Friends of Wednesday’s Child
Information Packet
A resource for Case Managers, Case Workers, CASA Advocates, and other Community Partners.
Friends of Wednesday’s Child
1/1/2015
WWW.WEDCHILD.ORG | 972.231.1433
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
About Friends of Wednesday’s Child …………………………………………………………………..Page 3
2015 Guidelines for Requesting Support……………………………………………………………….Page 4
2015 Success in School Referral Process……………………………………………………………...Page 4
Process for Requesting Birthday Cards………………………………………………………………...Page 5
The Request Process – A Visual
…………………………………………………………………….Page 6
Frequently Asked Questions …………………………………………………………………………….Page 7
FWC Calendar……………………………………………………………………………………………..Page 8
FWC Contact Information…………………………………………………………………………………Page 9
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About Friends of Wednesday’s Child
Friends of Wednesday’s Child has been serving youth in foster care in North Texas since 1984. We are dedicated to
fulfilling our mission by providing partnership and resources to those serving children in foster care.
Children/Youth We Serve:
We serve youth who are from CPS Region 3 currently in foster care. This includes youth who are placed in a
licensed foster home and are still considered a foster placement. If a child remains in extended care while working
or going to school they still qualify for our services. Once a child ages out, returns to their home, is adopted or goes
to a kinship placement they no longer qualify for our services.
Our Mission:
The mission of Friends of Wednesday’s Child is to transform the lives of children in foster care through education.
We accomplish our mission through:
 Improving educational outcomes for children in foster care so they will have a bright and promising future;
 Driving student achievement to increase high school completion rates;
 Closing the educational gap between what the state provides and what children in foster care need.
We fulfill our mission by providing:
 Academic, enrichment, and extracurricular resources and support;
 A Champion to meet each student’s unique educational needs;
 Training opportunities for youth and caregivers so children in foster care can pursue their dreams;
 Partnership and resources to those serving children in foster care.
Resources & Support from Friends of Wednesday’s Child:
Success in School Program (SIS): Success in School is a program designed to help improve the educational
outcomes for youth in foster care in Region 3. A Friends of Wednesday’s Child Education Specialist works directly
with the student, social workers, caregivers, and schools to provide individualized education support. To receive
additional information about the Success in School Program, please contact Kristen Draughn, FWC’s Education
Specialist, at kdraughn@wedchild.org
Academic & Extracurricular Support: Tutoring, GED preparation and test, summer school, college prep, college
campus visits, and assistance with graduation packages including senior rings and senior trips. In addition to these
supports, every August we hold a Back-to-Class Readiness Event that supplies youth with backpacks and school
supplies. Every fall, we award university scholarships, as well. Please see our full calendar (included on page 8) for
dates and scholarship application deadlines.
FWC supports opportunities for youth in foster care to participate in extra-curricular and enrichment activities. We
evaluate requests for the following types of Beyond the Classroom activities: enrichment /extra-curricular (dance,
music, art, team sports, etc.), driver’s education, summer camp through our ‘Kids to Camp’ sponsorships, and our
birthday memories program. Please see our full calendar for event dates and ‘Kids to Camp’ application deadlines.
Training Supports: Friends of Wednesday’s Child provides supports and training for youth, caregivers, school
districts, and partners. To learn more about our training supports or how we could collaborate, please contact our
Mission Manager, Alisha Robertson, at arobertson@wedchild.org or 972-231-1433 x 204.
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2015 Guidelines for Requesting Support from Friends of Wednesday’s Child
Academic & Extracurricular Funding Request Process:
1. Complete the 2015 Request for Funding form. Our form is designed to be saved on your computer and filled
in by typing in the correct information or selecting from a drop down list. Only typed forms are accepted.
Please fill in all the information, including your email and phone number. Requests must be completed
by a worker. Foster families may not make a request, directly. Forms can be found online at
www.wedchild.org/resources/forms.
o
If you are requesting monthly payments for something like gymnastics or tutoring, please make sure and
put the total you are requesting on the “amount requested” line then give a brief explanation in the “what
is needed” section. For example, if you wish to request two months of gym at $40 per month, put $80 on
the “amount requested” line and then explain that you are asking for two months of gym at $40 per
month on the “what is needed line”.
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Attach any supporting information you might have to the request (i.e. documentation from driving school,
tutor’s certification, a cost list from a school for drill team equipment, etc.). The more information we
have, the better it allows us to evaluate the request. Unfortunately, we will not be able to review
requests without supporting documentation.
o
Please ensure you specify to whom the check needs to be made payable, as well as where to send it.
Remember, we do not reimburse foster parents or pay them directly. We need to pay the school,
company, gymnastics coach, etc. directly. We can send these checks to the foster parent to turn in as
payment. As an example, for a senior ring, we might make the check out to Jostens, but mail it to the
foster parents to turn in with the form the child has filled out.
2. Email Form to Proper CPS Liaison: When the request form is complete, please send it, along with all the
information you are attaching, to the proper liaison. They are listed at the bottom of each form. Forms are sent
to liaisons based on the county where the child originated, not, necessarily, where they live now. The reason the
requests must go through the liaisons is to verify the child originated in Region 3 and is currently placed in a
licensed foster care home. The liaison will then send the form on to us to process.
Success in School Referral Process:
Detailed information about Success in School, alongside referral forms, can be found on our website at
https://wedchild.org/programs/success-in-school. In addition, Education Specialist, Kristen Draughn, can be
contacted at any time via email at kdraughn@wedchild.org or 972-231-1433 x 208 to discuss the program in detail.
1. Discuss Success in School (SIS) with the student and the student’s caregiver.
2. Complete the Success in School Referral Form and email directly to kdraughn@wedchild.org,
FWC’s Education Specialist. SIS Referral Forms can be downloaded from our website.
3. Upon FWC receiving the student referral, the FWC Education Specialist will correspond with both
the caseworker and the caregiver in regards to the evaluation of the student’s acceptance into the
program.
4. A program enrollment determination will be made within 7 working days of FWC receiving all
necessary student referral information.
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Birthday Memories Request Process:
Every month, FWC sends personalized birthday cards with a gift card enclosed to help celebrate a child’s special
day. If you have a child on your caseload with a birthday coming up, complete a form so they can receive a birthday
card. All forms are due by the 21st of the month prior to the birthday month.
3. Complete the 2015 Birthday Request Form: Our form is designed to be saved on your computer and filled in
by typing in the correct information or selecting from a drop down list. Requests must be completed by a
worker. The birthday request form can be found online at: www.wedchild.org/resources/forms.
o
If you are requesting a birthday gift card, please note that the child must be turning at least 4 years of
age. The hope for this program is for the child to utilize the gift card and pick out his/her own birthday
gift. Also, all birthday requests are due by the 21st of the month prior to their birthday.
4. Email Form to Proper CPS Liaison: When the request form is complete, please send it along with all the
supporting information, to the proper liaison. They are listed at the bottom of each form.
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Request Process: A Visual
Workers who help identify needs
of the children complete the
request form and send to our
CPS liaisons.
Caseworkers
Case managers
CASA
Community
Partners
CPS liaison partners verify
child’s information and
originating county.
Three
Region 3 CPS
Liaisons
Angela Rivers:
Dallas County
Gina Caldwell:
Tarrant County
Lynn Price:
Outlying Counties
FWC receives request forms
from CPS liaison partners, and
evaluates them every
Wednesday.
FWC
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens to the form once I send it to the proper CPS Liaison?
A: CPS Liaisons send the forms directly to FWC for review. Should the child no longer be in foster care or if he/she
did not originate from Region 3, the CPS Liaison will not forward to form onto FWC for consideration.
Q: When are the requests reviewed?
A: Requests are reviewed every Wednesday morning. If a request is received after Tuesday at 5:00pm, it is
reviewed the following week.
Q: How will I know if the request I submitted is approved, denied, or if partial funding is awarded?
A: Every Wednesday afternoon a FWC staff member emails a request update to both the CPS Liaison and the
caseworker/case manager who submitted the form. We rely on the caseworker/case manager to communicate with
the family the update of the requested funds.
Q: Are funds sent directly to the foster parents?
A: FWC can mail payment directly to the caregiver. However, the check will always be made payable to the vendor
(school, gym, group, etc.). On the form, it is important to specify whether the check should be mailed directly to the
vendor or to the caregiver.
Q: Are all requests approved?
A: Unfortunately, oftentimes, we have limited funding and not all requests are approved. In addition, we have
funding limits on requests such as driver’s education, graduation packets, and enrichment activities.
Q: What are the funding limits?
A: For driver’s education, the current funding limit is up to $150 per youth. For graduation/senior expenses, the
current funding limit is up to $150 per youth. For enrichment and extra-curricular activities funding, limits vary
depending on the activity.
Q: Will FWC fund an extra-curricular and/or enrichment activity indefinitely?
A: FWC helps support activities so that children in foster care can have the same opportunities and experiences as
their peers. However, we do encourage co-investments with foster families. Because we serve over 6,000 children
in North Texas, there are often annual limits on amounts of funding approved per child. Conversations with foster
families around saving and budgeting for long-term extra-curricular activities are encouraged.
Q: What is the population of children who can benefit from FWC services?
A: Our services/events serve foster children who originated in Region 3. Once a child has left foster care either by
reunification, kinship placement, adoption, aged out, etc., our services are no longer available to them.
Q: What are some examples of requests you do not fund?
A: We do not fund reimbursements, cars, medical/health expenses, medical equipment, legal expenses, or adoption
fees.
Q: Can a child and/or parent send a thank you card?
A: Absolutely. We love to hear from kids and families letting us know how we helped or how much it was needed. All
cards, letters, etc. can be mailed to our office.
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Friends of Wednesday’s Child 2015 Calendar
JANUARY

Monday, January 19th: Martin Luther King Day – FWC OFFICES CLOSED
FEBRUARY




*Tuesday, February 10th: College Financial Aid Workshop at UNT-Dallas with Commit!
Monday, February 16th: President’s Day – FWC OFFICES CLOSED
*Saturday, February 21st: College Financial Aid Workshops at Molina HS, Richardson HS, and Bryan
Adams HS
*Saturday, February 28th: College Financial Aid Workshops at Adamson HS & Dallas Public Library Central
*Dates highlighted in blue are open to all high school students in the area and are being organized by partner organization Commit! To
learn more and register, visit www.youcanaffordcollege.org. This is not a FWC event. This event is being held by Commit! Dallas and
open to all students.
MARCH


Monday, March 2nd: Fall 2015 Friends of Wednesday’s Child Higher Education Scholarship Application
Opens (Deadline Friday, May 29th)
Monday, March 30th: Kids to Camp Scholarship Application Opens
APRIL

Friday, April 24th: Kids to Camp Scholarship Application Deadline
MAY


Friday, May 1st: Kids to Camp Scholarship Recipient notification letters sent out
Friday, May 29th: Deadline for Fall 2015 Higher Education Scholarship Applications
JUNE

Tuesday, June 30th FWC Fall 2015 Scholarship Recipients Announced
JULY



July 2015: Success in School Program Year One Report Card Released
Monday, July 13th: Back to Class RSVP Event Registration Opens
Tuesday, July 28th: Back to Class RSVP Event Registration Closes
AUGUST


Saturday, August 1st : Back-to-Class Readiness Event
August 2015: Success in School Program Year Two Begins
NOVEMBER

Thursday/Friday, November 26th & 27th : Thanksgiving Holiday – FWC OFFICES CLOSED
DECEMBER

December 25th – January 1st: FWC OFFICES CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS
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Friends of Wednesday’s Child Contact Information
Website: www.wedchild.org
Sharon McGowan, Executive Director
Email: smcgowan@wedchild.org
Direct Line: 469-718-5612
Fax: 972-231-3422
Alisha Robertson, Mission Manager
Email: arobertson@wedchild.org
Direct Line: 469-718-5614
Fax: 972-231-3422
Kristen Draughn, Education Specialist
Email: kdraughn@wedchild.org
Phone: 972-231-1433 ext. 208
Fax: 972-231-3422
Mailing Address:
Friends of Wednesday’s Child
2801 Swiss Avenue, Ste. 130
Dallas, Texas 75204
Phone: 972-231-1433
Fax: 972-231-3422
facebook.com/wedchild
twitter.com/wedchild
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