Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia (AFPAG)

Supporting Georgia's adoptive and foster parents and their families

Welcome to our web site! We hope our site will allow everyone to stay in close contact with the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia, and it will also allow the Association to stay closer to Georgia's approximately 4,000 foster and adoptive parents. We encourage you to explore our information and join us!

AFPAG's First Central Regional Conference - June 12, 2010

Conference Brochure

Online Registration

AFPAG Trains More than 200 Foster Parents at North Region Conference

This past Saturday, March 13, 2010, more than 200 foster and adoptive parents attended AFPAG's first North Region training conference. Partnership parenting as a new approach to helping our children and preserving our families was a major focus of this training conference. Isabel Blanco from the State office presented a powerful presentation on the feelings of children coming into the system and how we can help them overcome the trauma of separation from their families. She stressed the need to continue providing high quality care for these fragile children.

In addition, attendees were able to experience training on a variety of topics from working in partnership with DFCS to helping our children deal with medical and emotional issues.

Introducing the February 2010 Issue of the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association newsletter...Click now to view your online version.

SEEKER

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Click here for more information on Raise Me Up

AFPAG is an affiliate partner with the National Foster Parent Association(NFPA) for Walk Me Home.

Contact Sharon Carlson Executive Director of the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia at (404) 918-1956 for details on how your community can help children in foster care all over this country.

The Practitioner
This newsletter has been provided by The Department of Family and Children Services to keep you informed. Enjoy!

DFCS Newsletter

Make your tax deductible donations to AFPAG here.

UPCOMING TRAINING EVENTS NEAR YOU

View Training Schedule

AFPAG AND SUPREME COURT COMMITTEE ON JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN (J4C) EXPAND TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES ON JUVENILE COURT TOPICS

Due to the vast number of requests and inquiries, the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia (AFPAG) in partnership with the Georgia Supreme Court Committee on Justice for Children (J4C) announces a unique training on issues surrounding foster parents and the courts. Juvenile Court Judge Britt Hammond and many of our local judges have agreed to meet foster parents “ Face to Face, Heart to Heart.” The seven-hour training has been designed specifically for education on the juvenile court system that will help foster parents become better advocates for the children in care. Classes such as “Right to be Heard,” “Tips for Testifying,” “Understanding the Court Proceedings Involved in your Foster Care Case” and “What is CASA?” are offered. Seven hours of training credit will be awarded for attendance.

For questions or to RSVP for these trainings, please contact Vala Peyton at vala@bellsouth.net / 404-428-2104

North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) Announces Scholarship Opportunity

Children's Action Network and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption have partnered to create a national scholarship program, Fostering a Future, sponsored by Capital One, to benefit youth adopted from foster care.

The fund was designed to provide children who were adopted from foster care with the opportunity to pursue their educational goals. In addition, the fund will provide parents considering the adoption of an older child an opportunity for education assistance by adding this special scholarship to existing post-adoption resources. The fund is also intended to help alleviate some concerns about new financial obligations facing adoptive parents.

They are currently accepting applications. Applicants must:

have been adopted from the United States foster care system after the age of 13

be graduating high school seniors

maintain or improve qualifying grade point average throughout applicant’s senior year

demonstrate financial need

Applications will be accepted between now and April 20, 2010. To download an application, please visit Children's Action Network. If you have any questions, or would like more information, contact Children’s Action Network at Caninformation@aol.com or 800.525.6789.

If you have any questions, please contact Valerie Burkett, AFPAG Secretary, at

vburkett@afpacc.org

.

Sharon Carlson, Executive Director, can be reached by email at sharonlc@juno.com.

Our mailing address is:
155 Westridge Parkway, Suite 305
McDonough, Georgia 30253

Our Mission
To support Foster and Adoptive parents in Georgia by:

Providing information about child welfare issues that impact them

Helping provide training to become the best Foster/Adoptive Parents they can be

Helping find solutions to the many challenges and problems that face Foster/Adoptive Parents as they help care for Georgia's abused and neglected children

Advocating about foster care and adoption issues and to provide even greater support for Georgia's Foster and Adoptive Parents

Contact Information: If you would like more information regarding the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia, please e-mail us at contactafpag@bellsouth.net

Comments? Questions? Please Fill Out Our Feedback Form and We Will Get Back To You As Soon As Possible!

Thanks For Visiting Our Site!

Thanks to the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory University and the Freddie Mac Foundation for helping us with a grant to create this website.

Thanks to a new partnership with Pre-Paid Legal Services, the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia and it's members will benefit from a wide array of services.

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