Child and Family Charities Blog

Safe Sleep

10/04/21

Give School Supplies – Get A Healthier Community

07/19/21

Self-Care - 31 Day Challenge by Haley Bourdeau, LLMSW, Mental Health Therapist in Child and Family Charities Behavioral Health program

04/30/21

Nutrition Goals Stop Here

04/07/21

Nutrition is the foundation to your health, happiness and wellbeing; yet, this idea often seems to be overcomplicated and elusive. Health and nutrition are talked about and frequently made to seem glamorous, on billboards, grocery stores, TV, doctors’ offices and can be found on every social media platform and in magazines.

Children Are Precious, Let's Keep Them Safe From Harm

04/01/21

Community Trauma: Navigating a Pandemic Article #13: Youth Mental Health

08/13/20

The thing I worry about is also the very thing I think we must pursue; Student Mental Health. As schools begin again with blended video/in person teaching, staggered days and grades to totally virtual learning, it has been strongly recommended from the Governors plan for safe school return that all students receive a mental health assessment of some type.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and a Pandemic Fallout for Youth

06/28/20

Most of us by now have at least heard of PTSD and the toll that war has had on our veterans, especially those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is because our military came back so bruised and broken from these wars that researchers, therapists, and other medical professionals got serious about understanding and treating those that experienced these horrors of war. The research is still relatively new but has come a long way.

Community Trauma: Navigating a Pandemic Article #10: Regression and Recovery

06/24/20

There was a recent article in the Harvard Business Review by Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg regarding the patterns that emerge from a crisis after it has played out for some time. Wedellsborg noted that when the pandemic hit and the enormity of what we were facing began to settle in, many leaders actually felt energized to find new ways to work, communicate, and keep things going for the sake of the company, agency and their employees.

Response To Recent Events

06/05/20

Recent events have compelled Child and Family Charities to examine and take action against the multilayered reality of racism in the United States.

The Feeling Wheel

06/03/20

Do you know how many emotions a human being can experience? It is somewhere around 34,000. Who would know when we use about 3 of them to describe how we are feeling. Growing our emotional intelligence is a way to both deepen our personal understanding of our inner life and more accurately help us deal with the true emotion we may be experiencing.

Therapy and Children

05/27/20

The true story of “M” by Mary C. *M was a 4yo little girl when I met her. She had been removed from her mother due to neglect and her father had not been in her life. She was separated from her older protective sister and was having a great deal of difficulty trusting and being able to express her feelings without hitting, stealing, shutting down or telling “fantastic stories” which she would use to avoid telling the truth or change her reality.

Blog #4 The Family's Perspective

05/25/20

Been There Done That – So Can You! Taking an inside look at the rewards and challenges of foster parenting can be instrumental in making the decision to apply for a foster license. But, is all the research, reading articles and talking to an agency enough? We want you to meet…Amanda!

Part Three: The Agency’s Perspective

05/24/20

I’m So Glad You Answered! Attending an orientation at an agency feels like a big step in the decision to become a foster parent. At Child and Family Charities, we aim to create a no-obligation atmosphere and a safe environment for potential foster parents to ask questions and take the necessary time they need to consider applying to be a foster parent. We provide examples of what the journey might look like, give some general timeframes on what to expect and provide resources. But we always say that there is no guarantee, because that is the truth.

Part Two: The Child’s Perspective

05/23/20

Why Is This Happening to Me? While parenting is a rewarding experience full of funny moments and great accomplishments, it no doubt presents challenges most of the time on a daily basis. Kids! They love to eat, snack and eat again. They change their clothes, leaving piles of questionable laundry, make a mess of their toys and complain about being bored. Right?

Community Trauma: Navigating a Pandemic #8

05/22/20

Foster Parenting: The Inside Scoop A Four-Part Series by Diane Goodemote, Director of Quality Assurances and Compliance

05/22/20

Am I Cut Out for This? Raising children is often a lot harder than what new parents expect. This is true regardless of how many books they read or the research they did before a child entered their life. Many parents also find great joy; an unexplainable fulfillment while on the parenthood journey as well.

Community Trauma: Navigating a Pandemic #7

05/15/20

Community Trauma: Navigating a Pandemic #6

05/05/20

Community Trauma: Navigating a Pandemic #5

04/28/20

Community Trauma: Navigating a Pandemic

04/20/20

Help Children, Help Our World

04/03/20

With everything going on in our world right now, it is difficult to think about anything other than the health crisis we are all facing. But, in reality, many children are facing not only the challenges of having to stay home all day without...

Show Your Pride

06/21/19

2019 marks the 50th Year of the Stonewall Riots - a historical moment in LGBTQ+ history. This is also the first year of WorldPride which will be hosted in New York City. Child and Family Charities (CFC) promotes, supports and celebrates LGBTQ+ pride every day.

Children Are Precious, Let's Keep Them Safe From Harm

04/08/19

I’m sure that many of you know that April is National Child Abuse Prevention month. In the USA there are at least four child abuse related deaths every day – a horrible fact – and the abuser is most likely to be a parent, close family member, or the parent’s partner.

Every Day Ordinary Super Hero

03/26/19

March is National Social Work month and the theme for this year is “Elevate”. https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Month I think that this is a perfect word to describe what social workers actually do.

Facing the Fear of Deportation

07/18/18

Living under the perceived threat of detention and deportation is having harmful mental health effects on undocumented immigrants and the ir families, according to Dr. Concepcion Barrio, associate professor at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. “It just creates an air of constant fear and being on edge,” she said. “They are afraid to go outside, to look out of place in a certain neighborhood, and to go out and seek a job.”

What is Therapy and How Does it Work?

05/15/18

Stress affects us all differently like having that extra doughnut or cookie, not wanting to get out of bed when the alarm goes off or not being able to get to sleep for hours or whatever way it affects you. The common thread is that you just do not feel ‘right’ and are not sure why.

Children and Trauma – This Really is Us

04/10/18

While a recent episode of the hit TV show “This is Us” generated lots of buzz on social media and at the watercooler because of the sudden death of a lead character, another storyline touches close to home for many foster parents.

Services for Homeless, Runaway, and at-risk youth

02/27/18

A flow chart to make accessing the right services quick and easy

Inside: Fostering

02/14/18

A Foster to Adopt Mom talks about her experience.

How to Discuss Tragedies with Children

10/02/17

In times like this, it is difficult as and adult to process such a tragedy and as parents it is often hard to know how to broach the topic with our children. Here are some tips on how to address this difficult topic.

Becoming a Foster Parent

09/18/17

Making the decision to become a Foster Parent is an important one. Here you will learn about what to expect on your way to licensing.

9 signs your Teen may be Using Drugs and What to do about it

07/28/17

Recent studies have shown the long term effects of drugs on adolescence brains, and that those that begin using as adolescence have a greater risk of becoming addicted. It is important that parents do not ignore the warning signs!

The WHY

06/23/17

When working for any non-profit, it is usually because their work speaks to you. This is our 'Why'.

Whole Foods Market Partnership

06/20/17

Whole Foods Market will be partnering with our Gateway Youth Services Division.