August, 2011

We want and need your help to spread the word! Here are ways you can help us recruit for kids:

- Like us on Facebook

- Join us on Twitter and retweet when we twitpic a new child

- Hook up with us onLinkedln

- Sign up for Text Messaging

- Link us on your website.

dennis@afamilyforeverychild.org

- Email us any supports, training's, activities, blogs, anything that could help.Christy@afamilyforeverychild.org

- Become a volunteer

- Donate, attend, or become a sponsor at ourevent

- Host a Heart Gallery.Heather@afamilyforeverychild.org

- Become a mentor.Heather@afamilyforeverychild.org

- Questions? Ideas?Christy@afamilyforeverychild.org

It's a discovery of a lifetime. A 65-year-old woman who was adopted when she was 10 days old learns she has a brother in Reno. And just recently, she was able to use Facebook to track him down and meet up.

Reporter: Denise Wong

Email: denise.wong@kolotv.com

RENO, NV - It turns out, the woman's mother got pregnant by a man who wasn't her husband. He was serving overseas in the military. By the time her husband returned, she'd put her baby up for adoption and didn't tell other family members.

"I never thought I would find anybody else that I was related to. And then to find out I've got a sibling who was alive, it has just been an incredible joy ride," says Sherrie Eldridge. She and her brother, Jon Perry, are sitting next to each other at the Staybridge Suites in South Reno. They look like they're close, so it's hard to imagine that about a month ago, Jon didn't even know Sherrie existed.

"I never thought about an adopted child," says Jon.

Sherrie learned about Jon about 15 years ago, when she met her birth mother. However, she refused to tell Sherrie any more about her family.

"I had a few little facts, put them in Facebook and by golly, I found a Jon Perry in Reno," says Sherrie Eldridge.

It was actually Jon's son she found. From her home in Indianapolis, she messaged Jon Perry, Jr. and he told his dad.

"He says well she sounds legit, you want to give her a call? I said sure. So he gave me the phone number," says Jon Perry, Sr.

"What do you say to a brother you've never met?!" remembers Sherrie.

A lot. Since then, they've been talking on the phone every day. And when Sherrie found out Jon had a terminal heart condition, she flew to Reno to meet him and be by his side.

"It feels wonderful," says Jon.

Sherrie is 7 years older than Jon, but she's acting like more than just a big sis.

"Now she's like a mom over me now," says Jon.

They're hoping their story will inspire others.

"This is an adoption challenge that so many adoptees face," says Sherrie. "They think they're never going to be able to find their birth relatives. And I just want to encourage them that even though it sounds impossible you know things can happen."

Tips to Try:

1.     Search websites often offer a free trial period before making a commitment, but be sure to mark the date that the trial is up on your calendar, so you can cancel without a charge to your credit card.

2.     Conduct a deep web search. Deep web search engines (such as Pipl) have web crawlers that find information often missed by more traditional search engines. For example, go to Pipl.com, enter the relative's name (and city, if known), and press the "Search" button. Pipl displays results in photos, personal profiles, classmates, publications and more--click on one of these links and review the content for a phone number, email address or other contact information. For example, you might find a relative's photo in the results. Click on the photo (which opens the online document, such as a blog, the photo is in), and look for contact information for the relative. If you do make contact, request how to reach the person you're trying to find.

3.     Check hometown newspapers. Use this search if you know the city and state where a relative lives or lived. Hometownnews.com provides links to 3,697 daily and weekly newspapers across the U.S It's possible a relative's name appeared in a paper--such as in an article, column, letter to the editor, classified ad--and there may be contact information associated with that relative's name as well (such as an email address).

Go to Hometownnews.com, select a state for that relative, click a local newspaper, and follow its instructions to search for the relative's name. It might be you find a business name associated with that relative--if so, call directory assistance for that business phone number. As with the other steps, if you make contact with a relative, request how to reach the person you're seeking

4.     Try searching on multiple sites to cross reference any information that you find. Jot down any information about people that may be related to the person you are trying to locate. You never know which lead will result in finding the correct relative.

Intern/Volunteers are needed to help reconnect foster children with those they love and those who have loved them.

The Family Finding model offers methods and strategies to locate and engage relatives of children living in foster care. The goal of Family Finding is to provide each child with the lifelong connections that only a family can offer.If you like playing detective, than this is the position for you! Most roles can be performed anywhere; nationwide. All training is provided for local and nationwide volunteers.

Family Finding volunteers work closely with caseworkers and the Family Finding Director. They perform file mining, make phone calls, and search the Internet for relatives or other meaningful people in the child's life. While each case is different, the typical case takes approximately three months to complete, and approximately 5-10 hours a month in phone calls and research. All training is provided. This volunteer can be located anywhere nationwide.

All volunteers will be requested to pass a background check before being given access to sensitive case files.

A Family Finding Volunteer position will be a rewarding opportunity for individuals who possess skills such as:

· Good phone skills. Do you enjoy speaking with new people and asking for information?

· Internet investigative skills. With our training, you will learn how to leave no stone unturned to discover contacts for waiting children.

· Adoptive or foster parents can offer valuable insights to benefit deserving children.

· Excellent follow-up skills. Be the one who made a commitment to a child.

· Detail Oriented-Do you have the skills to pick up on details that others might miss?

· Sense of urgency. Every child in our program has an immediate need to connect with family.

Family Finding Expert needed to learn and perform Genograms; our Family Tree project for our Family Finding Cases. We supply the software and need a volunteer, local or nationwide to learn the program and use it to complete a family tree project for a child.

Family Finding Department Support

Flexible number of hours a week. The Family Finding Department needs a volunteer that can become familiar with the Family Finding process to assist with administrative projects. This is an ideal opportunity for a volunteer that is detailed oriented and enjoys a variety of tasks. This individual would assist with general administrative functions as well as take on tasks such as:

* Prepare materials for training sessions.

* Coordinate incoming volunteers.

* Build family trees with GenoPro software.

* Update blogs.

* Research family finding best practices.

*Data entry.

Family Finding Volunteers

To Work Cases--How you can get involved:

* Join a search team

* Work closely with caseworkers

* Make phone calls

* Build family trees

* Search the Internet for lost relatives

* Create positive supportive family connections for isolated foster children.

Please let us know if you are interested, and we can get you involved in this very innovative way to not only get kids out of foster care but reconnect them to lost loved ones. We would be happy to provide you with more detailed information and to answer any of your questions.

Please contact:

Ellen Pavlosek

(541) 343-2856 | FAX (541) 343-2866

famfind@afamilyforeverychild.org

Does your organization want to find a biological parent or family member in Mexico for a child presently in the child welfare system?

U.S. organizations and agencies are tasked with the due diligence of family finding to locate and notify a parent or relative of a child in various situations:

• A child is entering the foster care system. Your agency wants to be in compliance with the Fostering Connection Act and do the family finding necessary to notify adult biological family members living in Mexico.
• Your agency doesn't have the family finding resources to identify and locate biological family members living in Mexico.
• A child is removed from the custody of the parent(s) and their only known family members are living in Mexico.
• A child is presently in the care of Child Protective Services because both parents were recently killed and the child's family members all live in Mexico.
• A biological parent living in Mexico needs to be notified of a pending adoption before custody of their child is given to another parent or foster family.

You have to find a relative in Mexico...

and you don't know how to proceed with your family finding.