[kayb]

I have taken on the 'recruitment' role for our local foster parent association.

Specifically to recruit currently licensed homes into our association.

So - If you are member, what convinced you to sign on to the association -

If you have never joined - WHY?

I can't wait for the feedback, Thanks guys in advance!

[Mystik]

We joined an FFA instead of going directly through the County for a number of reasons.

1) The initial training was over the course of 2 Saturdays (8 hours each) instead of 2 hours a week times 2 months for PRIDE.

2) We learned through the orientation how much more supportive an FFA is when you need assistance. Where as we all know how hard and sometimes next to impossible it is to get hold of the County workers. (The downfall is that the FFA social workers typically have no clue about the specific case of your placement/s that you may have questions about. They get that information from you typically long before they find anything out from the County worker.)

3) They have fun activities a number of times a year such as a fall harvest festival and Christmas party, etc.

4) The stipend is higher than the Counties, but the FFA also requires more from you such as weekly visitations instead of the Counties monthly requirement, they also expect a higher standard of care and do continuous check ups to make sure you have all your sharps, chemicals & medications locked up. They require monthly progress & medication reports to be filled out and submitted, etc, etc.

5) They offer a yearly recertification bonus so long as you have been keeping your reports up to date, have attended all your necessary trainings, as well as 2 mandatory trainings and 2 functions (like the Christmas party) and that is per person if you are married.

Is an FFA worth it? - Sometime yes, sometimes no and really comes down to personal preference.

[kayb]

Mystik, I was speaking of the Foster Parent Association which is like a PTA or any membership group.

It does not matter if you're county or FFA. Anyone can join, actually even supporting members from the public. We have retired foster parents in ours too, for mentoring and guidance.

We meet a couple times of year, have parties, support each family in need, throw baby showers upon finalization, fundraise to give foster kids extra support when and where needed. yadda, yadda yadda

Kay

[lazshay]

We mainly joined because we get two hours of training each time we attend. Also they often have special events or offers available for foster parents. It's also nice to get together and chat with people who understand.

[buttascotchbaby]

I belong to our local foster families support group and regularly attend other events hosted by them.

First: I LOVE our support group. We meet once a month and it is an awesome opportunity to meet with others who share so much of what is going on in our lives. I have slowly built up a network of friends who are fostering but at first I only knew one or two other foster parents. There are so many things that if you don't foster you just cannot understand. My learning curve was so steep my first year of fostering, I had to educate myself on so much because I knew so few others to go to and ask questions, etc.

It was in my second year of fostering that I became aware of the support group. At ours we meet at 5:30, they provide a meal and then the kids are all taken outside (with wonderful care takers) to play, and the adults talk, we sometimes have guest speakers, presentations, information, etc. It is an incredible support and I am shocked that there are not more members We have 10-20 families who come every month, but then when we go to the annual big events (Summer Picnic at the Water Park, Christmas Party, etc.) there are thousands there! My kids (bio & foster) love going to group too. They are able to hang out with kids like them!

I think that SWs should make a bigger deal about making new FPs aware of support groups/organizations because it would save them a lot of trouble. I have gotten much more answers from my support group, much easier than calling my worker. It is a wonderful resource but I am not even sure of the workers are aware of it.

Hope that helps!

[Proudfostermama]

Ours was meeting once a month and offers supper and training hours to foster families. They do special events on holidays. I like getting together and talking with other foster parents. The children are watched by other people and have fun playing while we get the training.

[Mystik]

Originally Posted by kayb

Mystik, I was speaking of the Foster Parent Association which is like a PTA or any membership group.

Oops! I misunderstood sorry!

I guess I wasn't too far off though, our FFA is combined as an agency and I didn't realize there were FFA groups that weren't also agencies. I've only been doing this a little over a year though.

We get all our FFA support through our agency and they also hold monthly support circles that are also potlucks and we are given training hours for attending. What I love about these is the fact that we're welcome to bring the kids to it too. It alleviates so much stress not having to find child care just to participate.

[KelleyF]

I joined bacially because of the mentor program for new fp's. I was assigned a mentor when I got my first placement and she was a great help when I was trying to learn the "system". She gave me great advice when it was time to transition my fs's to their pre-adoptive home. I haven't attended any seminars yet but I plan to soon.