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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2014)
v Tribal foster parents build skills and gain support, knowledge at training By Leah Suitter, ICW Case Manager III The Siletz Tribal Indian Child Welfare department is putting a lot of emphasis on recruiting new foster parents as well as providing support and training for our current foster parents. As a way of supporting this new plan, we invited Nadja Jones, Tribal affairs director/senior ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) manager for the state Department of Human Services in the Director’s Office, to present at a foster parent training on Jan. 11 at Chinook Winds Golf Resort. Nadja is Comanche and Onondaga, and it was a pleasure to have her. Thanks to lightning and a thunderstorm, there was a long power outage. In spite of having no power for the laptop/projector, Nadja’s “candlelight” presentation was great and touched on several issues related to foster parenting. Nadja provided a cross cultural skill-building exercise and discussed the model of wellness for a family with foster children and the rights of the foster child, foster family and the birth family. The presentation was very informative and our foster parents responded well. Nadja felt the foster parents were “highly engaged and committed to helping the Tribal community.” Photos by Diane Rodriquez Leah Suitter, case manager in the Tribe’s Indian Child Welfare department, pres- ents a basket of goodies to Nadja Jones (above), who led the session for Tribal foster parents, who gathered as a group (below). We are thankful to the foster parents who participated in the training on a busy Saturday morning. Their engagement in the event contributed to making it great. I enjoyed having everyone there and I look forward to many more trainings with our foster parents, including bigger and better things in the future. Oregon Coast Aquarium Newport, Oregon Jan. 24, 2014 Courtesy photos by Alicia Keene Tribal Head Start students from Siletz and Lincoln City paid a visit to the aquarium. Aiden Brown, Jordan Smith and Julio Sanchez-Russell (far left) check the weight of a fish. Izayah Aviles (left) looks out from the USS Sea Lemon. Peyton Grove and Hailey Ivy-Wright (opposite page) explore the touch pool. 10 • Siletz News • February 2014
