Resource Center
Whether you’re a licensed foster parent, thinking of becoming one, or just want to get more involved, we want the proper resources to be right at your fingertips.
Support Organizations
Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina Fostering Families works closely with the Foster Family Alliance of NC, the statewide organization advocating for foster and adoptive families. Follow FFA-NC at @fosterfamilync.
Articles and Online Trainings
📍LOCAL Fostering Perspectives This publication is a rich trove of valuable information by and for resource parents on a wide range of topics. Many supervising agencies issue 30 minutes of training credit to foster parents who complete the quiz in each issue.
📍LOCAL Fostering NC A learning site for North Carolina foster and adoptive parents and kinship caregivers.
📍LOCAL NC Kids Adoption and Foster Care Network A source of support for foster and adoptive families. NC Kids is also North Carolina’s online registry of children from the foster care system who are legally free for adoption. NC Kids connects waiting children with families, offers matching services for waiting children with pre-approved families registered with NC Kids, and provides adoption support services, including information on how to get started on your adoption.
📍LOCAL North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services: Child Welfare Services Policies and Manuals
☎️ We got the call for a child to be placed in our home! What next?
🏠 They’re on their way! How do we prepare our home?
Therapies, Clinical Treatment, Family Support and Training
📍LOCAL Nurturing Durham website A resource guide for Durham’s young children, parents and families
📍LOCAL Center for Child and Family Health Services at the Center for Child and Family Health include clinical treatment of child traumatic stress and related diagnoses as well as prevention programs.
📍LOCAL Exchange Family Center The Exchange Family Center provides support and training for families, caregivers and childcare professionals. Contact them if you are seeking mental health support for your child. Follow on Instagram: @efcdurham
📍LOCAL KidSCope KidSCope provides early intervention and childhood support to families in the Triangle.
📍LOCAL Child Care Service Association Child Care Referral Central provides customized referrals to child care programs for families with young children or school-age children. Free services for families include customized referrals to local child care programs, referrals to additional family resources, free “Choosing Quality Child Care” seminars and webinars for groups of parents, and more.
📍LOCAL Carolina Outreach Individual, group and family therapies (also known as Outpatient Therapy) are aimed at treating children and adolescents with behavioral disorders, trauma, anxiety, grief and loss issues and depression. Therapy may be provided at different sites including our offices, school, home and various community settings.
For Families with Children 0-5 Years Old
📍LOCAL Best Love Family Foundation Provides foster families with free diapers and wipes - available for pick up or drop off!
📍LOCAL Durham Connects FREE home visits from a nurse for infants.
📍LOCAL North Carolina Infant Mental Health Association Working for the positive emotional, social and cognitive development of children from birth to age five.
📍LOCAL Welcome Baby Welcome Baby offers weekly classes on a variety of parenting topics, distributes developmental guides, offers telephone support to parents of newborns, has a discussion group for parents of newborns, maintains a lending library of books and videos, and staff that is available to discuss your individual parenting concerns.
📍LOCAL WIC Program WIC is available to pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children up to age five. See their website for eligibility guidelines. WIC can supply formula, healthy foods and vouchers.
For Teenagers in Foster Care and Young Adults Aging out of Foster Care
📍LOCAL Durham County LINKS LINKS Program provides services to youth in foster care ages 13 to 18 and to youth who are voluntarily in care between the ages of 18 to 21 (thru a CARS agreement), as well as to young adults who aged out of foster care at age 18. Services can be provided until the age of 21. The LINKS Coordinator collaborates with the Foster Care/Adoption Social Worker and community partners to help these youth and young adults’ transition to Independence and have successful outcomes in education, housing, health and overall well-being. Limited funding may be available to assist older youth in areas of securing housing, continuing education, and transportation.
📍LOCAL LifeSkills Foundation LIFE Skills Foundation aims to provide a safety net and support network for transition age youth in Durham, NC, that do not have "someone" to turn to for help.
📍LOCAL SaySo SaySo- which stands for STRONG ABLE YOUTH SPEAKING OUT- is a statewide association of youth aged 14 to 24 who are or have been in the out-of-home care system that is based in North Carolina.
📍LOCAL Equity Before Birth Saving the lives of Black and Brown birthing people by increasing access to critical services and support.
Faith Based Services
📍LOCAL Child Welfare Faith Community Partnership - Wake County Child Welfare Faith Community Partnership (CWFCP) is a network of churches throughout Wake County that partners with Child Welfare to help meet the many needs of children in Foster Care and families receiving Child Welfare services. The CWFCP meets twice a year for business planning and coordinating events that support Child Welfare.
📍LOCAL Durham Congregations In Action Durham Congregations In Action (DCIA) is a cooperative, multi-faith network offering care and support for the most vulnerable and forgotten in our community, and planting seeds in new initiatives to change lives in Durham.
📍LOCAL One Church One Child is a mission/outreach program between Durham County Department of Social Services and local churches designed to make a difference in the lives of children and families.
📍LOCAL Watch Me Rise Watch Me Rise helps move foster and adopted youth and their families from trauma to triumph. Dramatic levels of healing will be reached through individualized support that combines trauma informed training, resources and support with the ultimate healing that can only be found in God.
Movies, Books and More
Documentaries
ALL RISE: For the Good of the Children takes you inside the courtroom of an unconventional judge in East Texas who takes a trust-based, trauma-informed approach to healing broken families in the child welfare system. Two families share how their lives were transformed through the support and intervention offered by Judge Carole Clark and her team of lawyers, mental health experts and child advocates.
Foster Drawing on unprecedented access, FOSTER explores the often-misunderstood world of foster care through compelling stories from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, the largest county child welfare agency in the country.
Closure Closure is a feature length documentary about Angela Tucker’s search and reunion with her birth family.
Movies
Instant Family is a 2018 American comedy film starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne as parents who adopt three young children, played by Isabela Moner, Gustavo Escobar (Gustavo Quiroz), and Julianna Gamiz. Also starring Margo Martindale, Julie Hagerty, Tig Notaro, and Octavia Spencer, the film is directed by Sean Anders, who wrote the screenplay with John Morris, based in part on Anders' own experiences.
Shazam! We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's (Asher Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Zachary Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard (Djimon Hounsou). Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them!
Social Media
Facebook Groups are a great way to gain advice from foster parents throughout the Triangle and the state.
Fostering Families Facebook Group
North Carolina Foster Parents Facebook Group
Books and Articles for Foster Parents
Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
The Connected Child by Dr. Karyn Purvis, David Cross and Wendy Lyons Sunshine
Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison
To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care by Cris Beam
Welcome to the Roller Coaster by DD Foster
The Foster Parenting Manual: A Practical Guide to Creating a Loving, Safe and Stable Home by John DeGarmo
Twenty Things Adoptive Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew by Sherrie Eldridge
A Child’s Journey Through Placement by Vera Fahlberg, MD
Siblings in Adoption and Foster Care: Traumatic Separations and Honored Connections by Deborah N. Silverstein and Susan Livingston Smith
Trying Differently Rather Than Harder: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders by Diane Malbin
The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting by Sarah Naish
How to Talk to Your Kids About Anti-Racism: A List of Resources
Books for Children in Foster Care
Books for children in foster care
30 LGBTQIA-Positve Children’s Books
10 New Books with Latin@ main characters
Children’s books with Hispanic Characters
Children’s Books Featuring Black Kids
Books Featuring Asian and Asian American Characters
Native American Children’s Books
Books with Muslim Characters
Books with Characters with Disabilities
Children’s Books Depicting Multi-Racial Families
Parent.com 10 books to help children with mental illness
1000 black girl books resource guide
16 Books About Race that every White Person Should Read
Books for a Better World includes various books that challenge stereotypes and provides diverse portrayals of traditionally underrepresented characters in literature, as well as videos of books being read that can be shared with children
Teaching Tolerance is a collection of books, lesson plans, films, music, and resources geared toward diversity, inclusion, and social justice. They have resources for pre-k through 12th grade, and in the past have been happy to send free resource kits to teachers.
For Pre-Teens and Teens in Foster Care
Strays Like Us by Cecelia Galante
Under the Foster Freak Tree by Kelley Hicken
Important Resources When Working in Foster Care
Online Resources Focusing on Childhood Trauma
National Child Traumatic Stress Network The webinars at NCTSN are free to the public and offer cutting-edge information from national experts in the field of childhood trauma.
Sesame Street in Communities An explanation of traumatic experiences
ACEs Connection Page Connect with people using trauma-informed/resilience-building practices. Stay current with news, research, events. ACEs = Adverse Childhood Experiences
TED Talk on impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Nadine Burke Harris explains how childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime.
Health Care Issues for Children and Adolescents in Foster Care and Kinship Care Article on what the best pediatric practice should look like for children in foster care
Early Childhood Trauma explained by The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
The Neurobiology of Attachment Watch video
Information About Working with Children of Incarcerated Parents
Children of Incarcerated Parent Fact Sheet
Tip Sheet for Youth: Youth Supporting Fellow Youth Who Have an Incarcerated Parent
Tip Sheet for Providers: Supporting Children Who Have an Incarcerated Parent
Information about Our Children’s Place from Coastal Horizons
Sexual Health
📍LOCAL SHIFT NC (Sexual Health Initiatives For Teens) is a statewide nonprofit leading North Carolina to improve adolescent and young adult sexual health. By increasing awareness, disseminating data, improving policy, supplying professional development, and providing leadership, we are empowering North Carolina’s professionals to support healthy development. Follow on Instagram: @shift_nc
SHIFT NC also has this great guide to Choosing a Teen-Friendly Health Center in Durham. See page 1 here and page 2 here.
Other Online Mental Health Educational and Childhood Development Resources
National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth
Harvard Center on the Developing Child Seeks to achieve breakthrough outcomes for children facing adversity. Their resource library offers working papers, recorded lectures, infographics, and briefs on a variety of interest to resource parents, including toxic stress, resilience, neglect, child development, and executive function.
Zero to Three's Resource List for Parents
Child Development Resources from the CDC
Healthy Children Learn about developmental stages, from prenatal to teen.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder explained by the CDC: Children in the US foster care system are 10-15X more likely than children in the general population to have FASD, yet the diagnosis is rarely made.
Conscious Discipline Videos about parenting
We recommend signing up for the ACEs Connection page newsletter!
Learn more about trauma-informed and resilience-building practices.
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LGBTQ+ Resources for Parents, Caregivers & Foster Parents
Supporting Your LGBTQ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents
📍LOCAL PFLAG Triangle - support for parents/ caregivers of LGBTQ young people
📍LOCAL LGBT Center of Raleigh
LGBTQ Center of Durham
📍LOCAL iNSIDEoUT Durham
iNSIDEoUT:Upsidedown Durham (for youth 12 & under)
Educational Opportunities
📍LOCAL NC Reach is a state-funded scholarship that offers qualified applicants up to 4 years of undergraduate study at NC public universities and community colleges.
📍LOCAL Emily K Center The Emily Krzyzewski Center is a non-profit organization that serves as a college access hub in Durham, North Carolina, propelling academically-focused, low-income K-12 students and graduates toward success in college through its K to College programs while also offering college information and advising support to any local high school student through the Game Plan: College program. Through broader facility partnerships, thousands of additional students and community members use the Center as a place to convene, learn, and grow.
📍LOCAL Student U We empower and equip first-generation college students in Durham Public Schools, their families, and educators to become the leaders that will transform our city for the better. We support this transformation with an approach that combines three key elements: our whole-families approach to college access and success programming; sharing our best practices in education; and our commitment to supporting student- and family-led advocacy and change efforts in our city. Together, we’re creating a Durham where all students succeed.
📍LOCAL Boys & Girls Club of Durham and Orange Counties Serving 150 youth every day through our after-school program and over 300 youth during our summer camp and athletic programming