A More Knowledgeable You!

Fitness for Fostering Fridays will be opportunities for Resource Parents to attend workshops mini‐ conference style held on Fridays to help enhance their family’s fitness and capacity for fostering children from out of home placement. Workshops will be lead by local, state or national expert guest speakers.

Fitness for Fostering Fridays is also an opportunity for Resource Parents to meet with other families, receive support and make long lasting connections. Resource Parents will have the opportunity to attend workshops either in the morning, afternoon or both if they choose.

Session 1| Trauma Informed Holidays in Foster Care

While the holiday season is known as “the most wonderful time of the year,” it can also be a tough time for children and young people with a history of trauma, like the kids in our care from child protective services.

At a time when the focus is on families coming together, being separated from biological parents or siblings can initiate strong feelings of loneliness, anxiety, sadness or fear. Even when children are happy to be with their foster families and away from an abusive home, experiencing the holidays in a new household with unfamiliar traditions can surface up all kinds of complicated feelings. Join us to learn trauma informed strategies you can use during the holiday season to better navigate the experiences youth may feel and what is needed to best support them.

Guest Speaker: Sue Badeau, National Trainer & Adoptive Parent 

Sue Badeau is a lifetime parent of twenty‐two children, two by birth and twenty adopted (three with terminal illnesses who are now deceased). She is a grandparent to 45 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. Sue cares to educate and support resource parents in their fostering and/or adopting journey to not only enhance their parenting lifelong experiences with their children but also for the outcomes of those children. With a deep well of lived experience, she passionately advocates for reimagining both foster care and juvenile justice systems. She underscores the significance of respite and self‐care for caregivers and professionals, emphasizing the journey toward permanence for older adolescents. Her advocacy also highlights the importance of preserving the sibling bond and nurturing lifelong connections with birth families for both foster and adopted children. Furthermore, she champions the empowerment of families to effectively engage with these complex systems.

Key Details: 

• Continental breakfast and lunch included | Continental breakfast from 8:30am – 9am| Buffet Lunch from 12pm – 12:30pm
• Free Parking

Separate registration is required for each individual workshop. Childcare is not provided on‐site. Translation available upon request.

If you plan on joining us for session 2 in the afternoon, please click here to register