Welcome back to The &quot;F&quot; Word: Foster Care! We are back after a long year and half! We welcomed a new baby into our family, had a house flood and are finally back on track and excited to lift more voices. Enjoy this episode Fall 2021. New recordings coming soon! We welcome Sasha, a foster and adoptive parent, to the conversation this week. Sasha is an adoptive mother of one, and foster parent to 12 children. She has been part of 9 reunifications with another one just around the corner. Sasha fosters with United Hope, and focuses a lot on partnership parenting. Sasha shares valuable insight and advice for anyone looking to become a foster parent or current foster parents looking at motivation, support and guidance in partnership parenting. Welcome to the conversation! If you are interested in joining our podcast please email us below. We are always looking for anyone with experience in the family well-being system (child welfare) from parents, attorneys, case managers, judges, foster parents and more. Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor (Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook) Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Welcome back to The &amp;quot;F&amp;quot; Word: Foster Care!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;We are back after a long year and half! We welcomed a new baby into our family, had a house flood and are finally back on track and excited to lift more voices. Enjoy this episode Fall 2021. &lt;em&gt;New recordings coming soon&lt;/em&gt;!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;We welcome &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Sasha&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, a foster and adoptive parent, to the conversation this week. Sasha is an adoptive mother of one, and foster parent to 12 children. She has been part of 9 &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;reunifications&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; with another one just around the corner. Sasha fosters with United Hope, and focuses a lot on &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;partnership parenting&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;. Sasha shares valuable insight and advice for anyone looking to become a foster parent or current foster parents looking at motivation, support and guidance in partnership parenting.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Welcome to the conversation!&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;If you are interested in joining our podcast please email us below. We are always looking for anyone with experience in the family well-being system (child welfare) from parents, attorneys, case managers, judges, foster parents and more.&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor&lt;br/&gt;(Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Music: https://www.purple-planet.com&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Welcome back to The "F" Word: Foster Care!   We are back after a long year and half! We welcomed a new baby into our family, had a house flood and are finally back on track and excited to lift more voices. Enjoy this episode Fall 2021. New recordings coming soon!  We welcome Sasha, a foster and adoptive parent, to the conversation this week. Sasha is an adoptive mother of one, and foster parent to 12 children. She has been part of 9 reunifications with another one just around the corner. Sash...

Foster Parent Perspective: Sasha's Story

Welcome to The “F” Word: Foster Care! This week we continue our National Reunification Month celebration with Bobby Jo. Bobby Jo is a mother of 3 and she shares her reunification story and her new journey supporting other parents in similar situations as she experienced. Bobby Jo became a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) in 2019. She completed Trauma Informed Care and Mental Health first aid. She also received her certification in Whole Health Action Management (WHAM). Bobby Jo completed training with the Respect Institute and has received additional training in WRAP, Wellness Recovery Action Plan. We are so excited to have her join us as we conclude our Reunification Month celebration! Welcome to the conversation! (We apologize for the delay in releasing our June National Reunification Month episodes) If you are interested in joining our podcast please email us below. We are always looking for anyone with experience in the family well-being system (child welfare) from parents, attorneys, case managers, judges, foster parents and more. Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor (Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook) Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

<description>&lt;p&gt;Welcome to &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;The “F” Word: Foster Care&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;! This week we continue our National Reunification Month celebration with &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Bobby Jo&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;. Bobby Jo is a mother of 3 and she shares her&lt;b&gt; reunification&lt;/b&gt; story and her new journey &lt;em&gt;supporting other parents in similar situations as she experienced&lt;/em&gt;. Bobby Jo became a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) in 2019. She completed Trauma Informed Care and Mental Health first aid. She also received her certification in Whole Health Action Management (WHAM). Bobby Jo completed training with the Respect Institute and has received additional training in WRAP, Wellness Recovery Action Plan. We are so &lt;b&gt;excited&lt;/b&gt; to have her join us as we conclude our Reunification Month celebration!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Welcome to the conversation!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;(We apologize for the delay in releasing our June National Reunification Month episodes)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;If you are interested in joining our podcast please email us below. We are always looking for anyone with experience in the family well-being system (child welfare) from parents, attorneys, case managers, judges, foster parents and more.&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor&lt;br/&gt;(Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Music: https://www.purple-planet.com&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Welcome to The “F” Word: Foster Care! This week we continue our National Reunification Month celebration with Bobby Jo. Bobby Jo is a mother of 3 and she shares her reunification story and her new journey supporting other parents in similar situations as she experienced. Bobby Jo became a Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) in 2019. She completed Trauma Informed Care and Mental Health first aid. She also received her certification in Whole Health Action Management (WHAM). Bobby Jo completed train...

Parent's Voice: Bobby Jo's Reunification Story

We welcome Brittany, a mother of two beautiful boys, story of reunification and how she was able to partner with her Resource Parent (foster parent). Brittany&apos;s emotional story shares the ups and downs of child welfare. She shares what it was like to give birth while in the world of foster care and her journey towards recovery. Brittany  shares how the journey towards positive co-parenting started and how she has been able to continue a relationship with her Resource Parent. Welcome to the conversation! Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor (Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook) Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

<description>&lt;p&gt;We welcome &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Brittany&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, a mother of two beautiful boys,&lt;b&gt; story of reunification&lt;/b&gt; and how she was able to&lt;em&gt; partner with her Resource Parent&lt;/em&gt; (foster parent). Brittany&amp;apos;s &lt;em&gt;emotional story&lt;/em&gt; shares the ups and downs of child welfare. She shares what it was like to give birth while in the world of foster care and her journey towards recovery. Brittany  shares how the journey towards &lt;b&gt;positive co-parenting&lt;/b&gt; started and how she has been able to continue a relationship with her Resource Parent.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Welcome to the conversation!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor&lt;br/&gt;(Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Music: https://www.purple-planet.com&lt;/p&gt;</description>

We welcome Brittany, a mother of two beautiful boys, story of reunification and how she was able to partner with her Resource Parent (foster parent). Brittany's emotional story shares the ups and downs of child welfare. She shares what it was like to give birth while in the world of foster care and her journey towards recovery. Brittany  shares how the journey towards positive co-parenting started and how she has been able to continue a relationship with her Resource Parent.  Welcome to ...

Parent's Voice: Brittany's Reunification and Parent Partnership

(We are delayed in getting our remaining Reunification Month episodes out) This week we welcome Samantha Walker, Reunification Director for Georgia Division of Family and Children&apos;s Services. We discuss reunification month in June, types of reunification, conditions to return and why it&apos;s important to not only work and support children but families as a whole. Samantha N. Walker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of New Orleans and a Master of Social Work degree from Southern University at New Orleans. After college, she began her career as a CPS investigator. In 2008, Samantha moved to Georgia and began working for the Division of Family and Children Services as a foster care case manager. During her twelve- year tenure with the Division, she has served in many capacities, including: foster care case manager; kinship assessor; permanency supervisor; permanency administrator; and permanency program director. She currently serves as the Division’s Reunification Director. Samantha is passionate about supporting families in the home whenever possible by exhausting all reasonable efforts prior to requesting legal custody of a child(ren). Providing consistent, quality services to parents along with helping families identify and create their own informal support networks are the cornerstones to supporting and encouraging reunification. She strongly believes in building consensus with the family at the onset of engagement, and that early-on identification of the safety issues leading to out-of-home care will assist in achieving reunification. When conditions for return are clearly established and communicated with all pertinent entities including families, courts, relatives, and partnership parents, successful reunification for families is highly achievable. Welcome to the conversation! Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor (Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook) Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

<description>&lt;p&gt;(We are delayed in getting our remaining Reunification Month episodes out)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;This week we welcome &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Samantha Walker&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Reunification Director for Georgia Division of Family and Children&amp;apos;s Services.&lt;/em&gt; We discuss reunification month in June, types of reunification, conditions to return and why it&amp;apos;s important to not only work and support children but families as a whole. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;em&gt;Samantha N. Walker &lt;/em&gt;received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of New Orleans and a Master of Social Work degree from Southern University at New Orleans. After college, she began her career as a CPS investigator. In 2008, Samantha moved to Georgia and began working for the Division of Family and Children Services as a foster care case manager. During her twelve- year tenure with the Division, she has served in many capacities, including: foster care case manager; kinship assessor; permanency supervisor; permanency administrator; and permanency program director. She currently serves as the Division’s Reunification Director. &lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Samantha is passionate about&lt;em&gt; supporting families &lt;/em&gt;in the home whenever possible by exhausting all reasonable efforts prior to requesting legal custody of a child(ren). Providing &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;consistent, quality services to parents&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; along with helping families identify and create their own informal support networks are the cornerstones to supporting and encouraging reunification. She strongly believes in building consensus with the family at the onset of engagement, and that early-on identification of the safety issues leading to out-of-home care will assist in achieving reunification. When conditions for return are clearly&lt;br/&gt;established and communicated with all pertinent entities including families, courts, relatives, and partnership parents,&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt; successful reunification for families is highly achievable.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Welcome to the conversation!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor&lt;br/&gt;(Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Music: https://www.purple-planet.com&lt;/p&gt;</description>

(We are delayed in getting our remaining Reunification Month episodes out)  This week we welcome Samantha Walker, Reunification Director for Georgia Division of Family and Children's Services. We discuss reunification month in June, types of reunification, conditions to return and why it's important to not only work and support children but families as a whole.   Samantha N. Walker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of New Orleans and a Master of Social Work deg...

Reunification Director: Samantha Walker

Erin is a mother of four beautiful children. She has lived experience as a parent with child welfare involvement. Her parental rights were terminated and then REINSTATED after a period of incarceration and rehabilitation. She successfully reunified with her son in 2020. She is currently employed by the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network where she serves as the Training Coordinator for RESPECT Institute of Georgia. Her role is to assist peers in developing their own stories of recovery through a five-day training process. She is a Certified Peer Specialist-Mental Health as well as a Certified Peer Specialist-Addictive Diseases. She is formally trained in both Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid and has completed trauma-informed care and cultural competency training. She is a Whole Health and Wellness Coach. She is a mentor and advocate for her peers who are experiencing challenges related to mental health and substance use disorders. Erin is part of the GA Parent Advisory Council through GA DFCS. Erin was award the 2021 National Reunification Hero Award (she&apos;s a hero and more in our book!) <a href='https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/child_law/erin-thomas-hero.pdf'>https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/child_law/erin-thomas-hero.pdf</a> Her story of reunification is a story of hope, health, faith, healing, resilience and more. You won&apos;t want to miss this! Resources for this week&apos;s episode: Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network<a href='http://www.gmhcn.org/'>www.gmhcn.org</a>Georgia Council on Substance Abuse<a href='http://www.georgiasubstanceabuse.org/'>www.georgiasubstanceabuse.org</a>CARES Warm Line *Substance Abuse 1-844-326-5400Peer2Peer Warmline *Mental Health1-888-945-1414<a href='http://www.peer2peer.center/'>www.peer2peer.center</a> Welcome to the conversation! Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor (Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook) Music: https://www.purple-planet.com

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Erin&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; is a mother of four beautiful children. She has &lt;em&gt;lived experience&lt;/em&gt; as a parent with child welfare involvement. Her parental rights were terminated and then &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;REINSTATED&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; after a period of incarceration and rehabilitation. She successfully &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;reunified with her son in 2020&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;. She is currently employed by the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network where she serves as the Training Coordinator for &lt;b&gt;RESPECT Institute of Georgia&lt;/b&gt;. Her role is to assist peers in developing their own stories of recovery through a five-day training process. She is a &lt;em&gt;Certified Peer Specialist-Mental Health&lt;/em&gt; as well as a &lt;em&gt;Certified Peer Specialist-Addictive Diseases&lt;/em&gt;. She is formally trained in both Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid and has completed trauma-informed care and cultural competency training. She is a Whole Health and Wellness Coach. She is a &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;mentor and advocate&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; for her peers who are experiencing challenges related to mental health and substance use disorders. Erin is part of the &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;GA Parent Advisory Council&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; through GA DFCS.&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Erin was award the &lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;2021 National Reunification Hero Award&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt; (she&amp;apos;s a hero and more in our book!) &lt;a href='https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/child_law/erin-thomas-hero.pdf'&gt;https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/child_law/erin-thomas-hero.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Her story of reunification is a story of hope, health, faith, healing, resilience and more. &lt;em&gt;You won&amp;apos;t want to miss this!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;b&gt;Resources for this week&amp;apos;s episode:&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='http://www.gmhcn.org/'&gt;www.gmhcn.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Georgia Council on Substance Abuse&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='http://www.georgiasubstanceabuse.org/'&gt;www.georgiasubstanceabuse.org&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;CARES Warm Line *Substance Abuse &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1-844-326-5400&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Peer2Peer Warmline *Mental Health&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;1-888-945-1414&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href='http://www.peer2peer.center/'&gt;www.peer2peer.center&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;em&gt;Welcome to the conversation!&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/b&gt;Email: thefwordfostercare@gmail.com  familiesanchor@gmail.com&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Twitter: @families_anchor @FWordFosterCare&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Facebook: www.facebook.com/familiesanchor&lt;br/&gt;(Georgia Virtual Parent Support Group information can be found on Facebook)&lt;br/&gt;&lt;br/&gt;Music: https://www.purple-planet.com&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Erin is a mother of four beautiful children. She has lived experience as a parent with child welfare involvement. Her parental rights were terminated and then REINSTATED after a period of incarceration and rehabilitation. She successfully reunified with her son in 2020. She is currently employed by the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network where she serves as the Training Coordinator for RESPECT Institute of Georgia. Her role is to assist peers in developing their own stories of recovery thr...

Parent's Perspective: Erin's Powerful Reunification Story

From Families' Anchor, join us as we navigate through the Child Welfare system. Hear stories from parents, Parent Navigators, service providers, attorneys, judges, the Department, family & friends, foster parents, and more. Come be part of the positive conversation and change of Child Welfare to a family well-being system.

The "F" Word: Foster Care

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