September 11th is Grandparents' Day! In honor of this special day all of the kinship families will be receiving an invitation to a picnic and a tour of the Owls Head Transportation Museum in Owls Head. The museum has aircraft, automobiles, motorcycles, carriages, bicycles, and engines-all with a variety of displays in each category! You can look forward to receiving a letter in the mail outlining all of the details. If you are a kinship provider and haven't received your letter by the end of August, please call 1-800-833-9786 and let AFFM know.

Views of Early Adolescents and the Adults in Their Lives A large portion of the half million children in foster care nationwide perform poorly in school. They lag behind their non-foster peers academically and are more likely to have behavior and discipline problems. This study draws on interviews with foster children and adults to better understand how being in foster care affects a child's education on a day-to-day basis, and how the adults around these children can help them perform more successfully in school. Vera researchers studied the educational experiences of 25 children in foster care who were participating in an experimental program designed to improve their achievement. We recorded extensive narratives from each child about the educational obstacles they face at the four Bronx middle schools they attend, and we interviewed 54 key adults in their lives (school staff, foster parents, and caseworkers) to learn what they regard as obstacles to the children's educational success. We found that foster children face roadblocks that other economically disadvantaged children do not face, roadblocks that can affect their academic performance. The children had concerns about maintaining ties with their biological parents and caring for siblings that often distracted them from schoolwork. Mandated court appearances and doctors' appointments caused them to miss school frequently. Behavior problems—both aggression and withdrawing—which may be rooted in pre-placement trauma, kept them from focusing on school. And they often avoided social interactions with peers in order to keep their foster status hidden. Yet they blamed themselves—not foster care or the schools—for their poor academic achievement. The adults in these foster children's lives often lacked a full picture of their educational needs. Foster parents were most concerned with the children's behavior; they rarely expressed concern with their foster children's poor grades, and most did not regularly help with homework. Caseworkers often were not aware of their academic progress, focusing instead on the frequent crises that characterize foster care. School staff usually had little knowledge of a child's foster care background and how bureaucratic demands of the system might explain missed tests or assignments. No one acknowledged primary responsibility for the educational progress of these children. We conclude that establishing primary responsibility for educational matters in each case would be a useful reform, along with increased cooperation between the child welfare system and schools on several specific issues. Greater information sharing could help—in particular, giving caseworkers access to children's academic records and giving teachers and other school staff information about a child's foster situation. Foster parents could be encouraged and supported to take a more active role in promoting their children's academic success. Finally, school staff could benefit from basic training on how the child welfare system works, the specific demands it makes on children, and its consequences for a child's development.

Provided by the National Advocate, Summer 2005 edition

After the success of the National Folk Festival in Bangor over the last 3 years, Bangor is now hosting the first American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront August 26-28. There will be over 20 groups performing on 5 stages, as well as dancing, crafts,
storytelling, and food! It's free to all with something for everyone. Check it out!