• Educate yourself. The pre-service training you’ll complete through Clark County Family & Children Services is packed full of helpful information and advice on getting to know your new family member and helping him or her acclimate to your home – whether he or she will be staying for a short time or forever. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had parents say to me after the class: “When we first started the training, we were so excited. But after we went through the training, we knew we had to do it.”
• Talk to your kids. Have you had honest conversations with your kids and really listened to their feelings and worries about what it will mean for your family to add another person? Ask for feedback. Understand if they’re worried about sharing mom and dad. It will help everyone adjust if you can keep communication open and easy.
• Have extras on hand. One foster mom I work with always keeps extra clothes and a bed ready in case she gets a phone call at 2 a.m. about a child who needs to be placed right away. Make your house as inviting as possible so that a child will feel like he or she has a place in your home.
• Don’t throw a party… Many times foster or adoptive parents are so thrilled to meet a child that they forget the child is grieving. No matter what their home situation was, be prepared to understand that these children have a lot of fears and anxiety about being in a new place. Be patient and understanding if the child spends time dealing with grief and loss. Between the new surroundings, people, foods and smells there are a lot of things the child needs to adjust to.
• Get help from biological parents. We encourage foster parents to get to know biological parents while we work to reunite the biological family. Ask them about their child. Is he or she afraid of the dark. What are his or her favorite foods? Do they like animals? When do they go to bed? Building a relationship with the biological parents will help the transition go more smoothly for the child and many times that relationship continues after the child is reunited with his or her biological family. Have questions about becoming a foster parent? Call us! Karen Mullins at (937) 327-1810, Marsha Jenkins at (937) 327-1767, Ann Mann at (937) 327-1826 or Kim Dysert at (937) 327-1823.

Step 1: Inquire. Contact Family & Children Services and let us know that you are interested in adopting or becoming a foster parent. You can also call me, Karen Mullins at (937) 327-1810, Marsha Jenkins at (937) 327-1767, Ann Mann at (937) 327-1826 or Kim Dysert at (937) 327-1823.

Step 2: Fill out your info packet. After you inquire, we’ll send you an info packet with an application and questionnaire. Fill it out and send them back to us. This officially starts the process.

Step 3: Take care of some basics. We’ll help you work through some important requirements, like submitting references, medical checks, fingerprinting, financial statements and a fire inspection.

Step 4: Go to class. You’ll complete a pre-service training class, free of charge. The class is about six weeks long and encompasses 36 hours of training. The course will teach you all about the kids’ backgrounds, the circumstances they often come from, and will help you evaluate yourself and your family to determine whether you’re ready to take the next steps to become a foster family. More often than not, the answer is: “We’re absolutely ready!”

Step 5: Complete the home study. Your case worker will schedule three to five appointments to get to know each member of the family. One of these appointments will be a visit to your home to make sure everything is ready for a child to join you.

After the home study is complete, you’re done! You are ready to provide a home for a child! Have more questions? Want to start the process? … We’re waiting by the phone!

Describe your role with Clark County Family & Children Services:

I am a Social Service worker in the Foster Care Unit along with two others. We help people through the approval and recertification process for foster care and adoption. When an individual or couple applies to do foster care or adoption, I help them navigate the paperwork and processes.

How long have you been with the agency?

28 years total! I have worked in the Foster Care Unit for almost 25 of those years.

What’s a typical day like as a foster care social service worker (if there is such a thing)?

You guessed it! There is no such thing as a typical day. Maybe I’ll come in and start my day by sending out some information packets to prospective adoptive or foster parents; maybe I’ll go meet a family and do a home study as part of the process to become a foster family. Sometimes, we might have to make an emergency removal if a child is in danger in his or her home and place him or her with a foster family. But most days involve working with many different prospective foster parents or adoptive parents to help them finish the process so they can provide stable homes for kids.

What’s one of the best parts of your job?

I love talking to prospective parents or adoptive parents after they’ve gone through the orientation pre-service training. Sometimes these prospective parents will be hesitant or nervous about the idea of bringing a child they don’t know into their home. But I’ve talked to so many parents who come to me after the training and they’ve learned about these children, their needs and who they are … They tell me: “We can’t not do it. We have to become foster parents.” I love that.

Both Rayanna and Daniel desired to regain custody of their daughter, and so they contacted Clark County DJFS to get help in conquering their addictions. Both parents began drug treatment and quickly enrolled in the Family Dependency Treatment Court program. Rayanna and Daniel attended programs consistently and cooperated with routine drug tests, which proved that they were staying away from all drugs.

Rayanna and Daniel both sought employment, and soon they were able to move out of their hotel room and into suitable housing. In February 2011, they were officially married, and eventually they successfully regained custody of their little girl, happy to be a family again.

He struggled in foster homes until Clark County DJFS was able to place him with a family that had previous experience with children with behavioral issues. This family accepted Zackary for who he was and worked with him to help him feel safe. Through the help of counselors, teachers, principals and foster parents, Zackary has been able to control his behavioral issues.

Zackary’s foster parents made the decision to adopt him, and the adoption was finalized in July 2011. Zackary is happy in his new home, and the family is thriving.

What & When is NFL?
NFL is a 13-week course. Starting on Monday, September 26, dads from all walks of life will explore the roots of their own fathering styles, ways to effectively communicate with their children and how to handle relational conflicts when they arise.

The free program includes dinner every week, a free accompanying workbook and the opportunity to form a brotherhood with other men who are gaining new perspectives on fatherhood.

Where is it?
The class sessions are held at Urban Light Ministries, 515 S. Yellow Springs Street, in Springfield.

Why ?
We started the NFL program in October of 2006 – almost 5 years ago! Through the partnership of local organizations like Clark County Job & Family Services, we are continuing to offer this program because we believe in the tremendous difference fathers can make in their children’s lives. As a longtime Springfield resident, community member and minister, I can attest firsthand to the need in our city for dedicated dads to father their children in a way that will foster their growth and maturity.

But we don’t have to rely on my account only. A 2011 study prepared by the National Fatherhood Initiative revealed that Springfield has a 40% rate of absent fathers, significantly above the 33% national average. The children of our community need to experience the profound benefits that come from having loving, involved fathers. And through programs like NFL, we’re helping to make that hope a reality – one graduating class of dads at a time.

How? (Bonus question)
Interested in signing up for the free NFL class? Or, do you know a dad or father figure who might be interested? Call (937) 328-0122 or click here for more information.

Eli Williams is the president and CEO of Urban Light Ministries in Springfield, Ohio. Through his tenure as a minister, his community involvement and his leadership in initiatives like NFL, Eli has dedicated much of his life to promoting fatherhood.  Visit Urban Light Ministries on the web.

It is the purpose of Job & Family Services of Clark County to promote safety, strengthen families and empower people through the provision of direct services and through collaboration with other community agencies such as Urban Light Ministries, and the Nurturing Fathers for Life program, that exists to increase the number of responsible fathers, nurtured children and stronger families.

The Project Jericho Bucket Band delivered a rhythm-filled performance for a crowd during Summer Sky.

Inflatable moonwalks, face painting, juggling performances by comedy juggler and ventriloquist Mike Hemmelgarn, crafts, live music, drawings for prizes and carnival games entertained kids during the Saturday afternoon event. Several science and animal exhibits set up throughout the event featured hands-on activities from the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery and the COSI Science Center. And kids and adults alike squirmed when the “Bugman” from Bugman Educational Entoprises brought out for a visit his extensive collection of insects and a giant tarantula. Families also took a break from the sunshine and stepped inside the Heritage Center to get an up-close look at live birds from the Glen Helen Raptor Center.

Summer Sky volunteers transformed the Heritage Center parking lot into a playground full of inflatable moonwalks and activities for kids.

“Our annual Summer Sky event represents an opportunity for the agency to promote positive family interaction. Families can spend time together and enjoy some free summertime fun,” said Pam Meermans, Deputy Director of Family & Children Services of Clark County. “At our booth, we shared information about foster care and adoption opportunities for local kids who need stable homes.” Information was also available about Clark County Child Support division’s Parents as Partners program, a relationship education program.

Kids played at COSI mobile science stations during Summer Sky on Saturday.

Special thanks to our community event partners including the Heritage Center, Center City Association, Avetec, Clark County Public Library, Clark State Performing Arts Center & Project Jericho and Security National Bank.

Visit our Facebook page for more pics!

It’s that time of year again!

Mark your calendars for Summer Sky on Saturday, August 20, from 1:00pm-5:00pm at the Heritage Center in Springfield.

Summer Sky is an annual family fun festival sponsored by Clark County Family & Children Services and other community organizations.  Best of all, there’s no charge to join in on the fun!

There are many exciting activities to forward to, including:

• 10 Mobile Science Stations from COSI Science Center
• Traveling Exotic Animals from Columbus Zoo Mobile
• SuperGames Giant Inflatable Moonwalks
• Boonshoft Museum of Discovery Animals
• Face Painting
• Live Music
• Carnival Games
• And Much More!

The Heritage Center is located at 117 S. Fountain Ave. in Springfield.  Parking is available at the Clark State Community College Performing Arts Center parking lot.

For more information, and to check out the full schedule, visit www.flysummersky.com.

Summer Sky:  The Fun Never Stops!  Hope to see you there!