GREAT TRAINING!!

Last Saturday we had a great training. Amy Graham, a supervisor with DCFS, took us through the process from initial abuse/neglect reports until the closure of a case. We saw some sad pictures of actual abuse cases and heard many examples from her years of experience. We laughed some, cried a little, and most of all - learned a lot. Thanks, Amy, for sharing your expertise with us and thanks to those of you who came. We had a record 26 peer parents in attendance!

To go along with our "DCFS - From Soup to Nuts" theme, we enjoyed chilled strawberry soup and nut breads. Many of you requested the soup recipe so here it is:

CHILLED STRAWBERRY SOUP

2 cups frozen strawberries

2 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sour cream

2-4 tablespoons sugar to taste (depends on how sweet you like it and whether or not your frozen strawberries are pre-sweetened.)

Puree strawberries, milk, cream and sour cream in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in sugar to taste. Chill 8 hours or overnight in refrigerator before serving. Serves 6.

*Photos are courtesy of Trista Andersen, peer parent from Cache County.

I FEEL LUCKY...

...to work with such a wonderful people. Peer parents are the most dedicated, caring, and empathetic people I know. Thank you for your great example to me and your tireless efforts for the families you work with.

Last month I trained a few new peer parents. I'd like to welcome Megan, Velvet, Kera, Lori and Mandy to our peer parent family - we're glad to have you with us!

This month is advanced peer parent training. It will be held on Saturday, March 19, from 9:00 to 11:00 in the Clearfield DCFS. Amy Graham, a superviser from the Clearfield office will take us through the entire DCFS process, from initial referral of a family through closing of a case. I think it will be very beneficial for all of us to better understand the role of DCFS as we work so closely with them.

I want to make you all aware of the Youth Mentor Program. This is also a program I coordinate for DCFS. Youth mentors work with youth who have open cases with DCFS. Some of these youth are in foster care, others remain at home with their families. These are typically young people who could benefit from a good role model outside of what is provided in their homes. A youth mentor must be 21 years of age or older, pass a Criminal and Child Abuse Background Check, have good references, and meet some training expectations. A mentor works with each youth assigned to them up to 30 hours per month. Youth mentors are paid $9.25/hour when working with a youth one-on-one and $6.25/hour when taking more than one youth on an activity.

If you know anyone who meets the above qualifications and loves working with youth, please have them contact me for more information.