In a week we will be leaving for Massachusetts to attend the ATN conference. I am excited. This is the third year we have done this conference and it has been wonderful every time.

If you haven’t signed up to attend, why not?

What makes the ATN conference different from other conferences is that it is focused on helping parents who are living with traumatized children. Therapists and social workers can benefit as well, but parents are the ones who benefit the most.

Aside from the sessions,... more

I am excited to announce that the tentative schedule for the Attachment & Trauma Network Conference is up on the website. It’s going to be a fantastic conference!

If you’ve never attended a conference full of foster and adoptive parents, you are in for a real treat. It is amazing to be in a room full of people who are dealing with the same joys and struggles as you are. The conversations that take place are like nowhere else you will ever be.

The conference has several wonderful presenters, an incredible... more

There is a fantastic conference coming to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Prevent Child Abuse America is hosting their national conference in Milwaukee this year. I am thrilled to be so close to such an incredible conference.

While we deal with the after math of child abuse, there are many sessions that can benefit foster and adoptive parents.

The breakout sessions are presented on seven different tracks, so depending on your interests, training or education needs, you can choose an appropriate session... more

Every state will require you to complete a series of classes prior to approving your home study or allowing you to accept placement of a child. The number of hours and the name of the classes vary from state to state, so be sure to check with your local social services agency to get the exact requirements. You may see the acronyms PRIDE, MAPP, PACE or PATH. These are all pre-adoption or foster parenting classes.

Some of the subjects covered in the classes are:

Dealing with birth parents Your role as a... more

Missouri foster care has some incredible organizations that help to support foster parents and raise funds for programs. I have friends who have adopted from Missouri foster care and like some of the programs that are offered. A quick search on the internet turned up a few interesting ideas.

The Midwest Foster Care and Adoption Association (MFCAA)is the one that I have heard the most about. Parents have told me how truly supportive they are and go out of their way to help families that are struggling to find the proper services.... more

My morning started off a little differently than expected. Laying in bed last night I was contemplating what to write for a blog today, and quite honestly, I can’t remember what it was because I always read my e-mail when I get up in the morning.

I was greeted by a great change in plans when I saw that one of our speakers dropped out for the ATN conference, and Julie... more

I know what you should be doing, and that’s attending the Attachment & Trauma Network conference in Excelsior Springs, Missouri.

I went to tour The Elms Resort & Spa where we are having the conference, today, and I am very excited. It is beautiful and has tons of things for you to do to relax. I am already scoping out the spa and making a list of services I would like.

The best part of this conference is meeting other parents who are living the same life you are, so you never have to... more

Right now I am up to my eyeballs in data entry. Nancy Spoolstra gave me years worth of business cards that she had collected from contacts that she has made, and let me tell you, they’re quite impressive. My mind is racing of what ATN can do and become through these contacts.

Many of these cards were collected at conferences that we attended. Every time we go to a conference, we collect information from each exhibitor, and we file it for future use.

The conferences we have attended are equally impressive and... more

August may seem like a long time from now, but it’s approaching more quickly than we want to think about.

August 1-4, 2007 is the Attachment & Trauma Network conference in Excelsior Springs, MO. I promise, you don’t want to miss this.

First of all, the conference is being held at The Elms Resort. It is a hotel and spa. Yes, a spa. You can get massages, facials, body scrubs, manicures and pedicures, and other services. That’s heaven right there for me. Then there is the... more

If you’ve never checked out the Child Welfare Information Gateway website, you certainly should. It contains so much useful information.

I was looking for information on Child Abuse Prevention Month (that will be another blog), when I came across information on the conference coming up in a little over a week.

CWIG will be a hosting a conference in Portland, Oregon... more