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National Foster Parent Association Newsletter - October, 2026
October is Domestic Violence Awareness & CyberSecurity Month
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IN THIS EDITION
New By-State Updates and Learning Opportunities | FREE 3 month subscription to Fostering Families Today | Fostering the Future Accounts Webinar | IRS #CyberMonth Tips on Data Security | & Much More
ACTION REQUEST: Add YOUR state to your NFPA contact info; we'll use this to better target communication by geographic area in the future. |
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Arnie Eby, NFPA Executive Director |
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'Together for Impact' attendees pause for a photo on the Capitol Steps at the start of Advocacy Day! |
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As we enter the final stretch of 2026, I am reminded that IMPACT is only achieved when we work together. The group that joined NFPA and FASD last week for our conference brought significant lived experience to the table. We proved, once again, that TOGETHER our voices are STRONG, EFFECTIVE and IMPACTFUL. It is an honor to work together to make the realities of so many caregivers heard by the people who can have a positive legislative impact. |
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Fostering the Future Accounts, hosted by the NFPA & The Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
Wednesday, October 21, 2:00 PM
Following First Lady Melania Trump's announcement of Fostering the Future Accounts, the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA), in collaboration with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), invites you to a webinar where leaders from both organizations will:
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Provide an overview of Fostering the Future Accounts
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Share how foster parents can open accounts for children in their care, and what to expect
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Address frequently asked questions and invite participants to contribute additional inquiries
Fostering the Future Accounts provide children in foster care with the same opportunity as every other child to own assets and build long-term financial security, helping them to enter adulthood with a stronger path toward independence. This session is designed for foster parents and families.
Please share this invitation with anyone who may benefit from attending.
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What changes when youth, parents, and caregivers with lived experience help shape the services designed to support them?
Children, youth, adults, and families experiencing adoption, foster care, kinship care, guardianship, reunification, and other permanency journeys often experience loss, grief, identity questions, attachment challenges, and issues of belonging that traditional mental health approaches may not fully address. When lived experience is missing from service design and delivery, opportunities to better support healing and family well-being can be missed.
Join us on October 20, 2026, from 1:00–2:00 PM EDT for an engaging conversation featuring Debbie Riley, LCMFT, CEO of C.A.S.E., and National Center Lived Experience Advocates Deanna Mousseau, Isabel Stasa, and Staci Jonson. Together, they will explore how lived experience can strengthen adoption competent mental health services, support family-centered healing, and help shape more responsive systems of care.
Through reflection, discussion, and a brief role play, participants will examine the differences between adoption competent and non-adoption competent approaches and explore the important role of youth, parents, and caregivers in strengthening services and supports. Attendees will also hear firsthand how lived experience advocates are helping inform system improvement efforts across States, Tribes, and Territories.
Participants will leave with practical ideas to elevate lived experience, strengthen partnerships with youth and families, and advance adoption competent mental health care within their own systems, services, and communities.
REGISTER HERE |
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Our friends at Fostering Families Today have offered our readers a free, 3-month subscription to their new online, digital version of the magazine.
Submit your Full Name and E-mail address using the button, below, by October 23rd to receive your free trial subscription. You'll be notified by email when your account has been created. |
| Claim Your 3-Month Subscription |
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[Webinar] Building Readiness Together: Lessons from Oklahoma's Decade-Long Adoption Competency Journey
Children and families impacted by adoption, foster, and kinship care deserve access to systems that understand their unique needs. But how do you build readiness for sustainable systems change, and how do you know it's making a difference? Oklahoma spent nearly a decade answering that question.
Oklahoma's approach was never about a single training or initiative. It started with listening to families and individuals with lived experience, then moved through building shared vision, cross-system partnerships, and workforce capability, before embedding the work into lasting infrastructure.
Join Dr. Bonni Goodwin and Oklahoma partner Lacey Sorrels, alongside C.A.S.E. Academy Director Laura Ornelas, LCSW, and National Center Director Mary Wichansky, MSW, LCSW-C, for "Building Readiness Together: Lessons from Oklahoma's Decade-Long Adoption Competency Journey," to learn more and engage in a practical conversation on building and sustaining adoption-competent systems.
Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026 | 2-3 p.m. ET | Virtual (Zoom)
Participants will leave with actionable strategies to strengthen workforce capability, improve access to care, and sustain adoption-competent systems change in their communities, plus downloadable guides to help put those lessons into practice.
Register for the webinar HERE.
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Cybercriminals use every trick to steal valuable data and help enable tax-related identity theft. This #CyberMonth, check out the #IRS and the Security Summit's tips to keep your personal info safe online: https://ow.ly/kMgP50ZTgpW
You can protect yourself from tax-related identity theft and other schemes by following these tips from the #IRS and Security Summit:
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Recognize and report phishing scams
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Use strong passwords
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Use multifactor authentication and a password manager
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Update security software on all devices
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Protect tax records
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Avoid using public Wi-Fi
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Have you signed up yet? With a FREE NFPATI account, you get:
✨ Over 65,000 certificates already awarded! 👉 Start learning today. |
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👉 Highlights From the Conference 👈 |
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Be sure to subscribe to ConnectU to stay abreast of news about our 2027 conference! |
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Report Highlights
Read the full report HERE. |
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NCMEC Blog: 30 Years of Amber Alerts
What would you do if you knew a few minutes could save a child's life?
Thirty years ago, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman was riding her bike in Arlington, Texas, when she was abducted. Her loss shook the Dallas-Fort Worth community and left people asking an urgent question: what if we could get the word out faster?
Diana Simone refused to let that question go unanswered. She wasn't a police officer, a reporter or a public figure. She was a Texas mother who saw Amber's story on the news and believed more people needed to know, and sooner. She took her idea to local broadcasters, and in October 1996, Dallas-Fort Worth launched the Amber Plan, which would eventually become the first AMBER Alert program. By 2003, it would grow into a nationwide system.
Last month, NCMEC honored Diana with a Hope Award at our 2026 Hope Gala. In accepting it, she was quick to share the credit with everyone who had ever called in a tip or taken action after seeing an alert. To learn more about Diana's story and hear it in her own words, visit our blog.
So this month, on the 30th anniversary of the first AMBER Alert plan, we invite you to honor that legacy with us. The next time your phone buzzes with an alert, take a moment to read it and share it. You never know if you could be the one who helps bring a child home.
Thank you for standing with us.
Your friends at NCMEC |
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IMPORTANT FOSTER CARE-RELATED BILLS TO WATCH |
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HR 7432 - Fostering the Future Act
This bill expands states' permissible uses of federal funds under the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee program) to include supportive housing services.
A NEW BILL TO WATCH: Informed Foster Youth Act of 2026
This bill would ensure that youth leaving foster care have the vital documents and available services needed for a successful transition into adulthood.
Submitted by Chuck Grassley, (R- Iowa) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.). For details, click HERE. |
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HIGHLIGHTING STATE & LOCAL EVENTS AND UPDATES
Would you like to let us know about an event that your agency is organizing for local foster, adoptive and kinship parents? Email us the details. |
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WASHINGTON, D.C., MD, VA |
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Join Us in Celebrating Voice for Adoption's 30th Anniversary- November 17 & 18th
VFA’s 30th Anniversary Reception will be held November 17 at 5:30 p.m. on Senate grounds. We will recognize bipartisan legislative leaders Senators Amy Klobuchar and Chuck Grassley and Representatives Don Bacon and Danny K. Davis for their contributions to adoption, foster care, permanency, and child welfare.
We’ll come together the following day for our Hill Day on November 18, where we’ll continue VFA’s long standing tradition of bringing the voices and experiences of children, youth, families, and advocates to Capitol Hill.
Register for November 17 Evening Reception
Register for November 18 Hill Day |
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Registration is FREE for families who have adopted directly through DSS! |
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WEST VIRGINIA |
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West Virginia lawmakers continue to focus on persistent challenges in the state’s foster care system, including placement capacity, workforce pressures, and the number of children receiving care outside the state. These concerns reflect the need to strengthen the full continuum of community-based and behavioral health supports so children and families can access coordinated, adoption competent services closer to home. |
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NEBRASKA |
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Nebraska has been selected for a federal grant to modernize its child welfare licensing infrastructure, focusing on improving licensing processes and supporting foster and kinship caregivers. Investments in stronger infrastructure can reduce administrative barriers, strengthen
placement capacity, and help child welfare systems better support caregivers and provide children with safe, stable family environments. |
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KANSAS |
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A new report on Kansas’ foster care system highlights persistent concerns about placement instability, workforce capacity, and access to mental health services. In 2025, more than 300 children experienced more than six placement moves, while 136 children experienced 348 instances when the state could not secure a placement, totaling 870 nights without a stable placement. Although Kansas made progress in mental health screening and crisis intervention, 37% of children with an identified mental health need did not receive appropriate services. The report also highlights how these challenges can reinforce one another: frequent placement changes can disrupt consistent mental health care, while unmet behavioral and mental health needs can contribute to further instability. These findings reinforce a central focus of the National Center’s work: helping child welfare and behavioral health systems work together, strengthen workforce capacity, and expand access to adoption competent mental health services so children and families receive the right support at the right time. |
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MINNESOTA |
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A Minnesota report finds that young people experiencing homelessness who have spent time in foster care face greater challenges
across housing, education, health, and overall well-being. The findings highlight the importance of sustained, coordinated supports, including
adoption competent mental health services and lasting supportive relationships, that extend beyond foster care and help young people
successfully transition into adulthood. |
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Visit the NFPA ConnectU Archive of past editions HERE.
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Received this newsletter via a forward? Subscribe to ConnectU HERE.
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Wish to share this edition of ConnectU on your social networks? Visit THIS PAGE for an image and direct link to an online version.
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Become a Friend of the NFPA |
💙 Get Involved - Become a Friend of the NFPA
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Your support helps us deliver the resources that families need. |
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www.nfpaonline.org
800-557-5238 |
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The NFPA is a respected national voice for Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Parents through Networking, Education and Advocacy. |
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