A New World - What's Happening?
August 2020
Welcome once again to our quarterly newsletter. We hope it provides you with insight and inspiration.
As always, we cannot say thank you enough for your commitment and dedication to the youth in your homes. We couldn't be more proud to partner with you all in this journey, which changes and improves lives forever. You are our super heroes and we appreciate you!
You are doing it all. Yes, YOU!
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Calendar notes
Save the date!
ZOOM TRAININGS COMING UP!
* 9/3/2020 at 10am (via zoom) Educational Rights Meeting with Guest Speaker Kristin Myers (Foster Care Education Coordinator)
See your email invite for details and please confirm your attendance via the email. This is a great opportunity to have our questions answered about foster youth and schooling.
*Wed Oct 14th: Trauma 201 (Even if you were not able to join us for the Trauma 101 training, you are encouraged to attend and will get some valuable information during this training)
Watch your email for invites to these and other Zoom trainings coming soon.
Please email your case manager if you have questions about these or other trainings.
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Recruitment info
Monthly Lunch and Learn foster info
Join us for a Virtual Information Session! Share your Why! Encourage your friends, family and acquaintances to join to learn more!
When: 2nd Tuesday of each month 12-1pm
Register at the link below to receive the Zoom invite!
COLORADO NEEDS MORE FOSTER HOMES!
Top 3 Reasons People Want to Become Foster Parents.
Who do you know with these reasons?
1) People who are unable to have biological children.
2) People looking for a way to contribute and find meaning.
3) People who want to pay it forward.
Refer a new family to us and receive $450.00
Paid upon successful licensure and first placement in their home
Engage with us on Facebook!
Consider sharing our FB page and posts with your community.
Stay tuned to our monthly FB Live posts tracking the Agency's Goal to license 20 new Foster Homes by June 30, 2021.
#20LivesImpacted #ItTakesAVillage #FosterTheFuture
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Crisis Resources
If you see a child in a life-threatening emergency, dial 911 immediately.
Colorado Child abuse hotline
Report neglect or abuse right away; contact your case manager immediately after.
1-844-CO-4-KIDS
Colorado Crisis Services
call 1-844-493-8255 or text 38255
Confidential statewide mental health services and emotional crisis help.
https://coloradocrisisservices.org/
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255
If you suspect someone is struggling, PLEASE share this number. There are options to chat, for deaf or hard of hearing individuals, for Spanish-speakers, and specific resources for youth.
https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Colorado's 24/7 Human Trafficking Hotline
1-866-455-5075
You can report tips and request referrals.
https://combathumantrafficking.org/
We sincerely hope you never need to use these resources, but it's important to know about them, just in case. If one of these events happens to your child and you're not sure what to do, please give your case manager a call.
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School Supplies
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Department of Education Foster Care Q & A
The Colorado House Bill 08-1019 and Colorado Revised Statute 22-32-138
This document was created in response to commonly asked questions around educational issues for youth in foster care. This is a communication tool for technical assistance for school districts, schools, foster families, professionals and youth. The intent of this document is to help in summarizing applicable statute for youth in out-of home placements including foster care.
The Foster Care Education Program is dedicated to helping students in foster care excel academically, complete courses and advance to the next grade, and continue on a path to post-secondary success.
Q. Is there a person who can help navigate the education world for a student in foster care?
A. Yes. Each local education agency (LEA or school district) shall designate an employee of the school district to act as the child welfare education liaison for the district or for state charter schools. In lieu of designating an employee, a school district or the state charter school institute may contract with an individual to act as the child welfare education liaison (CWEL). To find a CWEL by schools district, please visit the CDE Foster Care Education webpage at: www.cde.state.co.us
Q. Are there any guidelines around enrollment and transfers for student in foster care?
A. Yes. If a student in an out-of-home placement is enrolled in one school and transfers enrollment to another school either in the same school district or in another school district or to another type of school, the sending school district or school shall transfer the student's education information and records to the receiving school within five school days after receiving a transfer request from the county department that has legal custody of the student.
*Please note: under ESSA enrollment is immediately.
Q. Can students in foster care have access to free lunch?
A. Yes. Students in foster care are categorically eligible for free school meals without submission of a free and reduced-price household application. This means that a student in foster care can receive free school meals based on third-party documentation of their foster status. Acceptable documentation includes information indicating the State retains legal custody of the child. That documentation can come from the court that placed the child or from a State or local foster agency that administers the foster care program.
Q. Can a district withhold records and transcripts due to unpaid fines and fees?
A. No. A school district or school shall not delay the transfer of the education information and records of a student in an out-of-home placement for any reason, including but not limited to the existence of any unpaid fines or fees that the student may have outstanding at the school from which the student is transferring.
Q. Can a student in foster care register at a new school even if they don’t have all of the standard enrollment documents?
A. Yes. The school district or school shall enroll the student in school within five school days after receiving the student's education information and records, regardless of whether:
1) The school district or school has received the student's certificate of immunization;
2) The student can comply with any requirements pertaining to the use of school uniforms or other clothing restrictions; or
2) The student can comply with any other pre-enrollment restrictions or requirements imposed by the school district or school.
If these items are missing, the school or CWEL and caseworker can work together to obtain missing documents.
*Please note: under ESSA enrollment is immediately.
Q. Do students in foster care automatically lose credits mid-year for changing schools?
A. No. When a student in an out-of-home placement transfers from one school to another school, the sending school shall certify to the receiving school or school district the course work that the student has fully or partially completed while enrolled at the school. The receiving school or school district shall accept the student's certified course work and the course work certified by previous schools in which the student was enrolled, as reflected in the student's records, as if it had been completed at the receiving school. The receiving school or school district shall apply all of the student's certified course work toward completion of the student's requirements for graduating from the grade level in which the student is enrolled at the receiving school or school district or for graduation from the receiving school or school district if the student is enrolled in twelfth grade. The receiving school or school district may award elective credit for any portion of the student's certified course work that is not aligned with the curriculum of the receiving school or school district.
Q. Does a youth in foster care get absences excused if they have to go to court or therapy?
A. Yes. A student in an out-of-home placement shall receive an excused absence from the school district or school in which the student is enrolled for any time the student is out of school due to a required court appearance or participation in court-ordered activity, including but not limited to family visitation or therapy. The assigned caseworker should contact the school to excuse these absences. It's important to note that school attendance is important to continuity in course instruction as well as student engagement; therefore it is a best practice to schedule appointments outside school hours or make prior arrangements with teachers to receive assignments to ensure the student keeps current and does not fall behind.
Q. Are school tuition or school fees waived for students living in foster care?
A. Yes. A school district or school in which a student in an out-of-home placement is enrolled shall waive all fees that would otherwise be assessed against the student, including but not limited to any general fees, fees for books, fees for lab work, fees for participation in in-school or extracurricular activities, and fees for before-school or after-school programs that are supported and/or provided by the school.
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Welcome to Renata!
Learn a little more about Renata:
Education: Liberal studies with a concentration in Sociology and minor in Spanish
Fun Fact: Renata lives in a foster home with 10 adoptive and foster youth and 8 dogs
Favorite part about her job so far: Connecting and building relationships with her foster families.
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FREE TUTORING OPPORTUNITY...ACT NOW!
Naropa University is currently offering tutoring services to our foster families for the fall semester to help ease COVID-related difficulties which are cropping up for all of us.
This resource is offered to youth ages Kindergarten – 5th grade only, and will occur online via zoom. Tutors will primarily assist with literacy and math, but may also be available to conduct read-aloud/story-time supports, or assist with homework in these areas.
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Check out an inspiring video below
Anthony and Vontrice Roberts
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You make a difference every day!
Thank you Troop 65434
Because of this Girl Scout Troop's hard work to help their community they were able to bring in over 15 cases of cookies for our families and youth in their care.
Highlands Ranch
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A HUGE THANK YOU!
Together We Rise
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Thank you, LoveHair!
We received a wonderful opportunity that we passed along to our families with foster youth. Love Hair Color and Design did another event for foster youth. They offered a free haircut and style for any youth in the foster care system. This event took place on 8/11/2020. Their goal was to help the youth “start the new school year with confidence and also be at a stable place where they can come to get pampered and feel important.” We hope that you made use of this wonderful opportunity!
303-690-4247
6750 S. Cornerstar Way Suite C
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Provider spotlight
The Bacino family
Thank you so much to the Bacino family for your willingness to share your strengths with us all!
- What makes your family unique? It's not unique, but I am a single adoptive mom of a five-year-old boy. I recently fostered a two-year-old boy. We live close to my parents, so my kids have grandparents who are actively involved in their lives.
- Share something funny that recently happened with your kids. Having two little boys is so fun because they are so imaginative! My older son likes to play "the floor is lava," and his little brother loves to do what he does. So they jump from chair to chair to avoid the floor, and they put pillows on the floor as safe spots. I have to put on my "lava shoes" if I want to walk normally through their area!
- How has fostering impacted your life? Fostering changed my life because that's how I met my loves. My boys are my heart walking around outside my body. My little one recently reunited with his birth parents. That's been bittersweet. I have a strong relationship with the parents and support their success. But I miss my little guy very much. We still have video chats and visits together.
- What advice would you give to someone who was interested in becoming a foster parent? I would say, "Do it!" But be aware that the extensive training only prepares you so much for the day-to-day experience of living it. For example, I previously fostered a little girl with significant trauma, and it impacted everything from sleep to eating to how much time any one task took to complete. I considered myself fairly well informed about trauma, but parenting her was like boot camp.
- How do you balance parenting, work, and personal time? I'm fortunate in that my work allows me to be somewhat flexible, especially during these past few months of working from home. I have to carve out time for myself, especially at night after the kids fall asleep (which can be later than I want!). I also make sure to balance one-on-one time with each child. Whether it's reading a story with one in my lap, or going on an excursion with one while my parents babysit the other, I want to connect with each child individually.
- What activities do you and your kids love to participate in? They love anything to do with water! We have an inflatable pool in the backyard. I've had to be more creative during stay-at-home while our usual activities, like the library and playground, have been closed. We take nature walks, read a lot of books, and play with clay and crayons.
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Mindfulness corner
Sommer Grandcamp made a generous donation of journals to provide our children an easy-to-use mental health resource. Sommer is a CO native who grew up in Aurora. She is the author/founder of Discreet Journal, which is a private mental health journal that helps people work through emotional regulation and mindfulness. The guided journal uses Dialectical Behavioral Therapy based prompts and can be used by any age.
A HUGE THANK YOU!
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Staff spotlight
Amy Brown
1. How long have you been at A New World?
Just about a year! Time flies when you're having fun and working hard!
My absolute favorite part of what I do is connecting with kids and families. Having a meaningful conversation with someone is highly rewarding for me.
Sunshine! Also I am a big animal-lover, so I always smile when I get to hang out with a pet.
It's hard, but you can do it. Take a deep breath, keep your empathy close, and know that you are doing something so deeply meaningful. The moments may sometimes be difficult, but I believe if you choose to foster, you'll be so thankful that you did.
Sleeping in (funny joke, right?), hot coffee and a great book, followed by an outdoor adventure somewhere. I just went paddleboarding for the first time, it was really fun! I really enjoy trying out new things like that.
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We Will Miss You Daniel!
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A New World Child Placement Agency
Email: lindsey@anewworldcpa.org
Website: www.anewworldcpa.org
Location: 15200 East Girard Avenue Suite 3450, Aurora, CO, USA
Phone: 3037434000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ANWCPAAurora/