More than ever before, it is necessary for all of us to become active advocates for children in Treatment Foster Care. We must be able to let others know why Treatment Foster Care is an effective model. FFTA members often find themselves at local, state or national events educating and advocating for Treatment Foster Care as an essential part of the continuum of care for children. We find ourselves speaking to potential Treatment Foster Parents and telling others (sometimes daily!) about our services and our agency.
Certainly we believe that children should be raised in families whenever possible, surrounded by the services they need to grow up to be healthy, productive and safe. This “briefcase” is a set of tools to help FFTA members share knowledge about the benefits and uses of Treatment Foster Care. Rather than each Treatment Foster Care agency “reinventing the wheel” as they search for advocacy tools, the FFTA Board of Directors has compiled some basic advocacy tools, sorted them and tucked them inside this “advocacy briefcase” for you to use.
This briefcase was developed by FFTA as a member benefit. We wish to express sincere thanks to the “May is National Foster Care Month” www.fostercaremonth.org effort developed by Casey Family Programs and the National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning at the Hunter School of Social Work in conjunction with other instrumental child advocates. The “tool kit” they developed provided the core idea for this briefcase. With permission, several items were borrowed, expanded upon and tailored to Treatment Foster Care to create year-round advocacy ideas for use by FFTA members.
But…We’re not done yet!
If this briefcase helps or inspires you to develop ideas of your own, it has done its job! Ideas and the creation of materials are endless, therefore this site can be expanded and improved…with your help. Please send your ideas, articles, PSA’s, speeches, and other advocacy items to be a source of ideas/inspiration for others to the FFTA office via email: ffta@ffta.org, or via mail to FFTA, 294 Union St., Hackensack, NJ 07601.
Together we can take advocacy for children and families to a new level!
