Welcome to New Foundations’ quarterly care. We are developing web pages to display our newsletter. Our objective is to keep our staff, foster parents, children and other social service professionals informed as to what is happening in each of our offices. Since our newsletter will be available to view on our website, we will use first names only in conjunction with the children placed in our children’s drawings and paintings, so please submit any artwork you would like to have posted to your case manager, supervisor or recruiter. We would also like to hear from our foster families and our teenagers about your experiences with New Foundations and the foster care system, so we also encourage you to submit your accounts or stories to your case manager, supervisor or recruiter as well. By sharing your accounts on our website, we would like to provide a better understanding of the rewards and challenges of foster parenting to prospective foster parents and other interested parties.
About New Foundations
New Foundations is a private, non-profit child
welfare agency that is licensed by the Department of Public Welfare
to provide service to children and families in Philadelphia and
the surrounding counties. We currently serve 234 children and their
foster and biological families in the following ways:
- Foster Care Services
- Kinship Care Services
- Aftercare Services
- Adoption Services
- SCOH Services
Program Office News
New Foundations successfully underwent its
annual PBC (Performance Based Contracting) and IHPS (In-Home
Protective Services) inspection with the Philadelphia Department of
Human Services in August, 2007. We did very well in the inspection
of both programs and continue in our pursuit to provide high-quality
services to the children and families in Philadelphia and the
surrounding counties. On July 27, New Foundations held its annual
staff picnic at Neshaminy Shore Picnic Park in Penndel, PA. Staff
and their families and friends enjoyed a fun filled day which
included good food, music, games and activities. We have already
picked a date for our staff Holiday Party which will be held on
December 7 at Finnegan’s Wake from 7PM to 10PM on the Lincoln
level. Details on this event will be provided as the time
nears. Because New Foundations is no longer in pursuit of a contract
with Berks County Children and Youth Services, we have closed our
office located at 697 Reading Avenue, Reading, PA 19611 effective
9/1/07. We would like to thank the staff and families affiliated
with that office and wish them the best in all future endeavors.
Center City Office
The Center City office is doing a wonderful job as they continue to manage over 160 children in foster and kinship care. Hats off to the Center City office that is staffed with case managers, secretaries, and transporters, all working together as an effective team, along with supervisor Deatrice Fields. Joyce Palmer filled the position as Center City secretary, and is doing an outstanding job. New Foundations also welcomes Tykeyah Guinn & Brian Brown, newly hired case managers, with open arms as they start their journey of working with children and their families. In addition, we are sad to see Robert Akens leave and start a new position with another agency. Good Luck Joyce,Tykeyah, Brian, and Robert. The Center City team works to achieve permanency by reuniting children with their biological families as well as through adoption and permanent guardianship. Center City gives special thanks to all of our foster parents who provide nurture and love to our children in need and are a wonderful asset to our team. The Center City team will also start awarding the foster parents of the month with gift cards to Wal-Mart in addition to award certificates. The foster parent of the month is decided by the case managers nominating one foster parent on their case load list and speaking highly of the foster parent to the other staff members as to why that foster parent should win foster parent of the month. The other staff members then vote for the best candidate for foster parent of the month. Nafeesah Reed celebrates two years with New Foundations, currently holding the position as lead case manager. Mia Williams recently celebrated her one year anniversary with New Foundations, and Deatrice Fields is working on her third year as Center City office supervisor. Keep up the good work, team!
Swarthmore Office
There has been a Baby Boom in Swarthmore. The stork is flying around the Swarthmore office. Nicole Thompson (case manager) gave birth to a bouncing baby boy in June. She named him Nicolas Eduardo. Nicole will not be returning to New Foundations as she is now a full-time mommy. Nicole is definitely missed and we wish her well. She was given a surprise baby shower which included games, prizes, food, cupcakes and lots of presents. Marsha Komara is another Swarthmore case manager who is expecting and will be going on maternity leave very soon. Marsha announced she believes she is having a girl. We wish her a safe delivery and look forward to seeing her new bundle of joy when she arrives.
Upcoming Foster Parent Trainings
Please check with your office regarding dates and topics
Recruitment
The recruitment unit welcomes recruiter Tenisha Williams back from her maternity leave. Tenisha welcomed her daughter into the world this summer. Congratulations also to Tenisha on her wedding last July. Recruiter, Allison Davis, has also announced her engagement and is planning an October wedding. Recruiter, Taren Daniels, has announced that she is expecting – a girl this time, after two boys. Recruiter Shep Garner has cut back to a part time schedule in order to devote more of his time to his campaign for Chester City Council. Good
luck Shep!
Taren, Tenisha, Shep and Kirsten Hontz Kovalchick all attended the Community Resource Fair on August 11 at the Hightsman Playground as part of Mayor John F. Streets’ Safer Streets Initiative to provide awareness and access to social services offered by the City of Philadelphia. The recruitment team welcomed 12 new resource families this quarter. Supervisor, Sandie Caulder, joined the recruiters at Panera’s Bread in Springfield for the annual Recruiter’s Appreciation Luncheon on Aug. 27 as a small thank-you for all their hard work this past year.
Services to Children in Their Own Homes (SCOH)
During this quarter, we expanded our unit and we would like to welcome W. Karney, M. Bartley, and U. Abdullah. There were 10 families that were discharged successfully. Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Taylor for delivering a health baby boy in May.
Adoption
The adoption unit continues to do a wonderful job achieving permanency for children in foster care. Supervisor, Amy Morris, reports that the adoption unit is currently working on nineteen Performance Based Contract (PBC) adoptions through the Philadelphia Department of Human Services. Through the SWAN contract, they are currently working on thirteen units of service with Delaware County CYS and two units of service with Berks County CYS. They also have two waiting family profiles in study. In addition, they are currently working on a proposal to provide Post-Permanency Adoption Services. Tanya Jarrett is the South East Regional Technical Assistant for
New Foundations, Inc.
Adoption Coordinator, Rachel Buxbaum, attended the SWAN Summer Statewide Conference held in Harrisburg from July 11-13, 2007. Topics included: “Child Care Begins” and “Building Permanency for Adolescents.” In addition, Amy and Rachel attended PCCYFS trainings. Amy attended “Art: Using Art with Children to Encourage Communication” on July 11, 2007. Rachel attended “Loss/Grief, Death, and Dying” on July 31, 2007. Amy also attended the workshop titled “Administering the Child & Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS)” from July 24-25, 2007, which was sponsored by Functional Assessment Systems, L.L.C, based out of Ann Arbor, MI.
Amy continues to attend the monthly DHS Supervisor’s forums, which have been focusing on developing the family profile. Amy and Rachel have been attending the Delaware Valley Adoption Council (DVAC) monthly meetings. The meeting in June was titled, “Tying Up Loose Ends: Adolescent Issues in Adoptive Families.” There were no meetings in July and August, but the meetings will resume in September. If you, or anyone you are connected with is interested in learning more about adopting a child, please contact our adoption unit at (215) 203-8733.
Aftercare
Aftercare Services are provided to children and families who have achieved permanency through Reunification and Permanent Legal Custodianship (PLC). Services are provided by New Foundations Aftercare case managers for 12 months post permanency.
New Foundations Aftercare program services 26 families. Both Aftercare case managers combined has successfully discharged 10 families from the Aftercare Unit in the last quarter.
Tia Leary (Aftercare Case manager) has moved on to another job in the State of New Jersey. We wish her well. We are in the process of filling the second Aftercare position.
The Aftercare supervisory and case managers have demonstrated a genuine commitment to empowering our children and families and have provided excellent service during the last quarter.
DON’T FORGET…
Don’t forget that we are always looking for new foster parents
so we are better able to match the children coming into our care
with qualified and caring foster families. If you, or anyone you
are connected with is interested in learning more about foster parenting,
please contact our recruitment or case management staff at (215)
203-8733 or (610) 876-4474 or 1-877-NFI-4KID (1-877-634-4543) or
visit our website at www.nfi4kids.org.
Signing Up Kids for Sports
Organized sports can help kids grow From soccer to fencing, sports offer chances for kids to learn and master skills, work with their peers and coaches, and challenge themselves in a safe environment. They learn the value of practice and the challenge of competition. And on top of all that, sports provide natural and fun opportunities for kids to get regular exercise. But before signing kids up for sports, parents should consider a child’s personality and developmental level to help ensure that being involved in sports is a positive experience for everyone.
As you think about signing kids up for sports, consider how emotionally and physically ready they are to participate. Signing up too early can end up being frustrating for everyone, and can turn kids off from sports for good. Although there are sports programs designed for preschoolers, it’s not until about age 6 or 7 that most kids develop the appropriate physical skills or the attention span needed to listen to directions and grasp the rules of the game. While preschoolers can throw and run, it usually takes some time before they can coordinate the two skills.
If kids show an interest in a sport, try to let them do it. You may be worried that your child will get hurt, particularly in a contact sport like football, but as long as the coach requires players to use the correct safety gear, your doctor OK’s it, and your child is matched up with other kids of the same size and ability, go ahead. Even if the sport doesn’t turn out to be a good fit, your child learn much from the experience. When choosing a sport, consider your child’s unique temperament. Some kids are naturally inclined toward team sports, while others may feel more comfortable in activities where the focus is on individual efforts. There’s something for everyone from soccer and baseball for team-oriented kids, to tennis, fencing, karate, dancing, and swimming for kids who’d rather go solo.
Don’t be surprised if it takes a few tries or a few seasons to find the sport that’s right for your child. It often takes time for kids to figure out which activities they enjoy.
www.kidshealth.org/
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