Arizonans for Children

Volunteers Needed at Visitation Center (Mesa and Phoenix, AZ) Arizonans for Children: Support the Supervision of Family Visitations We need volunteers to support families at our visitation centers, located in Phoenix and  Mesa. Our centers offer safe and inviting rooms for supervised visitations to take place. Children that are in the foster care system in Maricopa County meet with their biological siblings, relatives and parents. The comfortable and neutral environment AFC provides is the catalyst for the reunification of these families. Volunteers will facilitate the orchestration of visits at one of the three visitation centers. These visits may be the last memories the children have with their families and we strive to ensure they are fond ones! Please visit  arizonansforchildren.org  for more information! Thank you!! contact:     az4children.sv@gmail.com

   Volunteers Needed to Supervise Visitations (Mesa, AZ) We need volunteers to support families at our visitation center located in Mesa. Our center offers safe and inviting rooms for supervised visitations to take place. Children meet with their biological siblings, relatives and parents. The comfortable and neutral environment AFC provides is the catalyst for the reunification of these families. Population Served:  children separated in divorce cases After separation of parents, some are not able to communicate with each other and supervised visitations are used to avoid conflict and promote a healthy visit with the children. Duties: Supervise visitation for a family while taking notes documenting what is taking place. Generating a non-bias, objective and formal report following the visit that is submitted to AFC staff and the judge. contact:  az4children.sv@gmail.com

           Volunteers Needed to Supervise Visitations (Phoenix, AZ) Arizonans for Children: Supervise Family Visitations We need volunteers to support families at our visitation center located in Phoenix. Our center offers safe and inviting rooms for supervised visitations to take place. Children meet with their biological siblings, relatives and parents. The comfortable and neutral environment AFC provides is the catalyst for the reunification of these families. Population Served: children separated in divorce cases After separation of parents, some are not able to communicate with each other and supervised visitations are used to avoid conflict and promote a healthy visit with the children. Duties: Supervise visitation for a family while taking notes documenting what is taking place. Generating a non-bias, objective and formal report following the visit that is submitted to AFC staff and the judge. contact:  az4children.sv@gmail.com...

The work we do at Arizonans for Children never stops.  We try every single day to improve the lives of the children and families we serve. May is Foster Care Awareness Month Arizonans for Children would not be nearly as effective without the fantastic team we have. Andrea  is the Director of Supervised Visits at Arizonans for Children and so much more. Her dedication to ensuring children get to spend time with their parents in unwavering and where we all should strive to be. Andrea defines the Arizonans for Children mission and lives it every single day. She leads by example and isn't afraid to get down in the trenches. Andrea comes up with the best ideas and suggestions; from redefining volunteer and intern roles to Wacky Wednesday. She is a natural leader and motivates by gently lifting others and finding their strengths. Arizonans for Children would not be what it is today without Andrea. Andrea, no matter how you pronounce her name is the wack...

I don't remember how we connected but meeting the folks from WearMe Pro has been life changing, especially for the children we serve at Arizonans for Children - kids in the foster care system. For a couple years now WearMe Pro has donated thousands of sun glasses to Arizonans for Children.  We have given them out at our Annual Holiday Party for kids in foster care for 2 years in a row and this year at the Foster Festival at Enchanted Island Amusement Park.  The WearMe Pro table was always full of kids choosing the perfect pair.  They even brought the WearMe Pro mascot Ivy whom the kids (and adults adored!) We passed out glasses at our Back 2 School Bash and will be doing so again this July along with backpacks and school supplies. These glasses make the kids feel special and deserving.  They frequently comment that they have never had anything as nice as these glasses. A while back I met with the WearMe Pro team and they had some great ideas to help ou...

Imagine.....being removed from your family and your home. Being taken away from everything you know. Maybe you could grab something that is important to you, maybe not. Imagine seeing your parents taken away by law enforcement. Imagine the trauma in your life that brought you to this place in time. The stress, the worry, the uncertainty, the emotions. Now imagine as if you are that child the first time you see your parents and siblings after all of that happened. You ar e in a different home with new rules, new foods, a new place to sleep, new school, surrounded by new people....new everything. The Arizonans for Children Visitation Centers are places where families in foster care come while working towards reunification. The centers are judgement free - we don't know what brought the family to this point and that is OK, we don't need to know. What we do know if that the time at the centers allow for happy memories to be created. Memories that can help heal the trau...

As I was giving Amanda with  Arizona Center for Disability Law a tour of the Arizonans for Children Phoenix Visitation Center yesterday we passed this mom and her little one snuggling while watching a movie.  Our Visitation Centers are the perfect place to help families heal.   Mom and baby bonding while the case aid monitors their interactions.   One of my goals is to have classes and workshops for the parents as they work towards reunification.  As I spoke with Amanda yesterday about an event we have coming up where she is presenting I asked if she could share the information with the parents at our centers.  As Amanda explained the educational legal rights of children with disabilities within the foster care system and the role that their bio parents can have; I realized that there was a lot I did not know and it made me wonder if the parents are aware?  The good news, this is what Amanda does!  She is looking at h...

What a weekend at Arizonans for Children!  Technology, technology and more technology! We were very fortunate to be part of AZ Give Camp's Hack-a-Thon where teams of developers volunteer their time and expertise to engineer solutions for non-profits.  The hack-a-thon started Friday afternoon at 3:00pm and went all the way until Sunday at 4:00pm! Thanks to my new best friend Chris Huie, Arizonans for Children participated in this fantastic opportunity.  Our team Tomas, Mandy and Cindy listened to our agency needs, tossed ideas around and came up with the perfect solution.  This team developed an electronic check-in system that will offer faster check in and out times that will translate into more quality time spent on a visit for the families using the centers. This new system also tracks the data creating seamless reports while respecting and protecting the confidentiality of our clients.  All of this was done with the knowledge that cost  is a...

Today is International Women's Day. Arizonans for Children has the most genuine, determined, kind, passionate group of women! Every day these ladies come up with new ways to Help Families Heal; their ingenuity is beyond noteworthy. When this group identifies an issue they take the steps to ensure all needs are met. We work hard, we care, we are methodical and consistent, we smile and laugh, we are wacky on Wednesdays and celebrate every occasion with the families we serv e. We are Arizonans for Children! This group of women....I am truly honored to be surrounded by them! Thank you all for all you do! Kaye McCarthy  - Founder and President Andrea Chavez  - Director of Supervised Visits Pamela Woods  - Supervised Visits Coordinator Belen Lopez  - Supervised Visits Assistant Monique Quinones  - Tutor/Mentor Outreach Coordinator Paige Deist-Goranson  - Visitation Center Coordinator Each a piece of the puzzle that makes Arizonans for Childre...

Did you know that you can still claim the 2018 AZ Foster Care Tax Credit? This is a dollar for dollar credit on what you may owe the state of Arizona. $1000 if you file a joint return and $500 if you file as single! Claim your tax credits before they become extinct. You have until April 15, 2019 to claim the 2018 tax credits! Arizonans for Children, Inc is a 501(c)3 Tax ID 02-0651198 qualifying Foster Care charitable organization under the AZ Income Tax Credit Program Please send checks to: Arizonans for Children, Inc. 2435 E. La Jolla Drive Tempe, AZ 85282 Or donate on line at: www.arizonansforchildren.org

Arizonans for Children provides services for children in the foster care system.  We could not do all the good we do without community support and MCSO has become vital in helping these families heal. In April of 2018 I saw a post on social media about a local agency auctioning “Little Community Libraries” that had been painted by local artists.  I really wanted a library at each of the Arizonans for Children Visitation Centers so I bid on my two favorites.  I was quickly outbid. That same weekend we started a new group of kids in our STEM class; a series that Arizonans for Children has for kids in foster care to make sure they have access to the technology they need to be successful in school.  During this class there were two 15-year-old boys, not related, not in the same group home placement, neither have an IEP or 504 plan but neither could write their names.  15-year-old boys that will age out of the system in 3 years and they cannot write thei...