August 2014 - Kern Bridges

NEWSLETTER
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August 2014
kernbridges.com
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KBYH summer Camp
Every summer KBYH looks forward to providing many of our youth with a fun and exci=ng summer camp-­‐out. This year 17 foster youth were treated to the Lake Lopez water park, Avila Beach day, boa=ng (including tubing, knee boarding, wake-­‐
boarding, and fishing), an Amazing Race ac=vity, outdoor movie night, excellent food prepared by our amazing AT&T Golden Empire Telephone Pioneer volunteers, s’mores, talent night, camp t-­‐
shirt, and visits by deer, turkeys, and even a bear. Thank you to all the staff, volunteers and donors who make this trip possible. The only complaint we received was that camp was too short, a complaint we can live with. !
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Special thanks to our sponsor: TRAINING
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In a recent newsletter, we reported the passing
of Johnathan Gaston. In response, KBYH
has dedicated a visitation room in his honor
with the plaque pictured (right). Johnathan
was an inspiration to us all and we are grateful
to have his memory live on.
Upcoming Trainings
(please RSVP)
August 21, 6:00-­‐8:00PM or August 26, 9:00-­‐10:00AM: “MAB Premises” with Mark Dominguez !
September 6, 9:00-­‐11:00AM: “Posi=ve Discipline” with Ruth Jackson !
October 15, 6:00-­‐8:00PM: “A_achment” with Jessica and Carrie !
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Ongoing Trainings
Mark Dominguez will be offering the following trainings on an ongoing basis: !
CPR/1st Aid Recer=fica=on (for anyone who has previously had CPR/1st Aid training): First Thursday of every month from 10:00am-­‐Noon and from 6:00-­‐8:00pm. Par=cipants must RSVP by the Monday of the week of training. !
CPR/1st Aid ini=al course (for those who have never had the training before): First Saturday of February, May, August, and November, 9:00am-­‐5:00pm. Par=cipants must RSVP by the Monday of the week of training. !
KBYH News Flash, Part II
Last month we reported that Rose and
Victor Hernandez’s daughter
Christina was expecting twins.
Unfortunately, we found this not to be
quite accurate. We regret the
misinformation. Recent credible
unnamed sources informed us that
Christina is in fact expecting…..
triplets!!!!!!!! Wow! Our
congratulations to Christina and
Jared. Maternal and paternal
grandparents are elated. We anxiously
await the arrival of the children.
Storks are currently refueling for the
deliveries.
www.kernbridges.com PH 661-396-2301 FAX 661-396-2349
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Book Review
I'm always searching for books which help children
discuss their feelings. Anxiety, stress and worry can be
hard for a child to understand. In “Is a Worry Worrying
You?” by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz, children
are introduced to possible worries and given creative ways
to handle them. This book creates a positive dialogue and
addresses a difficult subject with humor and fantastic
illustrations.
!
-Alexis Edwards (KBYH foster/adoptive parent)
ILP Spotlight
One of the events I was fortunate to participate in this summer was going to an ILP program called
“Ignite Independence” at CSUB and I was to stay there for three days and two nights. At first, I had
my doubts about this event. I wouldn't know anyone, what is it going to be like, were there friendly
people, was I even going to learn anything, and so on. I had no idea who was going, the only thing
I knew was that I was invited, it was at CSUB, and that I had to take classes. When you first hear
taking classes during summer it doesn't sound very good, but my this was different. When I first
got there I wanted my foster mom to walk me to my assigned room because I didn't want to be left
alone quite yet. Eventually she had to leave and I had to suck it up and get through this event. My
roommate was named Veronica and she was so friendly! As the day went by I got to meet
everyone through this fun class called “Icebreakers”. Keith Powell was the one who spoke and got
everyone to find interesting facts about everyone in the room. By the end of the class I knew
mostly about everyone but I spoke with every person in there and let me tell you was I glad that I
met all of them! That day I learned about my money and how I should invest it and save and I also
learned about sex education which is always good to know more information about even if you
have taken health in high school. These classes were so full of discussion that everyone one was
engaged into them. Everyone participated, even the shy ones, who would get help from Keith. He
made it so easy to comprehend all the information he was giving out to us. Not only him but every
other educator we had in those three days. They would answer every question they had even if
they were running out of time. There weren't only classes at this event, there were fun events too.
Of course there were breaks in between classes. There was breakfast, lunch and dinner, social
time to get to know everyone a little more and a big fun event at the end of the day. Two of the
events were going to Edwards Theater and watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes while eating
popcorn and going bowling! These events were a great way to get everyone together to have fun
and get closer. After these events or before bedtime we had social time and this was a time where
we got to take our showers, get ready for bed, or go and talk to some of the other foster kids. I
soon realized that my assumption for this entire event was completely wrong. Not one single
person was unfriendly. Everyone tried to get to know each other, it reminded me of a family to be
honest and it made me happy. The amazing thing was that we all shared something in common,
we are all foster kids! We all had a story to tell and advice to give from our experiences so yes you
could say that we all did get closer emotionally, and not in a bad way either. At the end everyone
had benefitted from this event with more knowledge about financing, housing, yourself, your future,
and all of the opportunities that are out there for us. I know I certainly did and that's why I am so
grateful now that I got to participate in this once in a lifetime chance to get to meet others like me
and learn with them as a team to create our futures one way or another. The thing I loved the most
about this event was seeing that these adults made their way to come and educate us foster kids
to tell us that there is a future out there for us and that we are not alone once we hit adulthood.
This definitely showed me that there are people out there that not only want to help us but see us
grow up and be successful in life as we age. It warms my heart to see that there are many who
care for us because after all we grew up thinking that there wasn't. It proves that we can't take
things for granted and that we can be just as successful as anybody else as long as we make the
right choices, create a path and stick to it. I would like to thank everyone who helps the foster
youth. This includes the Department of Human Services, ILP program, Kern Bridges, and other
foster care programs out there.
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-Marlin V. (KBYH Foster Youth)
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Child Birthdays August 8: Efrain C August 8:Liliana G August 16: Kayla M. August 17: Alex P. August 26: Thomas T. August 28: Anthony G. August 29:Jessie F. Foster Parent Birthdays August 17: Amando Reyna August 22: David Hibbard KBYH Staff Birthdays
August 23: Jim VanderZwan !
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KBYH Staff Anniversaries
Lillian Adkins: 15 years Marlon Wilkerson: 6 years Tonya Person: 2 years Ida Rebollosa: 2 years Fernando Ortega: 1 year !!
!!
www.kernbridges.com PH 661-396-2301 FAX 661-396-2349
SPOTLIGHTS
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Foster Children of the Month: Louis!
Louis has been a caring and loving older brother to his foster brother and foster sister. He
loves soccer and baseball. He is very athletic and excels at any sport. He also enjoys playing
games on his DS. He loves Math and will complete extra Math work just for the joy of it.
Louis’s favorite food is anything which has shrimp as a main ingredient. He loves fast cars
and old car and enjoys figuring out how they work. His favorite heroes are spiderman and
batman. Louis has matured a great deal this past year with his behavior at home and at
school. He enjoyed participating in the recent KBYH camp and Royal Kids Camp. Family fun
includes going to Disneyland, the beach, sporting events, tractor pulls, monster truck shows,
and car shows.
Foster Family of the Month: Kerin Andrews We take the greatest pleasure to recognize Kerin Andrews this month. Mrs. Andrews
decided to retire from foster care. Mrs. Andrews and her husband, Hervey, cared for
foster children for many years until Mr. Andrews passed on 11/13/06. Mrs. Andrews
decided to stop foster care after her husband’s departure. On 11/5/08 Mrs. Andrews
resumed foster care. Earlier this year Mrs. Andrews injured her ankle and she
experienced difficulty carrying out her responsibilities. Therefore she decided to stop
foster care.
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Mrs. Andrews has touched the lives of many foster children who have come through this
agency. She and her husband opened their home to foster children and made a big
difference in their lives. Mrs. Andrews, we are unable to find the correct words to express
how much we appreciate your services to this agency and foster care. We wish you a
speedy recovery and wish you the very best in the future. Thank you for unselfishly
answering our call when we have needed you.
DHS Social Worker of the Month: Malia Reeves Malia Reeves has been a social worker at the Department of Human
Services since December of 2005. She had been employed as an FFA
social worker before this date. Malia has been working in the adoptions
unit for 2 years. She was previously in Family Services for 2 years and
Emergency Response for 3 years. Malia received her Master’s Degree in
Social Work at CSUB in 2004. Her undergrad major was Psychology. Malia stated that
she chose this career because she wanted to help children and families. She enjoys
helping the community, working with families and doing her best to protect children who
are not able to protect themselves, but say that her favorite job is being a mother. Thank
you Malia for being so caring, professional and attuned to the foster children’s needs.
!
!
www.kernbridges.com PH 661-396-2301 FAX 661-396-2349
GROUP HOMES
S U M M E R
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A LMK L OV & C AS A
FROM THE BACK YARD TO THE
LAKE.
Boys at the Almklov House had lots of
fun in July 2014 in their own back yard.
Kern Bridges rented a huge water slide
jumper for the entire day. The Almklov
staff and all the boys, BBQ’ed and
listened to some good old music while
entertaining themselves in the water
jumper. Also, some of the boys went
swimming and did outdoor recreational
activities during many sizzling hot days
NAVIGATING ROCKS
last month. The boys at Casa de Ninos whitewater rafting, golfing, and fishing.
had the opportunity to explore Coffee There was absolutely no way for them
Camp Campground in Tulare County.
to get bored during this adventure. This primitive campground is
positioned in an area with lots of things
to do and surrounded by natural beauty.
The boys spent the day swimming in
the river and hiking on trials.
Additionally, there were other outdoor
activities at the boys’ disposal, such as
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MOUNTAIN SPRING WATER
CAMPING IN TULARE
KBYH
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My name is Marlin V. I am 16 years old
and I am going to talk about my
experience in Orlando, Florida. Florida
was very humid. I would walk outside
and it would be so hot that I could
already feel the sweat running down my
neck within two minutes of being
outside. The funny thing
about Florida was its weather. A storm
would come
in
and you
would
think that
you couldn't do anything the whole
day, but in
this case the storm would come in
for two minutes, rain for five to ten
minutes, then would completely
vanish into a sunny day. I did many
fun things in Florida. Of course I
would swim
in the
resort pool,
(we stayed
at a resort
called
Mystic
Dunes by
the way),
but one of
the main reasons we went was to go to
Disney World. My other foster sister, Laura
and I, had gotten three day passes to any
theme parks we wanted to from our thoughtful
foster parents. The first day we decided to go
see Epcot. Epcot was huge and so glamorous
I would've never expected something in a
theme park to be so shiny and clean!
KBYH would like to introduce our newest resource family, David
and Robbie Finster. They have jumped in head first and already
have placement of three foster children who they would like to
adopt. David and Robbie have been proactive with their new
role as foster parents and are enjoying it. !
Welcome to the KBYH family Finsters!!!
!
www.kernbridges.com PH 661-396-2301 FAX 661-396-2349
KBYH
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SAFETY
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Each month we will publish a series of safety articles from the foster pride training. This is a second
article of the series. We hope the information provided is useful in helping maintain your home safe.
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Keeping Infants and Toddlers Safe
Children face different risks at different stages of development. Everybody caring for infants and
toddlers, but especially new parents and or those who haven't cared for young children for a while,
should make sure they are experts on safety and accident prevention.
Sleep Time
Newborn babies spend much of their time sleeping, so crib safety is especially important.
* Put babies to sleep on their backs in the crib to prevent suffocation and reduce the risk of
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Young infants are especially vulnerable to suffocation
because they cannot raise their heads. Make sure the mattress is flat and firm, and do not put
any soft bedding beneath the baby. Do not use pillows or heavy comforters in the crib.
*Never let a baby sleep with you or with older children. Babies can suffocate when their
breathing is blocked by pillows, bedding, or another person.
*Place your baby's crib or furniture away from window blinds or curtain cords to prevent
strangulation. Don't hang diaper bags or purses on cribs.
*Remove bibs before putting a baby to bed. Do not tie a pacifier around your child's neck or to
your child's clothing with a string or ribbon.
*Never cover a mattress with plastic or a plastic bag.
*Remove crib gyms and mobiles as soon as your child can push up on hands and knees.
*Be sure your crib has:
-no missing, loose, broken or improperly installed hardware.
-no more than two and three-eighths inches between crib slats so that the baby's body cannot
fit through the slats.
-a firm, snug fitting mattress and a mattress support that does not pull away from the
cornerposts, .so the baby cannot get trapped between the mattress and the crib.
-no cornerposts over the end panels, so a baby cannot catch his clothing on the post and
strangle.
-no cutout areas on the headboard or foot board so baby's head cannot get trapped.
-no cracked or peeling paint.
-no splinters or rough edges.
-a certification seal showing that it meets national safety standards.
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As children get taller, they will be able to get out of a crib on their own. Stop using a crib as
per manufacturer’s guidance. Do not put toys or pillows in the crib that the baby can use to
hoist himself out. When your child switches to a toddler bed, install guardrails on both sides of
the bed.
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www.kernbridges.com PH 661-396-2301 FAX 661-396-2349