Volunteers needed for Grandparent’s Day Dance

In Arizona, there are more than 114,000 households headed by grandparents or other relatives who are currently caring for one or more children. Many of these caregivers are unable to enjoy a night amongst peers or time away from the children. The Grandparent’s Day Dance is an opportunity for our dedicated and caring grandparents to have a night of fun, laughter, and support.

The Grandparent’s Day Dance is on Saturday, September 7, 2013 at Duet: Partners in Health & Aging from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. We are looking for volunteers who are willing and eager to help us with the set up and break down of the event, serving, and childcare. Volunteers who serve and help with the setting up and tearing down must be at least 18 years old. Those who wish to help provide childcare at the event must be at least 21 years old, provide fingerprint clearance and negative TB test results.

Come out and enjoy a fun-filled evening with us and show your support for these grand families!

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Lauren Watson at 602.253.1620 x 2111 or at LWatson@arizonaschildren.org.

Duet: Partners in Health & Aging is located at 555 W. Glendale Avenue, Phoenix, 85021.

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Reay's Ranch Hosts Change for Children Drive

From June 26 - July 9, Reay’s Ranch Investors’ locations are raising money for Arizona’s children!Stop into your local Reay’s Minit Market, Super Stop, Subway or other participating store and donate $1 or more to help kids and help Reay’s reach their goal of $1,000,000!

Benson

Super Stop, 104 East 4th Street

Bisbee

Minit Market, 94 Bisbee Rd

Super Stop, 906 West Hwy 92

Chandler

Minit Market, 10356 E. Riggs Rd

Coolidge

Super Stop, 780 North Arizona Blvd

Douglas

Super Stop, 101 16th Street

Super Stop, 1060 18th Street

DudleyVille

Minit Market, 6466 Hwy 77

Florence

Minit Market, 520 N. Pinal Pkwy

Globe

Super Stop, 1690 East Ash Street

Hereford

Super Stop, 5620 S. Hwy 92

Kearny

Gordon’s Market, 345 Alden Road

Marana

Minit Market, 12505 N. Trico Rd

Super Stop, 15841 W. El Tiro Road

Pearce

Minit Market, 251 Frontage Road

Pima

Minit Market, 325 E. Hwy 70

Safford

Minit Market, 105 E. Hwy 70

Minit Market, 780 8th Avenue

Subway, 750 8th Avenue

Super Stop, 1780 W. Hwy 70

Sahuarita

Super Stop, 795 W. Via Rancho Sahuarita

San Manuel

Minit Market, 400 Avenue A

Subway, 400 Avenue A

Sierra Vista

Super Stop, 5217 South Hwy 92

Super Stop, 1497 East Fry Blvd.

Thatcher

Super Stop, 3775 W. Main Street

Tucson

Minit Market, 63715 E. Saddlebrooke

Minit Market, 6777 N. Sandario Rd

Reay’s Ranch Investors, 2100 N. Kolb Road

Rincon County Store, 12660 E. Old Spanish Trail

Shell Food Mart, 2402 N. 1st Avenue

Subway, 6777 N. Sandario Rd

Super Stop, 6225 W. Ajo Hwy

Super Stop, 3902 E. Speedway

Super Stop, 6280 E. Broadway

Super Stop, 3050 E. Ft. Lowell Rd

Super Stop, 6890 N. Sandario Rd.

Super Stop, 4301 E. Broadway

The Range Market, 11200 S. Sierrita Mountain Rd.

WinkelmanMinit Market, 105 W. 2nd St.

John Boemer Golf Tournament returns for the 16th year

On Saturday, May 11th, the John Boemer Golf Tournament returned to Yuma for the 16th year. The event was held at the Yuma Golf and Country Club where 29 teams tried their luck at a hole in one.

Over the past 16 years, this tournament has raised over $470,000! This year we raised a total of $34,000! All of these funds are used locally and spent on children and families in need of our assistance.

  

The generous donations from the event have gone towards:

• Purchasing clothing and school supplies for children coming into foster care
• Bill assistance to help families in need
• Paid for specialized camps and trainings for children with special needs
• Purchased food, cleaning supplies, hygiene supplies and general necessities for families in need
• Purchased beds to keep siblings together in one foster home
• Paid registration fees for youth to play various sports
• Assistance with vehicle repairs so that a grandmother, raising her grandchildren, can have transportation

A big thank you goes out to the committee members for their hard work and dedication. The committee includes: Allen Hook, Cory Crouse, Dave Sellers, Heather Boemer, Jack Meerchaum, Jay McMullen, Jeff Sellers, Jeron Boemer, Ross Farley, Stephanie Watson, and Steve Schulte.

Our appreciation also goes out to our committed staff that helped make the event a success. Thank you to Ricardo Becerra, Cori Rico, Esther Heureque, Esmeralda Murphy, Ava Lillard, Lizet Diaz, Cynthia Prieto, Krystal Castillo, Connie Villegas, Jeanette Leon-Buelna, Diego Lomeli, Claudia Rubio, Raul Solorzano, Chatana Campbell, Andrea Mendez, and Jessica Kelly. And to our volunteers: Susie Tyndall; and board members, Cindy Landin and Renee Dinwiddie!

Photo: Left to right-- Jay McMullen, Tony Sellers, Mike Covey and Jeron Boemer

Sorority Supports Those Raising Relative Kin

Alpha Delta Kappa Sorority Beta Chapter recently presented a $500 check to the Kinship & Adoption, Resource & Education (KARE) Center program.

Alpha Delta Kappa is an international honorary organization of women educators who are dedicated to educational excellence, altruism and world understanding. The Beta Chapter, located in Tucson, is the oldest chapter in Arizona. The Sorority meets monthly and reaches out to the community through a number of altruistic projects including raising money for various organizations and providing scholarships to high school students.

A couple of years ago, the Sorority was entertained by the KARE children who were a part of the Baile Folklorico, a “folkloric dance" comprised of traditional Latin American dances that emphasize local folk culture. They had a desire to support Baile Folklorico and although the program is no longer in existence, the Sorority decided they would show their support of KARE.

“They were just adorable!” said Francine Bourland, a member of Alpha Delta Kappa. “I feel very good that we were able to give a little something to a group that does such great things.”

Kinship care has been a nationally-growing phenomenon for the last decade. In Arizona, there are more than 114,000 households headed by grandparents or other relatives who are currently caring for one or more relative child.

“They considered that any one of them could be in that situation where they have to step in,” said Julie Treinen, KARE Family Center program director. “They decided to let us be one of the recipients of their fundraising efforts.” Special thank you to Alpha Delta Kappa!

To learn more about KARE, visit www.arizonaschildren.org/karecenter.

The Heard Museum comes to Golden Gate

In April, our Golden Gate Community Center's Head Start program brought the Heard Museum to the children and families in the west Phoenix community. Many families in the area are unable to take their children on outings, like museums, due to transportation or financial restraints.

The Heard Museum offers a variety of specialized learning experiences for school groups, families and adult learners both at the museum and off-site. Head Start teamed up with the Heard Museum and were able to borrow educational kits that were set up in the cafeteria as stations for learning while the teachers and management team transformed the space into a museum. Teachers developed educational activities with the kits. One of the stations highlighted a portrait of George Washington. The teacher focused on his wooden teeth to teach the children and families about hygiene and oral health.

Families were also encouraged to bring siblings and other family members to the event, adding to the excitement and energy at the impromptu museum. More than 60 families attended the museum for an approximate total of 200 attendees—what a success!

“It was an event that some of our families would not have been able to experience on their own,” said Sarah Gonzalez, director of Golden Gate Community Center. “It exposed them to a learning opportunity and an outing for the entire family.”

 

“I am so very proud of our teachers and management team,” added Sarah. “They are passionate about education and what they do in their program.” Special thank you to the Heart Museum for accommodating our programs with off-site educational materials!

 

To learn more about Golden Gate Community Center, visit www.goldengatecenter.org.

Pictured above: Top: Teacher Kimberly Margevich with TA Rosa Saenz, Bottom: TA Nidia Martinez

Bridging the Gaps in the System:

Federal dollars helped AzCA address needs of older children in foster care

In 2012, Arizona’s Children Association won the bid to receive a federal grant intended to help find homes for older, hard-to-place children in foster care. The five-year Fostering Readiness and Permanency (FRP) grant intended to get kids out of foster care and into permanent placements more quickly, particularly those who have spent years in care and are at risk of “aging out” of the system.

More than 30,000 U.S. teens each year reach adulthood and leave state custody without a permanent home, including about 700 in Arizona (AZ Republic). Children who are eventually emancipated from the child welfare system lack a vital safety net for helping to ensure a successful life. It is likely that the longer a child is in care, the more homes they are placed in and the fewer personal attachments they have, which can often lead to relationship insecurities and trust issues. Research shows that children who “age out” of foster care when they turn 18 are more likely than their peers to be unemployed, homeless, convicted of a crime, drug dependent, become a teen parent, and are less likely to graduate from high school and attend college.

There are many barriers to permanent placements. Per DES, national data shows that the older a foster child is, the less likely they will be placed with a permanent family. Why? There are many misconceptions related to older youths when it comes to adoption. These misconceptions include: older youths do not want to be adopted, placements of older youths are unsuccessful, older youths have more behavioral problems, and placements are no longer attempted due to their age. Other obstacles include a shortage of families for placements, lack of readiness for permanency, and limited resources due to state budget reductions.

The FRP Project targeted two populations: The legacy population of youth from ages 13-17 ½ who have been in out-of-home care for two or more years. The prevention population from ages 5-17 ½ who are in care for more than one year, but less than two years, and are at risk of remaining in care for over two years.

The FRP Project creates a Child Advocate Recruitment Expert (CARE) team that consists of a Care Coordinator, Youth Advocate, and the child’s assigned Child Protective Services (CPS) Specialist. The grant funded two programs to be used by the CARE team: the 3-5-7 Model and Family Finding. The 3-5-7 Model prepares children for life with a new family, and is aimed at reducing the chance that they’ll be returned to CPS by providing frequent therapy sessions to help them work through the grief and loss surrounding their biological family. The Family Finding program uses search tools to locate extended family members. Both programs have been successful in other states.

AzCA has worked with 59 kids since it began in August of last year.

Among the successes, 6-year-old Kevin* was reunited with his father and his father’s family. Esther, 55, who is Kevin’s maternal great aunt, has been caring for Kevin off and on for much of his life and plans on adopting him.

Kevin never really knew his dad. He’d see him when he would go to visit his mom or would catch a glimpse of him at a local gas station with a “Hey buddy!” remark. Kevin didn’t really remember his dad and the family members on his paternal side.

“I knew the dad, but I didn’t really know him. I knew of him, but heard [negative things about him] that made me not want to get to know him. I felt like his grandparents weren’t making an effort but that’s because they didn’t know how to get ahold of us. It was really just miscommunication and I am just so happy that Kevin has met his family.”

“They have already severed Dad’s parental rights and he is okay with that,” said Esther. “He just wants to be able to have a relationship with Kevin but he knew that he could not care for him the way that we can.”

According to Esther, it is hard for Kevin to get attached to others and to get close to them. The program has helped Kevin to establish meaningful bonds with his family and he has also grown close to the staff on his team. “It has all been a positive thing for us,” commented Esther. “Dad has been really trying to give him attention and show him that he loves him.”

Esther mentioned that it has been challenging to raise a school-aged child with a lot of emotional problems; however, she is glad his father and the rest of the family are now involved in Kevin’s life. She credits the FRP team for making this possible for Kevin and reuniting the rest of the family.

“This is just a great program,” added Esther. “Kevin has really opened up.”

Tracy Fish, a Care Coordinator for AzCA shared a story of another youth she encountered. “The thing that stands out most to me was when I noticed one of the children looking through the photos of his father as a young man and he grabbed his head and said, ‘my hair grows the same way as my dad’s does!’” said Tracy. “It was so neat to witness his excitement in discovering where he got a lot of his traits from.”

The project aimed to improve permanency outcomes for youth who are most likely to remain in out-of-home care by increasing their readiness for permanency, growing their number of support networks and connections, improving placement stability by enhancing the number of potential homes, and to advance their decision making.

“The individualized attention with the youth to process their experiences of grief and loss was important to address in order to strengthen these children to move forward in their lives,” said Candy Espino, Director of Operations for AzCA’s child welfare programs. “Our staff had what is often an unusual opportunity in this field to really begin to understand these youth and their families. We were able to connect many youth to family members that our kids did not previously know and may otherwise have never met.”

Widely publicized earlier this year, the Department of Economic Security has unfortunately cancelled the grant program. According to The Arizona Republic, the Department of Economic Security has stated that it could not comply with rigorous federal requirements to receive the grant money and adequately serve the growing number of Arizona children in foster care. This cancellation was especially unfortunate given all the positive feedback about the program. “It is a wonderful project, a wonderful model, and it was working,” said Jackie Smollar, who was part of the Quality Assurance staff at LeCroy & Milligan.

“The cancellation of the grant was entirely based on the state’s response to federal requirements for the dollars and was in no way a reflection on the work and dedication of our staff,” stated Espino. “Our staff continue to be incredibly passionate about this project and the opportunities it provides for improving lives of youth in care.”

“We owe it to these kids in care to help them build strong foundations for themselves when their birth parents are unable,” added Espino, “Although the funding through this particular grant is no longer available, we have found other ways to continue to provide these services because we believe in this work due to the outcomes that we have seen. We look forward to continuing to work with youth and families with these two models.”

*As a child currently in the foster care system, Kevin’s name has been changed to protect his confidentiality.

Is Your Child Ready to Read?

by Debbie Heaton

Teaching your child to read early has multiple benefits and is the key to your child's academic future.  Why? Because reading is at the heart of all formal education; other advantages include neurological, educational, psychological, social, and linguistic characteristics.

Reading helps to develop a young child’s brain.  In the first six years, children learn at a faster pace than at any other time in their lives.  Necessary connections in the brain are made very early in life.  At birth, a healthy baby is born with approximately 200 billion active brain cells.  Given the right kind of stimulation, each of these brain cells is capable of multiplying and ensuring connections between them which store additional information.  Through these connections and early experiences, the basis of all future learning and intellectual ability form.

As parents talk, sing and read to their children, existing links among brain cells are strengthened and new links are formed.  At a younger age, learning is faster than it will be as the child grows older.  When a child is taught to read, the process of learning has a profound influence on the entire functioning and development of the brain.  Parents can play a critical early role by implanting not only reading skills and ability but more importantly, instilling a lifelong love of reading.

Reading opens the door to your child’s academic success and imparts a love of learning that leads to higher grades in every subject.  Strong language skills are the basis for literacy development.  When children learn to read at an early age, they have greater general knowledge, expand their vocabulary and become more fluent readers.  They also have improved attention spans and better concentration.  Early readers can recognize a larger number of words by sight, which enables them to learn more from and about their environment.

A child who learns to read joyfully at home, at an early age, with a loving parent or caregiver, grows in self-confidence and independence.  Reading promotes greater maturity, increases discipline and lays the basis for moral literacy.  It sparks curiosity about people, places and things and also satisfies the child’s curiosity by providing explanations of how things work.  It also exposes the child to a range of problem-solving techniques while igniting the child’s creativity and imagination.

Even at a young age, children have social awareness.  They know who is more popular.  They can tell who can do what.  If there are a few children in kindergarten who know how to read, they may receive awards and certificates, be called upon to choose books or are encouraged to write, illustrate and read aloud their own stories.  In some schools, they may even be asked to help other children, who may still be struggling with basic letter recognition.

Early readers have the opportunity to relate to their peers on a more confident, more competent level as they are already being recognized for their superior accomplishments.  Such experiences increase the child’s social status among peers as well as his or her self-image and self-confidence.

Children who can read independently and early have more opportunities to encounter the written word.  The sooner children learn how to read, the more books, knowledge, and ideas they will be exposed to.  The result is improved linguistic skills in the form of a richer vocabulary, correct grammar, improved writing, better spelling and more articulate oral communication.

Graham County’s very own “Story Lady,” Giane Powell, earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and has worked at the Safford Library for 23 years providing Storytime, Summer Reading and Early Literacy programs.  Giane provides the following information to parents in short presentation formats:

Help Your Child Get Ready to Read

From the time they are infants, children learn language and other important skills that will help them learn to read.  As parents and/or caregivers, you have been your child’s teacher from the day he or she was born.  You know more about your child than anyone else.  You are in the best position to help your child get ready to read because:

 

• Young children have short attention spans.  You can do activities for short bits of time throughout the day.
• You can help your children learn in ways and at times that are best for them.
• Parents are tremendous role models—if your children see that you think reading is important and enjoy it, they will follow your lead.
• Children learn best by doing—and they love doing things with YOU!
• To become successful readers, children need to understand the meaning of what they read.  Making sense of written language—comprehension—is at the heart of what it means to be a good reader.
• Vocabulary and comprehension skills start to develop from the time a child is an infant.  A baby listens to what parents and other caregivers say and they learn the meaning of words.
• The more language experiences children have the more words they learn and the better they become at understanding the meaning of what is being said.  This will help children understand the meaning of written words as they learn to read.

The best way to help your child get ready to read is to spend time with them.  Talk, sing, read, write, and play.  Just have fun!!!

You can visit Giane Powell at the Safford Library and check out her Toddler Storytime on Tuesdays from 10:30 to 11:15; Pajama Time on Tuesdays from 6:30pm to 7:30pm; Preschool Storytime on Wednesdays from 10:30 to 11:30 and Thursdays from 11:00 to 12:00; and Open Play Time on Wednesdays from 2:00 to 4:00pm.

It’s never too early to begin reading to your child.  Even the youngest babies will gradually come to associate books with the warmth of being held by you and the soothing sound of your voice.  By establishing reading time as an enjoyable time, you’re helping to jump-start a lifetime of reading and learning—a benefit that lasts throughout childhood and beyond.

Debbie A. Heaton is an author, parent educator, and a master’s level therapist currently employed with The Parent Connection, a member of Arizona’s Children Association Family of Agencies.  The Parent Connection utilizes the Adlerian approach to parenting.