WHAT WE DO

ACT- IFCO acts to promote quality lives for children and young people in family based care

SUPPORT- IFCO works to support foster and kinship carers

INFLUENCE- IFCO seeks to influence policy on foster and kinship care

WHO WE SERVE

Foster and kinship carers- Understand the role of foster and kinship carers.

Children and young people- Learn about the rights of children and young people in care. Find out about Pat Whelan fund support for young people at IFCO conferences.

Professionals- Find information relevant for those working in the field of foster and kinship care.

Foster care around the world- Explore the practice of foster care in different countries.

The best Christian Adoption & Foster Care blogs from thousands of blogs on the web and ranked by relevancy, authority, social media followers & freshness. FeedSpot categorizes global media outlets and content creators to make them easy to discover, follow, and contact.Media outlets include blogs, podcasts, magazines, and news websites. Creators include Instagram influencers, Twitter influencers, YouTubers, and TikTok influencers.

Our goal is to help the millions of parents whose children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder to build a better life for their children. We want to empower them by providing them easy access to a community of parents, professionals, resources and treatment options. Armed with this knowledge, parents can make effective choices that propel their children in the right direction.

Hi- I'm Mary. The purpose of this blog is for me to share my thoughts and experiences as an adoptive and foster mother in an attempt to educate, advocate, and occasionally vent (because,  after all, I'm only human!) To view her Foster Care Adoption Blog, please click on the button.

To improve the life of a child. To help women find courage in choosing adoption and seeking the best life she can for her baby. To fulfill the dreams of Adoptive Parents and to build families. For Adoptive Parents looking to adopt a baby, Adoption Network Law Center is different from an adoption agency, as we include the protection and peace of mind of reputable legal services. 

Our mission is to empower individuals, children, and families to heal from the effects of trauma and strengthen their supportive connections. Since 1992, we have been a non-profit child welfare agency serving children, youth, and families throughout Wisconsin. Our goal is to preserve and strengthen families by offering a comprehensive range of mental health and case management services. We provide Treatment Foster Care, Parent Coaching, Youth Coaching, and Individualized Trauma Services. 

Be the Magic is a nonprofit with a focus on helping young women aging out of the foster care system to better themselves while bettering the community they live in. Our living facility is a safe place to call home while embarking on a journey into life-changing programs, hosting community events, and make lasting connections that encompass what it is to be a healthy woman: mind, body and soul.

ICWA Designated Agent Listing

CHAMPS is a national campaign to spur policy improvements nationally and in states to ensure children and youth in foster care experience the highest quality parenting. CHAMPS is led by a coalition of partners of researchers, advocates, pediatricians, faith-based leaders, foster parents, youth, service providers and others. CHAMPS offers a policy playbook and related tools to help improve efforts to recruit, retain and support stable foster parenting.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of La Crosse is here for you to help you begin your adoption journey. We are a Christian-based adoption agency. Providing support, education and referral services to birth parents, adult adoptees and adoptive families. 

We take a multi-faceted approach to reaching Wisconsin's children in the communities where they live, learn, and play – whether that be through child advocacy, child and family counseling, foster care and adoption services, better access to primary care, or initiatives focused on family support and preservation.

The Northern Regional Center for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) is a resource for families with children (0-22) who have any type of disability or need help finding a diagnosis. We also offer parent support with loans from our resource library, scholarships to training and conferences, peer support from staff with lived experiences, and referrals to our statewide Parent-to-Parent support network. 

Coalition Connection ~ Summer Fun, Recommended Resources, Resource Re-share, and Coming Up from the Coalition . . .  Email.

Dana Johnson & Emily Erickson's PDF Presentation from WFAPA's Fall Conference in September 2024.

Information that is useful during an allegation of abuse or neglect. Foster and adoptive parents are reported for allegation at a higher rate than the general public. Foster parents have a 1 in 6 chance of an allegation. False allegations can rock the stability of even the firmest foundation.

Information is provided courtesy of from WFAPA’s Foster and Adoptive Support & Preservation Program (FASPP) & Surviving Allegations of Abuse & Neglect (SAAN).

FosterParentCollege.com created this “living glossary” for our Spanish translations, building upon the glossary created by the Child Welfare Information Gateway titled "Child Welfare Terms: English to Spanish." By making our glossary public, we hope others in the field will also apply these common terms in their work.

We wish to credit the hard work of our translator, Omar Canals, and our reviewers Lorena Avitea, LCSW, Eufe de la Torre, MFT, Arturo Zinny, LPC, MA, and all others who have helped us with this project. 

Virtual Groups, Adult Adoptee Events, & Other Events happening in and surrounding areas of Green Bay, LaCrosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Rice Lake, Wausau, Wisconsin Dells, and other areas of Wisconsin.  

Families Rising guides, connects, and empowers individuals, professionals, and families on their journey through adoption, foster care, and kinship care.

What We Do

• Educate: We provide comprehensive resources for insights on adoption, foster care, and kinship care. Get help with adoption assistance, the US adoption tax credit, adoption practice enhancements, or get customized training for your family or agency’s needs. 

• Support: We’re here to support you on your adoption journey. Families Rising connects adoptive parents with support groups and more support systems in your area. In Minnesota, we proudly operate Families Rising MN.

• Advocate: We create positive changes for children and families. We guide those who want to be advocates, build networks for effective advocacy, and continuously champion crucial reforms in child welfare.

Family Works Programs, Inc. is a child-placing agency. Specifically, we provide treatment foster care services throughout the state of Wisconsin to children and youth with complex treatment needs. We recruit, license, train and support compassionate foster parents to care for children in the foster family’s home. Social work staff provide support to the child and their foster family through frequent visits to the home, treatment team collaboration and individualized treatment planning.

Home to the #1 Online Training Program related to working with at risk children. FCAC Online Training offers 149 courses with new topics added continuously. Complete mandated training hours from the comfort of your home. Training online offers flexible hours.....train around your schedule. No need for baby sitters. Courses are developed by professionals with extensive experience, and most hold a Masters or Ph.D.

The passage to adulthood is challenging for anyone, but for youth in foster care, it can be especially lonesome, confusing, and uncertain. The Department of Education released a toolkit to help youth in our nation's foster care system and those who work to support them.

Parenting a child who has experienced foster care, adoption, or family reunification comes with unique challenges. At the Wisconsin Family Connections Center (WiFCC), we understand that sometimes you need more than just information – you need personalized guidance and support to help your family thrive.

Our GIFTS Program (Giving Incredible Families Tools for Success) provides free, voluntary short-term case management services specifically designed for Wisconsin families like yours.

What Is Short-Term Case Management?

Short-term (up to 6 months) case management is professional, individualized support that helps connect your family to the right resources and services. Unlike ongoing therapy or counseling, our case management focuses on practical solutions and parent coaching to address your family’s immediate needs.

Grandfamilies.org is a national resource in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child welfare system. Established in 2007, this interactive website seeks to share all relevant publicly available information impacting grandfamilies with a broad audience that includes caregivers, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and attorneys. The site features federal and state laws and policies, national reports and data, tools to create a kin-first culture, and resources for caregivers.

Heart to Heart Adoptions is a 501c3 Not-for-Profit, full service adoption agency who understands the unique needs of families across the country and across all races and ethnicities.non-profit child placing agency that provides adoption services through the United States. We work with prospective adoptive families and birth mothers across the nation.

While this article can be a great blueprint to help you get started designing your child’s playroom, every child is unique. You should create a playroom based around what your child prefers and enjoys above all else so that it truly does become their sanctuary. Think about your child’s current needs and preferences, but also how their space might grow with them. 

A list of ICW contact agents in the state.

Jeff Noble is the Founder and CEO of Noble Initiatives Inc, an organization that provides hope and education to people caring for someone living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) through online applications and in-person training sessions, demonstrations and consultations. Jeff delivers relevant, useful and need-to-know information to help and support front line workers, educators and caregivers of those living with FASD.

• Join their private Facebook group of over 7,000 FASD caregivers who truly understand your journey.

• Listen in to the latest episodes of THE FASD SUCCESS SHOW with Jeff Noble to get the expert tools, resources and support you need.

• Sign up for our newsletter and get immediate access to:

• Trending FASD news and updates

• Upcoming training sessions with Jeff and the FASD Success Team

• Inspiring success stories to help you celebrate the victories, big and small, on your FASD journey

• Stay in the loop with all the support, insights, and resources you need to thrive as a caregiver

The Journeys program offers supportive services covering a wide continuum of needs for individuals and families in Wisconsin who have been impacted by adoption, foster care, kinship care, or guardianship. This includes adult adoptees, reunified family members, birth/first family members, and the professionals who serve all of these populations.

A form for judges who are hearing Indian Child Custody Proceedings. The Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act (WICWA) codifies the federal Indian Child Welfare Act into state statutes. WICWA protects the best interests of Indian children while promoting stability and security of Indian tribes and families. WICWA applies to out-of-home placements in CHIPS, status offenses in JIPS, and guardianship cases, TPR proceedings, and pre-adoptive and adoptive placements. WICWA does not apply to placements based on delinquent acts or family court proceedings when one of the parents has custody.

A list of WICWA Circuit Court Forms

The mission of Kids Matter Inc. is to help abused and neglected children heal and thrive, to bring volunteer energy and community support to foster and kinship children, and to apply lessons learned from helping children heal to preventing further child abuse.

LearnEasy24 gives you the opportunity to interact with experienced and knowledgeable tutors that care about you as a student. That’s why we offer you an interactive learning with an experienced instructor who wants you, as a student, to succeed in learning a second language or an academic subject.

Access actionable tools, guides and analyses tailored to empower you to make informed decisions and achieve financial happiness. Calculators- Use our tools for personalized estimates to help with your financial decisions. Analysis- Discover data-driven studies and insights on driving, home and health topics.

NCMEC is the nation’s largest and most influential child protection organization and is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is to help find missing children, reduce child sexual exploitation, and prevent child victimization. NCMEC works with families, victims, private industry, law enforcement, and the public to assist with preventing child abductions, recovering missing children, and providing services to deter and combat child sexual exploitation.

Our Mission

Improving the well-being and permanence of children and their families by delivering adoption competent mental health services, training a national network of professionals, and informing the field through research and advocacy.

 Who We Serve

Our highly trained adoption competent therapists are prepared to support the unique challenges of adoption, foster and kinship care. C.A.S.E. serves all individuals and families regardless of race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, military or veteran status, or any other category protected under applicable federal, state or local law.

The National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) reaffirms our unwavering commitment to

support the needs of foster families, kinship caregivers and adoptive parents. Our advocacy

focus is on promoting family-based care and permanency for the nearly half a million

children in the U.S. foster care system.

NICWA is a nonprofit uniting tribal nations, individuals, and organizations to protect Native children and families. Together with partners, board, and staff, we work to keep Native children connected to their families, communities, and culture.

WHO WE ARE 

The Native Wellness Institute recognizes the profound impacts of historical trauma and oppression on our people. We understand that historic trauma has led to present-day trauma in our families and communities. This is evident in the high rates of substance abuse, violence, gossip, negativity, poverty, and other destructive behaviors and conditions.

​

As Native people, we have the strength and resilience to move beyond and forward from the painful past, utilizing what our ancestors left us—prayer, faith, songs, dances, ceremony, language, and the perseverance to leave a positive legacy for future generations.

The Native Wellness Institute exists to help create an awareness of the origins of our negative behavior, provide opportunities for growth and healing, and most importantly, to help our people move forward in a good way. We do this by providing training and technical assistance rooted in Native culture that promotes the well-being of individuals, families, communities, and workplaces.

​

NWI lives and promotes the “Warrior’s Spirit,” which means paying the greatest respect to our ancestors by being as positive, productive, and proactive as we can, every day of our lives.

Several terms commonly used in child welfare need to be reconsidered by agencies and families. To build on a child's and family's strengths, we provide the following words and expressions as alternatives to the language often used in child welfare services.

Courtesy of Foster Parent College.

The Neuroanatomical Transformation of the Teenage Brain: Jill Bolte Taylor at TEDxYouth@Indianapolis

Our brain is made up of cells and every ability we have is the product of those cells. What is going on during our teenage years that accounts for the way teenagers feel, think and behave? This presentation will focus on the neurological transformation of the brain that occurs during the teenage years.   

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

The Administration for Children & Families (ACF) promotes the economic and social well-being of families, children, youth, individuals and communities through funding, strategic partnerships, guidance, training and technical assistance.

In tribute to his mother, Annie E. Casey — a widow who raised four children — Jim Casey has created an enduring legacy of service to children and families in America. Our work focuses on strengthening families, building stronger communities and ensuring access to opportunity, because children and young people need all three to succeed. We advance research and solutions to overcome the barriers to success, help communities demonstrate what works and influence decision makers to invest in strategies based on solid evidence.

The Children’s Bureau (CB), an agency within the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, seeks to improve the safety, permanency, and well-being of children through leadership, support for necessary services, and productive partnerships with states, tribes, and communities. It provides leadership in addressing the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

The Foster Parent Handbook is intended to give basic information about foster care in Wisconsin to newly-licensed foster parents and to serve as a refresher for experienced foster parents. This handbook also provides additional tools and resource lists if foster parents want to learn more about a specific topic.

It is important to understand this handbook is not intended to replace Wisconsin foster parent licensing requirements included in state statutes, Administrative Code DCF Chapter 56, “Foster Home Care for Children”. Foster families should always consult the State of Wisconsin’s licensing rules for specific information about licensing standards.

While this article can be a great blueprint to help you get started designing your child’s playroom, every child is unique. You should create a playroom based around what your child prefers and enjoys above all else so that it truly does become their sanctuary. Think about your child’s current needs and preferences, but also how their space might grow with them. 

Please continue to join us for this opportunity to connect with other relative caregivers who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren, nieces, and nephews as a way to share the joys and challenges of being a relative caregiver. Our meetings will continue to be held virtually on the 4th Thursday of every month from 11am-12pm unless affected by holidays. Join us!

You will need to have an internet connection, computer or phone with the free Zoom app, a webcam and microphone. Please contact Breanna at bcalko@cclse.org with questions.

This group is offered through the Wisconsin Family Connections Center, a program funded by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.

The goal of our organization is relatively simple: to support the knowledge and skill development of child welfare professionals (workers, supervisors, directors, and providers) and caregivers (foster parents, adoptive parents, guardians, and congregate care providers). We do this by providing innovative, research-based, learner centered, and culturally responsible learning opportunities to those who promote the safety and well-being of children, youth, and families. We strive to promote the best child welfare and out-of-home care practice through education, skill development, strategic partnerships, and effective advocacy. Our role is to support you in being the very best professional you can be.

Each of you brings a unique set of experiences and skills to the table, and we envision this as a strength of all professional development opportunities we offer. The range of experience we can draw from is a valuable resource as TOGETHER we explore more effective ways to support children and families. We are committed to training approaches that reflect this, and our expectation is that you will encounter an atmosphere where you feel comfortable to ask questions, state opinions, and formulate arguments. The goal, as we see it, is that as a group we come out the other end of any professional development opportunity having had both a fun and a useful educational experience that you can apply directly to your work.

The materials and learning activities provided on this website should not be construed as legal advice and are meant for informational purposes only. 

Module 1 - Child in Need of Protection or Services

Module 2 - Termination of Parental Rights

Module 1 - Specialty Topics

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) provides or oversees county administration of programs to assist children and families. Those include assistance for children in need of protection or services, adoption and foster care services, the licensing of facilities that provide out-of-home care for children, background investigations of child caregivers, child abuse and neglect investigations, and community-based juvenile justice services. DCF also administers the Wisconsin Works (W-2) public assistance program, including the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program, the YoungStar child care quality improvement program, the child support enforcement and paternity establishment program, and programs related to the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) income support program. The department works to ensure that families have access to high quality and affordable early childhood care and education and administers the licensing and regulation of child care centers. The Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board is administratively attached to the Department of Children and Families.

Vision and Priorities

Our department’s vision is that all Wisconsin children and youth are safe and loved members of thriving families and communities. To reach our goal, we are focused on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in our programs and services, focusing on five key priorities:

• Systematically increasing access to quality early care and education programs that support the needs of children and families statewide; 

• Putting families in the center of successful child support and good-paying jobs programs;

• Safely transforming the child welfare and youth justice system to dramatically increase the proportion of children supported in their homes and communities;

• Dedicating additional resources to support vulnerable and historically underserved youth, specifically teenage girls, kids with complex care needs, and youth transitioning out of the foster care system;

• Fostering a workplace where agency staff feel engaged, valued, and connected to our vision.

The Wisconsin Family Connections Center (WiFCC) provides services and support to individuals, families, and caregivers with past or present involvement with foster care, adoption, reunification, kinship, and guardianship.

The Wisconsin Family Connections Center (WiFCC)  provides a welcoming space for families and communities impacted by the child welfare care system. Our resources include referrals, training, and support for:

• Kinship/relative caregiving families

• Foster families

• Families post-permanency

• Professionals serving and supporting these families

Information on Guardianship laws and resources

Information on Adoption laws and resources