How Are We Doing?

09 Jun How Are We Doing?

Foster Coalition has been doing extensive work to make improvements in the foster system. Through training events, meetings and support groups, providing education and advocacy, collaboration with the community and fellow foster care advocates, and more, we have been able to make waves in the foster care community to enact change and improvement. 

Here are some of the things we have been up to and have accomplished in the past year: 

April Trauma-Informed Care Conference 

We had a trauma conference in April with many vendors and speakers that shared valuable information for the foster community. Speaker topics included: sexual reactivity, impact of foster care and adoption on the family, trauma-informed discipline for children and teens, and identifying and addressing child trafficking and online child exploitation. 

Many vendors joined us at the event, including:

• CHIPS Center from Children’s of Alabama
• Raleigh’s Place
• The Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama (HICA)
• Porchlight Adoption/Foster/Kinship Ministry at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church
• Lifeline Children’s Services
• Blanket Fort Hope
• Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers

We had positive feedback from our attendees on their experience at the conference:

“The session on Trauma-Informed Discipline for Children & Teens by Jennifer Ervin was excellent. She was able to provide some practical tips for something that seems to be a struggle for foster parents to grasp.”

“I wish more folks took advantage of this training. The content was excellent.”

“I connected with some people I haven’t seen in years. I liked how there was an opportunity to attend virtually. That was really helpful with small children at home. I really enjoyed hearing personal experiences as well.” 

We were pleased to hear all the positive feedback and the suggestions they provided for us to improve for our next training. 

August Resource & Training Conference

We are currently putting together another conference for foster/adoptive/kinship families and those who support them. This is for those interested in or are currently fostering/adopting/kinship AND those supporting them. We will have more details soon on the event, but here is what we have for now:

Date: 8/23/25

Time: 8:00 a.m. – noon

Where: Shades Mountain Baptist Church

Breakfast, drinks, and snacks will be provided.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group (GRG)

Our GRG group has been growing since day one! We meet every Sunday during the school year at 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Oak Mountain Presbyterian Church. Childcare is provided. We have many families in need of support, education, and resources and our support group helps provide these in many ways. If you or someone you know is interested in participating, email paul@fostercoalition.org to talk about joining our Grandparents Raising Grandchildren group. 

We are off for the summer, but plan to start meetings back up in the fall. Join our group and don’t miss out when we start back up! More information on when we begin gathering will be coming soon. 

Foster Ministry Fellowship (FMF)

Our FMF meetings have been great and educational! We hope to see it grow more and more every month. We try to meet at least once a quarter. This is an opportunity to connect with others serving the foster and adoptive community and to give/receive encouragement and support. We provide free breakfast for all attendees. 

We begin with prayer and discussion before breaking out into sessions for deeper discussion on common topics. These topics range from discussing what we need help on in our work, what Foster Coalition can do to support our fellow community advocates, working with trauma, and more. We hope our group provides encouragement and strength for our local advocates and organizations working together to bring positive change in the foster community. 

Stay tuned with updates on our FMF meetings by subscribing to our newsletter here. Share our newsletter with others to spread the word! If you would like more information about this fellowship opportunity, contact us at info@fostercoalition.org.

Brainstorming Sessions: Trauma and Special Needs 

We plan to meet around 9-10 times a year with church ministry leaders, local foster and adoptive organizations and advocates, DHR representatives, and more. So far, we have covered the topics of Trauma and Special Needs. We discuss problems we see in our everyday lives in the system and come up with possible solutions to implement. We schedule follow-up sessions to discuss plans for implementing solutions and any further issues we need to cover. 

We usually meet at North Shelby Library and provide free lunch.

If you would like to attend any future Brainstorming Sessions, email nancy@fostercoalition.org for more information. Stay tuned with our newsletter for updates and news.

Public Appearances 

We attend local events in support of foster care advocacy and trauma. We participated as a vendor at Brook Hill’s Trauma Conference last October and at the Annual April Pinwheels for Prevention resource fair in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. We hope to provide as much support to our local foster care community and promote awareness to our coalition so we can better serve children in need. 

Social Media

Our social media on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), and Threads promotes advocacy, education, news and events, resources, and collaboration with others in the world that are involved or could potentially be involved with the foster community. Many campaigns cover education on the foster world, national holidays, like Foster Care Awareness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, events in the community, and more. We collaborate with other organizations and promote awareness for them to find more outreach and support. 

Thank You

We could not accomplish any of this without the help of our grant and donor support. With the help of you and the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Independent Presbyterian Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, Children’s Trust Fund, and the Daniel Foundation, it is you that makes a difference in these children and families’ lives. We have much more to come as we continue to take action in achieving our mission to support the foster world. If you would like to be a part of our mission to serve the local foster community, either through donating, volunteering, or getting involved, check out our website to learn how!