| |  | | | | |  | | | | | Sleep in Heavenly Peace with Kinship Navigator | | CMFCAA is proud of all the work our team put into building beds for some of our kids this past month! We partnered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to make sure the children we serve have their own beds to sleep peacefully in. This is what one family had to say when we delivered the beds: “You guys have provided most every resource I have needed to accomplish the licensing. If it weren’t for CMFCAA and the Kinship program we would not be where we are today. As far as liaisons go, you guys are doing a great job!” | |  | Volunteer or Intern with CMFCAA! This month, CMFCAA volunteers and interns have busy in our offices. Even though we organize and host a bunch of fun events, we also spend a lot of time making sure things are running smoothly on the administrative side of things. Without proper organization and data management, we would not be able to provide services to our families. Thanks to our hardworking interns and volunteers, we are able to stay on top of things. If you are interested in interning, volunteering, or serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA with CMFCAA, you can learn more today by contacting our Volunteer Supervisor, Chase Wyckwood, at chase@mofosteradopt.com. Or, you can take the first step and click the link below to create your volunteer profile now! | | | | | | | | |  | A CMFCAA Success Story On Monday, March 8, 2022, 30 Days to Family© received a referral to help a 12-year-old young man. This young man only knew his father. He was raised thinking he had no other family and his mother did not want him. Within 48 hours of the case being opened, 30 Days to Family© Specialist, Lynn Burnside had located 102 family members and interviewed grandparents, uncles, aunts, sisters, and cousins. The entire family was elated to hear from the 30 Days to Family© Specialist because (while they did not like that this young man was in care) they had not heard from him or seen him since he was a baby. Every family member that was contacted wanted to be involved with the case and wanted to immediately set up some sort of visitation to get to know him. When the 30 Days to Family© Specialist interviewed this young man and told him he had family that wanted to meet him, his smile was so big he put the sunshine to shame! He was so happy he couldn’t wait to get to know his family. The Specialist helped the foster parent set up times to introduce this young man to different family members. All reports are heartwarming. Each of these visits have been so well received and this young man is finally getting to know how much these family members love him. He is no longer alone! | | | | | |  | | |  | Direct Services Odyssey Events A lot of time has been put into creating a full calendar of events for our families this year. This past month, Direct Services held two amazing Odyssey events. One at The Centre in Rolla and one at "Where Pigs Fly," a farm in Osage County. See pictures below! Where Pigs Fly is a 63-acre farm consisting of hundreds of rescued farm animals. Families enjoyed petting/feeding the various animals, touring the birdhouse containing several exotic birds, and touring the two-story pig museum. | | | | | | | | | | |  | Family Development Department The Family Development team successfully trained another group in the STARS Training. Read one of the graduate's testimonial about the training below. "We learned so much in class with Bri and Teresa that will help us throughout our journey to foster and adopt. We learned about the ways that we can help support the children who enter our homes, as well as how to support each other! We love the way that Bri and Teresa engaged our class frequently and provided support. When discussing things that were difficult, they always provided support and guidance to bring us back to our safe reality. We have learned how to be better parents to every child who enters our home whether they be our natural children, foster children or adoptive children." ~Elizabeth Wainscott | | | | | |  |  | Community Connections Youth Project® Our young people need support and strong advocates who will help them as they grow into adulthood. That is exactly what our CCYP® team is committed to providing every young person. Pictured here is CCYP client Caleb Crispin. Caleb is sitting on a new bicycle that CCYP purchased to help him independently move around the community. Caleb is in the process of finding full-time work. The bicycle will allow him to schedule and attend interviews without the worry of asking someone to take him. | | | | | | |  | What are Kinship Navigators? Caring for a relative or kinship child can be complex and oftentimes challenging, CMFCAA’s Kinship Navigator Program is designed to assist kinship caregiver families throughout Central Missouri in a variety of ways that help increase placement stability in both formal and informal situations. Services offered: - Hosting support groups that focus on the unique needs of children who have been abused.
- Navigating the child welfare, mental health, and educational systems including crisis intervention services.
- Providing training and licensing assistance to relative care providers.
- Connecting caregivers to food, clothing, and other tangible resources.
Eligibility: - Must be caring for a child age 18 or under who is not your own when the natural parent(s) cannot or will not do so.
- Must live within one of 24 counties served by CMFCAA (families residing outside of coverage area will be contacted and referred out)
| | | | | | | | |  | | | Join us for our 3rd Annual Luau! This year, the event will take place on Thursday, June 9, 2022 from 6-9pm at the Millbottom in Jefferson City, Missouri. Tickets are now available! CMFCAA continues to provide critical services and resources to vulnerable foster, adoptive and kinship children, youth, and families. These life-changing services offer individualized support, specially packed backpacks full of hygiene products and clothing, Odyssey events for the kids, direct intervention for families, and advocacy for youth and families in the Central Missouri area. In 2021, we helped serve over 3,000 deserving children and families! CMFCAA is looking forward to another fun and successful Luau and asks for your generous support by taking part in this amazing event. Our sponsors and attendees are the key to making this year’s event a fundraiser that will benefit hundreds of children and families. With your help, CMFCAA can continue to break the cycle of trauma in the lives of children and youth. Our adopted, foster, and kinship children and families thank you for another year of faithful support! Click below to sponsor this event or buy your tickets today! | | | |  | CMFCAA is growing fast! There are new positions opening every day.
Apply Today! | |  | | |  | | |  | Click here to see past Family Focus newsletters and learn more about our organization. | | | | | | Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association
809 Swifts Hwy. | Jefferson City, Missouri 65109
573-298-0258 | info@mofosteradopt.com | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
