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AWFC is celebrating it’s first anniversary in April. One year ago, A World For Children was a dream that was transformed into reality as a result of a giant leap of faith by a dedicated staff and talented foster parents. AWFC began operation in April of 1997 as a child-placing agency specializing in therapeutic foster care. In addressing the need of continuity of services, AWFC opened an Emergency Shelter/Assessment Center. The year has been very eventful with the phenomenal growth and expansion.

The agency has served 297 children with 173 in the foster care program and 124 being served in the shelter/assessment center.

To celebrate A World For Children’s anniversary, a foster care staff "play day" is planned for May 21 . The staff will enjoy a "frolic in the sunshine" as they engage in team building activities and "tummy building" activities.

Continued celebration for AWFC is planned for June 18 which will feature our second annual Foster Family Picnic (see Foster Family Picnic article.)

The AWFC would like to say "thanks" to all our foster families and staff for making this first year such a success. In addition, a "special thanks" goes to our charter families that truly stepped out with us on faith: Keith and Mercedes Brown, Larry and Carol Carson, Art and Arylene Dahl, Deborah Davis, Kent and Tina Farnsworth, Dan and Priscilla Gullekson, Gretchen Gullekson, Arthur and Carrie Hernandez, Holly and Wayne Latham, Derrell and Wendy Moore, Phillip and Shelley Samaros, Dennie and Grace Shelton, Rick and Jana Shelton, Troy and Teresa Shelton, Paul and Jeannie Sisk, Mike and Mary Southerland, Ernest and Jacklyn Tompkins, Rey and Mixila Valiente.

Rebecca Allen, AWFC Program Director, is diligently working to expand services to youth in care of Juvenile Probation. Therapeutic foster care is definitely a realistic alternative for some incarcerated youth. The experience AWFC has had in serving JPO youth has been very positive.

AWFC will be hosting a luncheon at the statewide Juvenile Probation Conference in South Padre. AWFC services available for this population will be displayed and explained.

Specialized programs are available through AWFC foster families which include: sex offenders, drug and/or alcohol abuse, and behavior modification.

"Spotlighting" AWFC Foster Families

AWFC is blessed to have multi-talented, experienced foster families that have a variety of "gifts" with which to serve foster children. In order to share the rich, myriad of families with a diversity of special talents, AWFC staff is creating a booklet that gives a "snapshot" description of each of the families. This will be useful in introducing AWFC and our families to caseworkers, probation officers, and interested community members.

Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the "Spotlighting Foster Families" booklet should contact AWFC at (512) 218-4400.

AWFC Foster Care Staff Update

AWFC welcomes new staff members. Mary Wehmeyer is the new voice that greets you when you call AWFC. She is joining Cindy Gunckel in working with the all the important clerical components of AWFC.

AWFC growth has also allowed our case management staff to increase. Roy Ayers began services the middle of March and Annette Gupton joined AWFC the beginning of April. Both of these staff are new to AWFC but very experienced in case management services.

In addition to these positions, AWFC is currently seeking a licensed therapist and an additional case manager.

Congratulations to Lisa Cohen, AWFC case manager, whose family is also growing - we celebrated the birth her baby - Parker Cohen. Lisa will be busy in her new role as a mother. After a brief period, Lisa plans to rejoin her families and case management responsibilities at AWFC. Congratulations are in order!

Our prayers continue to be with Dave Wilkins, AWFC case manager. Dave is experiencing some health "challenges". We wish him a speedy recovery!

As the AWFC Shelter and Assessment Center continues to have high numbers of youth in care, more staff is necessary. The most recent additions to the shelter team are Kimberly Washington and Rene Mora. Kimberly comes to AWFC from the Settlement Home where she worked with emotionally disturbed females. Rene worked with street youth in South Texas. Having a black belt in karate is a strength Rene feels will be of benefit in teaching self discipline to youth. Welcome to both of these new team members. Also, a big THANK YOU to the current team for their dedication and hard work.

Foster Family Picnic

Mark your calendars for June 18 for our annual AWFC Foster Family Picnic. Filled with fantastic food, fun-filled activities, and tremendous fellowship, this celebration is a "must attend" event. The Moores have graciously agreed to host the celebration at their home which is set on 20 beautiful acres in Harker Heights.

In a true "dinner on the grounds spirit", families bring their favorite side dish (veggies, salads, and desserts), a big appetite, lawn chairs, and quick wits! Dennie - don’t forget the dominos.

The Moores, Southerlands, and Browns join efforts with AWFC staff to create a "day to remember!" The festivities begin around 4:00 p. m. and continue until.....! This truly is a day to remember! Whatever you do - do not miss it!

Internet Excitement

AWFC has made a "splash" on the Internet with its new web page. Frank James, network administrator, reports that the website receives an average of 240 inquiries daily. Since the website became active in January, Frank reports that visits are coming from around the world including Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Austria.

The AWFC website is linked to other foster care related services which provide additional information to foster parents, children, social workers, and related fields.

The AWFC website provides an introduction of services as well as staff members. In addition, information on how to become a foster parent, training schedules, newsletters, FYI information and more is available from the website. Frank has done an awesome job.

Through the website, AWFC staff can be EMAILED. Contact AWFC at www.awfc.org.

A World For Children recognizes the fragile emotional state of many children as they enter care.

In order to address these needs AWFC created a Task Force to review and modify the policy and procedures regarding suicide prevention. The Task Force recommended "suicide prevention training" be made available to all foster families, shelter staff and foster care staff. In addition, the group recommended that an "awareness assessment" be conducted on all children currently in care and all those entering care.

Suicide training has been provided for foster families in the four training areas - Round Rock, Killeen, Mullin and East Texas in addition to shelter staff and foster care staff. Attendance and response to the training has been very positive. A video of the training has been made and will be presented to new families. Also, much of the vital training information is available from the website.

The suicide awareness assessment will be conducted on each child as they enter care. Any children scoring moderately high on the assessment instrument will have a suicide prevention plan developed and implemented. This plan will include professional intervention as well as foster parent strategies depending on the individual needs.

Play Scape Donated to AWFC Shelter

Through the generous donations of Audrey and Clark Wilson of Clark Wilson Homebuilders, John Ramming of Ramming Paving Company, and John Gorman of Tejas Securities, the children of the AWFC Shelter/ Assessment Center will soon receive a wonderful play scape designed by Richard Wood of Playwood in Austin.

Audrey Wilson spearheaded this endeavor. Through her persistence and dedication, the dream of a commercial play scape is becoming a reality. The Play scape is scientifically designed to provide a medium for physical development as well as endless hours of entertainment.

Girl Scouts Truly Serve

Girl Scouts, under the leadership of Helen Spooner, sponsored a book drive to collect an assortment of books for children in the care of A World for Children. The girls worked diligently at collecting a variety of books. These books will be very valuable educationally as well as for recreational activity. Over two hundred books were collected to begin a library for the children in the AWFC Emergency Shelter/ Assessment Center.

New Additions to the AWFC Foster Family

AWFC welcomes new foster families to our family. Over the past several months, AWFC has had six outstanding families join the agency. In our East Texas area, Bobby and Sylvia Sirman, both LVNs, are joining our agency to serve medically fragile children. Louise and J. C. Garner , also in East Texas, are excited about serving teen girls. Debra and Clay Ferguson of Lometa bring expertise from working with children in alternative school and TYC. Vanessa Gustafson from Bastrop brings much experience - she has done respite for the Lathams - what a testimony! Also from the Bastrop area, Lea and David Cundy have joined our family - their enthusiasm is contagious. Brigette and Levi Holifield from Killeen bring many years of experience and a tremendous behavior modification program to AWFC. Welcome to each of our new families!

Spotlighting AWFC Staff.......Sheila Falco

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