Click Here to access the Foster Care channel where you will find some great stories of modern day heroes who loved with their hearts and made the world a better place!
Dear Friends,
Again this year I realized that at the heart of the Christmas Story were circumstances much like we face everyday in foster care. I mean, you’ve got a pregnant teen. The government disrupts life completely by one of its edicts. Joseph & Mary are late getting to Bethlehem, and were homeless, so they end up in the barn. Where was the advanced planning Joseph? Where was Mary’s Mother? There was no bed so they used the feeding trough full of germs. And there, our Savior was born! He does understand the world in which we have chosen to serve.
We’re enjoying our family as I’m writing this to you. Hannah is home from D.C., Oliviah is busy getting ready to go off to college after spending the Summer & Fall with the National Guard. Noah towers over us and is getting ready for a new soccer league. Deborah is writing her own Christmas stories and is our resident enthusiast. And...our big news is that we are adopting the last two of our residents here at the Home - Jordan and Savannah. Feels to me like our quiver is now full - one was a gift and the others we chose - part of our chosen generation.
Transition As you know the Home is on the market as we have come to realize that we can better affect our goal of bringing positive change to the NH foster care system by investing our equity in the other projects and initiatives that have been developing over the past few years. Our engagement with the Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) through the Citizen Review Panel and the DCYF Advisory Board have given us a seat at the table as NH is beginning a thorough review and overhaul of their child welfare system. It’s a great opportunity to be a voice for children, families and for foster families. Our partnership with the state and local Foster and Adoptive Parent Associations will also benefit children in NH. It is very exciting for us to consider the opportunities before us! The Home was our laboratory where we learned many important lessons and made key connections preparing us for the future that is knocking.
Since we have evolved into an organization that serves communities beyond the Home, our attorneys have recommended that we work in conjunction with the Sullivan County Probate Court and the New Hampshire Director of Charitable Trusts to ensure that any formal adjustment to the mission statement (to reflect our expanded role) and future plans for the organization are in keeping with all legal requirements and details of the sale of our real estate, since it is a large charitable asset. We are hopeful that the Court will bless our plans for a mission statement that allows us to better serve New Hampshire children and families. The Board has assembled a subcommittee to develop the details for the future that we will ask the Probate Court to approve. We will continue to keep you posted in this important transition process.
Transitions in life aren’t always fun but they are adventurous. I’ve been thinking lately about our canoe trip this past summer down the St. Croix River. It marks the boundary between Maine and Canada. Most of the trip was calm and peaceful with great fishing and conversation - and beautiful scenery! When the rapids came, you heard them first - and then you saw them - and then you were in them! Forget about the scenery and nice conversation. Trying to avoid the rocks and stay in the channel was the first order of business. After a few scrapes on the canoes and getting wet, we’d hit a calm stretch and start fishing again. Well, we’re in one of those transitions. As we wind down the residential side of our mission and ramp up our community development initiatives, we are faced with a number of challenges.
First, we’ve had a lot of work to get the Home ready to be sold. We’ve had lots of help for which we are grateful. The Dartmouth Varsity Baseball team came and spent a day as did students from a local Bible School. Both were extraordinary days where lots of projects were completed and checked from my list. I think I’m down to just a few remaining things to complete. So grateful for all of their help! Check HERE to see some of the fruit of their labors.
Our second challenge is cash flow. We are asset-rich but cash-challenged in our current situation. Donations have declined 43% from last year to help you understand the difficulty we are facing. Across NH similar trials are being faced by other small non profits. Tough days - but they are full of new opportunities if you can see them. We’re selling assets that won’t be needed in the next season and I’ve taken two part-time jobs to help us get to the finish line. I’m the Communications Coordinator for a local coalition trying to reduce substance abuse in Sullivan County and driving a bus for school trips and athletic events. We have seen first hand the corrosive effects of alcohol and drugs in our community. It’s a privilege to be working upstream to address this problem. If you are interested in learning more about this coalition, click HERE. [BTW, we created this website for them.]
The Bean Group is marketing our property and they’ve put together a great slideshow of the Home. Click HERE if you want to take the tour. Here’s the listing for the Home if you’d like more info or know someone who might be interested - Click HERE. You never know!
Updates Our work continues as the economy continues to negatively impact NH families and children. In the beginning of the year, we instituted our “Vulnerable Family Assistance Project” or VFAP. We wanted to begin moving upstream to help families avoid losing their children to foster care if possible. That has to be a growing part of the future. In this case, an ounce of prevention will save about $20,000 of attempted cure. We made a vital connection with Youth Villages this year that has led to their opening an office in NH. We’ve tracked them for the past 12 years and, in our book, they are one of the best social service agencies in the country. Originally based in Tennessee, they were in 12 states until we called, Now they are in 13! We recently met with some of their supervisors who said we have gained quite a reputation in their organization. See what one phone call can do?! Their “Intercept Program” that works to keep children with their families is successful 82% of the time! We’re excited to work closely with them and pray their efforts will have great success here in our state.
UShareNH. We received our first funding for UShare this Fall. A $10,000 grant was received from the Day Foundation for software improvements to make our user interface easier. Work continues on this project with good results. Recently our Family Court Judge ordered DCYF to get a foster child a guitar by the next day. They panicked, called us and we found one for them the next morning. We later learned that the judge was kidding. Nevertheless, UShare helped make the connection in the community that resulted in a guitar for a child in foster care. Click HERE to learn more.
Foster Parent Training. Our work load with Granite State College has been increasing as they are asking us to be involved in more of their training for foster parents. Keith taught two modules during this series: one on the grief and loss children, families and foster families experience; and the other was on trauma and what we can do to help children navigate their wounded hearts and emotions. The interface with prospective foster parents is engaging & exciting. We are also exploring opportunities to create training modules both for Social Workers and Foster Parents. Since 70% of NH’s foster parents are also members of various faith communities, we have been working with DCYF to create a training module to help their social workers understand, respect and work effectively with them. Pretty exciting!
NH Foster & Adoptive Parent Association (NHFAPA.org). There are approximately 800 foster families in NH working with 12 District Offices. 30% leave after their first placement. Some of the attrition is due to adoption but much of it is because of difficulties new foster families are having. Nationwide the percentage is higher but we feel there is a back door that needs to be closed. Keith is a member of the Executive Board and is helping to build a more cohesive statewide organization and helping to start new FAPA groups where there are none. The organization is developing and at an important crossroads. One of the best ways to improve the quality of care for children in foster care is to strengthen the serve of our foster families. They are a great group, unsung heroes, who have a great love for children. We are working on a Recruitment Strategy we are calling “Hearts ‘n Homes” which gives foster parents the opportunity to tell their story to others interested in their networks and communities. Since most foster parents become foster parents through foster parents, why not empower the process? Click HERE to learn more.
Bureau of Elder & Adult Services. Seniors are another demographic in our country that are vulnerable. Tracy Culberson of the Attorney General’s office called to invite us to participate in their Planning and Development Team. NH was recently awarded a large federal grant to do a “Needs Assessment” of the problem of elder abuse and to develop strategies to combat it. Tracy is hopeful of a “Community & Faith-based Advisory Committee” to help them much like we have spearheaded in child welfare. The multiplication has begun! There are 8 other agencies in NH Health & Human Services that we have identified as good partners for a Community & Faith-based effort.
Thank you for your support! Would you consider a gift to help with our transition? We really can’t do it without you. You can give online by clicking HERE. Many, many thanks!
Merry Christmas! Keith & Cherith Marsh
We took the month of June to reconsider our steps and vision. Here are some of the factors we looked at:
• NH is moving away from residential care wanting foster children to be with families. We applaud this!
• Our position on the DCYF Advisory Committee, Citizen Review Panel and the NH Foster & Adoptive Parent Association gives us the opportunity to help shape public policy and work towards legislative reform.
• Our UShare Project continues to grow generating enthusiasm and active participation throughout the state.
• We’ve been able to recruit many new foster families. Retention rates are still too low and need improvement.
• We’ve helped State, Community & Faith-based organizations collaborate to strengthen foster care in NH. 70% of NH’s foster parents are members of various Faith Communities. You’ll find similar percentages among New England’s other states making these partnerships of vital importance as we head to the future. We are in a unique position to strengthen these partnerships given our experience and life connections.
• What’s the best way to continue changing the face of NH’s foster care system? What’s in our hand to do so?
• How can we reduce the need for foster care? Who is already doing it that we can connect with?
We’ve spent time reflecting on these factors and
talking to people who have done what we are doing. Taking time to
listen to the wisdom of others always helps avoid unnecessary
mistakes. It’s been a good time of reflection on where we have come
from and what we still want to accomplish. I always think of an old
African proverb I learned during one of my first visits there: “Look
how far He has brought us; look how much He has taught us; look how far
we still have to go.” So many happy stories; so many trying ordeals.
Two of our own children came to us here at the home. We later adopted
them. Where would our lives be without Oliviah or Deborah? And look
how fast everyone grows up!
Here’s what we’ve decided to do:
• We’re creating a new organization, “The Grace Coalition,” with the byline: “Improving the quality of Life for NH’s Foster & Adopted Children and their Families.” Our focus is shifting from residential care and we'll seek to develop a number of exciting projects that have budded in the last 5 years. In reality, we're moving into Phase 2 of our vision. We plan to:
- Work closely with NHFAPA (NH Foster & Adoptive Parent Association) to strengthen the statewide network of foster and adoptive parents.
- Participate in the training of new foster parents through our partnership with Granite State College.
- Implement our Hearts ‘N Homes Strategy to recruit new foster families.
- Subcontract with DCYF to build a Peer Support Network to improve foster parent retention rates.
- Hire good grant writers to develop UShare’s potential as well as fund other Grace Coalition Projects.
- Partner with Youth Villages to implement their “Intercept” program which has an 82% success rate in keeping children with their families and out of the foster care system. We helped open the door for them to work in NH and look forward to working closely with them in the future.
- Expand our network of faith-based, community & family partners empowering neighbors to care for neighbors during this recession. This is at the heart of our UShare Project.
- Work to develop and pass good legislation for our most vulnerable neighbors.
• We’re putting our Springfield property on the market to create an initial funding pot for this coalition.
- With only a small mortgage remaining, we should be able to commit significant funds to its launch.
- This is what is in our hand that we can offer to reach our stated goals.
• We’ll be using eNewsletters in the future saving on printing & postage while improving our ability to keep you informed.
We will be upgrading our presence on the web as a resource for foster
parents and policy makers. New technologies, like Drupal, provide good
platforms for statewide network development.
For 11 years I have written these updates doing my best to keep you in the loop and up to date as to what we are doing and thinking about. All of you have contributed to this project in one way or another. For the rest of this year we will need your financial help more than ever. We’ve come a long way and there is much to celebrate. There is no way we could have done what we have done without your kindness and support. As you can see from the objectives I began to lay out for the Grace Coalition, we still have a long way to go before we’ll rest. I think this time of retooling will expand our abilities to meet our goal of changing the face of foster care.
Sincerely,
Keith Marsh President
P.S. Many of you heard that Cherry's been experiencing
severe difficulties with her back. I am happy to report that after a
summer of rest, she is doing much better. We're not perfect yet but
the nerve pain is mostly gone and much of her strength has returned!
Dear Friends,
We took the month of June to reconsider our steps and vision. Here are some of the factors we looked at:
We’ve spent time reflecting on these factors and
talking to people who have done what we are doing. Taking time to
listen to the wisdom of others always helps avoid unnecessary
mistakes. It’s been a good time of reflection on where we have come
from and what we still want to accomplish. I always think of an old
African proverb I learned during one of my first visits there: “Look
how far He has brought us; look how much He has taught us; look how far
we still have to go.” So many happy stories; so many trying ordeals.
Two of our own children came to us here at the home. We later adopted
them. Where would our lives be without Oliviah or Deborah? And look
how fast everyone grows up! 
• We’re putting our Springfield property on the market to create an initial funding pot for this coalition.
For 11 years I have written these updates doing my best to keep you in the loop and up to date as to what we are doing and thinking about. All of you have contributed to this project in one way or another. For the rest of this year we will need your financial help more than ever. We’ve come a long way and there is much to celebrate. There is no way we could have done what we have done without your kindness and support. As you can see from the objectives I began to lay out for the Grace Coalition, we still have a long way to go before we’ll rest. I think this time of retooling will expand our abilities to meet our goal of changing the face of foster care. 