Our interview series on The Connected Parent closes with the topic of sensory needs. For children from hard places, sensory challenges are often a symptom of trauma. You may have observed some of these behaviors. Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) takes these unique needs into consideration with its approach. We asked Sheila Wagler-Mills, TBRI practitioner, to share guidance in this area. Why do children from hard places often struggle with sensory stimulation? Every

'Our interview series based on The Connected Parent continues today with a focus on self-care. One might wonder how self-care applies with Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) principles. We’ve chosen to highlight this important topic because parenting can be stressful. Add in the complexities of trauma and one cannot be compassionate for others if they don’t take care of themselves. Let’s dive in and see what Sheila Wagler-Mills, TBRI Practitioner, had to say about sel

Today we turn to CCHO’s Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) expert to give us first-hand guidance on parenting. Sheila Wagler-Mills, LPCC-S, Regional Program Director for Encompass, is a TBRI Practitioner as well as a foster-and-adoptive mom. We asked her a series of questions about how to parent with TBRI. How does compassion for self and child make a difference in parenting a child from hard places? The key to compassion is through trust, which is often the greatest

Today we continue in our blog series based on the book The Connected Parent. We began the series with a focus on attachment styles (our own and our child’s) and how they affect parenting. Written and researched by communications intern Emma Lehman, the second post centers around care for the caregiver. The Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) principles were established to care for youth from hard places. These strategies can be reframed to support the caregiver’s wellb

Today, we’re starting a blog series based on the book, The Connected Parent, to give caregivers support as they raise youth who have experienced trauma. Written and researched by communications intern Emma Lehman, the first post highlights the various types of attachment and their significance when it comes to relationships and parenting. As a faith-based foster care agency, our mission is to cultivate healing for children who have experienced trauma and neglect. Our therapeu

Encourage is excited to announce that our prep courses to become a licensed foster family is now 24 hours. Due to House Bill 8, the Ohio legislature has reduced the training requirements for foster caregivers from 36 hours to 24 hours effective January 22, 2021. Here is a summary quote from The Ohio Children’s Alliance, “Passage of HB 8 will equip Ohio’s child welfare system to onboard foster parents quicker and utilize virtual training opportunities. This is especially impor

Encourage cares deeply about youth with high-level needs and we are equally committed to supporting treatment foster families who open their hearts and homes to these youth. Our goal is to equip foster parents with the physical, emotional and logistical help needed to come alongside hurting kids with safety, love and connection. We want to see each foster family and each foster child be successful in the purpose to which God is calling them. To support families on their foste

Teens from hard places crave safety, acceptance, respect and unconditional love. They desire, and deserve, to be wanted and cherished just like infants and toddlers are in foster homes. There is a gap in many foster care programs for this age group due to the limited number of foster families willing to take placement of teenagers. Encourage is blessed to have some incredible foster families who have stepped up and said “yes” to teenagers. One of these families is the Walker

As mentioned in our previous blog post, Encourage is passionate about serving youth with higher levels of need including medical, emotional and/or behavioral challenges. This could range from asthma, diabetes or ADHD to more challenging medical and behavioral needs such as cerebral palsy, pre-natal exposure to drugs or alcohol, or behaviors related to a youth’s prior trauma. A youth with high-level needs will previously have experienced some type of childhood trauma and/or ha

This has been a year of unknowns and uncertainties. We are incredibly grateful for the safety and stability Encourage foster families provide the youth in their care. Our team is here to help you navigate this season and provide quality tools and resources to keep you on track. While we wait for in-person First Friday foster parent trainings to return, Encourage is now offering 2 Hour Tuesday online trainings through Zoom. Open to any licensed foster parent, participants will

We recently shared a news article on the Encourage Facebook page about youth in foster care being housed at the Cuyahoga County Department of Job and Family Services. We asked Encourage Intake Coordinator Angel Sigler to share more about the critical need and how we can respond. I hear voices crying out about the need for more foster parents in our communities. Voices saying that there are not enough homes for children in need of safety. On one level this is true, but there’s

This summer, Encourage Foster Care offered Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) training to all of our foster families. TBRI was developed at Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at Texas Christian University, which defines TBRI as “an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention that is designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. While the intervention is based on years of attachment, sensory-processing and neuroscience research, the heartbeat o