Wednesday, August 25, 2010
12:00 PM to 1:30 PM

Many adopted children are “multiply impacted” by prenatal exposure to drugs, and/or alcohol, by neglect and deprivation, complex trauma such as chronic child physical and sexual abuse, exposure to domestic violence, separation from or loss of significant other, and/or multiple out-of-home placements.

Please join Dr. Richard J. Delaney, internationally known speaker, acclaimed author and consultant to foster, kinship and adoptive parents for this 90-minute webinar presentation as he addresses adoptive parenting issues that include, how to get to the bottom of why children behave and how to approach problems, especially social aggression and anger outbursts.

Substantial time for discussion, questions and answers will be included during this 90-minute online presentation. Parents, professionals and others are invited to participate in this interactive online training. All you need is a computer with internet access, a telephone and a pioneer spirit!

$15.00 webinar only – REGISTER NOW
$25.00 webinar & CD – REGISTER NOW

Registration will not be available the day of the webinar.

For more information, please contact Anne Johnson at 612-746-5122 or ajohnson@mnadopt.org.

To learn more about MN ADOPT, visit www.mnadopt.org

Dr. Richard J. Delaney

Dr. Richard J. Delaney is an internationally known
speaker and consultant to foster, kinship and adoptive
parents. Most recently he served as the clinical director
of a community-based residential treatment center for
traumatized, multiply impacted, and emotionally
disturbed children in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.

For many years, Dr. Delaney has been a consultant to the Casey Family Programs and other foster care and adoption agencies across the country. Dr. Delaney is the author (and co-author) of several books in the area of foster care and adoption, including Fostering Changes: Myth, Meaning, and Magic Bullets in Attachment Theory and Troubled Transplants: Unconventional Strategies for Helping Troubled Foster and Adopted Children. He is the principal investigator for Foster Parent College (www.fosterparentcollege.com), which is an online resource for foster and adoptive parents.

Dr. Delaney is currently the lead faculty member at Portland State University’s online training series for mental health professionals and helps them achieve adoption-competence coursework. Dr. Delaney is a father, stepfather and grandfather who resides in Fort Collins, Colorado and Bastrop, Texas.

MN ADOPT webinar presentations have
been captured on CD and now available to own!
Only $15.00 each includes tax & shipping

Own the entire 7-Disc collection for $85.00 (#1100)

PowerPoint slides & images
Presentation audio commentary
Participant Questions & Answers
Each CD runs approximately 60 to 90 minutes
For quality playing experience, play from computer equipped w/ sound

#1101 Tough Questions, No Easy Answers: Some Useful Tips for Raising Hurt Kids with Deena McMahon

#1102 Back to School with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder with Kari Fletcher

#1103 Silent Night: Calming the Holidays for Children with Sensory and Neurological Differences with Kari Fletcher

#1104 The Mosaic: When Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) Meets Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) with Deena McMahon and Wendylee Raun

#1105 Great Ideas for Increasing Biculturalism in Transracial Families with Robert O’Connor

#1106 Avoiding Power Struggles & Healing Hearts: Responsive Parenting to Engage the Reactive Child with Paul Buckley

#1107 Practical Strategies for Helping Troubled Adopted Children with Complex Histories: Focus On Anger Issues with Dr. Richard J. Delaney

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ORDER FORM
(pay by check)

To pay by credit card (Visa/MasterCard), please contact Anne Johnson at 612-746-5122 from 10AM to 4PM Monday through Friday.

Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/KidsAtRisk

amy.rostronledoux@yahoo.com

I understood the liability issues but could not abide by so many fearful regulations and did generally what seemed like the right thing to do for the very unhappy and disoriented child in my caseload.

Today I see more and more CASA programs thinking outside the box and providing ways for their volunteers to get more involved with the youth they serve as this Voices For Children Program in California demonstrates

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/22/volunteers-act-parents-foster-children-never-had/

Looking back at the overly stressed child protection system I volunteered in, children need a consistent caring adult in their lives.

For several of the children in my caseloads, I was that person as the other adults (social workers, foster parents, educators and health care people people) came and went over the years.

As economic chaos continues to shrink nonprofit & community resources for abused and neglected children, the need for CASA volunteers, staff, and directors to build successful programs that can put a consistent caring adult into the life of the children they serve is ever greater.

CASA is most often the only voice a child has once in our overburdened court system. The program is perfect for discovering people that want to help children. Do you support the CASA program in your community?

Many new and useful possibilities are being provided to children caught up in the child protection system as organizations like CASA to fill these needs.

Often, the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) is the only consistent adult in the child’s life and can make a world of difference just by being there.

CASA Minnesota
CASA National

Voices4children.com
CASA volunteers are making a huge difference in the lives of abused children. Tell your friends.

Volunteers act like parents foster children never had
BY SHARON A. HEILBRUNN, SPECIAL TO THE UNION-TRIBUNE
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010 AT MIDNIGHT

PEGGY PEATTIE / UNION-TRIBUNE
Candace Kaimuloa is going to college. She shyly chose a quilt from a shelf at Target while shopping for dorm accessories with her Voices for Children advocate Genevieve Rohan. Kaimuloa is also graduating from the foster care system.

- PEGGY PEATTIE / U-T
Candace Kaimuloa gets a push on a bicycle at Target from her Voices for Children advocate Genevieve Rohan during a shopping excursion to get ready for college.

VOICES FOR CHILDREN

What: Volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocates for foster children

Where : 2851 Meadow Lark Drive, San Diego, CA 92123

Who : People interested in volunteering should contact Susan Smith at (858) 598-2235

Information: speakupnow.org

It was a frame. A black frame, with multiple spots for pictures and the word “Family” in large letters at the top.

Most teenagers would pass right over it while shopping. It didn’t have any bling. It wasn’t terribly stylish. Heck, it wasn’t even in the right aisle at Target. It was abandoned in the furniture section by a previous shopper, and it caught foster teen Candace Kaimuloa’s eye.

Family.

Something the teen barely had.

She looked at Genevieve Knych-Rohan and said, clearly: “I want to buy this.”

Knych-Rohan understood.

For the past six years, Knych-Rohan, 46, has been the family Kaimuloa, 18, never had. The two met when Knych-Rohan, a recruiter for a local biotech company who is married and has two stepsons, became a Court Appointed Special Advocate to Kaimuloa and three of her brothers through the nonprofit organization Voices for Children. The organization pairs volunteer advocates with foster children in the region to identify and advocate for their needs.

“It’s different from being a mentor or Big Brother or Sister figure, because CASAs have court orders,” said Kim Penny, vice president of marketing and development for Voices for Children. “They are assigned by the court for this child’s case. They have access to court reports, school reports — really, access to all aspects of the child’s life.”

Special advocates spend a minimum of 10 hours a month with their foster child. They advocate for anything from eyeglasses and braces to transportation to and from school events.

The individualized attention can sometimes be difficult for social workers to provide.

“Social workers have a high caseload and are responsible for many children and their families, and are therefore not able to focus attention on one child at a time,” said Penny, who noted there are nearly 6,000 children in San Diego County’s foster care system.

“Voices for Children has a huge impact on what I do as a social worker,” said Steven Wells, a senior protective services worker with the county’s Child Welfare Services Department. “It’s really important that CASAs are around because they’re charged with keeping an eye on everything the child needs.

But it’s the intangibles that sometimes make the most difference.

It is the special advocate who celebrates a foster child’s birthday when parents don’t call or visit. It is the special advocate who is on the sidelines when a foster child plays his first soccer game and has no family in the stands. It is the special advocate who helps a teen with relationship issues in high school or does her hair before prom.

“The CASA is often the only consistent adult in the child’s life,” Penny said.

On a recent trip to Target, Knych-Rohan accompanied Kaimuloa as she picked out items for her college dorm room at University of California Davis. It was a first for Kaimuloa, who was using money she won from an essay contest to make the purchases.

“I’ve never been able to choose before,” she said as she eyed an aisle of linens, her smile exposing two dimples. “I’ve never been able to pick out what I wanted.”

She was learning about things like thread counts and closet organizers from Knych-Rohan, who insisted on snapping her photo in the aisles of Target and embarrassing her the way any mother would to a daughter about to go to college.

Kaimuloa is thankful for those pictures. Without Knych-Rohan, Kaimuloa would have nothing to fill the frame she found. Knych-Rohan began taking pictures of Kaimuloa and her brothers the day she met them, when Kaimuloa was 12 and her parents could no longer care for her.

Now, there are pictures of Knych-Rohan with Kaimuloa and her brothers at the zoo, ice skating, bowling, surfing and golfing. There are pictures of the family clowning around and supporting one another at school events.

Sometimes, Knych-Rohan was the only link between Kaimuloa and her brothers, as the family was separated into different group homes when they entered the foster care system.

“The court suggested the kids get together one hour, once a week,” Knych-Rohan said. “Invariably, there would be at least one or two of the kids who wouldn’t be brought. So I started picking up the older boys and bringing them to the family visits.”

Knych-Rohan tears up as she thinks about her relationship with the Kaimuloa children.

“In the beginning, they didn’t have a lot of motivation,” Knych-Rohan said. “Nobody checked on their homework, no one cared if they got good or bad grades. No one would come for their open houses at school.

“So I made a bigger deal about helping them get good grades and helping them with projects,” she continued. “I went to their open houses. They are so appreciative that someone cares enough to meet their teacher or talk to them on the phone. There are a lot of children who just don’t have one person they can call when they need to talk something through.”

Kaimuloa remembers the hesitation that came with allowing someone new into her life.

“At first I had a wall,” she said. “Why should I trust her? She’s just like everyone else that comes in and out of my life. But then she was consistently in my life. And I learned she was a volunteer, and she was taking time out of her day to spend time with us. I never expected that, and she was very happy. That helped us be happy.”

Knych-Rohan encouraged Kaimuloa, who missed fifth, sixth and seventh grade, to go back to school. She agreed, and was forced to take special education classes to catch up. She later took honors and Advanced Placement courses and served on the Associated Student Body, the school’s TV station, the volleyball, basketball and track teams and homecoming court.

“If I didn’t have Genevieve, I don’t think I would have been so successful in everything I’ve done,” Kaimuloa said. “I never thought I’d have anyone in my life that cared about me long enough to help me with anything. She’s like my mom. She was more of a mom to me than my own mom.”

AHA believes…

…being adopted has lifelong consequences for those who were adopted at any age
…adoptees benefit from connecting with other adoptees in a variety of ways
…adoptees are the experts on adoption
…non-adoptees benefit from the knowledge and life wisdom of adopted individuals.

Congratulations on making a great idea come to life.

An innovative program serving a diverse community of adopted individuals

Minnesota is nationally recognized for its long and rich history in adoption. Adoptees Have Answers (AHA) builds on this tradition of breaking ground and achieving high standards. Rooted in current research and led by an all-adoptee staff and Advisory Group, AHA is a first of its kind in the country—a live and virtual community designed by adoptees to be a safe environment for seeking and sharing answers and connecting with other adoptees.

From the MARN Executive Director:

As Minnesota Adoption Resource Network (MARN) celebrates its 30th birthday, it proudly debuts Adoptees Have Answers, a unique program funded by the Minnesota Department of Human Services that focuses on the needs of adopted people.

AHA supports the life experience that is often mythologized, pathologized or romanticized but rarely understood in, that of the adopted person.

Mary Martin Mason, Minnesota Adoption Resource Network

From the Program Manager:

We at Adoptees Have Answers, and many others who imagined and inspired its vision, are pleased to welcome you to a new Minnesota adoptee community space.

Whether you’re joining us as a newsletter contributor, webinar participant, blogger, support group member, event attendee, service user or provider, your ideas and stories will ‘stick to the wall.’

Be sure to keep checking back at this website — http://aha.mn — as we continually add networking tools and broadcast new information that you provide. Because you, all 135,000 estimated adoptees currently living in Minnesota, are the experts.

Kate Ingalls-Maloney, Project Manager

AHA Mission and Beliefs

AHA Mission:

To promote connections among adopted individuals of all ages, ethnicities and adoption types while maximizing their lifelong welfare and self-fulfillment

AHA believes…

…being adopted has lifelong consequences for those who were adopted at any age
…adoptees benefit from connecting with other adoptees in a variety of ways
…adoptees are the experts on adoption
…non-adoptees benefit from the knowledge and life wisdom of adopted individuals
What AHA is not:

An adoption agency or other child placing organization
A social work organization
A mental health services provider

AHA Program Components

What AHA provides:

A safe, welcoming adoptee-to-adoptee environment

All-adoptee staff and executive leadership
All-adoptee Advisory Group
Adoptee-facilitated support groups in several Minnesota locations
Even adoptee service vendors when possible
Web-based adoptee community

Individual profile pages
Discussion boards
Blogs
Education from an adoptee perspective

12-part interactive series
CDs
Videotapes
Variety of live events honoring adopted individuals and groups

Opportunities to contribute ideas and artwork

Monthly eNewsletter
Website – http://aha.mn
Info phone line, always covered by adoptee with First Responder training

Local: 612-746-5135
Tollfree: 877-966-2727
Info email account, always maintained by an adoptee

info@aha.mn

Wow. This is a heartfelt and logical pooling of talent and concern that could make a world of difference to a world full of adoptees.

Best wishes to everyone in this grand new venture. Read their newsletter;

Executive Director:

Minnesota Adoption Resource Network (MARN) proudly debuts AHA, Adoptees Have Answers, a unique program funded by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, to provide adoptee-to-adoptee training, connections and resources. AHA supports a life experience that is often mythologized, pathologized and romanticized but rarely understood. AHA relies on new research findings that, in the evolving field of adoption, adopted persons are the experts. As MARN celebrates 30 years of advocacy in a state with a rich history of “firsts” in adoption, the premiere of AHA is both fitting and welcomed.

Mary Martin Mason, Minnesota Adoption Resource Network

In This Issue
From the Program Manager
AHA Mission and Beliefs
What AHA Provides
Key Research–Why Adoptee Perspective?
Meet the Staff
AHA’s First Webinar
Call for Submissions
Minnesota Adoptees Release New Book
Scholarship Program for Youth Adopted from Foster Care
Minnesota Adoptee Comes Home to Humor
AHA Advisory Group

From the Program Manager

We at Adoptees Have Answers, and many others who imagined and inspired its vision, are very pleased to welcome you to our new Minnesota adoptee community space. Rooted in current research and hosted by an all-adoptee staff and Advisory Group, AHA becomes another Minnesota ‘first’ in adoption — a live and virtual community designed by adoptees as a safe environment for seeking and sharing answers and connecting with other adoptees. Whether you’re joining us as a newsletter contributor, webinar participant, blogger, support group member, event attendee, service user or provider, your ideas and stories will ’stick to the wall.’ Be sure to keep checking our website at http://aha.mn, now under development, as we continually add networking tools and broadcast information that you provide. Because you, the adoptees, are the experts.

Kate Ingalls-Maloney, Project Manager

AHA Mission and Beliefs

Our Mission
To promote connections among
adopted individuals of all ages,
ethnicities and adoption types while maximizing their lifelong welfare and self-fulfillment

Our Beliefs

We believe that being adopted has lifelong consequences for those who are adopted
We believe that adoptees benefit from connecting with other adoptees in a variety of ways
We believe that adoptees are the experts in adoption
We believe that others benefit from the knowledge and wisdom of adopted individuals

What AHA Provides

An array of opportunities for adoptee-to-adoptee connections
A website featuring resources for adopted individuals
Online networking and discussion tools
A master calendar of adoptee-focused events in Minnesota
A tollfree AdopteeLine for general information inquiries and
First Responder calls — 877-966-2727
Adoptee-facilitated support groups
Live events honoring adopted individuals and groups of all
ages and background

Key Research — Why Adoptee Perspective

In November 2009, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute published a groundbreaking study entitled Beyond Culture Camp: Promoting Healthy Identity Formation in Adoption. The study of 500 adoptees constitutes the broadest and most in-depth study of adult adoptive identity to date. Among other things, the study states that adoption is a significant aspect of identity for adoptees throughout the lifespan, that race and ethnicity are of central importance, and that the importance of these factors highlights the need for adoptees to have connections with other adoptees. Adoptee-to-adoptee connections offer support, information and role models. The study also points out that adoptees’ voices are the ones most often missing from examinations of identity in adoption, even though they are the experts on their own experiences.

AHA addresses both of these points by providing space in which adoptees can share their experiences in their own words, interact with adoptees from a wide range of backgrounds, and access resources that emphasize the adoptee as the arbiter of his or her own experience.

Meet the Staff

Julia Decker, Program Coordinator
Korean adoptee, BA in Asian Studies, has worked and lived abroad in China, Taiwan and Spain, fluent in Mandarin and Spanish, extensive volunteer work with Children’s Home Society & Family Services and Catholic Charities.

Anne Johnson, Program Communication Specialist
Korean adoptee, BA in Communication, eight years’ experience in presentation and seminar development, experience with adoption and children’s mental health issues, knowledge of adoption law.

AHA’s First Webinar in 12–Part Series

SAVE THE DATE — Thursday, April 22, 2010

Please join the AHA Staff and nationally recognized adoption researcher, Adam Pertman, for our first webinar, Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 noon CST. The webinar, Adoptees Have Answers: Enlisting the Experts, will feature an overview of the new AHA Program by AHA Staff and an in-depth summary of the adoption research that inspired it — ‘Beyond Culture Camp: Promoting Healthy Identity Formation in Adoption,’ conducted by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.

Registration
For this webinar, you will need to register in advance of the presentation date by contacting Anne Johnson at 612.746.5122. In the future you will be able to register online directly through our website. The cost of attending is $20.00.

About the Presenter
Adam Pertman is Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a national nonprofit and pre-eminent research, policy and education organization in its field. Author of the groundbreaking book, Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming America, and Associate Editor of Adoption Quarterly, Pertman has contributed to many articles on adoption and other family-related issues and has delivered hundreds of keynotes, trainings and other presentations both in the United States and abroad. He is widely quoted in the news media including the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Miami Herald, and National Public Radio, and has ‘Today’ and ‘Nightline.’

Prior to his work in adoption, Pertman was a senior journalist with The Boston Globe for two decades, covering a wide range of domestic and international topics, and was ultimately nominated for a Pulitzer Prize by The Boston Globe for his extensive and eloquent work in adoption. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

Next AHA Webinar
Watch for upcoming announcements on our next webinar — Minnesota Orphan Train Riders: Reflections on Adoption Over the Lifespan. This webinar will feature orphan train riders currently living in Minnesota and be offered in conjunction with a live event to honor these individuals.

Call for Submissions

AHA is very interested in publishing your adoption-related art work — visual and word art — in subsequent issues. If you would like to submit a piece for publication, please email it to j.decker@aha.mn with the words ‘Newsletter Submission’ in the subject line.
Note: Please send images in .jpg/.jpeg format. Written pieces should be limited to 250 words and submitted as MS Word documents or written directly into the body of an email message. We are looking forward to your creative output.

Minnesota Adoptees Release New Book

In the portrait book HERE: A Visual History of Adopted Koreans in MInnesota, Korean adoptees Kim Jackson and Hee Won Lee tell the stories of some of Minnesota’s many Korean adoptees through vivid photographs and excerpts from oral histories. On Saturday, April 17, 2010, both authors will appear at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis for a book signing and release, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm. The signing will include a reception, with a Korean drumming performance by Shinparam. The event is presented by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Series, sponsored by the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans, and is free and open to the public.

Intermedia Arts
2822 Lyndale Ave S
Minneapolis, 55408
612.871.4444

Scholarship Program for Youth Adopted from Foster Care

The Children’s Action Network and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption have created a national scholarship program, called Fostering a Future, to benefit youth adopted from foster care who want to pursue higher education. Applications are being accepted until Tuesday, April 20, 2010 for the program, which is sponsored by Capital One. Applicants must have been adopted from the U.S. foster care system after the age of 13, be graduating high school seniors, maintain (or improve) a qualifying grade point average throughout their senior year, and demonstrate financial need. For more information or to access an application, go to: http://www.childrensactionnetwork.org/scholarship.htm

Minnesota Adoptee Comes Home to Humor

Korean adoptee and nationally known comedian, Amy Anderson, will be appearing this month at The Joke Joint in Bloomington. Showtimes are 8:00 pm on Thursday, April 22, 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm on Friday, April 23, and 7:30 pm and 10:00 pm on Saturday, April 24. The Joke Joint is located at 2300 E. American Boulevard in Bloomington (the old Thunderbird Hotel). Tickets are $8 for Thursday night, and $14 for Friday and Saturday, and can be purchased online.

Adoptees Have Answers
Minnesota Adoption Resource Network
430 Oak Grove Street, Suite 404
Minneapolis, MN 55403

General inquiries:
info@aha.mn
612.746.5133
Fax: 612.861-7112

AHA Advisory Group

The AHA Advisory Group is comprised of ten distinguished adult adoptees from diverse ethnic backgrounds and adoption types. Each has contributed professionally to the field of Adoption in addition to having the life experience and wisdom of being adopted. AHA is privileged to have guidance from this group of adoptees.

Michele Benson
Adoptee, retired educator, support group facilitator in Duluth, MN (not pictured)

Julie Hart
Korean adoptee, adoption social worker

Jae Ran Kim
Korean adoptee, nationally known adoption and child welfare trainer

Hei Kyong Kim
Adoptee, psychologist with Indian Health Board, child trauma and adoption trainer (not pictured)

Penny Needham
Adoptee, retired educator, middle school and adult adoptee support group faciliator

Robert O’Connor
Adoptee, Assistant Professor of Social Work at Metro State University, adoption specialist

Deborah Jiang Stein
Adoptee, writer and communications specialist, workshop facilitator for at-risk youth

Michelle Johnson
Adoptee, adoption trainer, Volunteer Coordinator for Minnesota’s 4th Judicial District, Guardian Ad Litem Program

Sandy White Hawk
Sicangu Lakota adoptee, founder of First Nations Orphans Association, adoption speaker

Mary Martin Mason
Adoptee, adoptive parent, nationally recognized adoption trainer, Director of Legislative Committee for American Adoption Congress

Kate Ingalls-Maloney
Adoptee, MA in Education, adoption trainer, Learning Technology specialist

The Advisory Group members will be profiled on the new AHA website at http://aha.mn.

Please stay tuned for that release in the coming days and weeks.
Quick Links

AHA Website

AHA on Facebook

AHA on YouTube

AHA on Twitter

MN ADOPT

Contact Info

AdopteeLine

612.746.5135
1.877.966.2727

General Inquiries
612.746.5133

info@aha.mn

http://aha.mn

To join our mailing list please e-mail info@aha.mn

Stay tuned for
AHA website

One thousand American Flags and a field of blue pinwheels for prevention. There will be a candlelight vigil on Friday evening and a music and speaker program on Sunday afternoon.

The field will be open to the community for informal tours all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until the program starts at 2pm.

go to PCAMN’s site http://www.pcamn.org/temp_01.php?PK=84

KARA has had the good fortune of having volunteers from Century College & Macalaster College to find information for me to write about and to research information on child abuse in other nations.

Volunteering is a powerful force at times like these, when young families are struggling, and more children are at risk.

To make volunteering work, it is best to do things that you like to do, for people that need it. The results are terrific.

Don’t be afraid to provide services through your own efforts (perhaps with the help of your local religious or business organizations). Small efforts become big if fed and sustained.

What follows is my quick list of child friendly organizations that need volunteers and articles on volunteering (to start the thought process).

Take advantage of students’ enthusiasm, Weber State University

National CASA

Prevent ChildAbuse.org

Grandparents organization

Promising Practices Network/Programs that work & Partner Pages

Mentoring Foster Children

Big Brothers Big Sisters

List of Organizations MN & U.S.

Listen, Talk, Learn;

Their program broadcasts on the Internet every Wednesday, 2:00-2:30 pm ET. The call-in number is 347/326-9411. Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/CWLA-Radio.

On the Line with CWLA is a thought-provoking, interactive, live Internet radio program focusing on subjects, stories, and strategies of special interest to child welfare policymakers, providers, and practitioners. The program, devoted solely to discussions about the welfare of America’s vulnerable children, features a forum where numerous points of view and voices of experience within the child welfare universe can be heard.

The live program, hosted by CWLA Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs Linda Spears, is a production of CWLA that will provide a platform for CWLA member organizations, their staffs, its partners, and concerned citizens in the national community to share ideas and thoughts about critical issues that affect child welfare agencies, vulnerable children and teens, and their families.

The weekly subject-oriented, solutions-driven program broadcasts online at www.blogtalkradio.com/CWLA-Radio, Wednesdays, 2:00-2:30 pm ET and feature indepth, timely discussions with leading child welfare experts, agents, and advocates; leadership and representatives from CWLA’s member agencies; and local and national political figures working to improve child welfare and give a voice to child welfare professionals, providers, and practitioners nationwide.

On the Line with CWLA is a production of the CWLA, Arlington Virginia

Every county in every state needs to know about the guardian Ad Litem program and how it helps at risk children through the difficult system of child protection services.

It is to all our benefit when children thrive in our communities. Children can only thrive if they are given a fair chance to thrive.

Without court appointed guardians, abused and neglected children are voiceless in our communities. For the CASA guardian ad litem program in your state, http://www.nationalcasa.org/, for Florida; www.casa-stpete.org/, for CASA Minnesota http://www.casamn.org/

http://www.pr.com/press-release/206840Voices For Children Foundation Announces Their 2010 Be A Voice Feel the Magic Gala with Special Cirque Du Soleil Performers

Be A Voice Feel The Magic Gala benefiting Voices For Children Foundation-the fundraising arm of the 11th Judicial Circuit Guardian Ad Litem Program-is set for Saturday, February 13 at the Mandarin Oriental, Miami.

Miami, FL, January 22, 2010 –(PR.com)– The magical evening will begin at 7:30 p.m. with cocktails and a fabulous silent auction, followed by a sumptuous dinner at 9:00 p.m. and dancing to the music of celebrity DJ Kucha, who has appeared on CNN and MTV. South Florida’s own Channel 10 News Anchor, Laurie Jennings, will serve as the evening’s Mistress of Ceremony.

A highlight of the evening will be special breathtaking performances by Cirque du Soleil acrobats, featuring the internationally renowned dynamic couple, Duo Voltart.

The Be A Voice Feel The Magic Gala is sponsored by Mandarin Oriental, Miami; Southern Wine & Spirits of South Florida, Cathay Pacific Airways; Jeff and Yolanda Berkowitz; The Continental Group; Florida Power and Light; Ramesh and Veena Panjabi; Michael and Diane Rosenberg; Stearns Weaver Miller Weisller Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. and Swire Properties.

Nelson F. Hincapie, President and CEO for Voices for Children Foundation states, “This year’s Gala will be unforgettable! The evening will be filled with surprises- surely not be missed. This evening is all about the children who get lost in the foster care system without a Guardian Ad Litem. Proceeds will help raise much needed funds, so that every child in Foster Care has a voice. This is a great opportunity for people to get involved, make a difference and enjoy an amazing evening.”

Co-chairing this year’s Gala is South Florida philanthropist’s and community leaders, Aimee and Stephen Owens and Veena and Ramesh Panjabi. Serving on the committee is The Honorable Ambassador Carmenza Jaramillo de Maincourt, Maria Maribona, Arancha Plana and Adela Mones.

This year’s extraordinary auction is Co-chaired by long-time supporter and Board Member, Yolanda Berkowitz along with Beth Tasca. The auction committee members include: Lana Bernstein, Sarah Harrelson, Lisa Pliner, Kim Wood, Rhonda Rose-Drecksler, Lourdes Lameran Gail Appelrouth, Chandra Balsera and Leslie Wolfson. Some of the unforgettable and exciting items that will be featured include, a five night stay at a beautiful 2-level home in heart of Santa Fe, NM; a weekend for two with spa services at Costa d’Este including dinner for two at Oriente; Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s resort property in Vero Beach), a fishing trip with Ray Rocher aboard the Miss Britt; a two night stay with at Fontainebleau Miami Beach; The Best Birthday Party Ever (for 20 children) from Miami Children’s Museum; luxury designer items from: Prada Bal Harbour, Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta, Miu Miu and others; a Fourteen (14) person wine tasting from Wines for Humanity; Sports and entertainment memorabilia; a $5,000 shopping spree from a Luxury Retailer; fine jewelry and much more.

An ongoing supporter of Voices For Children Foundation and this year’s Golden Fan Guardian, Cathay Pacific Airways has once again generously donated an “Oriental Getaway” for two. The winner of this $250.00 raffle will have the opportunity to travel business class with a guest, to one of the following destinations: New Delhi, India, Beijing, China or Bangkok, Thailand.

Individual tickets for the Gala are priced from $500. To learn more about underwriting opportunities, sponsorships, or to purchase table and tickets, please call 305.324.5678 or email iardon@voices4.org.

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The mission of Voices For Children Foundation is to raise funds to ensure that every abused, abandoned, and neglected child in Miami-Dade County has a court appointed Guardian Ad Litem to represent their best interests in court and that financial assistance and other resources are available to meet their needs.

Be a Voice.

In 1985, the National District Attorneys Association established the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse as a program of the American Prosecutors Research Institute (APRI). Aimed at responding to an increasing volume of reported child abuse, the National Center provides training, technical assistance and publications to prosecutors, investigators and allied criminal justice professionals on all aspects of criminal child abuse and exploitation. Investigation and Prosecution of Child Fatalities and Physical Abuse
February 1 – 5, 2010
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Brochure Agenda

What Can NCPCA Do For You?

SERVICES

The National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse works to improve the handling of child abuse cases by providing:

Expert training and technical assistance by experienced attorneys through conferences, state-specific training programs and thousands of phoneand email consultations each year.

A clearinghouse on child abuse case law, statutory initiatives, court reforms, expert witness information, transcripts, and trial strategies — a unique, comprehensive and continually expanding resource.

Research on substantive child abuse information including, but not limited to, medical, psychological and sociological aspects of child abuse, neglect and exploitation. Best practices and innovations in forensic interviewing, investigation and prosecution of child abuse and maltreatment.
To access these services, contact the National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse and speak to one of our attorneys.

PUBLICATIONS

Go to child abuse publications
FAQs

Go To NCPCA FAQs

NATIONAL CONFERENCES

NCPCA conducts National Conferences across the country as well as through the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA) at the National Advocacy Center.

Equal Justice: Investigation and Prosecution of Child Abuse
Investigation and Prosecution of Child Fatalities and Physical Abuse
childPROOF: Advanced Trial Advocacy for Child Abuse Prosecutors
SAFETY NET: Multidisciplinary Investigation and Prosecution of Computer-Facilitated Child Sexual Exploitation
Unsafe Havens I: Prosecuting Online Crimes Against Children
Unsafe Havens II: Advanced Trial Advocacy for Prosecution of Online Crimes Against Children
STATE AND LOCAL TRAINING

NCPCA sends its senior attorneys throughout the country and abroad to lecture and deliver presentations on all aspects of child abuse investigation and prosecution. The federal Children’s Justice Act supports multidisciplinary training on investigation and prosecution of child abuse. Contact APRI’s National Center for the Prosecution of Child Abuse for expert help in developing training programs or requesting a trainer.

So when Harris retired four years ago from the federal government in Fulton County, Georgia, the idea of working for a child-advocacy program seemed a perfect way to continue healing herself while helping others struggle with traumatic losses. As a volunteer for the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association, Harris assists abused, abandoned, or neglected children who are in foster care for their protection, then makes recommendations to the court about how to salvage their futures.

Read the entire article: People Helping People: Profiles of people who volunteer and give back to their communities.

MN day care

It is a bigger step to convince people that healthy children become healthy citizens, but it is true.

• Support at risk children! Become a CASA volunteer or start a KARA group in your community.
• Have something to add? Attach a comment to this blog post or Contact Us to tell us your point of view or story.
• If you think someone might appreciate this information, click the ShareThis button below
• Buy our book or listen to it (for free)
• Join the public debate for children (they have no senator, lobby, or voice)

The program places AmeriCorps members in sites to implement a researched-based early-literacy effort tohelp struggling readers. The Reading Corps strategies are designed for both preschool-aged students and Kindergarten–3rd grade students.

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Learn what it takes to serve for one year as a Minnesota Reading Corps member.
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