Thank you to Riverside Community Church!

1    

      Many of our children have already started school. They are meeting up with old friends and making new friends as well. This is an exciting time for them and being prepared is key. Thanks to the generous donations from Riverside Community Church in Aberdeen, MD our children have the tools that they need to succeed. 

      Check out pictures of the backpacks they sent (see picture above). Many of the backpacks have already been given away and they absolutely LOVE them! If you have not picked up your backpack please contact anyone in the Treatment Foster Care department for pickup. You may also pick them up at the Foster Parent training on September 13, 2018.

A Little Planning Goes a Long Way

As summer winds down parents are getting their littles ones ready for the new school year. The days will get shorter and your task list is getting longer. The best thing that you can do is manage the time that you have and organize as much as you can. Setting your week up for success will help your family stay on track. Here are some things that you can do to make life a bit easier:

1.    Plan your meals

While it seems like a daunting task to map out your menu for the week…knowing that tacos are always served on Thursdays will not only help your children know what to expect (children love consistency), but it will help you prep ahead of time. You can cook in large quantities, portion everything out for the week, and thaw as needed. Ground turkey, ground beef, and roasted chicken go a long way and you can buy most of your toppings already prepped (shredded cheese in a bag, salsa in a jar, and bagged salad). You may prepare fresh toppings as well if you would prefer.

Each night can have a theme:

Meatball Mondays

You can use Swedish meatballs, spaghetti and meatballs, stuffed meatballs, etc.

Tuna Tuesdays

You can prep tasty tuna salad ahead of time and add some healthy options on the side (baby carrots, fresh bell peppers, fresh broccoli, etc.)

Wild Wednesdays

Anything goes! Have easy-to-prepare items available (veggies with ranch and cold cuts, peanut butter and jelly, etc.) Let your children decide what they would like that night and let them help you with preparing their meal. Kids love to help, and they may be more inclined to eat the culinary masterpiece that they created. They may eat leftovers from the previous days or choose from the available options for that night.

Taco Thursdays

You can use chicken, beef, turkey, lamb, etc.

Fry-day

It has been a long week and who doesn’t love French fries? You can oven bake French fries (frozen or fresh-cut) with olive oil and top them with things like leftovers from Taco Thursdays, mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, spinach dip, gravy, bacon, etc.

Spaghetti Saturdays

Spaghetti doesn’t have to be boring, you can use spaghetti squash or zucchini instead or traditional pasta. You may also add mixed veggies, baby spinach, shrimp, baby clams, mozzarella or parmesan cheese, etc.

Slow Cooker Sundays

You must get a lot done for the week. Why not make it easy on yourself by using your slow cooker? You can make soup, chili, or even lasagna!

Do you need inspiration? Check out these awesome kid-friendly recipes below (including some amazing slow cooker recipes). Don’t forget to post your Menu in the kitchen.

https://www.popsugar.com/moms/Best-Kid-Friendly-Recipes-25606166

https://www.christinacooks.com/recipes/carrot-almond-cake

2. Organize your week

Print a calendar or get dry-erase calendar and post it in either the kitchen or living room. You can plan things for each family member like: 

• Activities (dance class, football practice, doctor visits, etc.)
• Chores (trash removal, dish washing, etc.)
• Homework/projects, etc. 

   

    3. Wardrobe please!

Preparing your wardrobe ahead of time will save you loads of time in the morning. On Sunday, you can wash, dry, iron, coordinate, and hang your clothes (outfits for each day including tops, bottoms, and undergarments) for the week (be mindful of the weather).

While these things take a bit of prep work, the amount of time that you will save will be worth it. You can use this time to spend more time with family, work on a personal project, or just relax and do nothing for a change; after all…you deserve it!

National Social Work Month

It’s National Social Work Month! Be sure to thank a social worker for all their hard work.

Check out some statistics on social work:

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-workers.htm

What's New?

Recently, we were able to reunite two brothers in Harford County, MD.

We have two new foster children which we placed in loving foster homes. We are looking forward to hearing about the new memories that will be created and new relationships that will be developed between these children and their foster families.

One of our foster children recently embarked on a new journey by attending college. We wish her success as she continues her studies and are excited to see the wonderful milestones that she and our other foster children will experience.

Rachel's Story

Being a foster parent is sometimes challenging. However, the relationships that you build can last a lifetime and have a lasting impact on foster children. Check out Rachel’s inspiring story!

Good Luck!

We had a very successful picnic on the last Friday in August. A good time was had by all. There was plenty of food, games, and activities and we are looking forward to our next event. We have great things in store for our foster families!

We would like to wish everyone a happy new school year! What is great about beginning a new school year is that everything essentially starts anew. You will gain new friends, new teachers, new experiences, and new knowledge. We know that you will do very well.

Summertime Eats

We hope that you are enjoying your summer thus far. Often times, parents are super busy and do not have the energy to cook a huge meal after work. Kids sometimes forget that even though they are off for the summer, their parents are not. Here are some quick and easy recipes that parents can make after work; kids can also make these recipes (as long as it is okay with their parents).

Spaghetti Pasta Salad with Roasted Vegetables and Prosciutto

1 lb whole wheat spaghetti

1 red bell pepper

1 medium zucchini

10 asparagus spears

5 slices prosciutto

1 cup basil leaves

1 lemon

¼ cup red wine vinegar

½ cup olive oil

½ tsp each salt and pepper

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dice zucchini into quarters, halve the bell pepper, and cut asparagus spears into thirds. Drizzle with olive oil. Cook for 25-20 minutes. Let cool.

• Meanwhile, bring large pot of salted water to boil. Add spaghetti and cook based on box directions. Drain.

• Dice the roasted bell pepper into small diced pieces. Cut the prosciutto into small slices.

• Add the roasted veggies and prosciutto to the pasta.

• In a blender or food processor add the basil, juice from 1 lemon, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

• Pulse until smooth for about 30 seconds

• Toss 3/4 the dressing with the salad while the pasta is still warm.

• Mix the remaining 1/4 of dressing in with salad when ready to serve (either that same day or at a later time!)

This recipe and all related images and content can also be found at: "Foodista.com – The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit".

Click for Foodista.com Recipe

Morning Glory Muffins

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
3/4 cup oat bran
3/4 cup organic coconut sugar, Swerve, or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or a bit more if you like them spicy like I do!)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup carrots, grated
1 large apple, grated
3/4 cup raisin or dried fruit of your choice (chop the larger ones into raisin-size pieces)
Optional: 1 cup walnuts or pecans, or a mixture of nuts and seeds, such as sunflower

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

• In a large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. 

• Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla. 

• Add the grated carrots, apples, and raisins. 

• Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Be careful to not over mix. Note: the consistency will be more like a dough than a batter.

• Fill muffin cups almost full. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes for regular size muffins or 12-13 minutes for mini muffins, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

This recipe and all related images and content can also be found at: "Foodista.com – The Cooking Encyclopedia Everyone Can Edit".

Click for Foodista.com Recipe

TFC Updates!

Thanks to our TFC families who attended the meeting with Shawn and Kevin. We truly appreciate your hard work, dedication, and feedback. Together we can continue enriching the lives of our foster families in order to ensure a brighter future.

UPDATE: We are hosting a TFC picnic for our foster families and prospective foster parents. Be sure to look for our email and let us know which day works best for you. Please respond no later than 7/7/17 via the email link.

Hope to see you there!

Thanks Troop 750!

We would like to thank The Girl Scouts (Troop 750 in Havre De Grace) for their generosity.

 We appreciate their hard work and sacrifice. 

We have already been able to use several of the donated items/bags for our foster children. 

One of our newest children practically came in with nothing. 

Thanks to the Girl Scouts, we were able to provide her with a bag full of clothing and lots of other goodies!

Sometimes, when we volunteer or donate, it is difficult to know whether or not we are making an impact.

 However, thanks to these young ladies and others with giving hearts we can see the impact firsthand.  

Our Winners!

Congrats to the winners of our FOSTERtration game! Thank you Sara G. for helping. Foster Care month isn’t over folks..you never know what we’ll have up our sleeves.!

Kate W.

Angeline H.

Thank You Parents!

We had such an awesome time at our Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner at the Greene Turtle in Bel Air, MD. When you put great people + a good cause + food together.. good things are bound to happen.

We can’t wait for next year! We want to say thank you to all our parents who go out of their way to make our kids’ lives a little brighter each and every day.

We're Having a Blast!

The month has just kicked off and we are already having a blast while creating awareness. We are waiting to see who will win our foster trivia game ‘FosterTration’! We have already received a few donations and are so grateful to have received such great gifts for our children; we know that they will appreciate it.

This Thursday we will host our Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner. We are looking forward to spending time with the amazing parents who have opened their hearts and homes to those who need it.

It's National Foster Care Month!

We had a wonderful seminar on Thursday April 6th, 2017. The seminar was presented by Manolya Bayar and Regina Roof-Ray from Harford Community College. It was entitled ‘Challenges and Obstacles Faced by Children and Adolescents in Foster Care’.

We received wonderful feedback and are looking forward to our foster parent dinner on Thursday May 11th when  we will be celebrating National Foster Care Month!

Welcome to our Treatment Foster Care (TFC) Blog!

Welcome to our new Treatment Foster Care (TFC) blog! We are excited about all of the great things that we have planned for the next few months. We will be having several seminars, workshops, and even a dinner for our foster care families!

Are you interested in becoming a foster parent? Please let us know. We are always looking for loving homes for our foster children. Please subscribe to our mailing list for more information on blog posts, upcoming events, and all things TFC!