Monroe Harding

Changing Young People's Lives!

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Finding a Forever Home

Camron entered DCS custody in the spring of 2014 at the age of 12 after having been bounced around from home to home and relative to relative in his birth family.  At one point, he had even lived in a car.   He found love, support, guidance, and unconditional acceptance in his Monroe Harding resource home.  He became part of the family there.  While there, he formed a special bond with the sister of his foster mother.  This sister was not a foster parent, but when she realized that Camron was in need of a forever home, she could not imagine him leaving the family he had grown to love so much.  She became a foster parent with Monroe Harding.  Just this January, Camron moved into her home.  Finally, Camron has a forever home where he does not have to worry about what will happen next.  Finally, Camron is a part of a forever family who will forever treat him like the valuable young man he is.

Submitted by Kristi Yates, Monroe Harding Resource Specialist

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The Difference a Father Can Make

contributed by Mr. Saul Eady, Recruitment Coordinator

Appreciating and understanding the important contribution of fathers, including those who may not live with their children, can provide great strength and stability for a child's safety, permanence, and well being.  This is proven to be even more true for children in the foster care system as studies reveal that between 50% and 80% of children in foster care were removed from single mothers or unmarried couples (Malm, Murray, & Green, 2006).  Studies also suggest that children with involved fathers have a tremendous, positive impact on a child's well being resulting in the following outcomes : (Grayson, 2011)

-Better cognitive and intellectual development

-Better self esteem and self control

-Better social and emotional competence

-Fewer signs of depression

-Deeper and better friendships

-Fewer behavior problems

-Less likely to be delinquent or engage in criminal activity

-Less likely to be economically disadvantaged when they grow up

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Monroe Harding’s Anatomy of Change: Transforming into a Trauma & Resiliency Informed Culture

From Laura Ward, Manager of Volunteers & PR for Monroe Harding:

Get an inside look at Monroe Harding’s practices in Trauma and Resiliency Informed Care from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 10, 2015

The Adverse Childhood Experience research and Trauma Informed Care are sweeping the nation as the most significant brain science and evidence based practice in human services.  The research is clear that adverse childhood experiences set children up for poor health, economic struggles, addiction, homelessness, and incarceration.  Trauma Informed Care is the best way we can respond to the needs of children, youth and adults with multiple adverse childhood experiences.

Monroe Harding has been steadily transforming into an agency that practices Trauma and Resiliency Informed Care.  If you and your agency would like an inside look at our process, join us for this workshop.  Our goal is to share with you our transformational process, what we’ve done, what we hope to do, and the things we’ve learned along the way.

Ideally, we think interested agencies should send a team of three individuals.  We recommend the CEO, directors of services and programs, and program managers or supervisors.

The day will include MH’s change story, time for you to look at the implications of Trauma Informed Care for your agency, and discussion of how we can help one another.

We start at 8 a.m. with breakfast, lunch included and session ends by 3:30 p.m.

Ample free parking!  Cost per agency is $50 for 1 to 3 people, though we recommend 3.  Please, no more than 3 people per agency.

1120 Glendale Lane Nashville, TN  37204

Click here to register.

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Monroe Harding Hosts 3rd Annual Cool Down Carnival

From Laura Ward, Manager of Volunteers & PR for Monroe Harding:

On Saturday, September 19, Monroe Harding hosted the 3rd Annual Cool Down Carnival to celebrate current foster families from Monroe Harding and provide information to prospective foster parents in Nashville and surrounding counties.

The event was fun  for the whole family! Foster parents were available to talk to potential foster parents to answer questions, and share the joys and challenges of being a foster parent. There were games, bounce houses and inflatable bubble balls. Kids and adults of all ages had a great time.

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Thanks to all of our foster parents and the community who came out to support us on our Friday movie night.  We had a blast and it seemed like everyone else did as well.

If you know of anyone who wants to be a foster parent, send them our way!

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Maxwell and Morris claim that the youth justice system in New Zealand represents a fundamental alternative to previous youth justice systems, and that it serves as a model of restorative justice. To make their claims, the authors identify the principles and objectives of that system following key legislation in 1989.

Last month I attended the Re-visioning justice in America conference at Vanderbilt Divinity School. One of the sessions I attended was about the school to prison pipeline. During this session the speakers shared personal experiences and spoke about research that has highlighted the correlation between traumatic experiences, particularly in childhood, and subsequent incarceration. As I sat there, I felt a great sense of pride about the work that Monroe Harding is doing. It is an honor to be part of a team who is doing their part to break the school to prison pipeline.

In 2010 the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention carried out a survey of 7,073 youth in residential placements. Their findings were not surprising, yet disturbing. 70% of the youth surveyed reported having had some kind of traumatic experience in their life. In Neil Bernstein’s book, “Burning down the house: The End of Juvenile Prison”, he discusses the link between incarceration and trauma in the chapter entitled, “Hurt People Hurt People.” If these young people are not given the opportunity to work through their trauma, then it is likely to continue to manifest in ways that are damaging to themselves and others.

At Monroe Harding we use a Trauma Informed Care approach to work with our youth. We know that rarely do negative behaviors manifest for no reason, they are a reaction to previous trauma. The youth here have the opportunity to work through this trauma and leave Monroe Harding ready to continue their lives and journey in the opposite direction from incarceration. Each young person we work with has a unique story and enormous potential, every day we strive to learn from one another and break that cycle of hurt people hurting other people.

Ashley McFaul-Erwin, Program Coordinator at Monroe Harding

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Join us June 5th for a wonderful night bringing awareness about foster care!  If you or anyone you know has considered becoming a foster parent, there will be a booth set up to get more information on how to start the process.  We look forward to seeing you!  Oh, and it is FREE.

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A word from our Foster Care Recruiters...

This past weekend, we had two recruiters participate in an event at a major bookstore in order to recruit foster parents.  Here is a brief word from one of our wonderful recruiters, Karla, about her experience:  

The fact that a major bookstore would open its door to allow us to tell others that Foster Parents are needed is HUGE!  It was a heart felt welcome when I hit the Clarksville Area.  Families and individuals were coming and going, smiling, laughing, and shopping.   Being able to stop them just to say, “ I don’t have anything for sale, instead I want you to know, you are needed.”   For those who didn’t want to become a Foster Parent took the information to spread along.  This is more than a CAUSE , We are being intentional to find families to temporary allow children in their homes and lives.

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Out of Foster Care, Into College

Homeless in 10th grade. Born on crack. Forced to panhandle. And now college students. Extra support can make all the difference for their future.

This is an excellent article about how teens in foster care can benefit from extra support even after they leave custody.  Consider fostering a teen to help them find their purpose in life!

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How do I become a foster parent?

When making the decision to be a foster parent, the first place to start is learning how to do it and what the requirements are.  At Monroe Harding, we walk you through each step to make sure you have all of the needed information and are aware of the requirements.  Here is a snapshot of what to expect when you start your journey to become a foster parent:

-Fulfill the requirements of passing all background checks, being 25 years of age or older, and able to meet your health and financial needs.

-Complete the application process by turning in the application and releases of information and completing the Diana Screen, a tool used to identify those who are at high risk to not protect children from sexual abuse.

-Begin and complete your 28 hours worth of PATH (Parents as Tender Healers) pre-service training.  Monroe Harding facilitates the training.

-While attending your PATH classes, turn in required paperwork as outlined in class.

-Upon completion of the PATH classes, participate in 3-4 interviews and home visits.

-The home study is written and submitted to DCS for approval.

-You are then an approved foster parent and ready to receive calls for children!

Contact Rhonda Allen at 615-298-5573 x122 and begin your journey as a foster parent!

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Here is our May PATH schedule!  If you or anyone you know is interested in learning about how to become a foster parent, please join us for our first session.  During Orientation, you will learn all about the requirements and who the children in custody are that we serve.  We are especially in need of families who can serve sibling groups of three or more and teenagers. 

We look forward to meeting you!

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Many children in foster care have been moved from home to home due to “bad” behaviors that they have been exhibiting.  At Monroe Harding, we are training our staff and foster parents in Trauma Informed Care.  When children have had a number of traumatic experiences, they develop survival behaviors that aren’t always considered to be “good”.  We CAN help these children learn that they no longer need those survival skills once they are in a safe environment.  This video is a little long, but definitely worth watching to get a glimpse into what a traumatized child is going through.   

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Hello!

Welcome to Monroe Harding’s official blog!  We plan to use this as an avenue to relay information about what’s happening at the agency as well as out in the world regarding children in need of a safe, nurturing environment.  Follow us to keep up with the latest!