News & Library
Keep up with the latest news about Firefly Children and Family Alliance, from recent announcements to new programs and services
MANAGING STRESS
Stress is something that everyone deals with. It can affect your body, behavior, and mood, and can contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes (mayoclinic.org.) Its effects are wide-ranging and can include sleep problems, headache, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, and upset stomach, among many others health issues.
Most of us are aware of the many unhealthy ways of coping with stress, but even some seemingly benign methods of relaxing, like watching tv, playing video games, or surfing the internet, can increase your stress over time.
Kris’ Corner – Should Siblings Always Be Placed Together?
Should Siblings Always Be Placed Together? Well, the answer to this question is a definitive “maybe…it depends”…because there are a variety of circumstances that help determine if siblings should/could be placed together in a home. Unfortunately, it comes down to...
Kris’ Corner – The Importance of Respite
As I’ve mentioned previously, we are a respite foster home…this means that we provide respite (or a break) to homes placed with a longer-term placement. We know that full-time foster care can be exhausting, and sometimes foster parents simply need a break. And that’s...
SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS FOR DEPRESSION
Depression takes its toll on all aspects of life, including the ability to perform well on the job. The disease can affect sleep, interpersonal communications, concentration, and physical health as well. Although many people with depression are able to continue working, severe depression may stop you from earning a gainful living or from holding a job at all. If this is true for you, then you may be able to qualify for benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA).
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO CREATE CAMPFIRE MEMORIES
Creating family memories doesn’t need to be complicated. Imagine your family snuggled around a cracking campfire, laughing at your kid’s silly story with the lingering taste of charred marshmallow fluff on your tongue. If a backyard campfire sounds fun and doable to you, we want to help make it happen!
Kris’ Corner – You should never disrupt a placement, Part Two
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this “two part series”, we ended up disrupting two placements. And since this is clearly NOT what should happen, I want to discuss some ways I believe that at least one of these disruptions could have been avoided. Let me begin by saying...
Kris’ Corner – You should never disrupt a placement Part 1
OK so I’m about to delve into something I don’t like to discuss because it makes me feel as though I failed. I’m an enneagram Type 1 so if you’re into that sort of thing, you’ll understand that I am something of a perfectionist. And even though I am aware that I am...
Kris’ Corner – Does 1 parent need to stay at home?
As you may recall from the post about Foster Parents Must Be Married, (spoiler alert in case you have not read it): foster parents do not have to be married; single people can absolutely be foster parents. So if we understand that foster parents can be single, and we...
Kris’ Corner – Protecting your child’s story
One role of a foster parent which isn’t often discussed is that of “keeper of the story”. And what I mean by that is that as a foster parent, you are tasked with preserving and holding the story of the child entrusted to your care… So what IS the big deal about the...
Kris’ Corner – Foster care isn’t what you think it will be
So I have been ruminating this week about what we thought foster care would be like versus what it has ended up being for us. This will obviously be very different for every single person, but here are just a few of my thoughts and ramblings. Six years ago last week,...