Middletown (RI) May 18, 2020 – For the first time, the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) is allowing potential foster care parents to complete their certification through virtual programs. This includes working with a Foster Care Recruiter within one of the 10 statewide agencies, attending virtual Trauma Informed Partnering for Safety and Permanence – Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (TIPS-MAPP) classes, and even having their home visits done virtually. The need for foster parent(s) in Rhode Island has been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, in fact now more than ever foster children going through personal trauma need loving homes where they feel safe.
May is National Foster Care Awareness Month and there is no better time to bring awareness to this program than during the current COVID-19 crisis. Child & Family’s Foster Care Recruiter, Angela McCalla, began her first virtual TIPS-MAPP session May 18th and is excited to help foster care parent(s) make a direct impact on the lives of Rhode Island children in need. Rhode Island DCYF started allowing virtual TIPS-MAPP classes in mid-April so that families who were already enrolled in the program could complete their certification and start to receive placements in their homes. The first round of all virtual classes started May 6, 2020 and there are five sessions scheduled to run virtually moving forward, including plans for Spanish speaking families.
The TIPS-MAPP classes are designed to prepare potential foster care and adoptive parent(s) to support a child who has been in out of home care. It also helps the home finder (social worker) get to know them better so they can make a good match between family and child. The virtual TIPS-MAPP classes are a series of 10 classes hosted over 10 weeks that are mandatory for parent(s) to be certified to receive a foster child in the state of Rhode Island.
If you are interested to learn more about how you can make a direct impact on a child’s life, please visit childandfamilyri.org, or contact Angela McCalla at foster@childandfamilyri.org.
