FCA 2009
FCA 2008
FCA 2007
FCA 2006
FCA 2005
FCA 2003
FCA 2001
FCA 2000

2009 Photo Ops Summer

	Shelby Nelson of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital/Denali Center being thanked by Linda Johnson of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption for their donations to FCA’s programs.
Nancy Richards of Willow Physical Therapy being thanked by Linda Johnson of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption for donation to Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.
	Makayla Mitzel of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption thanks Damian Thomas of Local Union 942. Members from Local 942 volunteer as flaggers for traffic control at Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.
Shanna Karella Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption board of director president thanks Marie Martin of Martin Engineering for their donation to Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.
	Shanna Karella Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption Board of Director President thanks Cindy Salmon of Jammin’ Salmon’s Physical Therapy for a donation to Mosquito Meander 5K Rujn/Walk.
Makayla Mitzel of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption thanks Ken Covell of the Law Office of Ken Covell for his donation to FCA’s Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.
	Tim Erickson of WalMart is thanked by Kathryn Dosch of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption for a donation to FCA’s Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.
Melody Jamieson of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption gives a special thanks to Jinx Whitaker of New Horizons Gallery for the support and donations given to FCA’s A Taste of Art.
	Camille Connelly-Terhune Executive Director of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption thanks Bob Gray of ATC Auctions for his many years of service to FCA’s A Taste of Art.
Camille Connelly-Terhune Executive Director of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption thanks Jim Matherly for his many years of service as a MC and DJ for FCA’s A Taste of Art and Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.
	Dr. Beth McLaughlin of Holistic Medical Clinic is thanked by Makayla Mitzel of Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption for her donation to FCA’s A Taste of Art and the Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.
Paul Stitt of New Northwest Broadcasters is thanked by Melissa Adams of Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption for his contributions to A Taste of Art and the Mosquito Meander 5K Run/Walk.

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2008 CANDLELIGHT VIGIL:
Thank you so much to the community for the huge amount of support we recieved during our vigil this year. From everyone who came and walked with us to the countless others who dropped of supplies and money at our office. It was all greatly appreciated! Sarah Finnel is our Youth Advocate and she worked tirelessly to put this together- great job Sarah!

This year's vigil was held at Pioneer Park

Walking to show support.

We had a full house at the Civic Center.

Sarah speaks passionately about our cause.

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2007 ANGELS IN ADOPTION:
Linda and Dave Huffaker have received the 2007 "Angels in Adoption" award for Alaska. This national award is given by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute to honor families for their advocacy for children through foster care and adoption. Senator Lisa Murkowski plans to present this award to Linda and Dave at Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption at Noon on Saturday, October 27, 2007. Please join them to celebrate this honor. Refreshments will be served. Contact Melody at 456-4729 or fca@fcaalaska.org with questions.

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2007 STREET OUTREACH PROGRAM GRANT LOST:
Federal funding for Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption's Street Outreach Program for homeless and runaway teens was not renewed. FCA is turning to the community in hopes of raising enough money to stay open at least through the winter. The program has been funded for the past two years through a pair of $100,000 federal grants. The application to renew the grants, which were administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and which are very competitive, was recently denied, leaving the program without funding. FCA is hoping to raise $10,000 to keep the program running. Please join us in a Candlelight Vigil on Wednesday, November 14 at 6:00 p.m. at Pioneer Park.

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2006 Photo Ops and News Archive

Cindy and Bob Gray with Camille Connelly-Terhune.
Thank you Cindy & Bob for auctioneering “A Taste of Art!”

Jim Matherly (pictured to the left with Camille) has been helping
M.C. FCA’s various fundraise's for over 10 years. We can always count on Jim!

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Bill Brophy from The Usibelli Foundation presents Camille with a check for $1,500
to help support FCA’s programs. Thanks Usibelli!

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Jinx Whitaker present Camille with a $2000 check from Holland America Westours.

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2006 The Family Treatment Department at Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption, which provides individual, marital, and family counseling, has been incredibly busy since the start of 2006. Our team consists of Dr. Mikki Barker, Consulting Psychiatrist; Ed Fitzpatrick, Clinical Supervisor; Randy Lewis, Clinician; Dolly Morris, Clinician; and Mike Magowan, Clinician. Also providing services are Amber Buxton, Assessment Coordinator; Maggie Krieg-Wehr, Assessment Counselor and Linda Huffaker, Counselor. At times, myself, Dolly and Randy have had to remember to exhale. We see children, adolescents, adults and families, all dealing with very significant life issues. And we are frequently rewarded by the strides which our clients have made within the setting of counseling at FCA. Many, if not most, are seeking lasting, positive change in their lives as they initiate and complete services with us.

The Family Support Program began at Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption in January 2005. Since then Maggie and Amber have assisted many families in the Fairbanks area with services such as: education in family life skills, supportive home visits, and parent advocacy. Linda teaches parenting skills in her Nurturing Parent classes. The goal of our program is to support safe and stable families and to promote permanency for children. This program is funded through a grant from the State of Alaska. If you have any questions please feel free to call Amber at 456-4729.
- Ed Fitzpatrick, Clinical Supervisor

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2006 “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Theresa

Street Outreach at Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption is growing, one day, sometimes one hour at a time. In short, our staff has encountered and works with youth who come from severely abused homes, isolated from the public eye, to young people living on the streets, seven days a week, 365 days a year. What does someone say to a young man or a woman who lives outside all year, even when temperatures have dropped to negative 50 below or colder? What do we tell a 13 year old that has been abandoned by a parent? How do we break the cycle when resources are limited and fewer become available to communities each day? FCA cannot help these youth alone. If you are interested in donating to the Street Outreach program, we can use good used or new adult sized backpacks, first aid items, individual hygiene items (soap, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc.), fleece blankets, socks (black or white), hats, and gloves. Cash donations also help towards purchasing these needed items. If you are interested in becoming involved in an individual’s life, please contact Erin or Maggie at: 456-4729. Thank you for your support. “Let us begin!” - Erin Butts, Youth Advocate

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2006 Taste of Art - Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption staff and Board of Directors would like to thank all of the many volunteers who help each year with our major fundraising event “A Taste of Art”. This year’s event “Aloha Alaska” was outstanding and we appreciate all of you who donated your time to raise funds for services for children and families in need in our community! We couldn’t do it without you! What a great gift to our community!

Thanks go to Curtis Thomas, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, for volunteering as Honorary Chair and to the Fab Five, Heather Lambert, Elizabeth Schok, Kelly Shirley, Jessica Thomas and Traci Schacle, for chairing this event. Thank you to the Pantheon Steel Drum Band for their wonderful music. Thanks also go to Jim Matherly, our MC and DJ, and Bob and Cindy Gray, our auctioneers, for the many years of service they have donated to raising funds for FCA. FCA also thanks the many volunteers who have dedicated their time to this event for many years: Mary Bishop, The Carr Family, Pat Carroll, Courtney Carroll, Karen Day, Nancy DeWitt, Mary Anne Fey, Linda Fraini, Diane Hebert, Meg Johnson, Ray Martinez, Marj Moberly, Debbie Mowrey, Judy Stevenson, Bonnie Sullivan and Mt. McKinley Bank personnel. We also would like to thank our newer volunteers who have given so much time & support to FCA. We hope they will continue to come back year after year to be a part of the FCA family of volunteers. And, heartfelt thanks goes to Carol Mattison, who has helped FCA with this event since the
beginning, 17 years ago.

We thank all of our donors for their generous financial contributions and support. There are so many services that we are able to
provide because community members support our work and contribute generously to our organization.

Speaking of FUNdraising…It’s that time of year! The sun is shining, the days are longer, the snow is melting away and people are out walking and running. It must be MOSQUITO MEANDER TIME! It’s time for everyone to get outside and walk, bike, rollerblade, push the baby stroller or run for fun. So, come and join in the fun with Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption’s annual family fun run/walk. Early registration begins May 30th through June 8. For late registration, the costs go up $5 on June 9. The race begins and ends at Pioneer Park on June 10, 2006. A Registration information is enclosed. Visit our website for more details at www.fcaalaska.org. - Camille Connelly-Terhune, Executive Director

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2006 Adoption Program - In 2004 Office of Children’s Services awarded the Permanent Families Contract for the Northern Region to Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption. The purpose of this three year contract is to complete adoption and guardianship homestudies for children in the custody of Office of Children’s Services. A homestudy is always a necessary component of the OCS adoption or guardianship process. The final legal steps to make a child a permanent member of their foster or relative home cannot occur without this family assessment.

During the past three years FCA’s Adoption Department has completed 141 homestudies, resulting in the adoption or guardianship of 182 children. The children involved have often been part of a sibling group adopted together and have ranged in age from six months to seventeen years.
In order to complete the homestudies, FCA adoption staff and sub-contractors have traveled as far away as Barrow and Kaktovik on the North Coast, Scammon Bay on the West Coast, Soldotna in the South Central region of the state and Juneau in the Southeast. Many of our trips have taken us to the Nome area, where our work has included a homestudy for a family living in Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island and homestudies for families in various coastal villages. Also Kotzebue and numerous villages in that area have been served on a regular basis. The reason the contract work has covered such a large area, is that when an OCS case for a child originates in the Northern Region, services from our region must follow the child to wherever they are permanently placed.

The Permanent Families Contract has required much energy and dedication from our staff and contractors. They are the ones who arrange the extensive travel involved
(often on short notice, with an eye on the weather and a need to consider the individual situations of the families they are serving) and then work hard to complete the homestudies within a reasonable time frame. While there have been challenges in accomplishing the goals of this program, the
rewards have been great, as well. It is very satisfying to assist children and families in the permanency process. - Melody Jamieson, Adoption Coordinator

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FCA 2005:

Melody Jamieson recieves "Angels In Adoption Award"
Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption is pleased to announce that Adoption Counselor, Melody Jamieson received an "Angels in Adoption" award from Senator Lisa Murkowski on Saturday, October 8th. We thank all those who attended to help make this a special day for Melody.

FCA Wins Permanent Families Contract
We have received notice from the State that FCA was the successful bidder for the Permanent Families Contract for the Northern Region of Alaska. FCA will provide homestudy services to help the Office of Children’s Services complete successful, permanent placement of special needs children in Interior Alaska. It is anticipated that approximately 50% of the referrals will be children of Alaska Native heritage who are eligible for services and protection under the guidelines of the Indian Child Welfare Act. While the majority of the homestudies will take place in Fairbanks, approximately 10%-20% of the homestudies will be in the Northern Region, extending from Delta Junction and McGrath up to Nome, Kotzebue and Barrow. Adoption specialists Melody Jamieson, Lisa Carr and Christi Taylor will be the homestudy writers for this project. Linda Huffaker has been recruited back to FCA to facilitate the referral and tracking process. We are all looking forward to this new opportunity to help find permanent homes for special needs children and also to expand our services into Interior Alaska.

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FCA 2003:

“Fosterhaven” Website Provides Therapeutic Services To All Alaskan Children in Foster Care
There are currently 2,345 children in state’s custody in Alaska. These youth consistently experience emotional, behavioral, developmental and health problems that reflect the difficult family and environmental circumstances that caused them to be removed from their homes in the first place. Unfortunately, these very same youth that so desperately need professional support often do not receive needed mental health, medical and educational services. They typically experience frequent changes in placement that cause disruptions in service delivery, and caregivers who have differing levels of interest in accessing services for these youth.

Foster children not only have difficulty accessing necessary professional services but often fall behind in access to technology. The explosion of digital technology in the 1990’s called attention the growing “digital divide” among youth, and the importance of technological literacy. The consensus is that many youth in the child welfare system not only have greater emotional, behavioral, and developmental problems than other youth matched for other variables, but they also are in the “high-risk” category for being left behind in their ability to access technology.

The trend towards greater access of internet technology and the simultaneous need for creative service delivery sparked the beginning of FOSTERHAVEN - an innovative pilot project that will address many of the major barriers to service delivery for foster youth. Barriers such as transportation issues, lack of caregiver interest in accessing services, continuity of care, and lack of available professionals in a specific area will no longer be such insurmountable obstacles.

FOSTERHAVEN will provide professional therapeutic individual and group counseling, and adult and peer support in a secure and safe environment. Mental health clinicians will host age-specific chat rooms and allow youth to sign up for individual “chats.” Links will provide information on community and crisis resources, school news and job opportunities, and events and happenings around town. A message board will help friends linked through the foster care system stay in touch, and a creative corner will give youth the opportunity to share artwork, poems etc.

Our goal is to assure that access to the website is a part of every case plan for youth aged 10-18 who enter or are currently in foster care. Each youth will be given a password, instructions, and a brief demonstration on how to access the website. As a youth moves from placement to placement s/he can continue to access the same providers and peers over the Internet. Foster parents, too, will be apprised of this website and its purpose.

The staff at FCA is excited about the website and it’s contribution to our commitment to providing therapeutic services to under-served populations. We will post a notice to FCA's website at www.fcaalaska.org as soon as we have the Fosterhaven's web page ready.

FCA Counselor Travels to Buckland
I recently traveled to Buckland, Alaska via Kotzebue in order to conduct a homestudy for a family desiring to provide guardianship for their relative. A homestudy can best be described as an intensive investigation of a family in order to determine their ability to provide a safe and loving environment for a child. The process involves interviews with each parent, immediate family members, the child, as well as gathering information from references.

What a wonderful opportunity to observe a completely different lifestyle and culture in a remote northern village! Flying into Buckland for a day required two nights in the nearby village of Kotzebue. Kotzebue has a population of approximately 3500. Amenities include one hotel, which provides a commanding view of the ocean. It was interesting to take a walking tour of Kotzebue, watching families butchering and hanging caribou and moose from their recent hunts.

I flew to Buckland on a nine passenger turbo-prop caravan aircraft. Three flights by small aircraft fly in and out of Buckland daily. Villagers know a plane has landed by the many four wheelers racing to “airport” to greet arrivals. Although there were numerous drivers on four wheelers to meet the airplane, I was lucky to catch a ride in what appeared to be the only vehicle, a small pickup truck. I was then dropped off at the family home (less than a quarter mile from the runway) where I was treated with hospitality and generosity by all family members. One by one the young children awoke and were delighted with the fresh fruit I brought, shyly watching my every move. Later, I enjoyed a four wheeler ride around town to sightsee, about a four minute event, to take in the village houses, grocery store, school and local Washeteria. The village of Buckland is very small, populated by about five hundred and fifty people, the majority of which are young children. The combined elementary and high school is the newest building in the village and it is huge in comparison with all the other buildings and contains the only flushing toilets in the community!

What an amazing and humbling experience it was to visit another culture and observe how different life can be. Many of the families in Buckland live a subsistence lifestyle, one in which most of their food is provided through hunting, fishing and gathering. The family shared that every summer everyone travels down river by boat to Elephant Point, located on the ocean, where they hunt for Beluga whales; and where berry picking is a major event that everyone, including children, enjoy. Buckland has no running water. Villagers collect water from a nearby river and carry it to their homes a bucket at a time. Large tubs in the home are filled and water, which is dipped out when needed. Electricity for the entire community is provided by two large generators operated by local residents. The Washeteria has three washing machines to support the entire population and washing clothes is typically a day-long event, with most of the time spent waiting in line. Once a year a barge delivers stove oil and gas for the village to Elephant Point – about a two-hour boat ride from Buckland. Most dog sled teams have become hobbies since snowmachines and four wheelers are now more popular and desired.

I was able to observe how deeply respected and important the elders are to the community. I enjoyed hearing their stories about how families share freely and of how no one goes hungry. I heard how the old school building burned down when the teacher who was cooking left the stove unattended and to go berry picking. Another funny story was how a Buckland man, fishing in the local river, pulled out a huge trout with a Fairbanks Fish and Game tag attached. He was surprised to see that a Fairbanks trout had traveled through the ocean and rivers all the way to Buckland! This trip was likely the first of many to various remote communities and a great opportunity to observe “life in the Bush!”

Mosquito Meander 2003
Mosquito Meander is the next event on the list for FCA. It is time once again to think about what this fun run might mean for you. It could mean celebrating the warmth of the sun on one's cheeks; being able to get out and enjoy the smell of green grass, the budding trees and seeing the long-awaited flowers dotting the landscape with their kaleidoscope of color. This is a time when we can enjoy the sounds of summer; children playing in their yards or in the park. We can now shed our coats, don our summer attire, and stretch our legs and arms. There are several means of transportation seen at this event: bikes, rollerblades, scooters, wheelchairs and feet for running and walking. Mosquito Meander also means being a part of an event that the entire family can enjoy, one that helps to raise money to strengthen families in our community and to help high-risk youth seek a brighter future.

Please put Mosquito Meander on your calendar, the Saturday before the Midnight Sun Run.. The event will start and finish at Pioneer Park parking lot and promises a morning of fun and festivities. Another year, and, yes, another humorous t-shirt. If you would like to be a sponsor or are interested in volunteering some time to help with our event please contact Kathi at Fairbanks Counseliing & Adoption.

Wilderness Adventure Cooperative
FCA received a generous grant award of $6,600 from the Fred Meyer Foundation in support of the Wilderness Adventure Cooperative (WAC) project. This grant will help provide equipment and supplies for the various trainings and expeditions integral to the WAC program. Thank you Fred Meyer Foundation.

The 2003-04 Wilderness Adventure Cooperative project represents the third phase of Fairbanks Counseling & Adoption’s pilot efforts to use Alaska wilderness adventure and sports as an antidote to what ails our “at-risk” youth. The first two years of this pilot project laid the groundwork for this third phase - giving us a clearer idea of how to motivate youth to replace the high risk of juvenile delinquency with the high risk of wilderness adventure.

The youth involved in this project have committed to reaching a whole new level of physical performance requiring a strict regimen of physical conditioning. All participants work towards a substance-free lifestyle (no alcohol, marijuana, or tobacco), and are required to successfully complete a three-month course of preparatory physical conditioning prior to the intensive course of technical training and wilderness challenges.

It is the serious technical training and skill development that opens the doors to wilderness adventure. During mid-winter, the youth attend a 20-hour Wilderness First Aid class and a 3-day Avalanche Safety course. As the seasons progress, trainings may include winter mountaineering, winter alpine skiing, water safety and rescue, whitewater kayaking, and search and rescue techniques. FCA staff is present at all times and professionals are utilized to assure safety and sound training.

At the completion of each 9-month project, graduates are encouraged to organize and help sustain the on-going Wilderness Adventure Cooperative (WAC). FCA’s goal is to create a group of “model” wilderness adventure teens for future groups of high-risk kids to emulate. FCA is also committed to providing the equipment and support necessary to help these teens continue their adventures in the great Alaska wilderness.

We have no doubts that completion of this intensive program radically changes the lives of the involved youth. Participants maintain successful interaction both at home and in school for the duration of the program. They have the skills, confidence and access to equipment and support necessary to continue to plan and pursue high adventure. They meet healthy, high-risk challenges and experience success. Most of all, they realize their own capacity to create a positive future for themselves and their peers.

Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption is Helping to Connect Alaska’s Children with
Permanent Families
Fairbanks Counseling and Adoption is assisting the Division of Family and Youth Services (DFYS) in the recruitment of an appropriate home for two siblings in need of an adoptive family.

P. and S. are legally free Alaska Natives in need of a permanent family. These girls are enrolled in their Athabascan village. At the age of fourteen, P. loves talking on the phone, putting on make-up and listening to music. She also loves animals, swimming, reading and arts and crafts. S. is her eleven-year-old sister. She enjoys basketball, swimming and arts and crafts. She also likes music, is talented on the drums and loves horses. Her favorite subject in school is math. Both of the girls enjoy using the computer and hanging out with friends.

P. has some neurobehavioral effects from prenatal exposure to alcohol and resultant neglect. She is in the 7th grade. She has reading and math delays in school as well as poor attention skills. She has receptive and expressive language delays and some difficulties in social interaction with her peers. P. has excellent conversational and social skills. She will need long term counseling to help her deal with past trauma and her oppositional behavior.

S. has some neurobehavioral effects from prenatal exposure to alcohol. She is in the 5th grade and doing fairly well in school. She likes to be punctual and take on responsibility. She has some difficulty in her social interaction with peers. These sisters need a permanent family where they can be together and one that will provide them with long-term stability and an environment in which to continue growing. The family will need to be willing to continue providing the counseling and services these girls require for their special needs and would benefit from experience and knowledge in the area of fetal alcohol effects, post-traumatic stress and other effects these girls face from their past. An Alaska Native family would be a plus.

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FCA 2001

Adoption – “Absolutely Anything Is Possible”
At our community adoption information forum last year, an adoptive parent shared this wonderful story:

“After more than a year of waiting, the five and six year old brothers I was hoping to adopt were able to travel from India and join me in Alaska. Naturally, communication was one of our biggest challenges, but we all understood pictures, and because I had sent them a picture of me horseback riding, they couldn’t wait to try it. They arrived in mid-winter, but as soon as the snow melted, we made time for an afternoon of riding. While waiting for the horses to be saddled the boys were wild with impatience. As a way to calm them down, I suggested they talk to one of the horses and tell her about their day. My older son, Jon, looked at me in disbelief and then leaned over and whispered in my ear. ‘Mom, you mean she speaks English!’ And in that moment I knew that in Jon’s mind, if a child could travel across the continents and time zones of the world to find his forever family, then absolutely anything is possible!"

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FCA 2000

Fathers are Important
We are seeking funding for programs that focus on teen fathers, the majority of whom are not living with their children. Making the decision to be sexually active comes with the inherent risk of procreation. The only 100% birth control is abstinence. We want teen males who are making decisions about sexual activity, or who have become fathers, to educate those young males and delay the possibility of fatherhood. Through programs we will reach teen fathers who are often confused and don't know how to proceed; we want to empower young men to be the best father they can, given whatever their situation. And this is why.

Children from fatherless homes are:

* 5 times more likely to commit suicide (US D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census)
* 32 times more likely to run away
* 20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders (Center for Disease Control)
* 14 times more likely to commit rape (Criminal Justice & Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403-26, 1978)
* 9 times more likely to drop out of high school (National Association Report on the State of High Schools)
* 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances (Rainbows for All God's Children)
* 9 times more likely to end up in a state-operated institution (U.S. Department of Justice, Special Report, September 1988)
* 20 times more likely to end up in prison (Texas Dept. of Corrections, 1992)

-6400 boys studied over a period of approximately 20 years shows that each year spent without a dad in the home increases the odds of future incarceration by about 5 percent. Boys living with just their single fathers do not exhibit this increased rate of criminal behavior. (December 1, 1998, The Wall Street Journal)
-Children whose father play an active role in their lives develop better language skills and have fewer behavioral problems, even when their fathers do not live at home. (University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 12/99)
-The best predictor of violent crimes in a neighborhood is the proportion of households without fathers. (Journal of Research Statistics, 1998)
- A study of 25,000 incarcerated juveniles indicates 72% of them came from broken homes. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1998)
- It requires an increase in family income to approximately $54,000 a year to counter the harmful effects of a fatherlessness for a girl. (US of Santa Barbara, Dept. of Economics, 1999)

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