XChange Radio Meetings

- Introduction to XChange Radio Meeting- Joanne Hodgeman:  Recently started the Minnesota chapter Foster Care Alumni of America (board is made up of all former foster youth).  Collaborating with Connections to Independence (c2i), which is an organizations that works with foster youth up to the age of 25.  c2i has a Kentucky Derby fundraiser they hold every year. Currently sitting on a Parents Leadership Board started by some members of the state House of Representatives and on the NAACP Child Protection taskforce.  Also working on partnerships that work on ICWA placements.  The native community has been one of the most impacted by foster care.  Working on building relationships in the ICWA community.  Currently Minnesota does not pay kinship families near the same rate as regular foster parents.- Elena Taylor received Certificate of Appreciation for participation in Annual "Stash the Trash Great American Cleanup" in Albany, GA.  Also chosen for Congress Shadow Day. - Sunshine Peterman: Trying to Start an Indiana Chapter for Foster Care Alumni of America; Adopted 5 Children from the Indiana Foster Care System.  Went into foster care at 17.- Jamie Akins: Discussed Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Wants to encourage people to get treatment for CPTSD before it gets worse.- Mark Clark: Senator Bell advised that there is a bill in the State Senate that expands foster care age from 21 to 24. - Kathy Jones: Wanted to speak about Bruce Wagnitz creating the National Schoolhouse of Theatre Arts, with trauma-informed teachers.  Bruce is trying to advocate for policy that will help foster youth go across state lines for school.  - Elena's Resource Hotline Brainstorming and Details about Elena's Resource Hotline ListPlease click here to get more information about our XChange Radio Meetings.

The Foster Care Film & Community Engagement Project (FCFCEP) was founded by Yasmin Mistry, who spent years working with children, their families and the court system as a CASA Volunteer.  She has helped find kids a permanent home, good educational opportunities and needed medical and social services. As she heard the children she was working with find their voices, she wondered how, and whether, other foster youth ever truly found theirs. So she decided to answer this question using the tools she knew best, animation and film, to give foster youth a chance to be heard.  The Foster Care Film & Community Engagement Project (FCFCEP) has three goals: 1) to provide role models for youth currently in the foster care system, giving them work experience as well as hope and inspiration for a better future; 2) to dispel negative stereotypes about foster care by showing how school, extended family and the kindness of strangers can help a child find their path in life; 3) to educate general audiences about foster care, inspiring action within their communities.We have partnered with the Foster Care Film & Community Engagement Project (FCFCEP) on multiple occasions for online film screenings and panel discussions.  Yasmin is always eager to share her insight with the foster care community and to share the voices of current and former foster youth around the nation.

Dr. Manning is a long-time friend of Foster Leaders and has volunteered his time to share his insight on multiple important topics related to foster care. He is a licensed Clinical Psychologist who provides practical and helpful training, public speaking and consultation services to community groups, public and private mental health and child welfare organizations as well as the consumers of mental health and child welfare services.For More Information:www.drgregmanning.comwww.facebook.com/[email protected]

We chose Transfiguring Adoption because they are always innovating new ways to inspire the general public to get involved in the lives of foster youth and their caregivers.  We also love their motto "Nurturing Foster & Adoptive Kids By Giving A Hoot About Their Caregivers."  They serve as a national resource for the foster care community, in several ways, such as: easy-to-search book list, book discussion guides with book reviews, tools to help connect with children, advice for caregivers, foster family survival kits, live discussions, and perspectives from foster youth/adoptees.For More Information:www.transfiguringadoption.comwww.facebook.com/[email protected]