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Juneteenth marks the United States’ second independence day, a celebration of the day when news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached the westernmost Confederate state on June 19, 1865. In 2023, President Joesph R. Biden proclaimed the day a federal holiday. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when a group of Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with the news that the Civil War had ended and, along with it, anyone enslaved was now free. Amazingly, the news of freedom came nearly two and half years after President Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation. News of freedom was met with shock and joy. The term Juneteenth was coined to celebrate this occasion and as a way to remember and celebrate this occasion.  Beech Acres Parenting Center celebrated Juneteenth with food, music, fellowship, and freedom at our annual Juneteenth Celebration. Enjoy these photos from our Freedom Day Celebration! Beech Acres will be closed in commemoration of today’s holiday.

Join Beech Acres Parenting Center for Foundations: Foster Parent Training Event Saturday, June 10, 2023. All attendees are welcome! This event is the perfect opportunity to increase your support network, build your sense of community, and learn from some of the best trainers in the Cincinnati area and beyond. Our goal for this conference is for you to build your skill set so you can have a strong foundation to help you best serve the needs of the children in your care. You don’t want to miss this event! Training certificates are provided as needed after the event. Please reserve one ticket per attendee regardless of how many sessions you will attend.  Registered attendees will be able to select individual sessions during the event.  Questions? Contact  Ryshel for more information or register online here. Download more information here. Schedule Of Events 9:00 – 10:00 AM: Welcome and Putting Your Best Foot Forward: Intentionally Integrating Strengths Into Parenting 10:00 AM: Break 10:10 AM: Morning Workshops Options are: Concrete Behavioral Interventions, Trauma 101, and Energy Psychology 12:00 PM: Lunch 1:00 PM: Keynote Activity: Life in Limbo 3:00 PM: Break 3:10 PM: Afternoon Workshops: Options are: Trauma 101, Battling Temper Tantrums, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Scheduled To Appear Jenni Cattran – Energy Psychology Jenni is an adoptive parent herself, and has a passion for supporting our families through the licensing process and providing them with the best possible tools and preparation to be successful foster parents. Jenni began her time at Beech Acres five years ago as a Licensing Specialist and is currently the Team Lead of Licensing.  She has international teaching experience and has done a great deal of training, from preservice classes to developing ongoing classes, during her tenure at the Beech. Jenni earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, mostly focused on Eastern Philosophy, from Northern Kentucky University in 2014. She earned her Master’s in Social Work, Macro Practice and Administration Track, from the University of Cincinnati in 2016 and is a licensed social worker in the State of Ohio credentialed as an Assessor. Brice Mickey Brice is currently serving as the Vice President of DEI at Beech Acres Parenting Center. He found his calling for this work in 2009 at the University of Cincinnati in a nationally recognized intergroup dialogue program called RAPP (Racial Awareness Program). After directing this program, he went on to consult with 100+ organizations across the country and trained thousands of participants on how to be more inclusive in their everyday lives. Sarah Buffie, MSW, LSW  Sarah is the founding director of Soul Bird Consulting, and believes that nothing has the power to heal like supportive relationships. Specializing in trauma-responsive care, she helps organizations and individuals disrupt current models of thinking by building empathy and understanding around the effects of early childhood experiences. Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE – Taming Temper Tantrums Jody is the president of Parent’s Toolshop Consulting and a second-generation parent educator with over 30 years of experience in the field of child protective services. For over 25 years, she has provided training for parents, foster parents, child-care professionals, family-service professionals, and parent educators. For almost 20 years, she has been training protective service staff and foster-adoptive parents through public and private foster care agencies and for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program. She also regularly contracts with county protective service agencies to train protective service clients/birth parents. Jody has produced over 100 programs and resources for parents, family-service professionals, and parent educators, including her award-winning book The Parent’s Toolshop®. As a parenting expert to the media worldwide, Jody is a frequent guest on radio and TV talk shows, and her advice is regularly quoted in parenting publications. Brandy Pendleton – Trauma Free World Setting the Foundation: Trauma and Its Impact on the Life of a Child Brandy is on a mission to share the information that has changed the trajectory of her own journey and that of her family. Brandy is a Licensed Social Worker approaching 20 years of service in the Foster Care Field. She and her husband were foster parents for 7 years and have 4 sons who joined their family during that time. Brandy is the Trauma Informed Care Training Manager at Back2Back Cincinnati where she has spent the last 4 years partnering with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati to train and coach their staff through implementing Trauma Informed practices in an after-school setting. Brandy is an Affiliate Trainer for Trauma Free World, a TBRI (Trust Based Relational Intervention) Practitioner, and is currently pursuing a Trauma Responsive Care Certification through the Tri-State Trauma Network. Brandy has worked in the field of foster care in various roles since 2004, currently acting as a contracted trainer and consultant for Focus on Youth and Butler County Children Services. Jaclyn Swhear, MSW, LISW-S – Putting Your Best Foor Forward: Intentionally Integrating Strengths into Parenting Jaclyn Swhear, MSW, LISW-S, is a Senior Learning Specialist for Talent and Culture. She designs, co-creates, and implements curriculum and training for staff at Beech Acres Parenting Center. She has experience in behavioral health services as a therapist for youth and their families, provided parent coaching for caregivers, and supported other mental health providers through clinical supervision. She believes individuals of all ages have the capacity for change and the ability to thrive. Her top strengths are Love of Learning, Love, and Teamwork. Teri DeVoe – Life in Limbo Teri has been a foster mom for over 12 years. She helped launch CarePortal in Ohio and is now the regional field training specialist for the Midwest. Teri has worked with the Ohio Governors Office for Child Welfare Transformation where she has helped make recommendations for changes to the Child Welfare System in Ohio. She is a certified Cost of Poverty Experience (COPE) trainer and has been leading Life in Limbo sessions for over 8 years. Carolyn Morales, LISW – Concrete Behavioral Interventions Carolyn Morales, LISW, Carolyn is a clinical social worker with over 10 years of experience supporting survivors of trauma. She

Start date: ASAP RSVP Deadline/End Date: Tuesday, April 31 Event Date: Sunday, May 7 Time: 6 am to 10 am RSVP Now Join in the excitement and fun of the 25th Anniversary Flying Pig Marathon while raising funds and awareness for Beech Acres. Volunteer at the race on Sunday, May 7th, from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Click the link to RSVP Volunteers will assist with handing out medals, mylar blankets, and snacks, picking up near the finish line area, and moving participants through the finish line for runners and walkers of the marathon and half marathon. This is a rain-or-shine outdoor activity. After you RSVP you will receive an email to register with the Flying Pig organization. The more the merrier! Please share this opportunity with friends and family. Children 14 and older can participate with an adult present. Each individual participating must register with the Flying Pig separately. A donation is made to Beech Acres for your participation. Questions, call Donial Curry at 513-233-4826. RSVP by April 28th Why Volunteer Any runners? Receive a 15% discount on your race registration when you select Beech Acres! RSVP Now

Date: Friday, May 12Location: American Sign Museum Foster parents create a loving and safe home for children in our community placed into foster care. These individuals open their homes for some of our region’s most vulnerable children, and we are so grateful for their service. Beech Acres is proud to support these families. Each year, we honor and thank our foster parents with an appreciation dinner and gifts to celebrate their dedication and hard work. We hope to provide an extra special celebration to show our foster parents just how much we appreciate all their commitment to the vulnerable children of our community.You can help us celebrate and sponsor our foster families by becoming a sponsor of our 2023 Foster Care Appreciation Dinner. Your sponsorship for this event will help over 200 children in Hamilton County who are placed into our foster homes, as well as support critical prevention services for families at risk of losing their children. Thank you for considering support for this event that provides a safe, loving, and supportive home environment where all children can thrive. Sponsorship Opportunities Become a Sponsor Please provide your organization’s logo and any additional information needed by April 1 to receive all sponsorship benefits, Thank YOU! Questions? Contact: Donial Curry, Events and Stewardship Specialist (0) 513.233.4826 (C) 513.362.0080 Thank You to Our Sponsors

To all the mothers, stepmoms, foster moms, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, cousins, teachers, bosses, co-workers, and friends; to ALL the important women in our lives, THANK YOU. #InternationalWomensDay

As we reflect on a year filled with extraordinary accomplishments, we would like to take a moment to thank you for your generosity, kindness, and support.  Your support provides comprehensive mental health support and wrap-around services to children in schools. Your generosity equips parents with powerful tools and valuable skills through parent coaching in pediatric offices. Your gift inspires parents, grandparents, and other loving adults to care for children other than their own through foster and kinship care. Thank you for your incredible generosity this year. Click here to watch a special message of thanks from Beech Acres. As a champion for children, your support makes all the difference for children, parents, and caregivers. Your compassion makes our community stronger.  You can help us continue to empower children and caregivers to thrive by making a year-end gift today.

Gracie Jackson, a senior at Mt. Notre Dame High School, was looking for a way to give back to the community. For her Senior Capstone Project, she chose to coordinate a drive for personal care items to be donated to Beech Acres Parenting Center. “I really like the mission Beech Acres has and the work they do,” Gracie said. “I taught some younger kids about service and what Beech Acres does. With their help and others, I collected personal care items that will be donated to Beech Acers and given to families.” Thank you Gracie for your generous donation! If you’d like to learn more about donating items to help families in your community, please click here.

Beech Acres Parenting Center is opposed to the RESOLUTION TO OPPOSE THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO TITLE IX AND TO AFFIRM PARENTAL RIGHTS AND LOCAL CONTROL OF OHIO K-12 EDUCATIONrecently approved by the Ohio State Board of Education. Beech Acres remains opposed to any legislation in the United States that is not based in a scientific understanding of child development.   What is the RESOLUTION TO OPPOSE THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO TITLE IX AND TO AFFIRM PARENTAL RIGHTS AND LOCAL CONTROL OF OHIO K-12 EDUCATION? In July of 2022, the U.S. Department of Education proposed amending the landmark civil rights legislation to more clearly protect students from all forms of sexual discrimination, including a provision to protect LGBTQI+ from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics. The resolution passed by the Ohio State Board of Education opposes these changes.  Beech Acres Parenting Center Supports Families No Matter How They Are Put Together Beech Acres supports creating psychologically safe school environments where children can be their authentic selves. We know that this improves their development and creates a welcoming, inclusive culture for all students. This is especially important for those in minority and marginalized groups who are at higher risk of attempting and dying by suicide. The above resolution ignores scientifically accepted understandings of sex and gender.  What Can Caregivers Do? Beech Acres Parenting Center is a safe space where all families are welcome and supported. If your family values include teaching your children about the different experiences other kids & families may be experiencing, here are some things you can try.   Finally, discuss how your family can be open, inclusive, and kind to everyone they encounter. Advocate for your child, their friends, and your community. Increasing acceptance and reducing bias creates a positive, welcoming environment for everyone.  Additional Resources: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline The Trevor Project Family Acceptance Project Family Behaviors that Increase Your LGBTQ Child’s Health & Well-Being