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December

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! I want to wish all of you a very happy and safe holiday season! Please remember that your training hours must be completed by 12/31/08!

Elizabeth McCauley will return toward the end of January, and will begin taking over Pat's cases. We appreciate your patience in this transition time for Resource Development! Please let Linda, Tinika, or me know if you need anything before Elizabeth returns!

I would like to take the opportunity to let you guys know that the past few months have been "slow" in terms of taking children into custody. We want to reiterate that this is actually a good thing, in light of the economy, that families are banding together to care for their children. I've received a number of calls from foster families asking if the Department is upset with them, or if something is wrong that they don't know about. I want you all to know that we value each and every one of you and the commitment you make to our children. We have to make sure we find families for children, not children for families. Each child we bring in presents different needs and we are trying to ensure that your home is the best, first, and hopefully, the only placement the child will have while in custody.

Please don't feel that we are skipping over you because of some past issue or hard feelings. We all truly admire and respect what you do and we will call you when the child that is the "right fit" for your family comes into care.

Thank you for the love, nurturance, guidance, and time you give to all of the children in your home. Have a very Merry Christmas--I hope Santa is good to all of you!

Thanks,

Julie M. Evans,
SSCM Cherokee County Department of Family and Children Services

March Notes from Julie

Thanks to all of you who attended the Roundtable on the 3rd!  It was a great turn out and it was so exciting to meet Mr. Washington!  I hope to see even more of you at the next Roundtable meeting!

I hope that Marie has some information in this newsletter about the "Darkness to Light" Training that the Foster Parent Association will be hosting in April.  It sounds like a wonderful training opportunity.  Many families have stated that they would feel more comfortable parenting a child with sexual abuse issues if they had more training, and hopefully this will give you the tools to feel more comfortable and prepared!

I know that we have e-mailed you guys information about changes in the Resource Development unit, but I just wanted to review them with you again.  Jennifer Leikam is now the new RD/Adoptions supervisor.  RD staff consists of Linda Nwaneri, Lou Shewmake, and me.  I had to transfer quite a few cases because I had the largest caseload in the unit and the transfers were made to ensure an even distribution of cases.  To those of you who were transferred, it has been a pleasure working with you, and I appreciated the opportunity to get to know your family. Thanks for allowing me in your homes!

A new IMPACT class will begin 3/19/09!  This will be a full class and many of the families are coming through for specific children, so they are excited to get started.

On April 25th from 4:30-6:00, Region 17 (Cherokee, Cobb, and Douglas) will host a region wide recruitment event at the Dazzles skating rink in Douglasville.  All Cherokee Co. foster and adoptive families are invited, and we would love for you to bring a friend that is interested in learning more about becoming a foster or adoptive parent.  You will be receiving an invitation to this event  in the mail very soon!

May 9th is the Jonesboro Adoption Video Conference for families interested in adoption.  The video conference is a good way to meet some of the children free for adoption and you can also talk to the case managers of the children.  The brochures for this conference have not been sent to us yet, but if you would like to receive an informational brochure when they become available, please let me know!

SAVE THE DATE FOR MAY 12TH!!!!  Schedule permitting, we will host the Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner on the 12th at 6:30 p.m.  More details to come!

Congratulations to Clark and Lisa Snodgrass who finalized the adoption of Chrisitan Gonzalez today!!

Thank you for the love and time you give to our children!

Julie