Minister Furbert On Foster Care Month Activities
“May is recognized as Foster Care Month, not just in Bermuda but throughout the United States,” Minister of Social Development and Seniors Tinee Furbert said in the House of Assembly.
The Minister said, “Each year, the Department of Child and Family Services has taken the opportunity to publicly recognize the important role that Foster Parents, Kinship Parents and Foster Care Workers play in supporting our children and their families. This year’s theme for the Foster Care awareness campaign is ‘Foster Bermuda’s Future’.
“I encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a Foster Parent to contact our Foster Care Coordinator, Mrs. Selena Simons at the Department of Child and Family Services at 294-5871 or email smsimons@gov.bm . Please help us ‘Foster Bermuda’s Future”.
The Minister’s full statement follows below:
Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise to inform this Honourable House that the month of May is recognized as Foster Care Month, not just in Bermuda but throughout the United States. Each year, the Department of Child and Family Services has taken the opportunity to publicly recognize the important role that Foster Parents, Kinship Parents and Foster Care Workers play in supporting our children and their families. This year’s theme for the Foster Care awareness campaign is ‘Foster Bermuda’s Future’.
Mr. Speaker, with this in mind, a number of activities have been scheduled during the month of May to both celebrate and enhance the Government’s Foster Care Programme. First, I will focus on the professional training that was held during the first week of May, in which the Department of Child and Family Services hosted a three-day Kinship Care training initiative and invited facilitator Mrs. Zelma Smith-Pressley from the United States, to conduct customized training for the Bermuda foster care team, specifically geared to the sensitive, delicate intricacies of Kinship Care.
Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Smith-Pressley is a Child Welfare Consultant and Trainer with over forty-five [45] years’ of experience in the field of child welfare. Mrs. Smith-Pressley delivered the “Caring For Our Own” programme that centers around the full dynamics of what it means to become responsible for looking after one’s relatives with the added support of the Department of Child And Family Services which is referred to as Kinship Caregiving. She delivered two sets of training first to staff and then to the Kinship Caregivers.
Mr. Speaker, let me explain what a “Kinship Caregiver” is.
The word ‘Kin’ refers to any relative by blood, by marriage or adoption with close family ties. In turn, a Kinship Caregiver reflects the full-time nurturing and protection of children who must be separated from their parents by relatives, godparents, step-parents or other adults who have a kinship bond with the children. In essence, Kinship Care is defined as out-of-home foster care, provided by a relative.
Kinship placement of children enables them to live with persons they know and trust. The Kinship placement reduces the trauma associated with living with persons who initially are unknown. Such placement supports the transmission of a child’s family identity, culture and ethnicity, and strengthens the ability of families to give children the support they need. Mr. Speaker, as of December 2022, the Foster Care Programme in the Department of Child and Family Services had 26 children in Kinship placement.
Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I was very intentional to attend the first day of the three-day Kinship professional training held on Wednesday, May 3rd. The overseas facilitator Mrs. Smith-Pressley engaged the full Foster Care Team of 10 officers in knowing and understanding the various best practice methods for managing Kinship Care cases while making professional considerations for the ongoing intra-family dynamics. The training provided staff with greater insight into the curriculum that they will later use to facilitate training for future Kinship Caregivers. Key specific outcomes for staff who participated in this first day of professional training included:
- Being able to effectively support kinship families who have children placed in their homes;
- Identifying the benefits and challenges of using kinship placements from the perspective of children, the birth parents, and caregivers; and,
- Identifying some of the emotions and life changes that kinship families experience in caring for children placed in their homes.
Mr. Speaker, for a variety of reasons, some of our children cannot remain with their families, and with assistance from the Department of Child and Family Services, Foster Parents provide a trusting connection for Bermuda’s foster children. As such, it is critical that Foster Kinship Caregivers are provided with support and encouragement so that the immediate and longer-term needs of the children are met.
Mr. Speaker, the next two full days of training on May 4th and 5th were dedicated to our Kinship Care families. They received training using a curriculum tailored for Bermuda including specially designed workbooks and journals. Of the 15 Kinship Families, nine [9] Kinship Parents participated. We appreciate the sacrifice of those Kinship Parents who took time from their jobs to attend the training. We thank their employers who allowed them the time off from work.
The Kinship Caregivers had an opportunity to share their common experiences in caring for their relatives. Some of the key outcomes for the Kinship Caregivers were:
- Knowing how to meet the children’s emotional, physical, developmental and safety needs;
- How to describe the impact of trauma and adverse life experiences of children placed in their care;
- How to access both formal and informal services on behalf of the children; and,
- Having an ongoing, informal social support network with other Kinship Caregivers.
Mr. Speaker, all three days of training were informative, interactive, purposeful and practical. The Department has received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the Kinship Caregiver attendees at this training. I certainly commend the Foster Care Team under the leadership of Mrs. Selena Simons, the Foster Care Coordinator for the vision to hold this training and further equip staff and our Kinship Caregivers to be the best.
Mr. Speaker, other foster care promotional activities that have been implemented or are upcoming during the remainder of the month of May include interviews about Foster Care on the Government CITV station, advertising through electronic media and social media informatics promoting foster care and foster parenting.
Mr. Speaker, CITV interviews are with the Department’s Foster Care Coordinator, Mrs. Selena Simons who will be sharing information in three key areas:
- What is Foster Care;
- Why do we need more foster care parents; and,
- How does one become a foster parent.
Also, the Department’s Foster Care Social Worker, Ms Simone Romaine appears in part of the “What’s Happening in Government” series and the on the Daily Hour Show. The interviews with Ms. Romaine emphasize the importance and need for more foster parents. Bermuda has close to sixty [60] foster families on the Island and some of them are caring for more than one foster child at a time.
However, the Department of Child and Family Services is currently looking for Foster Parents who can get involved and be on standby for pending emergencies.
Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, May 11th I held a press conference to announce foster care month. For those who watched, they would have seen in front of the Cabinet Building a PTB Bus donning a specially designed Foster Parent Recruitment banner across its rear windshield. These bus banners will be on display for the entire month of May encouraging persons to “Be a Foster Parent and Foster Bermuda’s Future”.
Lastly, Mr. Speaker, this week Sunday, May 21st, the Department of Child and Family Services will be hosting its annual Appreciation Tea for Foster Parents. This event will be held at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club. Foster Parents will be individually recognized for the sacrifice, support and commitment that they have extended to the children placed in their homes. We truly appreciate our Foster Parents for the role that they play in Bermuda’s foster care system. The keynote speaker for the Appreciation Tea will be a young lady who spent time in foster care and has now graduated from university, qualifying as a special needs educator.
Mr. Speaker, under the authority of The Children Act 1998, the Department of Child and Family Services is responsible for all child protection matters pertaining to young people ranging from newborns up to 18 years. As the Department continues to make progressive steps to ensure the safeguarding of our children, I want to thank our Foster Parents, our Kinship Parents and the Foster Care team at the Department of Child and Family Services for the valuable role that they all play in supporting Bermuda’s vulnerable children and families.
Also, I encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a Foster Parent to contact our Foster Care Coordinator, Mrs. Selena Simons at the Department of Child and Family Services at 294-5871 or email smsimons@gov.bm .
Please help us ‘Foster Bermuda’s Future”.
Thank You, Mr. Speaker.
