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Adoptive & Foster Families

Taproot issue 43 - October 2002

Presidents Corner

    So much has happened since the May issue of Taproot. In July we held our annual picnic. Everyone had a great time! There must have been a 100 people in my back yard. One Church, One Child, Inc of Philadelphia joined us this year. Thank you so much for coming. We hope you will join us for our annual Christmas Party on December 14^th.

    For the past few months I have been part of Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services task force. The subcommittee that I served on was post adoption. Our discussion centered on what post adoption services will best help Philadelphia families. After much research and looking at other states we decided that a peer-to-peer support system is what adoptive parents wanted. To that end DHS will fund and TAP will host an adoption conference in Philadelphia on November 23, 2002. One of the purposes of the conference is to find out from Philadelphia families what are their needs, and if there is interest in starting a peer-to-peer support network in Philadelphia. This conference is for and by adoptive and foster families. The fee for the conference is only $10 per person. This is the perfect opportunity for foster parents to get some training hours. See inside for more details.

    As some of you already know, Senator Specter nominated me for this year’s “Angels in Adoption Award”. I never dreamed in a million years that I would be selected to receive this special recognition. On Tuesday the 24^th of September my family and I drove to Washington DC to receive the award. The highlight of the day was watching the movie “Antwone Fisher”, starring Denzel Washington, and meeting both Antwone himself and the producer. They both took the time to talk with my children and take pictures with them. It was a day we will never forget

See you at the conference!

Phyllis