Back to School
Four Tips for Foster Parents
As summer break rolls to a close, students nationwide are gearing up for a new school year. But for youth in foster care, this can be an incredibly different experience. Some youths return to the same school for the first time living in a different home. Others have had to switch to a different school, maybe in a new town, where they know no one and may be afraid to be identified as someone in foster care. If you have a foster child in this situation, here are four tips for the transition.
1. Sit down face-to-face with teachers and tell them you are in it to win it with the kids. You are a team, and you will do everything you can to help them teach your kids and prepare them to be taught. Teachers must see your face and realize you are an advocate who will fight for your child.
2. Communicate everything you can. Let the teachers know when visits are, how kids handle visits, and how they sleep. Ask to be told how they are handling school after visits. If there are spikes in negative behavior, talk to biological parents and teachers about how to handle that.
3. Look at school as another opportunity to model parenting to biological parents. Show them what an involved parent is and how to navigate parent/teacher relationships. Many times, bio parents didn’t have the best school experience. Show them how to deal with teachers appropriately, how to advocate for the kids and how to work together.
4. Encourage the kids to tell the teacher their fears and concerns. Most teachers will be more than happy to find a “good influence” friend to pair with your child.
Fredy & Diana
Fredy and Diana served as a relative home for 5 months, until the children in their care reunified. Fredy and Diana provided exemplary care for their relatives and supported the birth father as he developed a relationship with his two children.
Fredy and Diana displayed integrity and an authentic desire to not only support their relatives, but to become a fully licensed home in Nebraska.
TFI Nebraska is grateful to have such outstanding high energy foster parents!
Training Corner
Keeping Children Safe Online
Cyberbullying is using digital communication tools (such as the Internet and cell phones) to make another person feel angry, sad, or scared, usually repeatedly. Examples of cyberbullying include sending hurtful texts or instant messages, posting embarrassing…
Training Includes:
- Adverse Childhood Experiences
- Domestic Violence in Teen Dating
- Education and Foster Care
- Keeping Sibling Connections
FOSTER PARENT RETREAT
Join us for a rejuvenating day full of fun and wisdom!
The recruitment team is organizing our Foster Parent Retreat in Wichita Falls, TX, and in Wichita, KS. Watch for details about these upcoming retreats! A few topics that will be covered at the retreats include:
- School advocacy
- Investigations
- Mental wellness
- Medicaid providers
- Hair care
- Calming tips/tricks
- Organizing the blue book, and so much more!
We will share more information on our TFI Village Facebook group, other social media, and via your foster care worker. We are looking forward to seeing you there!
FUND DEVELOPMENT
We are working on our next event!
Our Tee Off FORE Children Golf Tournament will be held October 5, 2023, at Firekeeper Golf Course in Mayetta, Kansas. This has been a very successful event the past several years and we are looking forward to another successful tournament to raise money for our TFI Kids Fund!
If you know any golfers, send them our way!
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Steven or Sheila if you have any contacts, questions or fun stories of generosity.
Kansas/Nebraska: Sheila Kearney | 785-213-6161 | skearney@tfifamily.org
Texas/Oklahoma: Steven Mandeville | 918-894-8727 | smandeville@tfifamily.org
Below are our foster parents celebrating a milestone anniversary as a TFI Foster Parent! We love having you as part of Team TFI!
26 years
Frederick Rosenberg Jr.
5 years
Michael & Anastasia Martin
John & Lauren Liotta
Alex & Angela Williams
1 year
Timothy & Danna Blevins
Britanni Butler
Tyler & Ashley Coots
Matthew & Alyssa Glades
Christopher & April “Robyn” Good
Ron & Virginia Hazlett
Michael & Elizabeth Hedrick
Brian Lewis & Lacy Kerr
Katrina McNeal
Jessica Vannocker
Tennyson & Janelle Williams
Baylie Dearman
Jim & Elizabeth Edington
