mentor foster families with foster families in need of support.

Jose's Closet

Sunny's Closet

Caring Connections for Special Needs

Early Head Start

Royal Family Kids Camp

Arizona Early Intervention Program

Tucson Resource

Spreading Threads is a grassroots, nonprofit community clothing bank that provides free clothes to foster youth in southern Arizona. The organization was founded by two foster moms in Tucson who have fostered and adopted several children in Arizona. Your donations go directly to local children in need. The second Saturday of each month foster, adoptive, and kinship families can visit the clothing bank. A Notice to Provider will be needed. The clothing bank events are held at 1870 W. Prince, Suite 54 in Tucson.

Respite Resource

A Mighty Change of Heart

A Mighty Change of Heart provides FREE duffle bags to foster children with new, age-appropriate items inside: 2 outfits, shoes & socks, underwear, book, diapers/wipes, hygiene items, and more. These bags have the children’s names embroidered on them, and are something that they can call their very own. They have delivered over 3,500 bags across the state.

Please check out their website for more information: www.amchaz.com. If your family, business, church group or school would be interested in holding a donation drive, please contact A Mighty Change of Heart. Items are always needed.

Warmline Supports Kinship and Foster Families

The Foster Parent Warmline is available for kinship families and licensed foster parents. While not an emergency number, Warmline staff can assist with information, authorizations for services, timely communication, and support. It is not intended to discourage or replace direct and regular communication between the DCS Specialist and the out-of-home caregiver. You can reach the Warmline by calling 1-877-KIDSNEEDU (1-877-543-7633) and selecting Option 3. Warmline staff are available during business hours. Callers also have the option of leaving a voice message.

Children's Heart Gallery

More than 70 percent of the children in need of forever families are adopted by their relatives or foster parents. For the remainder, special recruitment efforts like the Heart Gallery are used to connect them with a forever family.

The children featured in the Heart Gallery represent all ethnic groups and range from toddlers to teenagers. Some have special behavioral or medical needs, some are without siblings, and others are in groups of siblings.

Johnny L.

Johnny is a playful, imaginative and caring young man. Johnny loves to play guitar, volunteer at animal shelters, draw, and play board games. Johnny also enjoys building things with Legos and says his secret talent is that he is double-jointed.

When it is hot outside Johnny loves to go swimming and play video games such as Lego Batman or watching movies like Hellboy and Deadpool. When he wants to rock out, he listens to classic rock like Bob Seeger or modern hip-hop music. Johnny would benefit from a one or two parent home, with or without siblings. Johnny says he would prefer a family that is very active and accepting and has some pets at home because he enjoys caring for animals.

Johnny was born in 2004.

Lexi

An outdoors enthusiast, singer, writer, social butterfly and self-proclaimed girly girl, Lexi is just like any other high school-age girl: complex! On any given day, Lexi can be found at the hiking trail, a book club or church, growing and honing her expansive list of hobbies and interests. Her ambitious spirit is only matched by her bubbly, easygoing and outspoken personality.

Lexi enjoys writing and journaling. She also excels in science, geography and math (although she would tell you math is not her strong suit). Lexi is ambitious and eager to be involved in activities at school, including singing in the school choir, being on the cheer team, participating in track and field, and joining a book club. It can be challenging for Lexi to open up to new people, which means patience is an essential trait of her new parent(s). While her new parent(s) can expect what any parent of a teenager can expect — the unexpected! — they can also anticipate Lexi’s unwavering, ambitious hope and enthusiasm for being part of a loving, supportive family.

Lexi was born in 2006.

Jacob & Rylin

Jacob and Rylin are adorable, sweet kids, who love to laugh, and play well together with a bit of typical sibling rivalry. They both love to play with army men, dinosaurs and cars. Both are very active and enjoy playing outside. Jacob loves board games and technology. Rylin enjoys sensory activities.

Jacob and Rylin would benefit from being in a loving, nurturing, structured family who has the time and attention to meet their needs. A family experienced with children who have special needs would be a great fit. They would do best with having at least one parent who is either a stay-at-home parent or works during their school hours, to ensure they receive as much attention as possible.

Jacob was born in 2011. Rylin was born in 2016.

AZ Families Thrive is published monthly by the Arizona Department of Child Safety to inform foster, kinship and adoptive families across the state. Ricky Denwood created this edition, please feel free to email with questions, comments or content you may be interested in seeing in future editions. Sign up to receive email updates when new issues are posted.

Interested in becoming a foster or adoptive parent? Call us: 1-877-KIDS-NEEDU (1-877-543-7633) or email us: FosterAdoption@azdcs.gov. Visit us online: www.azkidsneedu.gov.

To report child abuse or neglect: 1-888-SOS-CHILD

Created By
Ricky Denwood
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