Two years ago the International Foster Care Organization (IFCO) held its conference in Madison, WI. Nancy and I attended the conference and we exhibited there as well. It was great to be able to hear some of the speakers, and to talk with other foster parents from around the world. Did you know the United States is the only country that says foster PARENTS? All the other countries say you are a foster CARER. I’m not sure which one is better, but it sure is interesting.

One of the most amazing exhibits was one that I was proud to be a part of. The Wisconsin Foster Parent and Adoptive Parents Association, Inc. (WFAPA), who also co-sponsored the conference, created a foster child’s quilt. It was beautiful. The quilt squares were created by children who were foster children at the time, or were adopted from foster care. There were no rules as to what the kids were to draw. It was completely up to them.

In addition to the quilt square, the parents (foster or adoptive) were asked to tell the child’s story in one page or less. The stories were them bound into a book and the quilt and book were on display at the conference.

Every portion of the state is represented. They sent a request to every county in the state, and asked the social workers in charge of foster care and special needs adoption to choose the child that would be asked to participate. In a few cases they were sibling groups.

The pattern chosen to create the quilt was the “tumbling block” pattern. The name of the pattern was to symbolize the lives of the kids. Even though I knew about the quilt, and helped with some of the preparations, seeing it in person was amazing.

I know the goal for WFAPA was to get the quilt to be on display in the capital in Madison, Wisconsin. I’m not sure if they ever reached that goal, but even if they didn’t the awareness they created at the IFCO conference was amazing.

You can view each individual square and the children's stories here.

This is just one example of how to create awareness. Use your imagination for other avenues to create awareness. Just a reminder to be aware of confidentiality laws.

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