This newsletter comes from the Statewide Resource Advisory Committee (RAC). RAC was created by the Department of Human Services (DHS) to identify ongoing needs, facilitate communication, share resources, provide information through a statewide calendar of events and a quarterly newsletter and report on local projects & other topics of interest to benefit Hawaii’s resource families.
This edition of the newsletter includes many great articles. We want to highlight these three:
Page 1: Life on a High Wire by Wilma Friesema tells the inspiring story of two Maui resource caregivers who have learned the secret to successfully parenting foster teens.
Page 5: A poem, Haley, written by former foster youth Kainalu Keola
Page 6: Creating Sexual Safety in Foster Care by Dr. Wayne Duehn
SPECIAL NOTE: Dr. Duehn is coming to Hawaii in 2017! A flyer from Family Programs Hawaii will arrive in your mailbox in the near future with details. As soon as it is available, the info will also be posted on this website under Upcoming Events on our home page. We really hope that you will join us for this opportunity!
You may find these articles especially interesting:
Page 5: A Child in Pain: When to Get Help and What Help to Get By Ken Huey, PhD
Page 3: Legislative Update
RAC October 2015
Be sure to read:
Page 7: Holiday Blues Tips List for Foster Youth
Page 6: Adoptive Families Needed Through Wendy’s Wonderful Kids
Page 4: BUILDING A BRIDGE: Strengthening connections between parents and foster parents
Page 6: Get Ready for the 2016 Legislative Session
Some highlights of this edition include:
Page 4: Learning from a Mom of 22 Children
Page 3: 5 Tips to Prepare for Back to School for Foster Children
Page 8: Ask the Warm Line: Caregivers and the Court
Page 12: Resource Family Basics
Some highlights of this edition include:
Page 5: Learn how to help your foster and adopted children cope with Mother’s Day
Page 9: Feeding the Positive: How a Strength-based Approach Promotes Growth and Change by Wilma Friesema
A strength-based approach is based on this simple premise: if we focus on solutions, if we build on the capacities, skills, knowledge, and the connections people already have, they will become more empowered and invested in their own lives. I liken it to giving fertilizer and water to plants in a garden. Even though pulling out weeds — or addressing problems — is important, that alone doesn’t ensure a healthy
garden. We have to feed what we want to grow, just as we have to reflect to people what we want them to see in themselves.
The story of Joedi and Tony Wood being selected for “A Hero’s Welcome” is highlighted on page 1 of this issue. Click here to see a video with the Woods Family.
Also in this issue is list* of phone numbers that resource caregivers may need in the course of fostering the children in their care. Here are some of the numbers resource families ask for frequently:
FPH Warm Line: 545-1130 or (toll free) 1-866-545-0882
ITAO: (808) 542-4006
Hawaii DHS Complaint Line: (808) 586-4994
* IAC worked with DHS to update the list
RAC-Oct-12 Highlights of this issue include the following:
Mandatory Ongoing Training Requirement – Hot Tips for Resource Caregivers – Grief & Trauma in the Lives of Foster Children – Trauma’s Legacy and the Teenage Brain – From the Perspective of a Gay Youth in Care
Click on title to download a stand-alone copy of the article Supporting Maltreated Children that appeared in the October 2011 newsletter.
Download a stand-alone copy of the article “The Power of Neurofeedback” with references:
The Power of Neurofeedback
RAC Committee Members Include:
Catholic Charities Hawai‘i—Hui Ho‘omalu
Department of Health
Department of Human Services
EPIC, Inc. ‘Ohana Conferencing
Family Court
Family Programs Hawai‘i
Hui Ho‘omalu
Resource Caregivers
Adoptive Parents
Hawai‘i Foster Youth Coalition
HOPE INC, Inc.
Partners in Development Foundation
