News & Library
Keep up with the latest news about Firefly Children and Family Alliance, from recent announcements to new programs and services
Kris’ Corner – Foster Care Supports: Care Closets
The last foster care support system I want to address is foster care resource closets. To be clear, these are places which help provide necessities for foster parents, above and beyond what DCS will help cover. You may be asking yourself, “so why are these even...
Kris’ Corner-Dealing w/false allegations
So, many of you have probably heard that false allegations are sometimes made against foster parents. It may be a reason you’ve not yet thrown your hat into the ring. The fear of having “a 310 called on you” is terrifying and can be a thought in the back of your mind...
Kris’ Corner: Care Communities
So, the next topic I’d like to tackle under foster care supports is something called care communities. Groups like this might exist in other places under different names, but I know them best as care communities and here’s what they are. Care communities are operated...
4 TIPS TO SURVIVE DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME WITH YOUR KIDS
“Springing forward” in anticipation for those long summer nights might sound exciting, but setting the clocks ahead for Daylight Savings Time and losing an hour of sleep can make anyone cranky, especially children. Suddenly implementing an earlier bedtime may make it much harder to fall asleep, which can leave a person feeling tired and groggy the next morning or even several days to follow.
According to a study from the Better Sleep Council, 29% of all parents reported they disliked this spring time change. If you were already sleep deprived and feeling drained, and now the kids are exhausted and increasingly uncooperative; nobody wins. Prepping yourself and your kiddos for this inevitable change is the best way to curb those negative effects. These four tips can help everyone in the house make a smooth transition:
Kris’ Corner: Online Support Groups
So, last time I discussed support through in-person groups; and as promised, I’d like to now talk about online support groups. These are the groups that are only ever online. They typically have moderators who can approve posts, and/or remove posts which do not fit...
Kris’ Corner: In Person Support Groups
To continue our series on supports while fostering, I’d like to take some time today and talk about in-person support groups. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, they are often virtual. But they still differ from online support groups in that you actually can see and...
Kris’ Corner: Natural Supports for Foster Parents
Let’s talk about some natural supports for foster parents. Sometimes people ask me, how do you survive at this foster parenting thing…how do you even do it?” And the answer is lots of support. Support while fostering can, and should, come from several different...
Kris’ Corner: Foster Care Support from DCS & Children’s Bureau
In this blog, I want to help you understand important sources of support. Department of Child Services (DCS) is definitely one, as well as the agency you may have gotten licensed through. (in this blog I presume it to be Children’s Bureau). Many of you have probably...
30 TIPS FOR INVOLVING CHILDREN IN HOUSEWORK
Has the pandemic wrought havoc on your haven? Is your dining room barely discernible from a garage sale? After nearly a year of living, working, schooling, and playing at home, perhaps your space could use a good ol’ fashioned spring spruce up.
Getting everyone in the family involved in spring cleaning or year-round household chores is a win-win. It’s good for parents, because let’s be honest, you could use some help. It’s good for the kids because it teaches them responsibility and what it means to be part of a family.
Kris’ Corner – Blending Family Traditions
I know some of you might be getting tired of me discussing holidays and birthdays and how they affect foster kids and the foster family…so I assure you that this is (probably) the last blog on this topic, at least for a while. Focusing on holiday and birthday...