AUGUST 2023 • ISSUE 7 • VOLUME 3
Well, it’s about that time of year when our kids are getting ready to head back to school! Shout out to some of our community partners – White Fields Community Church, Windsor Community Church, and Timberline Windsor Church – who are generously providing backpacks with school supplies to send kids involved with foster, kinship, and preventative services off to what we hope will be a great school year for your kids.
This summer has been jam-packed with good things like the Big Balloon Build, City Lights’ Parent’s Night Out, Foster Friendly events, Owlz Baseball, newly certified foster and kinship families, and ongoing training and support opportunities. As we head into August and September, I hope you make time for some quality continuing education for foster parents with Shari Simmons (more info below). We are looking forward to having her refresh and encourage our families in the important things you do for kids every day.
And, if you’re not yet fostering why not take your next step today!
-Kristy
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Are you interested in learning more about foster care? Register for orientation to learn more about foster care and the certification process.
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Wednesday, August 9, 2023 4:30-6 p.m., virtual via MS Teams.
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Wednesday, August 23, 2023, 4:30-6 p.m., at the Weld County Department of Human Services Bldg. A. (315 N. 11th Ave., Greeley).
 You’ve already attended orientation? Register for pre-certification training by contacting Kristy at deandakr@weldgov.com. Schedule below.
Upcoming Pre-Certification Training – Choose One
Cohort 9 (Friday/Saturday) Intensive
Saturday, September 23, 2023, 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. in Frederick
Friday, September 29, 2023, 5-9:30 p.m. via Zoom
Saturday, September 30, 2023, 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. in Frederick
Cohort 10 (Wednesdays In-Person)
Meets weekly on Wednesdays, 5:30-8:30 p.m., October 4 - November 29, Windsor
Cohort 11 (Friday/Saturday) Intensive - LAST TRAINING FOR 2023!
Saturday, November 4, 2023, 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. in Frederick
Friday, November 10, 2023, 5:30-9:30 p.m. via Zoom
Saturday, November 11, 2023, 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. in Frederick
We hope to see you at one of our upcoming meetings! In the meantime, please reach out if you have any questions. For more information and to register for an orientation, please visit www.weldgov.com/go/fostercare or email Kristy at deandakr@weldgov.com.
If you had a chance to come to any of the events at the Big Balloon Build benefitting Life Stories Child and Family Advocacy, you know what an amazing event it was! This was an awe-inspiring event with 80+ balloon artists and 150,000 balloons to benefit a great local cause. Foster Care of Weld County was there to connect with kids and families at the S.T.E.A.M event and our own DHS Director, Jamie Ulrich, was one of the balloon fashion models!
City Lights' Parent's Night Out Respite Event
Thank you to those who participated in City Lights' Parent’s Night Out! We hope you enjoyed your night out and got some well-deserved R & R! We are thrilled that this was the most attended one so far with nearly 70 kids registered. We are so grateful for our community’s generous support of foster, kinship and adoptive families in Weld County! Our contact with City Lights, Kate Linde, said, “It was a fantastic event. Everyone had a great time and enjoyed the kids. Even with a burst of wind and rain we were able to adjust the schedule and complete the full schedule of activities for the evening. The volunteers really enjoyed the kids. The excitement the kids had for the carnival-like atmosphere with games and inflatables was fun to see. We look forward to doing it again next summer!”
Healing Happens Through Relationships
My professional background in the child welfare system has greatly impacted my view of what children need while they’re in foster care. I’ve filled lots of different roles within the child welfare system over the past 13 years. I currently work as a licensed therapist in Texas, specializing in complex developmental trauma, and I’ve also recently become a foster parent. I think all my experience led me to this point in my life of understanding trauma and how it impacts children, and how to heal from trauma.
Read full article: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth/stories/healinghappens/?utm_campaign=nfcm23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=storiesCB051623
Foster, Adoption, and Kinship Support Group – Weld County
Groups are held on the 3rd Thursday of the month from 6-8 p.m. at the Weld County Department of Human Services, Bldg A, Greeley, CO. Childcare and dinner provided. For more information and to RSVP, visit https://www.weld.gov/Government/Departments/Human-Services/Family-Resource/Foster-Adoption-and-Kinship-Support-Group.
Foster Parent Continued Education with Shari Simmons
August 29 (Part One) and September 28 (Part Two), 5:30-7 p.m. In Person at Dept. of Human Services, Bldg. B, 315 N 11th Avenue, Greeley, or Virtual via MS Teams. For more information contact Kelly Krause krausekc@weld.gov.
Shari Simmons has a 32-year career running treatment facilities (both residential and outpatient) for youth in Colorado. She is currently a contract consultant with CDHS and provides training/consultation to facilities on how to implement trauma informed services. She is creating the new 24/7 training academy with state leaders to ensure that all employees of facilities, group homes and CPAs are trained and certified in trauma informed best practices. As a former foster parent and current trainer/therapist for Colorado Foster Source, she provides training to foster parents and kinship placements that offer tools and strategies for raising the youth in their care. She travels the country speaking on epigenetic trauma and resiliency, teaches graduate level social work classes with MSU and runs a small private therapy practice.
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The PLAYbook: Learning Through Play
As a trusted adult in a young child’s life, what can you do? Can the time you spend with young children help to ensure their healthy growth and development? And if so, how? You may be thinking it would be helpful if there was a quick way to find the answers to those questions. Even better would be having access to a manual that not only answers those questions but also provides simple, engaging activities to do with the children in your life. And it would be best if you knew the activities were not only fun for the kids but also full of opportunities for them to learn and build new skills, too. Well, good news- the Colorado Office of Early Childhood created the PLAYbook to do all of that!
Click here to download your free PLAYbook today!
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Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) Training Opportunities
For more information and to register, visit https://www.weld.gov/Government/Departments/Human-Services/Family-Resource/Virtual-TBRI-Sign-Up-Form.
Operation Foster Hope (Foster Closet)
Operation Foster Hope provides clothing, shoes, diapers, nursery items, furniture, strollers, car seats, school supplies, hygiene products, safety equipment and other needed items to families free of charge.
For more information, email operationfosterhopecloset@gmail.com.
Referral Incentives
Foster parents are the best recruiters! Weld County foster parents can refer a family, up to five per calendar year, and receive $100 upon placement. Referred family must name you at inquiry or by their orientation. Have your friends and family visit www.weldgov.com/go/fostercare for more information and to register for orientation.
Weld County is proud to partner with Realities for Children, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, to collect monetary and item donations for our children and teens in foster care. Your gift provides emergency funding to Weld County youth who have been abused, neglected or are
at-risk. All donations are tax deductible, and 100% of your donation goes directly to help our children and teens in foster care. Click here for more information.
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