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Volume 10, No. 5 |
NEWSLETTER | June 2007 |
Summer Safety For most children, summer brings endless hours of sun and fun. Yet it’s also an opportunity for both small and serious injuries. Here are some safety tips that will help make you child’s summer a safe one. • Never leave children unattended in or near the water. Use U.S. Coast Guard approved life vests, also known as personal flotation devices (PFDs), on boats, docks, and around deep or swift water. Have adults take turns as “designated child watchers” at parties or family gatherings. Enroll children in swim lessons.* HAVE A WONDERFUL AND SAFE SUMMER! *The following organizations offer swim classes for various ages and abilities. Please contact them directly for more information: American Red Cross of Southern Maine 874-1192
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Cindy was recently awarded the SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR for 2006/07 by the Maine Administrators of Services for Children with Disabilities. Cindy was “nominated and selected as one who has demonstrated a leadership role in Cindy responded to the recognition by saying, “This is an honor to me and a great |
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Dangers of Hand Sanitizer Circulate Internet
Most of us will receive e-mails from time to time warning us about the hidden dangers of some common item. Usually they are not true, but there is a new e-mail warning that is being forwarded around about hand sanitizer. The e-mail warns parents about a child who spent two days in the emergency room and nearly died from drinking hand sanitizer. Most people would not think hand sanitizer could be as potent as moonshine, but experts say it is a dangerous poison in the unsupervised hands of a small child. An urban legend web site, www.snopes.com, which specializes in dispelling rumors, confirms two cases of severe alcohol poisoning from children drinking hand sanitizer. Rose Tanguay, RN, Call Center Supervisor for Maine Poison Control, confirms the dangers of ingesting hand sanitizers, but wants to reassure parents that a “lick amount” will not present a danger to children. Dangerous effects occur when about a tablespoon of sanitizer has been ingested. This amount is lower for younger children. Ms. Tanguay went on to say that if you suspect that your child has ingested any amount of hand sanitizer, it is better to play it safe and call poison control. The poison control center professionals calculate the weight and age of a child, as well as the amount ingested, when determining if medical treatment should be sought. “One of the biggest dangers of ingesting hand sanitizer, or any alcohol based product, is the severe drop in blood sugar that occurs in children”, said Ms. Tanguay. “The drop causes a cut in energy to brain cells, and the effects in children are greater than those in adults.” Because these hand sanitizers contain more alcohol than other products (between 62-67%) they pose a greater threat. It is important to note, however, that hand sanitizers are no longer capable of damage when dry. As is the case with any household product, supervision and care in storage are easy steps in preventing a mishap. Make sure any cleaning product is kept out of reach of children, and supervise their use. If you suspect your child has ingested hand sanitizer (or any chemical), call poison control at 1-800-222-1222. This is a new, nationwide, toll free number that will automatically connect you with your local poison control center. |
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The following people were recognized at the Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine Janice Brown Mary Goody Barbara Veregge Kurt and Carrie Pike Becky and Adrian Stone Betty Woodbury Michael and Jane McGuire Nick Pappas Betty and Al Greenleaf Wayne Doane Richard Totten |
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Amazing Foster Parent Retires
At seventy three years of age, Hilda Stockley decided to pursue a new career. She contacted Community Health & Counseling and began her 11 year experience as a respite foster parent. Soon she began to work with Care Development also, and between the two agencies, she was busy almost every weekend and occasionally throughout the week. She welcomed foster children ages 6-18 into her home each weekend throughout the eleven years. Hilda often attended foster parent trainings in Bangor and near her Lincoln home. Bette Hoxie, Liaison Director for Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, taught several trainings which Hilda attended. “She always had relevant and informative comments to share. She was a wonderful addition to each training and was an inspiration.” Bette was often impressed with the fact that “she always remembered to have fun with the children in her care. That was important to her.” Hilda enjoyed sharing many activities with her foster children, such as fishing, swimming, going to the movies, playing games, and sewing. “I often sewed with them, and I always stuck to working with what I had. One of my foster children and I made a teddy bear out of cloth left over from one of my blouses. She named it “Pinky” and couldn’t go anywhere without it. Her mother said that she still sticks right to Pinky.” Hilda has some concerns regarding children in the foster care system. She is concerned about the amount of medications that children are prescribed. “With the exception of one child, all my foster children took medication. Some were even prescribed ten to twelve different types of medications.” Hilda also states that she wishes the adoption process was easier for adoptive parents. She feels that the costs related to adoption may be a barrier for some families, but as Hilda stated “..there are so many children that need to be adopted…” Overall, Hilda’s experiences as a foster parent were wonderful. Although she states that she greatly enjoyed the work, health complications have prevented her from fostering anymore children. “It was good for me. It was good for them too, I hope.” And her advice for new foster parents? “Don’t try to make the children over. Your job is to help them go on living after everything that has happened to them, and to guide them.” AFFM thanks Hilda for the years of love and devotion she has provided to the children in Maine. |
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Foster Day at the Fort Foster Day at the Fort (in honor of National Foster Care Month) was a huge success again this year! Approximately 300 people were in attendance, and despite the less than perfect forecast, the weather cooperated. A good time was had by all! The families who attended were treated to woodworking from Home Depot, food and games from our various sponsors, and fort exploration. Hollywood Slots, Home Depot, Fields Pond Audobon Society, Garellic Farms Carol and her family drove 175 miles to attend the event!
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A Sad Note: AFFM was saddened to learn of the death of Peter Beebe-Lawson, 50, a foster parent from Springfield, Maine. Peter, a volunteer firefighter, was answering a call for assistance at a Prentiss sawmill, when the fire truck he was driving overturned on Rte. 169 on May 7th. Our thoughts and prayers are with Peter’s family and friends during this difficult time. He will be missed. |
A Sad Good Bye AFFM is sad to say good bye to Connie Ireland who has been the Program Administrator and “Jill of all work” here at the office for the past five years. |
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Great Job Cindy Tuck of the Maine Transition Network!! 
Thank You AFFM wishes to extend a sincere thank you to several student interns and volunteers who have assisted us during the past year. Thank you and congratulations to Renee Armstrong who recently graduated from the University of Maine in Orono. Renee is continuing at UMO, to earn her Masters degree. Renee has been actively involved in nearly all aspects of AFFM activities but has been most active as the Seasonal Activities Planning Coordinator for the kinship program. Renee is also preparing for her wedding in August. We appreciate all that you have so positively added to AFFM, Renee. We will enjoy the time we have left and will sincerely miss you when you leave, Renee. Thank you also to Shannon Reynolds a student at UMA who spent several months here and completed her internship in May. Thank you for all that you brought to AFFM. Your assistance was appreciated. Thank you to; William Rice who graciously volunteered for AFFM from November of 2006 until this month. Will plans to invest in other opportunities. Will has been instrumental in writing several mini grants for AFFM. As yet we have not had responses but know that if they are funded it is due to his hard work and if not funded it is certainly not a reflection on the amount of time, energy and research expended by William. He has been totally dedicated to finding the right matches and doing all he could to match need with potential outcomes for AFFM and the grantors. Thank you so much, Will. We are going to miss you. Do well in your new adventures. Thank you to Erika Hoxie for all of her efforts with regard to AFFM’s website affm.net. Erika has been responsible for nearly every aspect of the web site and did it all as a donation to AFFM. Erika does web sites as her trade and has also donated time by two of her staff members to install two computers in the library. People coming into the office now who wish may browse the web at their leisure and when needed print off materials. A special thank you to Erika and her staff for this gift as well. Throughout the year AFFM enjoys the donated time of such groups as NOE in Bangor, Beta Sigma Phi in Old Town, Key Clubs from Old Town High School, Bangor High, and Hampden Academy. Thank you to each of these groups. You are a valuable to this small yet state-wide non-profit association and the staff of three. Without you the newsletter would not get out! Our most recent volunteers are Heidi Robinson and Jenn Osborne. Heidi is volunteering as AFFM’s librarian. She has worked diligently to organize the library and adding new items to the shelves and listings. Soon individuals will have easy access to library on line thanks to Heidi’s efforts. Heidi is also in college (UMA) but her time at AFFM is her own. Jenn is a student at UMA in Bangor and is working at AFFM to fulfill her internship in human services. She has enthusiastically embraced several projects here at AFFM including working with Renee to assist in matching children in kinship families with summer camps. Among other things, Jenn was a great help in getting the newsletter out last month. Thank you for that Jenn! |
Upcoming Trainings
What Families Want Conference September 15, 2007 The WFW Conference is a one-day conference for families and youth with emotional and behavioral challenges and is free of charge to families. Keynote: Dr. Larry Silver, author of The Misunderstood Child Workshop Tracks: Education The planning group for the WFW Conference is a collaborative partnership between: family members and youth, Children’s Behavioral Health Services (CBHS), GEAR Parent Network, Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Maine, Maine Parent Federation (MPF), National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Maine and THRIVE Initiative. For more information contact: Tonya Labbe, (207) 782-5783 or tlabbe@tcmhs.org
Celebrate the Family Keynote speaker will be Dr. Crystal Arlene Kuykendall Resiliency in Foster Care: Can Our Kids “Bounce Back” This 6 hour training will look at the factors that put children at risk for significant challenges in their future, and more importantly, will examine why some children, despite those risk factors, succeed. In addition, we will explore techniques that foster and adoptive parents can use to help children from adverse backgrounds overcome those risk factors and become successful, independent adults. We will look at extensive research done over many years around the world to find our what works! This is a hands-on training with lots of activities and small group work-each participant will be practicing some of the techniques to see which ones might work within their family. It is designed to remind us, as parents, that we do make a difference each and every day. To register, or for more information, contact:
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AFFM is especially grateful to our amazing kinship families, who really thought “outside the box” when discerning camp placements for the children. |
Generations United 14th International Conference Barbara Friedman, Colette Phipps and Robin Tillotson, Conference Co-Chairs |
The NFPA 2007 Annual Education Conference in Washington, D.C. was extremely successful! What we accomplished:
Jamie Burns, NFPA Event Coordinator
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New to the Library:
Ann Yurek, the mother of eleven children, takes you on a rare and wonderful journey of wholeness in parenting a critical ill child and adopting a family with extraordinary needs. An enjoyable read you will not soon forget. For more information on this, or any of AFFM’s library resources, please contact AFFM at 1-800-833-9786. |
Adoption Announcements To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world! Robin & Edward Crane, along with their family are proud to announce the adoption of Dakota Lawerence (age 3)
The adoption of Rayevon Freeman Deschambault The Adoption of |
Meet Desiree..... This young lady is quite special! Desiree is involved in so many activities and has so many interests; it is difficult to list them all. She is full of energy and enthusiasm and is extremely polite and easy to talk to. Born in March 2002, Desiree enjoys swimming, dancing, cheerleading and going for walks. She is involved in her church youth group and enjoys the activities they do together. She attends church most Sundays and Desiree feels it would be important to continue to go to church in her adoptive family. She is open to trying new churches until she finds the right one for her. She also enjoys Christian music. Desiree attends a full day of school in a day treatment program. She likes school on most days, but does struggle with the work sometimes. Her foster mother says she tries very hard in school and is making great improvements. Desiree loves animals! In her current home, she is responsible for the care of a young goat. She feeds him each day and enjoys spending time grooming him and making sure he is taken care of. She also lists cats, dogs and horses as her favorite animals. She now has a fish tank that she helps to keep clean. Families interested in knowing more about Desiree should contact April Chapman, Adoption Caseworker with the Maine Department of Health and Human Services at (207) 484-4850. Adoption subsidy may be available for the most appropriate family. |
FAMILY TIES the Newsletter of Adoptive & Foster Families of Maine, Inc. Published with support from
: the Maine Dept. of Human Services
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"You must be the change you want to see in the World" ~Mahatma Gandhi |
