Are Children Unadoptable?

Children in foster care are unadoptable. They're troublemakers, unlovable, underachievers, uneducated and will never amount to anything. 

These are just some of the stereotypes that foster kids have to face everyday. These stigmas steer possible adoptive parents from looking at great kids that are currently in the foster care system. It is these stereotypes that our organizations fights against everyday in order to secure forever families for every child.  

 The Dave Thomas Foundation is another agency that is also working towards finding adoptive parents for children in foster care. 

 The foundation utilizes five main programs in order to make sure that all the "unadoptable" kids are adopted because just like the movie says "unadoptable is unacceptable." Their signature program is Wendy's wonderful kids, which has recruiters working for children throughout the U.S.A. and Canada by using aggressive practices and tactics all in the name of finding the best home for a child. Their case workers have a very small amount of cases in order to create bigger focus on the child then they would have received normally. We are proud to say that AFFEC we work closely with many of Wendy's wonderful kids recruiters to help them place children with families in our networks.


The Dave Thomas Foundation, AFFEC and many organizations across the country all share the same focus of finding forever families for all children. We believe that every child deserves to be loved no matter what age, how many siblings they have, what their GPA is, or where they came from. 


So no, there is NO such thing as an unadoptable child.  

Michael Oher: How He Beat The Odds

Michael Oher is the perfect example to children who are in foster care, which is why his decision to write a book about his experiences is so exciting. He is the success story that we want to see happen for all kids. After his story was told through the major motion picture; The Blind Side, he became an inspiration for many kids who are currently in the foster care system.

In a recent NPR interview Oher described that after the movie came out he began to receive letters from hundreds of thousands of kids who were in the foster care system. It is because of those children that he decided to write a book about his experiences. Oher says he was hesitant at first but finally gave in because he realized how much his book could help others.

His book, I Beat The Odds: From Homelessness, to the Blind Side and Beyond, examines the foster care system from the eyes of a foster care.  From all the letters he has received it is obvious that Oher already has a connection to youth in the system. This book will even further this connection to children in foster care. It will give children hope to see how someone in their position can beat the odds and become a successful and thriving individual.

We are excited to see the response to the book. Hopefully we will see many kids across the nation with a renewed hope that they will be able to find their forever family!

Princess For A Day

Our 4th annual Princess For A Day event is rapidly approaching. For those of you who have not heard about this event it is a day for Oregon girls to be treated like a Princess. It is a gift to girls in foster care and a fun outing for girls part of the general community.

We partner with other community media outlets and business partners in order to raise awareness of foster children in Lane county.

It is an opportunity for girls, ages 2-18 to dress up in and take home a crown, gown and slippers. Princess also receive the "royal treatment" which means they get their hair, nails and make up done in addition to their own photo-shoot. She is then escorted to the royal tea party where the princess and her King/Queen (parent or guardian) are treated to lunch. 

Here is a look at last years event:

This is a gift for foster care children so they are able to attend for free. Those who are a part of general admission have to pay a $50 fee but it goes directly towards sponsoring a girl in foster care. 

To learn more about the event or sign up your child go to our page at: 

http://www.afamilyforeverychild.org/Announce/Princess_Event/2012PrincessIndex.php

Last year we were able to serve over 325 Princesses throught the generosity of Families all over the country. This year we hope to reach even more children so we can pamper both girls who are in foster care and those who are not.

For those of you who don't have a child to bring or are out of stat you can still become a Fairy Godparent by sponsoring a child.

Although there are a lot of dedicated people who volunteer their time and services we are always on the look out for more help. We are appreciative of any type of princess gear (clothing, shoes, accessories, make-up etc.), volunteers and donations of any amount.

We are so grateful of everyones continued support of this event and look forward to March 4th!

Foster Parent Resources

Today we were informed about some great resources for foster parents; a book titled The Foster Parenting Toolbox.  The handbook, which is edited by Kim Phagan-Hansel of Fostering Families today Magazine, contains contributions from professionals in the field and foster parents. All who have come together to write about an assortment of topics about foster care.

It is currently for sale on Amazon. There is also a passage; "The Jigsaw Puzzle Child" available for PDF download on their site.

The passage, written by Eileen Mayers Pasztor, DSW, talks about the 10 developmental stages of children and how those stages relate to children in foster care. She gives personal examples from her time as a social worker and as a foster parent. Her main tool in describing the developmental stages in children is called the Jigsaw Puzzle tool. It is used to analyze the differences in development between children who are fortunate enough to experience a good family environment and her son, who was placed in foster care and eventually adopted by her and her husband.  She then goes on to describe the consequences of children whose Jigsaw Puzzle doesn't fit together and how foster parents can utilize this tool to help them with their parenting and understanding of their children.