JLO Supports Mockingbird Family Model (MFM)

"CREATE a positive family environment in which foster children CHANGE and THRIVE!"

Foster children do best when they are living in supportive, culturally-welcoming and stimulating environments, with families who have ready access to resources and respite. To help create and sustain this type of environment, the Junior League of Olympia will serve as a Resource Bank partner with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Region 6, and the Mockingbird Society in meeting the needs of foster families in the Thurston County.

In Spring 2007, the Junior League of Olympia voted to devote its full support to this community project for three to five years.

"Building a world-class foster care system through collaboration, innovation and advocacy." People at The Mockingbird Society believe a world-class foster care system is possible. They believe we are getting closer every day.

This is what they say about their organization:

"We strive to bring about change by engaging foster youth and foster families in developing and improving public policy. We have created new programs; programs like Youth LEAD, the Mockingbird Times and the Mockingbird Family Model - that improve the current and future lives of foster children and their families and ensure their voices are heard.

Our approach for positive change includes:

• System reform of public policy and legislation
• Creation of a new foster family service model, and
• Involvement of foster youth and caregivers in advocating for reforms.

 

For more information, contact:

The Mockingbird Society 2100 24th Avenue S, Suite 240 Seattle, WA 98144
(206) 323.KIDS (5437) (206) 323.1003 (fax)

Overview

The true mark of a compassionate society is how it cares for its most vulnerable children. Providing quality foster care for those who have been abused, neglected or abandoned is an ongoing challenge for child welfare authorities across the U.S. Nationwide studies confirm what far too many kids in foster care already know: the system is failing.

The Mockingbird Family Model is a practical, child-centered foster care delivery model that is cost-effective and can be easily replicated. It is based on and works very much like an extended family, complete with "grandma's house." Each group of families is called a Constellation, a community of adults who share support, resources and expertise in caring for children.

The inspiration for the name, The Mockingbird Society, comes from the 1962 American classic by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird. Atticus, the widowed father of Jem and Scout, teaches his kids that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird because "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us." The people at the Mockingbird Society share that same sense of commitment that Atticus felt toward the innocent mockingbirds with their vision of a world in which our most vulnerable children and youth are protected and valued.

"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us." - Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

"CREATE a positive family environment in which foster children CHANGE and THRIVE!"

The Junior League of Olympia, in its role as Resource Bank Partner, will provide the following services:

• Host the foster family recruiting event.
• Coordinate on-going respite opportunities or activities for foster parents and children including, but not limited to: game nights, picnics, and parent training/child care events, based on HUB and constellation home needs.
• Establish a referral bank for the HUB home. This would include referrals to local services, such as: stress management, conflict resolution, tutoring, assistance with scholastic success, parenting skills, mentoring for foster parents, mentoring for foster children, parenting skills, basic life management skills, and the like.
• Organize donation drives for HUB and constellation home needs, for the house, for foster parents, and for the children.
• Coordinate regular recognition events/activities for foster parents (parties, thank you cards, small gift cards with thank you from local business, media recognition, and the like), in addition to our ongoing support to the foster children celebration events.
• Commit a committee member and additional JLO resources to PR to promote the recruiting event, the establishment of the HUB and constellation homes, the additional/support and recognition programs, and any other events associated with the project.
• Explore and implement potential funding sources for the Mockingbird Family Model.

You can...
Donate gift cards for food, gas, clothing and $25, $50 and/or $100
Write a thank you note to the families
Write a tax deductible check payable to JLO Community Programs-Mockingbird

"Mockingbirds don"t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy... they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us." - Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee