The GREETERS​​​: ​​​​  

The greeters this day were Brian Bergman and Dan Sortman

 

And here they are, arriving almost in tandem. Good job guys!

And Don Overly, seen also in a picture with his wife in another picture below, is an early arrival.

Past President Ron Hollenbeck and Jim Briggs, who is always at the meetings helping out.

Chuck King introduced our speaker. He said:

After beginning his professional career in the field of child welfare Stephen became the founding director of Agape for Youth, Inc. in 1989. He is a highly accomplished, non-profit visionary with more than 30 years experience providing high-quality foster care, adoption and reunification services for children, adolescents, young adults, and additional programs and services for families. 

The programs and services for at-risk youth have grown over the years. His expertise includes organizational leadership, community outreach, and public speaking. 

 He said Steve is a licensed social worker in Ohio and a graduate of OSU's College of Social Work. He is the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Career Alumni Hall of Fame Award from the Ohio University College of Social Work, the recipient of the 2017 The Brother Raymond L. Fitz, SM.Ph.D. Award and the 2017 recipient of the Wright State Non-profit Leadership Alliance Award for Outstanding Non-profit Leadership. He is a member of the Ohio Association of Child Caring Agencies, the Ohio Association of Non-Profit Organizations, the National Association of Christian Social Workers, the OSU Alumni Society, the OSU College of Social Work Alumni Society, and the Dayton Rotary. 

He has served on the Warren and Clinton County Mental Health Recovery Board, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the BJ Kids 91 Foundation. He has been a volunteer for the LLS lMan and Woman of the Year campaigns, the March of Dimes Chef Auction, the BJ Kids 91 Cutoff, Rotary Reads, the NACSW National Conference Committee and the Better Business Bureau Eclipse Integrity Awards Committee. He is also a member of the Montgomery County Children and Family First Vulnerable Youth in Transition Task Force and the Montgomery County Out of School Youth Task Force.

He and his wife Sandie have been married 33 years and he is the proud father of three grown children, all married, and is "Pop-Pop" to Kaiden and Oliver.

 

 

According to Steve, Agape for Youth, Inc. has a twenty-eight-year history of providing quality services to children and families in southwest Ohio. He said their first certified foster family with the agency is still doing foster care and adopted two foster children along the way.

He said Agape is the Koine Greek word for unconditional love. We need to care for our kids beyond behavior, he said. He said the organization had its beginnings in an office on Paragon Road in Centerville. 

He said services include foster care treatment with therapeutic services to address physical, mental, emotional, and medical needs.

There is a need for more foster families, Steve said. The foster care program tries to find permanent adoptive homes for adoption eligible children. The program is licensed in all 88 counties in Ohio and is certified to handle private and interstate adoptions. Services include adoption training and

education, matching, home studies, adoption supervision and post finalization services. 

Another end goal is helping biological families reunite.  The Children's Services program is used to insure success.

Education Services include referrals for tutoring, good grade incentives, continuing education stipends for college and assistance with applying for college and financial aid.

Family foster care is for youth with needs that can be met within traditional family settings, Steve said.

When a court decides that children are unable to remain with their primary families for reasons such as abuse, neglect, and dependency, they are often placed in foster homes, he said.

 

Agape for Youth, Inc. provides personal and individual services within a family environment to help answer questions and reduce any anxiety a couple may have about becoming a foster parent. 

When someone chooses to work with Agape, a social worker helps with each step in the process. Information shared with Agape is kept in strict confidence, and potential foster parents work as a team to determine goals and abilities. Once certified for foster care, the potential parents are called about the children who have been referred for foster placement. The goal is for children to experience the fewest placement moves possible. The foster parents make the final decision about the age, sex, number, and need level of the children who will be placed in their home.

After children are placed, an Agape social worker visit the family at home several times a month to provide case management services. Agape for Youth also provides 24-hour day availability through their on-call social worker.

There is a need for foster parents from age 21 to early 70, or even the late 70's, Steve said. "It's all about desire to share the adoptive mission and vision."

There are volunteer opportunities at Education Nights, to help students with homework, studies, and reading, etc. There's an Annual Family Picnic, with volunteers needed to help with set-up, activities and crafts, and clean-up. Volunteers are needed for Supplies for Success to fill and tag backpacks with school supplies. There's a Santa's Secret Workshop, where gift-wrapping and Santa's Helpers are needed to assist children with item selection. The Comfort Bags program provides a duffle bag with age and gender appropriate under garments, body care items, school supplies, a blanket, stuffed animal, etc., to each child entering foster care at the agency. Volunteers are needed to fill and tag the bags with gender and age group tags. There's also an annual Christmas Party on a Saturday evening in December. Assisting with games and activities is needed and dinner is provided for all volunteers. 

Agape for Youth, Inc. is a private non-profit 501 (C) Foster Care, Adoption through Foster Care and Reunification Services agency, providing out of home care for youth from birth to 21 years of age in the state of Ohio since 1989. The group's Web site states the following:

Requirements of the Applicants

• A caring spirit, with a desire to help children who have been the victims of abuse and neglect.
• The ability to work as a member of a team serving the needs of a child. The belief that people can learn, grow and change.
• At least one applicant in the home must be able to read, write and speak English or be able to effectively communicate with any child placed in their home and with the recommending agency.
• May be single or legally married. Be at least 21 years old.
• Must show the household has an income sufficient to meet the basic needs of the household.
• Must be free of any physical, emotional, or mental condition, which would endanger a child or seriously impair the ability of the foster caregiver or applicant to care for a foster child.
• Must have a medical statement on all household members.
• Must obtain an approved fire inspection.
• Must complete all pre-placement and continuing training.
• Provide references
• Pass a criminal background check
• Submit to a home study process that includes home visits and interviews by a foster home assessor.
•  
• Additional information from their Web site about becoming a foster parent:

Is there a cost to become a foster parent?

• There is no cost for the work completed by Agape for Youth, Inc. for individuals and/or couples to become certified foster parents.
• There are some fees associated with the documentation required by the process, such as a fee for a fire inspection and the fees to obtain medical statements.
• Once a foster child is placed in your home, monies are provided to assist with the care of the child.

What are the general steps to become a foster parent?

• Contact Agape through this website, e-mail or by phone
• Attend an Orientation to Foster Care & Adoption meeting to learn more about Agape. These meeting are typically held on the first Tuesday of each month from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Please contact the Agape office to confirm the meeting date at (937) 439-4406 extension 1113.
• Begin attending the 36 hours of education courses required for the licensing process.
• Complete an application to care for children.
• Submit paperwork for the homestudy and licensing process (such as a medical statement, background check, fire inspection)
• Meet with a social worker for an interview(s) so that the agency can become better acquainted with your family to determine the type of child(ren) you are interested in parenting.

 

 

 

And not to forget, the song we sing for the upcoming Pancake Breakfast Fund-raiser Oct. 28:

Don Gerhardt's original Pancake Breakfast song, sung to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ballgame:

 

The meeting was closed with the reciting of the Rotary Four-Way Test.