Parent Resources – Foster and Adoptive Parent Advocacy Center

FAPAC works closely with a variety of dedicated partners who share our commitment to improving life for the children in DC’s child welfare system. We’ve compiled the following resources for your consideration.

Organizations You Should Get To Know

Children’s Law Center
Provides legal services to at-risk children and their families and using the knowledge they gain from representing individual clients to advocate for changes in the law and its implementation.

DC Child and Family Services Agency
The DC government agency responsible to protect children from abuse and neglect, preserve families through provision of services, and provide foster care and adoption services.

DC Metropolitan Foster/Adoptive Parents Association
Provides support, resources, and social opportunities for DC’s foster, adoptive and kinship parents.

DC127
Mobilizes churches to recruit and support foster and adoptive parents and support families to prevent children from entering foster care.

Family and Youth Initiative
The only DC-area organization focused exclusively on helping teenagers in foster care make lifelong connections with caring adults. FYI creates enriching lifetime relationships for youth at risk of aging out of foster care. FYI matches youth with host parents and mentors and helps them find adoptive families.

Georgia Avenue Family Support Collaborative (GAFSC)
Supports children, youth and families to become healthy, empowered and connected in a multi-cultural community. Their programs help families mostly in Ward 4 in D.C. by linking them to vital services such as mental health, substance abuse treatment, skill-building workshops and resources for their children, as well as basic needs such as food, clothing and emergency assistance. GAFSC’s Community Prevention and Training Program workshops feature parenting skills, drug and alcohol prevention for youth and Mental Health First Aid.

Kayla’s Village
Works to promote the support and retention of parents and social service professionals. Its goal is to effectively and efficiently train and appreciate those connected to Kayla’s Village through strength- and performance-based interactions, which benefits children.

Post-Permanency Family Center (PPFC)
A community service (now housed in the same building as FAPAC), a program run by Family Works Together (through Adoptions Together) in partnership with CFSA. They provide comprehensive support, training and therapy for families who have achieved or are working towards the guardianship or adoption of DC children. Additional Information.

Other CFSA Approved Training Programs

The below websites have been approved by CFSA’s Child Welfare Training Academy (CWTA). Upon completion of each online course, please print your certificate immediately and send them to your Resource Development Specialist or Licensing Specialist within 15 days of completion!! DC parents please remember, only 9 hours of online training is permissible within your 2-year in-service training cycle. If you are a Maryland foster parent of a DC child, please double check with your agency’s training/licensing staff to confirm their on-line training policy.

www.freestatesocialwork.com/dccfsa – Trauma Systems Therapy (TST) project is one tool CFSA is utilizing to fulfill our mission with children in foster care. CFSA supports foster parents as they work to make a difference in the lives of children in need. The TST program will benefit both our foster parents and our children as parents gain additional knowledge and enhance their parenting skills. This program will provide a better understanding of the children in your home and the trauma they have experienced as you continue to give your time, love and understanding. See below for log-in instructions.

https://dc.mandatedreporter.org/pages/Welcome.action – Free online DC mandated reporter training

www.fosterparents.com – One year membership: $24 (not reimbursable).

www.dshs.wa.gov/ca/fosterparents/training.asp – This training program is presented in this award-winning Web site from Washington State. Adapted from the SUNY Foster Parent Scope curriculum.

www.fosterparentstest.com/store/index.htm – A wonderful selection of online courses for resource parents covering topics from high needs babies to a range of disorders and challenges. Note that there is a non-reimbursable associated cost for each course.

www.fosterparentcollege.com – Offers self-paced training accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. From the comfort and safety of home, parents can enroll, complete a course, and receive a certificate of completion in a single session. FPC has conducted more than 80,000 online training sessions since 2004. De- signed by nationally recognized experts in the fields of parenting, pediatrics, psychology, psychiatry, and education, FPC courses are valued by foster care agencies and praised by caregivers. Many of our classes are also available on DVD at our websitewww.SocialLearning.com.

Need more information? Contact Aretha Wells, Program Specialist at aretha.wells@dc.gov.

How to Advocate For Yourself As a Foster Parent

Sometimes you may need to advocate for a service or in regards to another need that you feel should be met. Here are some quick tips to help you along. Remember, you can always feel free to call or email us for support!

When seeking information or services, write down the name of everyone you talk to. Remember that “CFSA said” is not a reliable way to track a response, as agency workers represent multiple perspectives. This is especially critical if someone has promised OR denied you a service.
Check out CFSA’s on-line policy manual. The easiest way to access it is to put “Policy Manual” in the search bar on CFSA’s website so you will have access to accurate policies. They may be hard to digest, but at least you will know where they are. Some relevant policies are also posted on FAPAC’s website.
Remember that everyone has a supervisor and understand that you have right to use the agency chain of command if you need help. Please call FAPAC if you believe that working your chain of command will put you in any risk.
When needed, use the services of the CFSA Ombudsman’s Office. The current Ombudsman is Marianna Abraham 202- 727-2111
Keep yourself informed -read the things you get from your agency and FAPAC in the mail or by email; and attend meetings, trainings and support groups.
FAPAC believes that Shared Parenting, when appropriate, can be a strong advocacy tool. Just think about the strength in recommendations if both you AND the birth parents are recommending the same thing!
Keep your license up to date; if we want foster parents to be taken seriously, then we have to take care of our own business.
Contact FAPAC with systemic issues that you encounter.

Advocating in Court: Why is it important for YOU to go to court?

FAPAC often hears from foster parents that you want to be more involved in team decisions about the child(ren) in your homes. However, we hear from representatives at the Family Court that the attendance of foster parents at hearings does not reflect the interest we hear about becoming more involved. Every child in D.C. foster care has a case called an “abuse and neglect case” in Family Court in D.C. Superior Court. Hearings usually happen every three or four months for a child in foster care. Sometimes they happen more often and sometimes less, but they must happen at least once every six months. Although you are not required to attend hearings unless specifically requested by the judge, we are writing this to strongly encourage you to go for the opportunity to share information and find out what is going on in the child’s legal case. You should get notices directly from CFSA about the dates of the hearings for the children in your home. If a child has just been placed, you may not yet have received notification so ask the child’s worker or GAL when the next hearing is.

In the District of Columbia, the Adoption and Safe Families Act requires the court to give foster parents an “opportunity to be heard” in court proceedings about a child currently in their home. That means that as a foster parent, you have a right to tell a judge during a hearing about a child’s behaviors, daily routines, day-to-day health, educational needs, visitation schedule with a biological parent, services a child is receiving, any additional services the child may need, and anything else you think the judge should know about the child. Providing this information to the judge will help the Court decide what is in the best interests of the child. Please note that you do not have to get permission from the agency to attend as it is your legal right.Please also be aware that the “opportunity to be heard” does not mean “opportunity to hear all” and you may be asked to leave when confidential information is being shared unless the birth parents agree to your staying. If you obtain “party status,” you will have the right to stay for the whole hearing and to receive official reports. For more information about becoming a party, feel free to contact FAPAC at 202-269-9441 or info@dcfapac.org or to call the Children’s Law Center helpline at 202-467-4900 extension #3.

A few final pointers:

We advise parents to dress for court in appropriate business attire.
D.C. Superior Court is located at 500 Indiana Avenue, NW. All abuse and neglect case courtrooms are on the first floor or the JM level of the court house. The judges have assigned courtrooms. There is an information desk near the main entrance of the court house – ask there for the judge’s court room number.
Sometimes the security lines at court can take a long time. Be sure to build in extra time – at least 15 minutes – to get through security so you are not late for the hearing.
Parking can be a challenge. You may want to consider other transportation options.
Please call FAPAC to let us know if you are not getting notices of court hearings.
FAPAC Advocacy tips for Resource Families of DC Children
How to advocate and get the help you need.

Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) Information

The Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is a cabinet-level agency within the District of Columbia Government, dedicating itself to the safety, permanence, and well-being of children and families residing in the District and responsible for protecting child victims and those at risk of abuse and neglect and assisting their families. As part of this responsibility, District children who need to be placed into foster care are placed by CFSA directly into CFSA foster homes or through their network of partner private child placing agencies.

GENERAL INFORMATION

In September 2012, CFSA moved to its new location. The new address is 200 I Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003. The building is about three blocks from the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro station on the Green line. While the main entrance to the building is on I Street, SE, CFSA’s entrance is on 2nd Street, SE. Phone numbers have remained the same. Families, please note that parking may be a challenge. Although there is street parking and a lot nearby, availability varies according to games at the stadium. If walking is difficult for you, you might want to make other travel arrangements or talk to agency staff about scheduling at a time when parking is more “user-friendly.“

Due to an expansion of our partnership with CFSA, FAPAC has committed to keep DC’s foster, kinship and adoptive parents updated on important changes at CFSA that impact our community through regular mailings, emails, and information on our website. In the near future, we hope to be able to post drafts of developing policies on this website for your review and comment. We have included a few important current policies here; to get a full view of CFSA policies you can visit the CFSA Online Policy Manual

CFSA’s Business Hours
Monday to Friday
8:15 am to 4:45 pm

CFSA’s Location
Child & Family Services Agency (CFSA)
200 I Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003
(CFSA’s entrance is on 2nd Street SE)

Map & Directions to CFSA

Parking at CFSA
Although there is street parking and a lot nearby, parking may be a challenge and availability of spaces varies according to games at the stadium. If walking is difficult for you, you might want to make other travel arrangements or talk to agency staff about scheduling at a time when parking is more “user-friendly.”

CFSA’s Contact Information
Tel: (202) 442-6100
Fax: (202) 727-6505
TTY: 711
Email: cfsa@dc.gov
Website: www.cfsa.dc.gov

CFSA OMBUDSPERSON

The Office of the Ombudsperson at CFSA was established to address issues and complaints raised by the community served by the Child and Family Services Agency. The Office of the Ombudsperson conducts independent reviews of complaints concerning public and private agency policies and practices that are reported by foster, kinship and adoptive parents, youth in care, birth family, members of the public, community organizations or other interested individuals.

One of the Ombudsperson’s primary functions is helping to resolve issues in which foster/kinship/adoptive parents are not getting the help they might need from the regular agency (public or private) chain of command, or have conflicts they cannot resolve through these management channels. FAPAC suggests that attempts be first made to address any issues or concerns you may have directly with the child’s assigned social worker. If the situation remains unresolved, and if you feel comfortable to do so, the next step can be to contact the worker’s immediate supervisor to address the issue or concern, and to climb the chain of command. In the event that you do not feel confident in the responses you are receiving, or do not feel comfortable in walking the management chain of command, you should contact:

Marianna Abraham, Agency Ombudsperson at (202) 727-7040 or by email at Marianna.Abraham2@dc.gov.

Fact Sheet [PDF]

Hotlines

Report Child Abuse and Neglect
Keeping children safe is everybody’s business. Find out when and how to report known or suspected incidents of child abuse or neglect in the District. Call (202) 671-7233 (SAFE).

Open Your Heart and Home
Hundreds of District young people need support during a difficult time in their lives. Show you care by becoming foster or adoptive parents. Call (202) 671-LOVE.

Reach Out to a Child or a Family in Need
Partners for Kids in Care uses donations from the community to make a real difference to District children, teens and families in the child welfare system. For information, call (202) 727-7101.

Can’t Care for Your Newborn?
Look for the Safe Haven sign! Making a responsible choice gives the baby the chance for a good life. Call 1-(855)-422-2229.

Important CFSA Phone Numbers

Other CFSA Important Numbers and InformationCFSA Hotline: 202-671-SAFECFSA Main business number: (202) 442-6100Day care: Megan Dho (202) 727-1303 megan.dho@dc.govEducation: Megan Dho (202) 727-1303 megan.dho@dc.govFiscal: Gloria Yates (202) 727-7383 gloria.yates@dc.govFoster Care Resources: Includes Family Licensing and Family Resources.

Administrator: Ariana Quinones (202) 560-9563, ariana.quinones@dc.gov
Program Manager, Ritu Atwal (202) 727-3777, ritu.atwal@dc.gov
Family Licensing Division:
- Anna Bell, Family Licensing Supervisor (202) 727-3400 anna.bell@dc.gov
- Desiree Minor, Re-Licensing and Facilities Licensing Supervisor (202) 724-7589 desiree.minor@dc.gov
- Karima Nero-Woodfork, Relicensing Supervisor (202) 727-7358 Karima.Nero-Woodfork@dc.gov

Placement (CFSA DC families only):

Program Manager, Marcy Chell (202) 727-4688 or cell (202) 286-3831 Marcy.Chell@dc.gov
Supervisor, Daryl Turner (202) 727-7497 or cell (202) 497-4308 Daryl.Turner@dc.gov
Placement On Call Number: (202) 497-2486

Resource Parent Support:

Antoinette Harris-Edwards, Supervisor, (202) 727-3949 or cell (202) 497-2237 Antoinette.Harris-Edwards@dc.gov
Leander Skeete, Supervisor, 202-727-5193 or cell (202) 498-8411 Leander.Skeete@dc.gov

Contracts Monitoring Division (oversight for private agencies):

Tosin King, Program Manager (202) 727-3311 or cell (202) 246-0533 Tosin.King@dc.gov
Shawnte Stewart, Supervisor, Program Monitor (202) 724-7195 or cell (202) 439-4615 shawnte.stewart@dc.gov
Billie Baker, Supervisor, Program Monitor (202) 724-7371 or cell (202) 498-8428 Billie.Baker@dc.gov

Health Services: Cheryl Durden: (202) 727-7049 cheryl.durden@dc.govClinical on-call number (202) 498-8456 Healthy Horizons Clinic (202) 442-4200Kinship: Ana Burgos (202) 727-7328 or cell (202) 413-1757 ana.burgos@dc.govMedicaid: Jolly Atkins (202) 727-7107 Jolly.Atkins@dc.govMental Health/Behavioral Health: Tiffany Williams (202) 698-6165 or cell (202) 415-4631Mobile Crisis Stabilization: Resource parents should contact their social worker or on-call person. Your agency will initiate the referral through CFSA’s Resource Development Specialist (RDS) in the CFSA Placement office, which is open 24/7. If you are unable to reach your social worker or on-call person, resource parents can contact on-call placement at (202) 497-2486.Ombudsperson: Marianna Abraham (202) 727Ð2111 Marianna.Abraham@dc.govPost-Permanency Services: Mary Hembry (202) 727-4817 or cell (202) 497-2444 cell mary.hembry@dc.govSchool transportation, tutoring, and mentoring: Tracey Talbert (202) 727-4679 tracey.talbert@dc.govSubstance abuse: Valerie Kanya (202) 727-4283 Valerie.kanya@dc.govTraining: Aretha Wells (202) 727-5015 aretha.wells@dc.gov; cwta.training@dc.gov; To register for CWTA training, please visit http://cwta.coursestorm.com.