from the ceo

Thanks for tuning in to our June edition of VOICES. Summer has arrived. . .

Summer has arrived at Child Advocates of Fort Bend and we are excited to have a full lineup of summer activities, enrichment and celebrations for our children. We kick off the month with our NEST Incentive Party on June 9 to honor our elementary children who have achieved their academic and behavioral goals with a wonderful “Level Up” party. On June 17, we will celebrate seniors who are graduating high school, overcoming so many challenges and barriers at our Reach for the Stars Graduation Party. July features a week of Lifeskills and a week of Campus Crawl for our WINGS teenagers. August brings our NEST Summer Enrichment weeklong workshop. Interspersed throughout the summer, we sponsor children and youth to attend summer camps – something that they never could do on their own. We always need volunteers to help out so let us know if you’d ike to be a part of these special activities lJune is Father’s Day and we honor all our fathers. Fathers play such a critical role in children’s early years and often for children who have been abused or in foster care, fathers may be unknown or absent from these children’s lives. Our Men of CASA Volunteers can fill this gap, provide mentorship and be strong, positive role models for our young boys. Other fathers step up to be foster or adoptive dads. Others volunteer in our CAC by welcoming children who come for a forensic interview or therapy session. Others are owners of therapy dogs who are here every week to provide comfort and support for children going through trauma. And many others are loyal donors and supporters of CAFB. We honor all our dads this Father’s Day and thank you for all you do for our children. continued next page

June also recognizes the LGBTQ+ community To learn how we serve these children and youth, refer to the article inside

At CAFB, it is important for us to understand the lives and unique challenges of all children Through trauma-informed care including Trust Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), working with family members and youth through Collaborative Family Engagement and Clinical Family Advocacy and cultural competency training, we strive to provide a supportive environment and safe and stable placements for all children and youth to live, freedom to express themselves and structure and guidance to help them become responsible, healthy adults

Turn the page to learn more about our work, our people and our programs

For the Children's Sake,

Ruthanne Mefford, CEO