PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 27, 2018
FOSTER: ‘Things don’t have Assist with Foster
to go the way statistics say’ Parents’ Night Out
(Continued from Page A1)
DRIVE A LITTLE – SAVE A BUNCH!
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Summer
Award
Program
See 5 movies and get a
Small Popcorn and Reg
Soda. Pick up a punch card
at the box offi ce. See a
movie, get a punch. Collect
5 and Redeem.
SUMMER FAMILY
MOVIE SERIES
$1 KID MOVIES (M-F)
Andre (PG) July 30 - August 3
Labyrinth (PG) August 6 - 10
Jumanji (PG) August 13 - 17
UFC227 - Sat, Aug 4
Dillashaw v. Garbrandt
BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE FIGHT
9 FIGHTS IN ALL ON THE HUGE SCREEN
Live Fights at 5:00 (21 & Over) - Tickets $13
Reserved Seating Available Now Online.
Today in History
The House Judiciary Committee recommends that
America’s 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached
and removed from offi ce. The impeachment proceedings
resulted from a series of political scandals involving the
Nixon administration that came to be collectively known as
Watergate.
— July 27, 1974
Food 4 Thought
“From Watergate we learned what generations before
us have known; our Constitution works. And during
Watergate years it was interpreted again so as to reaffi rm
that no one - absolutely no one - is above the law.”
— Leon Jaworski, special Watergate prosecutor
The Month Ahead
Through Saturday, July 28
Shakespeare in the Park. Keizer Homegrown Theater presents
The Tempest, at Keizer Rotary Amphitheater at Keizer Rapids
Park. Performance at 7 p.m. Free parking. No outside food
or beverages allowed. Donations gladly accepted. Continues
following weekend in Aumsville. keizerhomegrowntheatre.
org.
Saturday, July 28
Saturday Night Dance & Potluck. Features music by Crossfi re.
Admission is $5. 7 to 10 p.m. at the Keizer/Salem Area
Seniors, 930 Plymouth Drive NE.
Wednesday, August 1
Intake for Keizer Art Association’s August exhibition, Member
Showcase, 3-7 p.m. Enid Joy Mount Gallery, Keizer Cultural
Center, 980 Chemawa Rd. NE. keizerarts.com.
Thursday, August 2
Southeast Keizer Neighborhood Association meeting, 6:30
p.m. Keizer Civic Center.
Friday, August 3
Keizertimes presents a Hawaiian Luau featuring Paradise
of Samoa as part of the Free 2018 Summer Concert Series
located at Keizer Rotary Amphitheater at Keizer Rapids Park.
Gates open at 5 p.m., show starts at 6:30 p.m. Beer, Wine,
& Spirits available from Santiam Brewing Company. Please
no outside food or beverages. No pets allowed inside the
amphitheater. For complete concert schedule go to Facebook.
com/KRAORG. For more information, call (503) 910-3232.
Friday, August 3 – Sunday, August 5
2018 Hoopla Tournament, more than 950 teams vie for
top ranking in 3-on-3 basketball. The event will result in
the closure of several streets in downtown Salem. More
information at: oregonhoopla.com.
Homer Davenport Community Festival in honor of nationally-
renowned political cartoonist and Oregon native Homer
Davenport. Festival will have crafts, food, music, and more. A
contest for political and editorial cartoons is also being held;
they will be on display at the festival and judged by a panel.
Prizes up to $750 are available. Takes place in Silverton,
Oregon; homerdavenport.com
Saturday, August 4
ServeFest by Lakepoint Community Church. New location
at Claggett Creek Middle School, 1810 Alder Drive NE. 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. A free, family-friendly event. Kids carnival,
hot dog lunch, haircuts for kids, manicures, bike repairs, pet
grooming, family photos and more.
Monday, August 6
Keizer City Council meeting, 7 p.m. Keizer Civic Center.
Wednesday, August 8
Keizer Planning Commission meeting, 6 p.m. Keizer Civic
Center.
Thursday, August 9
Keizer Traffi c Safety/Bikeways/Pedestrian
meeting, 6 p.m. Keizer Civic Center.
Committee
Saturday, August 11
Englewood Forest Festival, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m, at Englewood
Park, 1260 19th Street NE in Salem. Free family-friendly
art & environmental workshops, children’s activities, music,
dance, food trucks, and booths featuring local artists, cottage
industries, businesses and community resources. Free
admission.
Tuesday, August 14
Keizer Parks Advisory Committee meeting, 6 p.m. Keizer
Civic Center.
Add your event by e-mailing news@keizertimes.com.
sudoku
Enter digits
from 1-9 into
the blank
spaces. Every
row must
contain one
of each digit.
So must every
column, as
must every
3x3 square.
system that allows the
foster system to func-
tion. Yet, foster parents
and the Department
of Human Services
(DHS) cannot create
the best environment
The foster care system in Marion
for youth without the
County is struggling to meet demand.
support of the com-
This is the fi fth part of a continuing
munity.
series in the Keizertimes
This mindset of
investigating the state of local
DHS is a new one.
foster care and shedding light on
Billy Cordero, director
ways to get involved.
of the DHS GRACE
Check back next week for
grant, seeks to use data
another installment.
known about children
in foster care to recruit
al — being born into a safe,
foster parents that are
tailored to specifi c needs. “It loving environment to begin
used to be we were an organi- with would be ideal. But be-
zation that said foster care or ing placed in a safe, loving fos-
nothing and we’re trying to ter home gave him a second
chance at success.
change that,” Cordero said.
After moving to Oregon
Considering a youth who
ends up in care is already from California to attend col-
steeped in extenuating life lege, he learned “things don’t
circumstances that impede have to go the way the statis-
their path to success, it’s im- tics say” for youth exiting care.
Shelly Winterberg, the di-
portant to acknowledge the
ways the system can change a rector of fi eld engagement for
child’s life for the better, even Every Child Oregon, an orga-
if the situation is inherently nization that seeks to serve as
a launch-pad for people want-
not ideal.
Cordero experienced fos- ing to get involved in the fos-
ter care as a young person, ter care system in any capacity.
“We invite anyone and
due in part to his parents’
drug addiction. Cordero and everyone to bring what they
his siblings spent some time have to the table,” she said,
in what he calls “orphanage- whether that’s material re-
style care,” followed by a stint sources, monetary resources
on the streets, before he was or time. The Marion County
placed with relatives. “They chapter of Every Child is still
were dedicated to me and in the process of being set up,
they loved me,” he said. That but visit everychildoregon.org
changed his life. It wasn’t ide- for updates.
Become a
special advocate
Court Appointed Special
Advocates, or CASA volun-
teers, are meant to serve chil-
dren who are often lost in a
system that is
overburdened
and under-
staffed.
In a court-
room, where
a child’s voice
can often be
lost among
compet-
ing adults, a
“CASA vol-
unteer is the
only person
who is there
because they
want to see
the child’s voice heard,” said
Shaney Starr, executive di-
rector of Marion County’s
branch of the CASA orga-
nization. CASAs are foster
youth advocates who are
trained and sworn in by a
judge to serve a foster child.
The duties of a CASA involve
reviewing the information in
a foster youth’s case, spending
time with the child, inter-
viewing caseworkers, foster
families, biological relatives,
and making recommenda-
tions to the court on a child’s
case to ensure foster youth
have the best outcomes.
CASAs may have differ-
ent recommendations for
the child’s welfare than case-
workers, lawyers or others
party to a child’s case. Be-
cause CASAs report directly
to the judge, and have an av-
erage caseload of two foster
youth, their perspective on a
case differs from others party
to the case. While “respectful
communication and profes-
sional interaction” between
CASAs, DHS, and other par-
ties is a priority, there are
times when a CASA will
make different recommenda-
tions to a judge about how
the child’s emotional, medi-
cal, and educational needs are
met.
CASAs must have “a be-
lief that every child has a safe
and permanent home where
they can thrive and the will-
ingness to see that through,”
Starr said. For these reasons,
being a CASA is a two-year
commitment, and if the fos-
ter child’s case stays open
longer, CASAs are encour-
aged to stick with that case.
CASAs provide oversight
in a system that has come
under fi re for a lack thereof
in recent years. Unfortu-
nately, there are currently not
enough CASAs for every fos-
ter child in Marion County.
As of last count, there were
about 130 Marion County
CASAs and over 600 kids in
care. At the currently number
of foster youth in the system,
the
Mari-
on
Coun-
ty
CASA
branch needs
an additional
75
CASAs
in order to
make
sure
every foster
child has a
CASA volun-
teer working
on their case.
For more
infor mation
on
train-
ing and get-
ting involved as a CASA,
visit casamarionor.org, email
info@casamarionor.org or
call 503-967-6420.
Burn out among foster
parents is high, but burn out
can be mitigated when they
have the right support sys-
tem, so they’re not doing it
alone. Foster Parents’ Night
Out (FPNO) is an organiza-
tion dedicated
to providing
foster parents
with a child-
care break. Two
FPNO chap-
ters currently
run in Marion County, based
in the Salem Heights Church
and Our Savior’s Lutheran
Church, both in Salem.
Billy Cordero, who in addi-
tion to working within DHS
is an FPNO board member
and coordinator of the Salem
Heights Church FPNO chap-
ter, said, “Sitting in a DHS
seat, I’m very aware we can’t
do everything to make fami-
lies successful.”
Organizations such as
FPNO have been created by
the community to fi ll that
gap and support local foster
families. Once a month, a host
organization puts together a
night of dinner and entertain-
ment for all children in a foster
home, whether they’re foster
kids or the family’s biological
or adoptive children. For four
hours a month, FPNO allows
foster parents to do “whatever
they need to do to take care of
themselves,” Cordero said.
FPNO has been success-
ful because the task of run-
ning the once-monthly events
falls to the host organization,
which is usually a church but
can be a different organiza-
tion, who provide the space,
funding and volunteer power
to make the program run.
Prior to participating in an
FPNO event, organizer host
a a three-hour volunteer ori-
entation covering the basics
of foster care, how to interact
with kids who have suffered
abuse and neglect, discuss
what the purpose of FPNO
is, and what expectations exist
for volunteers.
Volunteers usually come
from within the host organiza-
tion, but unaffi liated commu-
nity members can reach out to
FPNO if they’re interested in
getting involved with an ex-
isting chapter or starting their
own. But the organization has
other needs aside from volun-
teers, including donations and
discounts on entertainment
and catering. Local businesses
and businesspeople who are
willing to provide services to
FPNO can reach out to the
chapter they’d like to support
directly.
For more information on
FPNO and getting involved,
visit fpno.org.
Volunteer with DHS
The Department of Human Services has a long list of mate-
rial needs and service opportunities for those seeking involve-
ment. Smaller scale material needs include toiletries, new cloth-
ing, gift cards, and safety equipment like fi re extinguishers and
carbon monoxide alarms, for foster parents to install in their
homes and meet DHS requirements. New car seats are also on
the high-need donation list for DHS.
Larger scale needs include DHS’s Adopt a Visitation Room
program, where groups or organizations can sponsor a visitation
area in the DHS offi ce. Gwen Slippy, who oversees this program,
said that group or organization “would come in and clean, re-
place toys, and decorate a room with a theme for family visits
that take place at our offi ce.”
For those who may not have the resources to donate materi-
als, DHS also facilitates direct service opportunities, like volun-
teer transportation for youth to get to appointments, making a
meal for a foster family, and offi ce buddies, “who come and sit
with children, in our offi ce, while they are waiting for a place-
ment – so workers are able to get time sensitive work done for
the removal,” Slippy said. Volunteers of this type can help fi ll the
personnel gap and allow DHS workers to be more effective at
their jobs, while also making sure youth get the attention they
need.
In addition to these ways of getting involved, DHS welcomes
new ideas from the community. “If people have service project
ideas, they are welcome to share them with me and we can see
if it would be a good fi t for the agency,” Slippy said.
To get involved in any of these initiatives or for a full list of
DHS’s donation and volunteer needs, contact Slippy directly at
GWENDOLYNN.L.SLIPPY@dhsoha.state.or.us
maze
looking
back in
the KT
5 YEARS AGO
Spider-Girl ready
to help burglarized
dance studio
After Classic Tap Dance
Studio was burglarized, a
6-year-old who’s family
frequents the studio told the
owners to strap her to the
ceiling so she could watch for
intruders. While they refused
her help, they appreciated the
mini-superhero’s gesture.
10 YEARS AGO
Lady Celts
fourth at state
Keizer’s Lady Celts softball
team compiled a 5-2 record
at the state tournament,
fi nishing fourth place overall
against 42 other teams.
15 YEARS AGO
Tough economy puts
food program in dire
straits
In light of economic changes
that have closed some funding
avenues, the Willamette Valley
Food Assistance Program is
tasked with fi nding a way to
keep feeding families as their
budget begins to wane.
20 YEARS AGO
Maze by Jonathan Graf of Keizer
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Web Poll
Results
Would you consider
becoming a foster parent?
56% – Yes
44% – No
Gun threat prompts
teen’s arrest
A 16-year-old Keizer boy was
arrested last Thursday after
pointing a gun at another boy
following an argument.
Vote in a new poll every Thursday!
GO TO KEIZERTIMES.COM