Program addresses foster care needs

The year 2000 has brought Native CrossROADS, Inc. (NCRI) closer to it’s goal of developing professionally trained Indian foster families to care for Indian children identified with complex behavioral and emotional needs, and getting those children the help they need.

Walter Phelps, the director of the program, believes the year 2001 will be an exciting one. He looks forward to the recruitment phase, where a pool of qualified families will be identified and trained. “Those families will receive 30 hours of training before they can be licensed, in addition to other criteria.”

Although that training will be most crucial, Phelps said, the families would be supplemented with ongoing training once certified. “This will help in assessing the needs of each individual child, and matching that child with a family that will most likely be able to provide the best treatment environment for the child.”

Describing the enormous amount of time and effort NCRI has expended in the development of a treatment program for foster children, Phelps looks forward to the finalization of that effort in the very near future. “These efforts are necessary to obtain accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Health Care Organizations. A lot of this information is required in order to be licensed as a child placement agency by the state. We expect to be licensed within the next couple of months.”

Once established, the program will focus on the needs of the community of Flagstaff and of Arizona tribes; eventually, Phelps said, he sees the project meeting the needs of communities statewide.

With the program moving forward, Phelps reflected on the many groups and organizations, and said he wanted to recognize and thank NCRI’s supporters.

“There has been a lot of interest in the project. Some of the key stakeholders, who work with youth and families within the state and tribal systems, have recognized that there is a real need for this type of program.

Some of the groups that have provided moral support of the foster care program include Native Americans for Community Action (NACA) and the Coconino County Juvenile Court system.

Duane Shimpach, the director of Coconino County Juvenile Court, strongly supports the foster program. “We from Juvenile Court see this as a high priority. Having a strong foster care program would be a godsend. It is greatly needed by the families and kids.”

On a more personal note, Shimpach recognized Phelps’ dedication and hard work on behalf of NCRI. “I admire the effort Walter’s gone through. He’s spent a lot of time in developing this project, and we wish we knew better ways to help support him.”

Phelps also recognized the financial help provided by grants from the White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, the United Way of Northern Arizona, the United Way of Tucson and the Flagstaff Community Foundation. “These are some of the main funding sources that have kept the project going. They’ve demonstrated a real desire to see a program like this materialize and actually become operative,” Phelps said.

Another organization, which Phelps describes as “the wind beneath our wings,” is Devereux’s Northern Based Services. Michael Bronson, director of the Flagstaff office, describes Devereux as a provider of social services through facilities such as group care, residential or community facilities.

“When we first came up [to Flagstaff], we met with Walter—we had received money from a Pullium Grant to do work on the Hopi Reservation on their therapeutic foster care program—Walter expressed the desire to do foster care through his Native CrossROADS program. We helped them to write their application to DES for a license to provide foster care services. We also assisted in writing their program for foster care.” Bronson added that as the NCRI program matures, Devereux will be willing to work with Phelps on other projects.

“We will assist him in training his staff to be able to do foster parent training and child placement. Later, when Walter and his board feels that the staff members are sophisticated enough, Devereux will step out.”

Another funding source is the Forest Highland Foundation (FHF). Norma Arland, secretary, described Forest Highlands as a small golfing community, located on 89A south of Flagstaff. “Because we have been here for 12 years, we felt we wanted to do something to help non-profit organizations in Flagstaff. Two years ago, we established the Forest Highlands Foundation.”

FHF, an offshoot of the Arizona Community Foundation, has awarded grants to Native CrossROADS as well as Native Americans for Community Action and Hozhoni.

As a committee member of FHF, Arland was particularly moved by the display Remembering Our Boarding School Days, currently at the Heard Museum in Phoenix. She feels that it is important for Native Americans to be able to keep their children in their communities. Native CrossROADS is a program that meets that goal.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors, the United Way of Northern Arizona and the Flagstaff Community Foundation have awarded financial support in the form of grants. “Those are some of the main funding sources that have kept that project going, demonstrated a real desire to see a program like this, materialize and actually become operative,” Phelps said.

Meanwhile, Phelps and the board of NCRI are developing a round table discussion with potential placing agencies that will ultimately make referrals to the program. “We would like to invite them to come together so that we may present our vision and goals to them, and to begin working with them,” Phelps said.

For more information on the program or on becoming a foster parent, contact Walter Phelps at (527-4019).

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