[becky]

Just to chime in here on the foster mother 'training' issue. I could not agree with you more Cathy...it is something that is really needed. Our agency decided it was so important that we launched a Foster Mother Training Program this past year. We did a fund-raising drive from the families who has previously used our agency to adopt and we raised enough money to provide on-going training to all foster mothers our agency uses.

We work in conjunction with Dr. Montiel to provide training in basics such as: Nutrition, sleeping on the back, tummy time (we provide mats to all foster mothers), safety in the home, etc. We have made it a requirement for any woman wanting to foster one of our babies.

I think it is long over-due and very much needed due to the tremendous differences in the quality of foster care that exist in Guatemala. I wish all agencies provided similar training for their foster mothers!