August 2014
FREE TRAININGS for families and
professionals:
100 downloads and counting...
Monday, August 4- northern Virginia training
of Brothers and Sisters of Children wtih Special
Needs: Unique Concerns and Unique
Opportunities for parents and caregivers of children
with disabilities and nondisabled sibings, at GMU,
Fairfax*.
Join other northern Virginia families and
professionals and download your copy of
the new update to our Formed Families
Resource Directory now!
Thursday, September 25, 6:30 pm- Back to School:
Back to (Special Education) Basics evening training,
FFF offices, Fairfax.
October 3 - 5- Camp FACES family camp at Camp
Friendship, Palmyra, Va., small fee*
Tuesdays, October 7 and 14, 7 pm- Hocus Focus:
Addressing Emotional and Behavioral Needs in
Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Families; CoSponsored by Loudoun DFS, Loudoun County Public
Schools Parent Resource Center & FFF, Leesburg.
Monday, November 10, 6:30 pm- Making Sense of
the Assessment Soup: Understanding your Child’s
Special Education Evaluation webinar
* trainings are not sponsored by Formed Families Forward
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IDEA Fun and
Games?!?
Join us for an evening
of Back to School: Back to
Basics on special education on September 25 at 6:30
pm in Fairfax. This laid-back refresher on basics of
special education and the Individuals with Disabilities
Find organizations, agencies, providers and other
resources for foster, adoptive, kinship and other families
raising children with special needs. Each resource is
hotlinked through this online directory.
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August is Family Fun month!
Summer will soon be a memory.
Worry not, as August is a great
opportunity to enjoy some downtime
with the family. Check out these great and low cost
opportunities for some end-of-summer fun:
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DC-area family activities for kids and families
Virginia county fairs provide budget-friendly
entertainment
At home, enjoy some quality summer reading
time together as a family.
And remember this weekend, August 1-3 is sales taxfree on school supplies and clothes in Virginia.
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Education Act (IDEA) will include games and
refreshments. Register now!
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Show us that smile!
We at Formed Families Forward want to
use only images of REAL families formed
through adoption, foster care and kinship
care. We are still looking for some great
shots this summer!
Not quite Nora Roberts: Summer
Reading for foster families and
professionals!
Two recent reports feature information of relevance to
foster/resource families raising children with special
needs, as well as to agency personnel.
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Please consider sharing some
pictures of your family with us
to use on the website, on
Facebook, and in our
publications and other
materials.
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Send your digital pictures to
us at info@formedfamiliesforward.org and we will send
you a photo release. Thank you!
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Introducing the FFF Q & A!
Starting here, Formed Families
Forward will feature a Question
and Answer of the month in each
Momentum E-News. Feel free to
contribute your questions or suggest resources at
info@formedfamiliesforward.org.
Question: It's almost September and our family is
really busy. Do we have to add our child's IEP review
meeting to the list of things to do this crazy-busy
month?
Answer: The Individualized Education Program (IEP)
team must review and revise the IEP at least annually.
If your last review was more recent than one year ago
September, the team is not required to meet
immediately. Some schools and school divisions prefer
to cluster IEP meetings at common times however, so
families may be encouraged to meet at the beginning
or end of the school year.
Remember that an adoptive or foster parent or kinship
guardian can request an IEP review at any time. When
a face-to-face IEP meeting is held to review the IEP, it
can "restart" the clock on the annual review date.
While the request for an IEP does not always have to
be made in writing, a sample letter for requesting an
What does the Research Tell us about
Services for Children in
Therapeutic/Treatment Foster Care with
Behavioral Health Issues?- This report
summarizes the proceedings of an expert panel
convened by several federal agencies. Data
about TFC and information about proven
practices are included. In particular,
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC)
and Together Facing the Challenge are reviewed
in detail.
Fostering Success in Education: National
Factsheet on the Educational Outcomes of
Children in Foster Care- this brief fact sheet
summarizes national data about educational
characteristics of children in foster care. It also
describes promising practices and policies for
families, children and youth from early childhood
through post-school transitions. Definitely worth a
read!
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FACES of Virginia Families
offers FREE adoption social
worker training
Our friends at FACES of Virginia Families are hosting a
training for local and private agencies to improve the
quality of post-adoption services. The session on
September 4, 10 am - 3 pm at Tysons Pimmit library in
Falls Church includes presentations by adoption
attorneys and a therapist. Learn more about this free
session HERE.
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A Donation to Formed Families Forward is
Tax-Deductible!
Week in, week out, Formed Families Forward responds
to questions and concerns from northern Virginia's foster,
adoptive and kinship families raising children and youth
with special needs. A donation to FFF allows us to
expand our work and continue providing great training
and support FREE of charge to families.
IEP review meeting can be found HERE.
Formed Families Forward provides training and support to
northern Virginia families formed through adoption, foster care
and kinship care who are raising children and youth with special
education needs. We also serve professionals who work with our
families.
Reach us at www.formedfamiliesforward.org,
info@formedfamiliesforward.org or call (703) 539-2904.
Kelly Henderson, Ph.D., Executive Director