Over 200 foster, adoptive and kinship families gathered in Lincoln, Nebraska March 31 – April 1 for KVC Nebraska’s 6^th Resource Family Conference (RFC). The RFC is a unique opportunity for foster, kinship and adoptive parents who are caring for children who are temporarily in state/court custody due to abuse, neglect or other family challenges to receive training and network with other families.

Foster families that attended the RFC learned about important topics such as handling mental & behavioral healthcare issues, helping youth live healthy lives, human trafficking awareness, and honoring a foster or adoptive child’s past. Parents also heard from keynote speaker Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and Director of Health Services at Covenant House Pennsylvania. The over 275 children and youth who attended the conference enjoyed fun activities like carnival games, bouncy houses, face painting, a trampoline gym and more.

Throughout the year, KVC Nebraska raises private funds to underwrite the hotel, meal and training costs of each conference. Generous companies, foundations and individuals in the community make the RFC possible by sponsoring and attending fundraising events hosted by KVC Nebraska. While historically the RFC has been exclusive to KVC foster families only, this is the first year that registration was opened up to foster families outside of the KVC network across the state of Nebraska to attend the training sessions on Saturday, April 1, 2017. Visit www.kvc.org/rfc to learn more about the conference.

Last year, 1,000 Nebraska youth were cared for by KVC foster families. Foster care is a safe place that gives a child and his or her family an opportunity to resolve conflicts or disruptions and learn healthy skills so that the child can safely return home. KVC Nebraska also works to prevent the need for children to enter foster care whenever possible by providing intensive in-home services to families in crisis.

There is an urgent need for more relative, kinship and foster families in Nebraska to help care for and meet the needs of children experiencing abuse, neglect or other family challenges. If you would like to get involved and make a difference, learn more about becoming a foster parent!