Fall Preview

“It’s time to show what this thing can do.”

Maybe I said it out loud. Maybe it was just in my head. When the wording on the cover changed from Volume 3 Issue 12 to Volume 4 Issue 1, I made a decision. It’s time to show what this magazine can do.

What does that mean? Still figuring that out. What I hope it means is that I can start to put to use all of the tools I’ve put in place to propel Foster Focus to the forefront of Foster Care.

In my mind, Foster Focus will be the definitive resource for foster care. I’m well on my way but there is plenty of work to be done.

This article is meant to be a preview of what’s in store for autumn as it pertains to the magazine. I’ll do that, but first I want do a quick snapshot of the work that went into getting the magazine to this point.

It starts and ends with relationships for me. Not only is developing meaningful relationships imperative in any business, I find it’s especially important in what I do. The right relationship generally leads to more quality content, better photos and in an ideal world, more advertisers.

But above all that is a hidden benefit; an ally, a new member of the Foster Focus team. Every column, every contributor, every ad and the bulk of the content, is a direct result of relationships I’ve cultivated.

When I see a need, I funnel back through those relationships to see if there is someone among them who fits the bill. When I noticed that the sporadic articles on Human Trafficking weren’t enough, I called on Rhonda Sciortino who has been a business mentor to me from nearly the beginning of the magazine. Rhonda has a vested interest in Human Trafficking when I called on her she called on Sandie Morgan, a Human Trafficking expert from Vanguard University in southern California to coauthor a column on the subject.

That’s why relationships are so important. It allows me to address the subject matter that the reader is after. And that will not slow down or stop. This fall will see some columnists and contributors come into their own, they’ll find their voices this year. Man oh man, have I put together a powerhouse crew and I’ll be adding to it all year. Some new faces have joined the ranks in the last year, Travis Lloyd, a top trainer and Deb Stone, a tremendous writer from the Great Northwest have each joined the corps of Foster Focus contributors.

The foundation of any quality magazine, in my opinion, is a strong line-up of columnist to highlight their skills. I feel I’ve accomplished these goals so far. Again, I'm never done but you have to admit adding foster/adoptive mom extraordinaire Karla Marie Williams to take over for Wendy Middleton when she fell ill for the family adventures section was inspired thinking. If that wasn’t big enough I went out on bended knee to acquire the service of Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption CEO Rita Soronen for a column on permanency. Who has a bigger profile in the world of foster care adoption than DTFA? Not many.

I have a sneaking suspicion that those two columns will make a lot of noise through the fall and winter issues.

You should keep an eye on the mental health column that launched few months penned by my dear friend (from one of the relationships I mentioned) Tracy Rawls from Cenpatico called Behavioral Health Corner. I firmly believe that more attention needs to be paid to the mental health side of foster care. Think I’m wrong? Look no further than the countless newspaper feature stories on foster youth and psychotropic drugs.

In addition to all of these improvements, I plan to bring back an old favorite and introduce you to some places I think you should be aware of.

It’s that way of thinking that has me bringing back the “What Foster Care Feels Like” special section. This was a huge hit last year when I asked Alumni of care to send me a picture with a metaphor of what foster care felt like. I asked them to tell the general public what it felt like while they were in care and update them on their current place in life now. They did not let me down.

So this time around I called on foster parents to share their unique perspectives. They didn’t let me down either.

I plan to take a cross country trip beginning at the end of October. A few things are set in stone already.

I’ve been invited to speak at the very agency that I was placed in almost 20 years ago. From there I’ll zip up to Connecticut to speak to the good folks at the up and coming Annie C. Courtney Foundation. They’ve got a firecracker of a CEO, she convinced me to take the long drive through the changing New England leaves (my life is rough now, huh?).

Then I’m off to the SAFE Conference on Human Trafficking in Chicago, Illinois, in support of Foster Focus Columnist and my personal (unpaid) therapist Dr. Kalyani Gopal. Don’t tell her she’s my therapist, she just thinks we’re chit chatting! Dr. Gopal has put so much work into this conference for the better part of a year. It will be such a thrill to watch it all come together for her. She’s assembled an impressive panel of experts to speak to the issue she’s most passionate about. Coming to sit on a few panels for the Doc is the least I can do considering she’s the very first Columnist to sign on to Foster Focus.

The plan after Chicago is to make the drive to Oregon to witness Celeste Bodner and the FosterClub team call this year’s 100 Outstanding Young Leaders. It’s a big deal for a foster youth to get the call and my hope is to be there when the calls are made. Any small business owner will tell you to under promise but over deliver.

Because of that, I understand that a number of things can keep me from making such a trip a reality but I’ve done a million things that people didn’t think I could pull off so I’ll do my best to add this one to the list.

A trip to Pepper’s Ranch in Oklahoma will definitely be happening this fall. Pepper’s Ranch is just what it sounds like; a ranch in Oklahoma that serves as a unique setting for foster care. I’ll tour the ranch, meet the kids and speak with the owners to learn the benefits and disadvantages of caring for foster kids out on the range.

Finally, I want to bring some attention to the members of Congress involved in the Congressional Coalition on Foster Youth. Foster Focus isn’t political but I’d be a fool not to understand that foster care and Washington D.C. are forever connected. Rather than taking a stance politically, I am going to approach it like any other subject covered by the magazine. I’ll give you all the information available and you can decide for yourself.

In addition to the profile articles on the members of the Caucus, Foster Focus will also begin exploring policies that impact foster care. You’ll learn how things in D.C. happen, how decisions are made.

That’s the plan for the autumn season of Foster Focus. A hodgepodge of coverage that will encompass as many areas of care as I can manage.

I think it’s about time I show you what this thing can do.