Between Families – June 2021

Summer Fun!

June is upon us! Fun in the sun! Vacations! No school! Travel! Where will you go? What will you do? You have the entire summer in front of you to explore, bond with your family and work towards a much-needed return to normalcy.

Most of us are asking ourselves – what does, “normal” look like now? Recent figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) indicate that nearly 50 million Americans have been vaccinated against Covid-19 since rollouts began at the end of 2020. These vaccination rates are allowing families to leave their homes, restaurants are opening back up, and travel destinations are back in business.

Many of us are excited about having the chance to visit with family and friends that we were not able to see while we were all sheltering safely at home this past year. It is important to remember to continue to make good choices in our interactions with others and our day-to-day activities. Remember to wash your hands frequently using hot, soapy water. The length of time it takes for a person to sing, “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is sufficient to ensure a good, thorough hand-scrubbing. Continue to use hand sanitizer throughout the day. Pay attention to your surroundings, maintain a safe distance from people whenever possible, and wear masks where it is recommended or required.

And what an exciting time for all the people in the service industry who are getting back to work! If you go out to eat at a restaurant, remember to be friendly to your servers and other staff you might interact with. The past year has been especially hard on the restaurant industry and many of the people you will interact with have endured financial hardship on top of the fear we all experienced related to Covid-19. Go out to eat and support our restaurants and service industry friends! It will be great for the economy, great for the service industry and great for your family.

The summer of 2021 is going to look so different from what we all experienced last year. As we all work towards a new normal for our daily lives, TFI hopes you all remain safe and healthy as you get out in the sunshine. Happy summer to all of you!

Kansas Care Provider of the Month

Jesse and Kara Larimore are the Kansas care providers of the month! The family cares deeply for children in foster care in many ways. Currently, the child in their home is receiving extra help with medical concerns. Jesse and Kara spend extra, quality time with the children in their home, and they are always there to support our workers in any way. Jesse and Kara will take emergency or respite children in a heartbeat with no questions asked. Jesse and Kara always want what is best for the children in their home and they grow a close bond with the children in their home. We appreciate the Larimores so much!

Oklahoma Care Provider of the Month

Jesse and Kara Larimore are the Kansas care providers of the month! The family cares deeply for children in foster care in many ways. Currently, the child in their home is receiving extra help with medical concerns. Jesse and Kara spend extra, quality time with the children in their home, and they are always there to support our workers in any way. Jesse and Kara will take emergency or respite children in a heartbeat with no questions asked. Jesse and Kara always want what is best for the children in their home and they grow a close bond with the children in their home. We appreciate the Larimores so much!

 

Oklahoma News

Please welcome our new TFI Oklahoma staff! 

Lori Colbart is a Licensed Professional Counselor with experience working with individuals and families who have suffered trauma. She is very excited to join the TFI family in effort to strengthen families and communities. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and playing the piano.

Hannah Williams is an alumni of University of Central Oklahoma. She has a bachelor’s degree in child development and enjoys educating and learning. She enjoys spending time with her dog (Dottie), family and friends. Hannah states, “I look forward to serving families, and supporting them as much as possible!”

Chyron Adams recently relocated to Oklahoma City from Marion, Indiana. She has worked with children for around 10 years. Chyron loves to sing, cook, travel, watch tiktoks, and send crazy mom memes to her children. She enjoys working in foster care and finds it rewarding when children gain permanency and are loved in ways that allow them to blossom and flourish. She look forward to this new position and learning the processes.

Training Corner

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness

In the US there are more than 3,500 sleep related deaths each year, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), accidental suffocation and deaths from unknown causes. SIDS is the abbreviation for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. SIDS is defined as the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including an autopsy, examination of the death scene and a review of clinical history.

Read the article below, fill out the quiz and send to your worker for credit. 

Need Additional Training?

Check out these other training opportunities in June

Recruitment Spotlight

TFI would like to thank all the families who participated in our first virtual TFI Foster Family Retreat. We had 185 people attend the event, which included four amazing speakers. Families were able to get 5.5 training hours while winning some really cool prizes.

The Recruitment Department will be sending out a survey to all our TFI families to get your opinion on the virtual retreat and what you would like to see us do in the future. That survey will be coming to your email addresses in the very near future, so please check your spam box if don’t see it.

If you won a prize during the retreat, I will be reaching out to you. Thanks for all you do and thank you for making the first virtual retreat a huge success!

Jason Cecil
Director of Regional Recruitment

Fund Development

Yee haw! Our Cowboys Who Care Ranch Rodeo was a success! We partnered with Crooked Bar Ranch and had our event on Saturday, June 5 at the Creek County Fairgrounds. This event benefited kids in foster care in Oklahoma. We had vendors, a cornhole tournament, kids games, a petting zoo, mechanical bull, food trucks, rodeo competition and a band after the rodeo! We had amazing sponsors who made this day possible, plus amazing volunteers who were giving of their time and talents. Thank you to Crooked Bar Ranch and the cowboy teams who came out and put on a great show! It was a fun event and we can’t wait until next year!

We are so excited for out next event.. the Blues, Brews and Bites Festival on Sept. 11, at the Ward Meade Park, Topeka, KS! This year we will have a New Orleans twist with Zydeco music and Cajun food. Doors open at 2 p.m., show starts at 3 p.m. There will be live music, cold drinks, food trucks and an amazing silent auction! It’s a great time and a fun way to raise money for our kids in care so please come join us!

If you or someone you know would be interested in attending, sponsoring, or volunteering (or all three), please send them our way! Visit us on Facebook or check out the event on our website.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Oklahoma/Texas: Steven Mandeville | 918-728-3378 | smandeville@tfifamily.org 
Kansas/Nebraska: Sheila Kearney | 785-213-6161 | skearney@tfifamily.org 
Events & Volunteer Coordinator: Libby Hayden | 785-294-6606 | ehayden@tfifamily.org

The winner of this month’s newsletter giveaway is Derrell & Jamie Moore. Derrell & Jamie, to claim your $25 Amazon gift card, please email your foster care worker and tell them you won the giveaway. You must email your worker within the month of June to accept your prize.