Winter 2011 Training Dates Announced

If you’ve ever considered fostering a child, call the Foster Home Finding Unit at 388-4541.
now is the time. A child is waiting for you!
Informational & Training Session
We hope you will join us for an Informational Session Dates are as follows: L a t e F a l l / W i n t e r 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 1 1
for Prospective foster/adoptive Parents on
Informational: Wednesday, December 8
“Temporary Wednesday, December 8 at 5:30pm, in the

Care Can Make

McChesney Room at the Schenectady County
Public Library Central Branch, 99 Clinton
a Permanent Street in Schenectady. At this session you will
Difference” learn about the training process, and about foster
care and adoption in general. The training
sessions begin on Thursday, January 6. In
order to begin the home study process, you are
required to attend all 11 sessions in the training.
Sessions begin promptly at 5:30pm, and end at
8:30pm. Training sessions will be held at 106 Erie
Boulevard in Schenectady. Please note: for all
Give Back evenings, it is necessary that you make arrangements
for child care while you are participating in the
The Heart Gallery is
training each week. If you have any questions, please
looking for professional
donations and
contributions to help Autumn Reflections
keep the Heart Gallery From the desk of Carolyn Williams, Foster Homefinding Supervisor
going. If you are able to Autumn happens to be my favorite
help, please call Lori at time of the year for many reasons. I
388-4399. love the colors, the brisk winds, and
it’s also a great opportunity to look
back over the accomplishments of the
past months while trying to wrap up
any unfinished projects.
The Foster Homefinding Unit is
experiencing another busy year that
has included the Winter, Spring, and
Fall pre-certification training of foster/
adoptive and relative foster parents.
There continues to be a great need for
foster families who can help us keep
siblings together, as well as foster
homes for adolescents and teenagers.
In our increased efforts to help our
community become more aware of our
Celebrating
needs, you may have seen your
Christmas homefinding workers at any number of
recruitment events, including the local
Around the library, Farmers Markets, Schenectady
World Greenmarket, Schenectady County
Family Movie Nights, Schenectady
In Finland, a sheaf of County SummerNight, the Celtic Faire,
grain is often tied to a
pole, together with nuts
and most recently at the Mabee Farm
Training Sessions:
Thursday January 6
Thursday January 13
Wednesday January 19
Wednesday January 26
Tuesday February 1
Tuesday February 8
Monday February14
Tuesday February 22
Monday February 28
Thursday March 3
Monday March 7
for Schenectady County Farm & May so we can say “thank you” for all
Foliage Day on October 16.
We also recognize that our foster
families are some of our best
recruiters. We’d love to have an
opportunity for a “meet and greet” at
your local church or community
organization, so please call us with any
suggestions!
In May, National Foster Care Month,
we were able to honor our foster
families with a lovely dinner at the
Glen Sanders Mansion. This year we
had a special guest speaker, a former
foster child and now author Paula Kyle,
who is also a strong advocate for the
recruiting and supporting of foster
families. Ms. Kyle also took the time to
meet with a group of adolescents in
foster care to share her story and
encourage them to pursue their goals.
This opportunity came about as a
result of the efforts of our
independent living caseworkers in the
Homefinding unit. We hope that more
of our foster families will be able to
come join us at our celebration next
that you do each and everyday for the
foster children in your homes.
Changes in the seasons are
predictable, but changes in technology
- cellphones with internet access and
cameras, and Facebook - bring new
challenges to our ever diligent efforts
to protect a foster child’s right to
confidentiality of their personal
identity and family history. Please join
us in modeling how to protect a child’s
privacy, and check with your child’s
caseworker or your homefinding
worker if you have any questions or
concerns.
Please know that the Foster
Homefinding Unit sincerely hopes that
you have the opportunity to enjoy the
upcoming holidays with family and
friends. And we thank you for the
difference you make each and every
time you welcome a foster child into
your home.
~Carolyn
Youth in Progress
A Message from Dennis Packard, Commissioner of the
Schenectady County Office of Schenectady County Department of Social Services
Children & Family Services
106 Erie Boulevard Over the summer I had the
Schenectady, NY 12305 privilege of speaking at a Foster
518-388-4456 Care Youth Speakout. The event
www.schenectadycounty.com was hosted by an organization
called Youth In Progress (YIP).
This event provided youth in
foster care the opportunity
to address their concerns,
suggestions and successes
to state leaders in the child
welfare area. This event
was incredibly moving and
was obviously very
empowering for the 75
young adults who rose to
share their experience and
challenges with a group of
adults about whom they
knew little or nothing.
Youth in foster care are no
different from their non-
foster care counterparts. They are
insightful, articulate, and they live
through the same trials and
tribulations that every young man
Inside this
issue: or woman experiences. The
difference is that they do it all
Adoption Day 2 while in foster care. Often they
Celebration
face these experiences it alone
From the Desk of Lori 2 www.youthinprogress.org
because they have not built the
Pirrone—Heart Gallery
Update
Calendar of Events— 3
Family Fun!
Special Feature: Our Talented Children
Winter 2011 Training
4
Dates Announced
faith and trust in the people who
are now their “family”.
Each one of these youth had a
powerful message to share. Each
young adult had a sense of what
they needed, how they could and
would help others and most
important that they were
beginning to grasp the power in
taking control of the situation in
which they find themselves. What
I found most compelling was that
each young person recognized that
they have the ability to determine
their own destiny. Each one had a
plan, but what they needed was
people (agencies, foster parents,
case workers, and other resources)
to help them handle those things
in life that they had yet to
experience.
Youth In Progress is a
tremendous vehicle for youth to
find those answers, develop the
strength and resolve to meet these
challenges, overcoming obstacles
that most of us take for granted.
The strength of Youth In Progress
is that the organization was
founded by and
is and run by
foster care youth.
They act as a tremendous resource
not only to youth, but also to the
foster parents. They provide a
vehicle for youth to interact,
understand, self-actualize and
advocate for themselves. The
program encourages relationship-
building and engagement.
I encourage you to introduce your
foster child to this organization
and to encourage his or her
participation. I personally found
the Youth in Progress
environment to be healthy and
about collaboration, trust,
engagement and mutual support
of all youth in the foster care
system. You can contact the
Schenectady County foster care
home finding unit and they will be
happy to help you make contact
with this organization.
Visit Youth In Progress
on the web:

Autumn Reflections—
This pencil drawing was done by Kristin, a 19
4 year old foster child residing in one of our
and seeds and placed in from Carolyn Williams
the garden for the Schenectady County foster homes. Kristin is
birds. Many of the Can You Help Us Find More Foster Parents? presently attending Hudson Valley Community
peasants will not eat
their Christmas dinner
If you are able to help us share informational brochures with prospective foster/adoptive parents, or College, with the goal of transferring to Siena
would like to invite our staff to give a presentation to your church or community group, please call
until the birds have had College. Kristin has started a portfolio of the
the Foster Home Finding Unit at 518-388-4456 to let us know. Currently, our greatest need is
their dinner. artwork that she has done. She is a very talented
finding homes for older children (teenagers and up to age 21) and sibling groups.
Please help us in our search for more quality foster homes for the children in our community! young lady!

4 1

Relative Adoptive parent Jasmine Santiago
(second from left) lights the 2009 Adoption
Tree with her daughters (l-r) Krystal McFarline,
Kristy McFarline, and Kiara McFarline
(Mostly) Free Holiday Fun for the Whole Family!
Adoption Day Celebration 2010
It’s that time of year again!! It is the time to be thankful for our many blessings. One of the many things we are November Events
thankful for is for the families who come forward to provide loving, safe and permanent homes for our children. We
have had fourteen children adopted this year and hope to have eight more adopted soon! It never seems enough to Nov 11: Veterans Day Holiday. Schenectady
County Offices closed.
just say thank you, but Schenectady County gives great thanks to our many foster and adoptive parents who have November 2010
opened their hearts and homes to our community’s children in need. To all of our families who make our children Nov 16: Adoption Day Celebration and Tree
know they are special, and who provide our children with hope, love, safety and permanency, we say thank you. Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Lighting. Please join us as we honor adoptive families
at our annual tree lighting ceremony. At the
We are excited to honor these years’ families who have brought such blessings to our children, at our annual tree
lighting ceremony on November 16th, 2010 at 4PM. We hope you join us as we gather outside the Schenectady 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schenectady County Office Building (State Street
entrance), 620 State Street, Schenectady
County Office building (620 State Street) to light our adoption tree, our visible symbol of recognition for those
families who have adopted children in the past year. Please continue to share with family and friends our 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Nov 20: Gazette Holiday Parade. Downtown
continuing need for adoptive families. We wish you and your family a happy, healthy and safe Holiday season! Schenectady. This year’s theme: “Schenectady
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Celebrates Disney”. FREE.

Nov 25-26: Thanksgiving Holidays. Schenectady

The Heart Gallery Update
From the Desk of Lori Pirrone, Adoption Supervisor
“Open Your Heart to Adoption- a Wonderful
Way to build a Family”
The Capital Region Heart Gallery is a visually
stunning exhibit of portraits that capture the
unique personality and spirit of some of our
very special children. The children in the Heart
Gallery are regional children awaiting
adoption.
• In honor of November as National Adoption
Month, several of our Capital Region Heart
Gallery children’s photographs will be on
display in Times Square!
• From November 8-19, the Heart Gallery will
be at the Empire State Plaza.
• On November 1-12, the Heart Gallery will be
at the Greene County Office Building.
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 County Offices closed.
28 29 30 Nov 28: CP Holiday Train makes two stops in
Schenectady County! 8:00pm at Delanson Main
Street Crossing; 9:30pm at Schenectady Maxon Road
Crossing. Live music, entertainment, Santa. FREE.
Nov 30: Life Book Training for Foster/Adoptive
December 2010 Parents. 5:00-7:00pm at 106 Erie Boulevard,
Schenectady. Limit 16 attendees. Please call Lori
Pirrone at 388-4399 to reserve your space in this class.
Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa
Our Heart Gallery kids made a splash at the Great

• We are excitedly looking forward to the

Escape Lodge’s indoor water park! 1 2 3 4 December Events
The mission of the Capital Region Heart Gallery
Heart Gallery at Proctors Theatre in is for funding that will allow us to have photos
is to raise awareness of the need for
permanent loving adoptive families for the Schenectady, which will be on display printed and framed, and for display equipment 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Dec 1: Hanukkah Begins at Sundown.

children awaiting adoption in our region. Our
goals are to inspire individuals who might
otherwise never have considered adoption,
and to motivate those who have. Our
impressive success rate since its inception in
2005 is 40%!!! It is the most successful
recruitment tool we have used for older child
adoptions.
There have some very exciting Heart Gallery
events coming up this winter:
•
On November 3, the
Heart Gallery made a
stop at Liberty Ridge
Farm in Schaghticoke, NY.
Many of the Heart
Gallery kids enjoyed
activities on the farm,
including roasting hot
dogs and making
s’mores! It is always a
Some of our Heart Gallery kids roasting fun event for the kids.
hot dogs at Liberty Ridge Farm
We are grateful to Liberty
Ridge for opening the farm to our kids for
three years in a row!
beginning the 2nd week in January and such as easels. If you can help out - in even a Dec 4: Downtown Schenectady “Holiday Open
running through February, in Proctors small way - please let us know. Your 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 House”. Live Music, craft activities, free holiday
Delack Guild Room (upstairs). An Opening contribution can go a long way towards treats, horse-drawn carriage rides, more. FREE.
reception will be held on January 21st, and a helping our children find permanent loving 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Dec 8: Foster/Adoptive Parent Informational
closing reception will be held on February homes. A raffle was recently held at the
Session at 5:30pm. Please see page 4 for details.
18th. We are thrilled to have it on display
during the runs of “The Lion King” and “The
Schenectady County Department of Social
Services to help fund the Heart Gallery and
26 27 28 29 30 31 Dec 11: Baptist Health Nursing & Rehabilitation
Wizard of Oz”, two highly anticipated family $300.00 was raised! Thank you to all who Center's 7th Annual Holiday Celebration. Live
shows. This is the second time we have donated and participated. Entertainment, Holiday Costume Characters, Craft
been able to have the Heart Gallery on Show, Bake Sale, FUN! 11am-4pm, 297 North Ballston
If you can help us in any way, would like to
Avenue in Scotia. FREE.
display at Proctors and we are so thankful to
Philip Morris and his staff for their warm
attend one of these events, or know of a family January 2011
friendly venue that might be interested in Dec 23-24: Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
welcome to our very special gallery.
displaying our photographs or host a fun event Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Holidays. Schenectady County Offices closed.
We have been all over the Capital Region this for our Heart Gallery kids, please call Lori
year with the Heart Gallery - Saratoga YMCA, Pirrone at 388-4399. 1 Dec 31: New Year’s Day holiday. Schenectady
County Offices closed.
the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge, Rotterdam
Square Mall, a Tri-City Valley Cats game, 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Columbia-Greene Community College, and January 2011 Events
Parsons Child & Family Center, just to name a 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
few. Many thanks to all of these venues for Jan 6: Foster/Adoptive
being welcoming our display and our children. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Parent Training Sessions
Begin. Please see page 4 for
Sadly, with the recent economic situation, details.
those of us who are impassioned with the 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
success of this gallery are very concerned Jan 19: Martin Luther King,
about its future. Currently, our greatest need The Heart Gallery scored a home run when it
30 31 Jr. holiday. Schenectady
appeared at a Tri-City Valley Cats game this summer!

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