Every Child Deserves a Family

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, you probably saw our posts seeking items to furnish an apartment for a foster youth named Jeremy*. 18 year-old Jeremy is one of the first foster youth to enter a new kind of specialized foster home program CCS has developed. Jeremy is polite, helpful, and smart and for the past few years, he has been living in a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility. While this residential facility provided Jeremy with the vital treatment and support he needed, it impeded him from having a foster family or being involved in the community. Fortunately, Jeremy excelled in this residential setting and recently became ready to live with a family once more! But placing Jeremy in a foster home is not simple.

Foster youth who stay in residential facilities, like Jeremy, tend to have a history that looks bad on paper and it can scare off potential foster parents. Plus, they require such a high level of support and attention that traditional foster homes are not equipped to serve them so these youth typically remain in these facilities. When a youth is cleared for release but has to stay in a residential facility because there is nowhere else for him to go, the child can lose motivation, revert back to old behaviors and/or pick up new behaviors. CCS believes that every child deserves to have a family and be part of the community so, when Amerigroup (who oversees the healthcare of Georgia’s foster children) approached CCS about partnering with us to develop specialized foster homes that will serve these most difficult cases, we jumped at the opportunity to provide Jeremy and youth like him with the opportunity to be typical teenagers. It is CCS and Amerigroup’s goal to help these youth continue progressing and provide them with lasting relationships, instead of a rotating staff of clinicians.

We intend to reach this goal by setting up homes for these youth with foster parents who we have trained specifically to care for their youth’s specialized needs. We have asked these foster parents not to work so that they can give the youth their full and constant attention. With support from Amerigroup and the Department of Family and Children Services,  CCS will cover rent, living expenses and pay the foster parents a salary. CCS will also pull from many of our programs to provide intensive support to the youth and foster parent(s). One of our SOAR Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention Specialists will meet with the youth and foster parent(s) three times a week to help reinforce positive behavior and decrease negative behavior. A life coach from our STEP program will work with the youth to reach his/her goals toward independence. The foster homes will also be provided with weekly case management meetings, where our staff will brainstorm solutions to any issues that may arise, and 24/7 on call support.

It is because of our specialized programs that CCS was selected to be the first foster care agency in Georgia to provide these intensive support foster homes. We are excited for the privilege of allowing Jeremy and foster youth like him to live independently and be involve in the community. Now that he is out of residential care, Jeremy has plans to join the Boys and Girls Club and take karate lessons; we are thrilled that we get to help him achieve his goals.

There are more foster youth like Jeremy who are ready for a home and family of their own. We already have two others who are waiting to be placed in a home but we need more foster parents! If you are interested in working as a professional foster parent in our modification of traditional foster homes, please contact Anne Sanders at asanders@ccsgeorgia.org or 770-469-6226.

*The foster youth’s name has been changed to protect his identity.

The Miracle of Family: A Reunification Story

Today’s post was contributed by Lisa Nunn. Last July, Lisa came to CCS as a family consultant in our Therapeutic Foster Care program. She has since been promoted to TFC Intake Supervisor. During the transition, our other skilled family consultants took over most of Lisa’s cases but she continued to serve a few youth with whom she had built a deep relationship. Lisa wanted to share the story of one of those youth whose time with CCS is coming to a close. Do not fret for this story has a happy ending!  

I have been working with a youth since July of last year and she has been with one of our Therapeutic foster parents since May of last year.

This youth was adopted at the age of 2, it was an open adoption; therefore, she was never in state care. A year later the adoptive family moved from out of the state where the child was adopted and did not stay in contact with her biological father. They moved several times and ended up here in GA where they placed our youth in custody based on their inability to care for her needs. The biological father was never told where his child was. Ten years after not knowing where his child was, he discovered she was in DFCS custody here. He immediately contacted DFCS and this past fall he attended court where a reunification case plan was ordered. This youth told her teacher that meeting her father was the happiest day of her life.

Since October of last year I have been working weekly with both the youth and her father, along with his wife and their daughter, to build relationships via FaceTime.

At the 3 month review in January it was ordered for this youth to do a home visit before the April court date. DFCS sent this youth to visit with her father and extended family during the Easter/Spring Break holiday. The court review was held at the end of April where the Judge ordered that once school ended (5/21) this young person would move back to the state of her birth to be with her father and in 6 months or less his rights will be restored.

I asked this youth if I could take her somewhere/anywhere before she left where would she want to go. She answered the Georgia Aquarium. Well…. A BIG THANKS to One Simple Wish, this youth and I will be going to the Aquarium this Saturday. And bitter-sweetly Sunday morning she will board a plane to fly to be with her father.

Thank you for allowing me to share!

Lisa M. Nunn

Lisa and this youth’s story is a shining example of the work our Therapeutic Foster Care team does to fight for what is best for the children they serve. All of us at CCS are sad to see this youth go but also thrilled for her to be reunited with her family. 

STEP

Hello Readers!

A few weeks ago, we gave a brief overview of our services and programs with the promise to eventually dive deeper into them.  Well, we meant what we said so this week we are exploring our awesome STEP program!

Our Successful Transitions Through Empowerment and Planning program prepares teens in our foster homes for their transition into adulthood.  The STEP program is essential because research shows that each year more than 500 foster youth in Georgia are discharged from the foster care system and of the youth aging out of the US foster care system: 46% didn’t complete high school, 51% were unemployed, 25% have been homeless, 40% have become parents, 1 in 4 males and 1 in 10 females have spent time is jail.  STEP combats these discouraging statistics by empowering our youth to live as independent and responsible adults.  The program uses a three-sided approach to avoiding this outcome in our foster children: Pre-transitional Living Homes, Life Coaches, and the Teen Youth Group.

A Pre-Transitional Living Home gives the youth more responsibility and allows them to develop their independence, while continuing to provide a supportive family environment. Our parents include the youth in the daily operation of the homes with special attention placed on practicing practical skills such as cooking, budgeting, transportation, education, and vocational training.

A Life Coach works in partnership with the youth’s current case manager or family consultant by mentoring the youth, teaching life skills, and providing extra behavior or school assistance.  The Life Coach’s objective is to better prepare the youth to live independently by helping them find supportive adult connections, stable housing, school enrollment and/or employment.  The Life Coach guides the youth in identifying and planning for future goals related to education, behavior, socialization, or independence.  Then the Life Coach encourages, motivates and educates his or her youth to help reach these goals.

The Teen Youth Group began after some of our teens shared that they wanted a chance to meet and hangout with other teens living in our foster or pre-transitional living homes. It is a group and not a program because our teens made it clear that they were already in plenty of programs.  The group hangouts center around socialization, therapeutic recreation, and community service.  Sometimes they involve seminars on specific life skills needed to function “in the real world;” at other times they participate in advocacy opportunities through Georgia EmpowerMEnt that help raise awareness in the community about the power of youth voice.  The Teen Youth Group holds four activities each month with one of those four activities allowing for youth and parents to spend time together.  Past activities have included cooking classes, college tours, sports games, family game night, volunteering, dinner and movies.

The STEP program uses these three elements to serve youth in foster homes, group homes, residential treatment facilities, Independent Living Programs, or birth families.  STEP also works with teens who are pregnant or parenting and need assistance with parenting skills including child development, nutrition, empathy, and nurturing parenting skill.

If you are interested in becoming involved in the STEP program, please contact M.C. Bruce at 770-469-6226 or mcbruce@ccsgeorgia.org.

Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner

CCS understands that the sacrifices and contributions made by our foster parents for our children are essential and invaluable.  We can never express our thanks enough.

Our family consultant, Chantale, with a few of our wonderful foster parents

In an effort to show our gratitude, we held a benefit and appreciation dinner in honor of our foster parents on Sunday, September 15th.  The event took place at Fish Tales Lakeside Grille in Flowery Branch with approximately 100 people in attendance.  Our guests enjoyed one of the last warm evenings of summer as they mingled under a tent by Lake Lanier and savored a delicious dinner buffet and drinks donated by Dale and Jessica Ozaki, the gracious owners of Fish Tales Lakeside Grille.  The Fish Tales staff embodied true southern hospitality with their smiling faces and attentive service.  Don Law performed his heartfelt music throughout the night, adding to the revelry of the evening.  As part of the festivities, our guests participated in a silent auction full of exciting gifts, which allowed us to raise funds for our programs.

Thank you Fish Tales for hosting us!

While the parents celebrated on the lake, their foster children had a fun filled night with eight of our DD staff.  The evening started at the CCS office in Norcross, where they feasted on pizza, played video games, and danced to music.  Then they caught a movie at Ventura Cinema in Duluth and returned to their foster parents by 9 pm.

(From left to right) Mary Lott (a foster parent), Sally Buchanan (our founder & CEO), Tracy Joachim (a former foster parent), and Dale and Jessica Ozaki (the owners of Fish Tales)

The dinner was a success because of the support we received from our community.  CCS would like to extend a special thanks for the contributions we received from Dale and Jessica Ozaki, the Fish Tales staff, and the donors of our silent auction:                       – Studio 93 Salon, Marcia Dykes                                                                                              – Edelman Leather                                                                                                                  – Soho Myriad                                                                                                                           – Judy Williams of Premier Design Jewelry                                                                              – Epic Family Life Center, Executive Director Stephanie Wolfe                                              – Elizabetsy: homemade crafted baby gift items                                                                      – Whole Foods                                                                                                                          – Quik Trip                                                                                                                                – Blue Moose Chocolates, Carol Moses                                                                                  – Canoe Restaurant, Owner Ginair McKerrow.                                                                  We would also like to thank our own Paula Fine for organizing the event, our DD staff and interns who provided childcare, and everyone who showed their support by attending the dinner.  We deeply appreciate your willingness to help us celebrate our foster parents.

Welcome to the Creative Community Services, Inc. blog!

Hello, reader!

Creative Community Services, Inc. (CCS) is very excited to present our new blog.  This will be a space for you to learn more about CCS, our programs, our staff, our events, and the issues close to our heart.  Whether you are an individual in our program, an employee of CCS, someone interested in ways to help foster children and adults with disabilities, someone looking for assistance, or simply someone curious about CCS, this blog is the place for you!  Please ask questions and leave feedback in the comment section to help us ensure that this blog is meeting your needs.

For those who are learning about CCS for the first time, let us provide you with an overview of who we are and what we do.

Executive Director Sally Buchanan founded Creative Community Services, Inc in 1982 as a private, non-profit organization focused on providing home-based support for adults with developmental disabilities.  After seeing her success with adults, a House Representative approached Sally about expanding our services to children who were severely abused and neglected so, in 1988, CCS began offering therapeutic foster care services for children.  Over thirty years later our mission continues to be the improvement of the quality of life for children, teens, and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health needs, and their families, by providing direct services and community-based support throughout the state of Georgia.  We give both kids and adults hope by encouraging independent living that results in involved, engaged citizens and community members.  We currently work with 45 foster children and 55 adults in several counties throughout the state of Georgia.  We provide extensive support to those individuals which enable them to develop life skills for independent living. We offer a community approach to ensuring a safe and loving home for every child by bringing together a team of professionals including case managers, therapists, family consultants, therapeutic foster parents, and more.  We also provide community support for families who have their own children coping with mental illness.

The programs we offer include therapeutic foster care, respite care, Successful Transitions Through Empowerment and Planning (STEP), SOAR (Supporting Families – Overcoming Obstacles – Achieving Independence – Reaching New Heights), adventure respite and many more.  Respite and adventure respite provide families caring for our individuals with much-needed breaks from the daily routine through short-term therapeutic care. The STEP program works with youth who are approaching adulthood to prepare them to live independently in the community.  The SOAR program provides comprehensive behavioral intervention services to children, adults, and their families or caregivers to bridge the gap between good parenting and therapeutic intervention.  With all of our programs, our staff creates a plan and goals that are personalized to each individual’s needs.  The programs we provide to our individuals would not be possible without our partnerships with such organizations as Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (MAAC), Teen Parent Connection (TPC), Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program (PSSF), Community Based Alternatives for Youth (CBAY), and other invaluable agencies.

We aim to have a weekly fun event or activity planned for our individuals.  For example, this past weekend our foster kids went tubing and this week our adults will go to the fair.  We also host holiday parties, family game nights, movie nights and many more exciting opportunities for our individuals to hang out with each other and our staff.

If you are interested in volunteering or donating to CCS, you can find out by going on our website (http://www.ccsgeorgia.org/volunteer.html).  An easy way you can start helping CCS right now is through Kroger’s Community Rewards program.  All you have to do is add Creative Community Services (NPO number: 98257) under your Community Rewards program on your Kroger Rewards account and then every time you use your Kroger plus card, a percentage of the sale goes to CCS!  Also, the fundraiser won’t take away from your gas points!

Thank you for your interest in CCS!  We hope you continue to read our posts and learn more about Creative Community Services.