Foster/Adoption Family Forum

Raise Hope. Foster Dreams. www.guernseycountycs.org

Erin Fritz, MSW, LSW; Foster Care Coordinator Phone: 740.439.5555, ext. 222 Erin.Fritz @ jfs.ohio.gov Cell: 740.801.0603

JANUARY 2018—Special Edition

A publication of

Dear Foster Families, First of all, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and that the new year will come with happiness, joy, good luck, resilience, safety, love, and many successes. I want to take the time to provide a final reminder that I will be taking Maternity Leave beginning on January 8, 2018 and returning April 3, 2018. During that time, please contact Jeff Flaherty with any questions or needs that you would usually come to me with. Jeff will be doing any annual home visits and recertifications that occur during that time. He will also be handling any new placements that come to us for foster care. If Jeff is also unavailable and your call requires immediate attention, you may ask the front desk to assist you in getting in touch with someone to help you! If you have any questions about this, please let us know! In my absence, Newsletters will temporarily be put on hold and will then resume upon my return. In this January 2018 “special edition” Newsletter, I want to cover anything that will be upcoming over the next 3 months for you. So keep this handy to reference for upcoming trainings, birthdays, anniversaries, and other events. Sincerely, Erin

Please be reminded of the importance of submitting ORIGINAL documentation from ALL medical, dental, and vision appointments (routine and non-routine) to the agency. Any documentation of that sort that is provided to you by the provider must be given to the agency for recording and filing. If they do not auto-

matically give you a print off from your appointment, please request it from them. You may absolutely keep copies of those records for the children in your care for your reference until that child leaves care (at which time all of your records for that child shall be shredded, destroyed, or returned to the agency).

But please give the originals to the agency when you submit your monthly reports at the beginning of each month. Thank you!

Please Welcome our Newest Foster Families to the Community!

Matthew and Hope Johnson

Matthew and Hope were licensed in November 2017! Their home is in Salesville. They live in a two story home with a large yard that has a swing set. Matthew and Hope are very family oriented, they attend church with family and have a Sunday family funday. They have numerous pets, Jasmine, Alad-din, Elsa, Wink, Quinn, and Charlie are their names. The family enjoys fishing, taking walks, cooking, and having campfires. They also enjoy vacationing and taking mini trips. Hope volunteers through Big Brothers Big Sisters, and she and Matt are very engaged with the “littles” that Hope is matched with! They are looking forward to helping even more children in the community by opening their home to fos-ter care and adoption!

Raymond and Janelle Shriver Ray and Janelle were licensed in November of 2017. They reside in Cambridge! They have a large backyard and a lot of room to play outside. They have one daughter, Maxine, who is 6 years old and she is excited to have someone to play with! The family has two dogs, Jackson & Bronco, and a cat, Oreo. They enjoy going to the movies and visits to the park. Ray and Janelle are very active and in-volved with their daughter and look forward to helping children in the community through foster care and adoption!

**AN UPDATED FOSTER FAMILY PHONE/ADDRESS LIST IS ENCLOSED**

SAVE THE DATE!

Valentine’s Day FAMILY SKATE PARTY!!

When? Friday, February 16 @ 5-7 pm

Where? Lind Arena, 900 Linden Ave,

Zanesville, Ohio 43701

Who’s invited? All foster/adopt families

An invitation will be coming with details, but please mark your calendars! It will be a great time for the kids and for your families to be able to gather together with other foster families and have a fun time! The last skate party we hosted was great fun and a great

success, so we hope to have even more join us this year!

Visit Guernsey County Children Services at the

2018 Home, Garden, and Business Expo

at Pritchard Laughlin Civic Center March 9 through March 11. Look for our booth where we will be providing educational materials for foster,

adoption, and kinship care, giveaways, and raffling off a prize! Let us know if you

may be interested in helping us staff this event!

Happy Birthday

Raymond Shriver January 4 Jessica Davis March 5 Regina Richter January 25 Joe Richter March 6 Alex Mullen January 28 Lori Baker March 18 David Robinson February 5 Kimberley Allen March 19 Erin Cooper February 18 Beth Wood March 20 David Davis February 19 Scott McCormick March 23 Cindy Milligan February 20 Connie Fair March 27 Bryan McClay February 22 Jason Miller March 28

Happy Anniversary

Kyle & Beth Wood January 16

Training Opportunities at GCCS January through March

Monday January 8 @ 6pm-9pm:

948-PA03-S “Impact of Adoption on Birth Children in the Adoptive Home”

presented by Angela Irby Location: ECORTC Training Topic: 948, 952

Friday February 9 @ 9am-4pm:

991-42-NOS “Trust-Based Relational Intervention, Module I: Introduction and Overview”

presented by Ann Bagley Location: ECORTC Training Topic: 991

Saturday February 24 @ 9am-12pm:

983-1 “Living the Legacy: The Dramatic Effects of Prenatal Substance Exposure”

presented by Ronna Johnson Location: ECORTC Training Topic: 983

Saturday February 24 @ 1pm-4pm:

983-32 “Support Resources for Caregivers of Children with Specialized Health and

Developmental Needs”

presented by Ronna Johnson Location: ECORTC Training Topic: 983

Monday February 26 @ 6pm-9pm:

983-PA20-S “Standing in the Gap: Becoming an Effective Advocate for your Foster/Adopt Child”

presented by Lynne Anderson Location: ECORTC Training Topic: 983, 944

**This training meets a requirement for becoming a Treatment Foster Home!

Monday March 26 @ 6pm-9pm:

925-141 “Crisis Intervention for Children and Adolescents”

presented by Karla McDay Location: ECORTC Training Topic: 925