Third Quarter Newsletter/ 2015Fostering Connections

MIDWEST FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ASSOCIATIONproviding foster and adoptive children the opportunity of a stable, caring,

loving and nuturing family environment by recruiting, training,supporting and motivating foster and adoptive parents.

www.mfcaa.org

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your continued support of the important work of MFCAA. This summer as we approach our Forever Families Gala (August 8, 2015), I want to take a few minutes to tell you about the four MFCAA programs which are directly working to create and strengthen forever families for kids who have suffered abuse and/or neglect.

Our Extreme Recruitment (ER) program has been up and running for about four years now. This is the incredible program which puts a detective into the mix in order to find and engage extended family members, previous friends or other caring adults, and then work with those people we’ve ‘found’ in order to help them to get re-connected with an older youth in foster care who is most at risk of aging out. Our incredibly successful ER team takes a child with less than a 20% chance of getting connected with a forever family and raises the odds to 70% for being adopted and 90% for being reconnected to safe and stable adults who will remain in that child’s life after foster care has ended. This summer with the help of many donors and the Missouri Children’s Division, we are so excited to be bringing this program to families in Southwest Missouri at our Springfield Resource Center.

Patterned after ER, our 30 Days to Family program offers the same level of family finding and engagement support when a child initially comes into foster care in order to prevent them from needing to remain in foster care with strangers beyond 30 days. This program is also a highly successful individualized program which has resulted in getting kids out of foster care and into relative homes usually within two weeks or less.

Our Family Connections Shelter program is the only rapid reunification shelter program in the state of Missouri. In this beautiful shelter (in the top floor of our headquarters building) we temporarily house up to 18 children at a time. For many of these children we also provide a specialized service working intensively with their birth parents to assist them in completing any of the tasks which are necessary to resolve the issues which caused their children to be removed. The goal is to reduce the time children spend away from their families from an average length of stay of two years or more, to 60 days or less. The other great part of this rapid reunification program is that we can reduce the trauma that children suffer by inviting their birth parents to come to the shelter daily to spend time with their kids. The parents’ participation helps them maintain motivation, helps staff assess the parent’s presenting issues, and helps kids to continue to feel loved and supported by their parents.

And finally, our Forever Connections House, is a short term residential program which steps older youth down from more restrictive residential care facilities back into the Kansas City community at the same time as it works in partnership with ER to identify options for a forever family. Once a forever family is identified, the child and family are provided with intensive family bound preparation and have lots of opportunities to practice living together and solving the problems which can occur during the transition into a forever home. This is a new pilot program and yet another way that we are working to ensure positive outcomes for our most at risk older youth.

With your continued help and support we hope that someday it will be rare for a child to leave foster care without a solid connection to a forever family. We know that we are shaped into the people we are within the context, the protection and the support of our families. We want the same for all of our kids. Thanks for being part of the solution!!!

Lori Ross

PRESIDENTS’ LETTERS

Finding Forever Families: Extreme Recruitment and 30 Days to Family

Extreme RecruitmentThis highly successful innovative program utilizes the skills of an experienced de-tective and recruiter team, and takes on the challenge of finding multiple extend-ed family members and kin relationships to serve as a permanency resource for older youth in foster care who are most at risk of aging out without an adoptive resource.

30 Days To FamilyThis new program is an aggressive, front-end family finding service which seeks to divert children from the path which leads to multiple placements by placing them with family members rather than an unfamiliar foster family.

For more information contactLiz Ross at 816. 659.9373

or email at liz@mfcaa.org

WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

MFCAA Forever Connections: Rehabilitative Family-Focused

Residential Treatment Services program is designed to expedite the successful transition of youth from residential care into an appropriate permanency resource. The resource will be a family, identified and approved by the Family Support Team, who demonstrates a willingness to create a long term commitment to the child.

For more information contact Jocelyn Buxton at 816.350.0215x385 or email jocelyn@mfcaa.org

THANK YOU for Ribs For Kids 2015

Make a financial ContributionDonate online at www.mfcaa.org or by contacting Danielle Schweiger @ 816.659.9357

Volunteer talent or timeCall or email Vonda Thompson at 816.659.9357 or at vonda@mfcaa.org

Donate new or gently used clothing, furniture or baby itemsCall or email Tammy Sudduth at 816.659.9378 or tammysudduth@mfcaa.org

Become a foster parentCall or email Vonda Thompson at 816.659.9361or vonda@mfcaa.org

Host a food or diaper driveCall or email Tammy Sudduth at 816.659.9378 or tammysudduth@mfcaa.org

Host a special event or fundraiserCall or email Amy Smith at816.350.0215 or amysmith@mfcaa.org

You helped

raise over

$25,000!

2015

This year the Token Army assisted MFCAA by selling over 400 tokens—Thank you for your efforts! Businesses and individuals become part of our Token Army when they agree to sell tokens to benefit MFCAA’s Ribs for Kids fundraiser. Our Token Army General this year, selling the most tokens, is... The National Bank of Kansas City

BlueScope Margaret Rizzo Children's Mercy Hospital National Bank of Kansas City, Token Army General Suellen Dice, Better Homes & GardensDave Coffman Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Forever Connections Shelter:

MFCAA Family ConnectionsOur Shelter is an innovative program designed to reduce the number of children entering the foster care system. An intensive and comprehensive service delivery approach, based on extensive research and best practices, is utilized to effectively reunify children with their birth families whenever possible and additionally provides well-supported, familiar alternative kinship placements when reunification cannot be achieved.

For more information contact Adam Kisler at 816.350.0215x355 or email adam@mfcaa.org

EVERY CHILD DESERVES A FOREVER FAMILY

Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association formally invites you to the Forever Families Gala.

Enjoy an evening of delicious cuisine and the opportunityto bid on unique and exclusive auction items.

The excitement begins at 5:30 pm on August 8, 2015at the Kansas City Convention Center, Grand Ballroom.

Options for purchasing tickets and table reservations are as follows:-Contact Danielle at danielle@mfcaa.org or 816.659.9357

-or visit our website www.mfcaa.org

BARBARA P. ALLEN & J. EUGENE BALLOUN2015 HONORARY CHAIRS

QUARTERLY GIVING REPORT

Roger Accurso, Travis Admire, Alpha Beta Eta, AT&T Employee Giving Campaign, Damon Barkley, Jocelyn and Travis Buxton, Kelly and Brad Cain, Eric and Louis Charles-Gallo, Ivan and Nadine Dennis, Suellen Dice, J. Lieb Dodell, Sandy and Dan Dolence, Wiley and Lillian Garner, Nancy and Doran Geise,Whitney and Bruce Giffin, Thomas and Mary Grimaldi, Julie and Gary Heckman, Cynthia Holman, Lonnie and Patsy Holt, Hughes Hubbard & Reed, Michael Othic Jessica Ross, Becky and Michael Joyce, Michele Kerwin, Kevin and Amy Lampo, Joshua and Lindsey Lehne, John and Patricia Mader, Justin Mayfield, Richard and Lorrie Miles, Kelly Mills, Moms Club of Independence, WayneMorris, National Bank of Kansas City, Azin Nezami, Denise Phillips, Thomas and Julie Prudden, Mark Ravera, Johny and Janet Richardson, Margaret and Anthony Rizzo,Randy and Lori Ross, Amy Roup, Barbara and Howard Schwartz, Sheryl Seevers, Ollie Shields Jr., Barb Silver, Almeda Smith, Robert and Elizabeth Sprowell, Rachel Sweet, Brinly Toth, Suzanne Webster, Tyler Wells, Khatami Zari

$1,000+

$500+

$100+

$10+

Janet Altmann, Karen Anderson,Jennifer Towsned & Andrea Hewitt, Mary Bailey, Pam Barham, Jack Bates, Beau Beashore, Alyssa Becho, Gretchen Bedard, Julie and Bradley Beets, Veronica Bell, Dana Benedict, Jennifer Benkert, Jami Benson,Kimberly Benson, Mac Berwiek, Mike Bingler, Brian and Carol Birnbaum, Kamera Bollinger, John Breig, Patricia Brown, Edward Bullard, Kim Bulloc,Ashley Burgner,Lori Burns-Bucklew, Risa Bushman, Jeni and Brion Butcher, Laura and James Carothers, Martha and Stephen Carter, Mitch Castor, Sherwin Chan, Carrie Clarke, Stephanie and Daniel Claus, David and Rose Mary Coffman, J. Michael Combs, Teresa and Patrick Commerford, Carolyn Coufal, Jane Thomas Cynthia Byers, Bill Daniels, Ronald Davidson, James and Cassandra Davidson, Ryndi Dawson, Denise Turner Dean Goergen, Leah DiCarlo. Kathleen and FrankDonegan, Elizabeth Donnelly, Melvin Doubledee, Diane Douglas, Catherine Dudenhoeffer, Ann Easley, Dawn Ellis, Bradford and Virgina Epsten, Jack Erkmann, Jason Fenton, Richard Fields, Bryan Fields, Judy Forbes, Cathy Ford, Mary Fox, Rick French, Robin and Pat Fugitt, Ricardo Garcia, Nicole Gardner, Terry Geifer, Tiffany Genrich, Susan and Gary Glenn, Sebrina Glenn, Bailey Goodham, Eric Gosche, Suma Goudar, Lavon Grannell, Margaret Gray, Alice Greenfield, Joned Gregory, Cindy Gudde, David and Cathy Haggard, Kristina Handley, Jason Hanson, Michael and Shelia Haralson, Gregory Harris, Sherida Harris, Teresa Harris, Scott Hasselman, Vicki Headley, Sheri Heath, Katy Herman, Hannah Hiatt, Drew Higgins, Will Hon, Becky Hopkins, Troy and Carlye Howk, Daniel and Becky Hughes, Katie Hunter, Michelle Innes, J.D. Schiller Consulting L.L.C, Sheila Janes, William Jeffries, Mia Johnson, Glenda Johnson, Randell Johnson, Cathy and Brian Jurgensmeyer, Ken Kelly, David Kelman, Howard Killbride, Mary Kimble, Tom Kircher, Mary Klos, Ann Klusmeier, Rebekah Knackstedt, Aren Koenig, Kim Kuhlman, Dan Kumm, Janan Lasley, William Lauby, Mary and Larry LeFebvre, Randy Lewis, Mark Linenberger, Jane and Craig Lingholm, Angela Lintner, Jeffrey Lippert, Thutram Luu, Dalisha Marshall, Jenny Marshall, Julie Martin, Patricia May, Donna McCain, Deena McGuire, Erica Meade, Virginia Messick, Dortotea Mikkelsen, Joe Miller, Tony Mirocke, Maria Morton, Karen and Michael Murphy, Ty Murrell, Jessica Nachtsheim, Debbie Nelson, Terry Nichols, Brooke Nickles, Laura Nickles, Alecia Nolte,Michael Okpewho, Patience Okpewho, Terry O'Neill, Kenneth Pallante, Jennifer Panuco, Cynthia and Roger Parker, Patricia Patterson, Mary Patterson, Sandy Philson, Cara Pledger, Carrie Pritchett, Liz Ramey, John and Diane Rayburn, Tina Redden-Mappin, Debbie Reed, Greg and Kathy Reynolds, Lori Riddle, Valerie and Jimmie Roberts, Kristen Robinson, Amanda Robinson, Courtney Ryan, Yvonne Ryan, Julie Scheidegger, Jenea Schmidt, Jim Schmidt, Ron and Debbie Schmidt, Mark and Patty Schnakenberg, Julie Schonhoff, Ruth Schouten, Jamie Schroeder, Richard Schupp, Dwayne C. Severs, Daffney and Kelly Sharp, Katherine and Mitch Sheets, Ellandra Sheppard Colleen and Donna Simon, Catherine Simon, Tina Smythe, Karen Sobanek, Grace and Floyd Sprague, Jim and Clare Sprowell, J Reginald St. John, Delta McMillin Steve Torantola, Ashlynn and Greg Stiles, Carrie Striker, Wanda Sudduth, George and Sandra Sutton, Kristin Swan, Peggy Sweany, Timothy and Kelly Swearengin, Thomas and Nancy Thornhill, Matt Threadgill, Kelly and Brad Tieves, Lettie Tkatch, David Veitze, Vonda Thompson Vernon Miller, NancyVrbka, Leland and Lelia Walker, Amanda Weidman, Kathi Welch, Patricia Werkowitch, Allen West, Kate Whittaker, PaulWildschuetz, Kyle Williams, Michelle Williams, Wynne Winter, Marla Wolfe, Katelyn Wyss, Emma and Peter Yates, Linda Yates, Anne and David Young

Lucy and Fred Coulson, Eric Hallerud, Reza and Megan Halse, Heartland Combined Federal Campaign, Peter Jarosewycz, Mies Wholesale Rouse Hendricks German May PC, Julie Steenson, Fern and Mike Stuart, The Avant Garde'n

Lawrence and Jeanne Gates, Thomas and Telia Gilcrest Hallmark Corporate Foundation, Kevin Hogan, Stephen and Christin Kaine, Kansas City Power & Light Co, Krigel & Krigel, P.C., Margaret Moran, National Bank of Kansas City, Michael and Rita Oglesby, Clancy Parks, Payne & Jones Chartered, Stepp & Rothwell, Inc., UMB, Watco Charities, Inc., David and Erin Woods,David and Kathryn Wysong

Keith and Connie Ashcraft, Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, McGonigle's Market, Goppert Foundation$20,000+

$5,000+ Bailey Fund, J. EugeneBalloun, Billy Truschke Memorial Fund, Flo Harris Foundation, Donna Gould Cohen, Esther Markus