Blue Sky Moments Foster Program Training is Off to a Great Start!

-From the desk of Jackie Garman, Program Director

On Friday, January 13, we held our first training session for volunteers picked to become mentors for our foster care program, Blue Sky Moments. The training was held at Grace Community Church in their Education Building on campus.

Our speaker was Mrs. Kelly Thornton, currently the Substance Abuse Specialist for DFCS & the State of GA. She comes with a background of many years working in DFCS here in Effingham county and has extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the foster care system. 

We started the discussion by reviewing the process of becoming a mentor, the paperwork involved, the one-on-one interview and hands-on shadowing of a veteran mentor as well as the horse skills training needed. Because we have set such high standards and expectations for the program we have set the bar high for what we desire out of a mentor. 

Part two of the training was presented by Mrs. Thornton, specifically focusing on “Understanding DFCS” and “Trauma, Child Abuse & Neglect”. She had a wonderful Powerpoint presentation that did a great job of explaining the goals of Foster Care and permanency for the children. The number of key individuals involved in the life of a child such as biological parents, case manager, juvenile court judge, foster parent/caregiver, and service providers just to name a few, can be overwhelming to understand and Mrs. Thornton did a fantastic job of breaking down the roles of each one. We also navigated briefly into the deep waters of trauma and the impact it has on a child in foster care. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, childhood trauma is defined as: “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.”  We went over guidelines for building trust and the importance of attachment. Mrs. Thornton left a lot of time for questions and comments and fielded them with simple explanations and answers along the way. 

There are currently 64 children in the custody of Effingham County DFCS. Creating a safe space of consistency, patience and love is a goal of our program. Mentors are not counselors, psychologists or therapists but are there to develop a relationship with a child that needs a friend while facilitating a special bond with a horse. Mentors are not expected to have all the answers but we hope through more trainings like the one we just had, they will feel better equipped and informed. 

BSA wants to thank Mrs. Kelly Thornton for her time and desire to partner with us as we seek to provide this program for the foster care children in our community!