Michelle Relevante | BC Foster Parents Association

BCFPA celebrates Adoption Awareness Month

by Michelle Relevante | Nov 1, 2021

November is Adoption Awareness Month in British Columbia. It is a time to honour and celebrate the many families that have been created through adoption in this beautiful province we call home. It is also a time to remember that there are still many children and youth in government care who are waiting for a loving, permanent family.

Every child deserves a permanent family home and adoption offers light and hope in the darkness. It is truly fitting that Adoption Awareness Month follows Foster Family Month because fostering and adoption are deeply intertwined. Foster parents “stand in the gap” and support the best permanency goal for the child or youth in their care. While reunification is typically the primary goal of foster care, foster parents are often asked to consider adopting the child in their care if safely returning to the birth family isn’t possible. Each year an average of over 40% of all adoptions in BC are foster parents adopting the children or youth in their care. When foster families are unable to adopt, they skillfully facilitate the transition of a child from foster care to a suitable adoptive family or other permanent placement.

Adoption Awareness Month is a time for us to recognize the individuals and agencies who work tirelessly to support and help build forever families. BC Foster Parents Association would like to take this time to thank our partners, the Adoptive Families Association of BC, for their commitment to building prepared, resilient adoptive families. The adoption and permanency community stands strong because of you!

There are many ways to celebrate Adoption Awareness Month.

Use social media to promote awareness of the need for adoptive families. Follow Adoptive Families Association of BC (@bcadopt) for information on events and celebrations.
Send a card or a gift to an adoptive family you know.
Donate to dedicated agencies that provide programs and services for adoptive families.

On behalf of the fostering community, I extend my heartfelt thanks to all adoptive families in BC for choosing to build your families through adoption and providing children and youth with loving, permanent homes.

Jayne Wilson

Executive Director

Phone

Main:
604-544-1110

Toll-Free Foster Parent Line:
1-800-663-9999

Office hours: 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday

PROVINCIAL CENTRALIZED SCREENING

Foster parents are encouraged to call this number in the event of an EMERGENCY or CRISIS occurring after regular office hours:

1-800-663-9122

REPORT CHILD ABUSE

If you think a child or youth under 19 years of age is being abused or neglected, you have the legal duty to report your concern to a child welfare worker. Phone 1-800-663-9122 at any time of the day or night. Visit the Government of BC website for more info.

address

BCFPA Provincial Office
Suite 208 - 20641 Logan Avenue
Langley, BC V3A 7R3

Email

office@bcfosterparents.ca

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Our work takes place on the traditional and unceded Coast Salish territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Matsqui and Semiahmoo First Nations. BCFPA is committed to reconciliation with all Indigenous communities, and creating a space where we listen, learn and grow together.

Happy Foster Family Month

by Michelle Relevante | Oct 1, 2021

October is Foster Family Month. First proclaimed by the province of British Columbia in 1990, Foster Family Month is a time for everyone in communities across the province to stand in support and celebration of all foster families in BC. The occasion offers an opportunity to celebrate the selfless dedication of over 2,000 foster parents who open their hearts and their homes to help vulnerable children, youth and families. In addition, 42% of all adoptions in BC are foster parents adopting the children in their care, providing much-needed permanency and stability. We would like to thank all of BC’s amazing foster parents for everything you do for the children, youth, families and the community!

In honour of Foster Family Month, BC Foster Parents Association is hosting webinars that promote self-care and wellness for the month of October. All webinars are open to foster and adoptive parents.

Burnout Prevention with Julie Romanowski a.k.a. Miss Behaviour

When we feel emotions such as burnout, hostility, lack of enthusiasm or no purpose, it can greatly effect everyone involved. From yourself, to the children, or family members – burnout is real and toxic. Let Julie Romanowski a.k.a. Miss Behaviour help you prevent burnout.

This webinar is a shortened version of her popular Burnout Prevention Program. She will talk about the reasons why burnout happens and provide strategies to help ease the challenges that present themselves, creating a negative impact on our physical and mental health.

Join us on October 18, 2021 at 10:30 AM

About Julie Romanowski

Julie Romanowski is Miss Behaviour! She is an educated, trained and certified ‘Early Childhood Consultant’ and’Children’s Behaviour & Discipline Specialist’. You can find Julie working and being a Mother, Coach, Leader, Educator, Author, Speaker & founder of Miss Behaviour: parenting coach & consultant services.

She is a ‘Children’s behaviour & discipline specialist’, that covers the areas of anxiety, child development, communication and connection with an approach that is positive and respectful. Julie is excellent at teaching Parents key skills and techniques to understand and enjoy raising their children.

http://www.julieromanowski.com

http://www.missbehaviour.ca

Burnout Prevention with Julie Romanowski-2

Mindfulness and Stress Reduction with Shahin Najak

This webinar will provide an introduction to mindfulness and how we can make small shifts in our daily lives to help you create authentic relationships, a peaceful home and joyful children. Shahin will share her passion and offer you simple daily practices designed to help you stay calm, cool and connected with yourself and your family. You will be able to add this beautiful life skill in your personal toolbox as well as your family’s.

Attendees will learn:

1. What is mindfulness – we hear the word everyday but what does it really mean and what are the steps in making it a habit that serves us

2. Stress and our brains – how it affects us on a daily basis and how to override it

3. Three key mindfulness practices that we can start using today, and model for our children.

Join us on October 20, 2021 at 10:30 AM

About Shahin Najak

Shahin Najak is a Certified Mindfulness Meditation Coach for parents, teachers and caregivers who want to release the overwhelm of caring for others. Her passion lies in supporting adults and children, particularly parents and teenagers, in building better relationships and incorporating mindfulness strategies as a pathway to creating and crafting a life of calm, self-esteem and self-acceptance.

Through her MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) workshops, mindfulness group training programs and children’s mindfulness programs as well as her private coaching, she supports you in breaking habits that don’t serve you, clearing obstacles that create tightness in your chest so that you can finally wake up everyday feeling like you can handle anything that life throws your way.

https://www.mindful-changes.com

Mindfulness and Stress Reduction with Shahin Najak-3

Nourishing Self-care through Food with Jenn Messina

Our relationship with food affects our physical and mental health. In this webinar, we will unpack how our relationship with food impacts our relationship with self-care. Being intentional with self-care through our eating habits can bring so much joy into our daily lives.

What is self-care
What do you do to take care of yourself? Why is it important?
What about food? Diets vs Intuitive Eating
Role of different foods on our energy levels
Meal swaps and snack ideas
6 Strategies that make the biggest difference in nutrition
Meal planning on a budget

Join us on October 26, 2021 from 10:00-11:00 AM

About Jenn Messina

Jenn Messina is a Registered Dietitian based in beautiful Vancouver, BC. Jenn is passionate about all aspects of holistic health and practices through the lens of Health at Every Size® and Intuitive Eating. She works with individuals who are ready to break up with dieting and find balance and joy with food! She also works with families looking to support their children to have a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.

https://www.jennmessina.com

Nourishing Self-care through Food with Jenn Messina

National Day for Truth And Reconciliation

by Michelle Relevante | Sep 30, 2021

Twenty five years after the last residential school closed its doors, its painful legacy continues to impact the lives of its survivors, their families and communities. The intergenerational trauma resulting from the residential school system is still felt by those whose lives have been scarred by it. Today, over 60% of youth in care in British Columbia are Indigenous while only accounting for approximately 8% of the total youth population— an overrepresentation that is not a coincidence.

At BC Foster Parents Association, we recognize our role in the ‘system of care’ and our responsibility to support foster families in order to provide a culturally safe environment where a child can learn and practice their traditions, customs and language and to belong to their Indigenous community.

Although we serve all foster families of British Columbia, our work takes place on the traditional and unceded territory of Coast Salish peoples, shared by the Kwantlen, Katzie, Matsqui and Semiahmoo First Nations.

We are committed to reconciliation with all Indigenous communities, and creating a space where we listen, learn and grow together. In recent years, our Board and management team have encouraged our staff to participate in educational courses or programs where we can learn the true history of lands — now known as Canada— upon which we live, work and play. We are not afraid to have uncomfortable conversations about Canada’s painful history and to take meaningful actions in our lives and in our work to confront our privilege and do our part to end systems of oppression. We forge strong and respectful partnerships with Indigenous Peoples in our work.

We are inspired by the 94 calls to action from the Commissioners of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and the calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Today, our office will be closed as we observe the National Day for Truth And Reconciliation. We will be listening to stories of residential school survivors, wearing orange shirts in solidarity, supporting Indigenous-led causes, and reflecting on what we can do to address the 94 Calls to Action.

Reconciliation begins with each and everyone of us.