Formed Families Forward

11/22/2025

Last week, thanks to generous support from the Potomac Health Foundation, FFF hosted a positive parenting class in Spanish. Our sincere gratitude to the Potomac Health Foundation, our Spanish language facilitators, and The Arc of Greater Prince William for offering the space! Thank you for partnering with us for such an engaging class.

11/21/2025

This week, FFF's Melissa and other members of the Head Start Mental Health Advisory Committee met to discuss the highlights and needs of the Loudoun County Head Start program, and to gather resources from other organizations supporting Loudoun County's early childhood population.

11/21/2025

Sharing this wonderful event from our friends at Parents of Autistic Children of NOVA.

Our annual holiday party will be Saturday, December 13, at the ServiceSource building in Oakton, with two shifts: 12-2PM and 2-4PM. This is a FREE event. Santa will be there as usual for a sensory-friendly photo opportunity! We will have pizza/drinks/snacks, several giveaway tables, arts and crafts, Legos, and an ongoing interactive music session with volunteers from Bright Beats.

Please see the sign up below for details and to register. Remember to register with the number of family members attending. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0844ABAA29A6FFCF8-58803064-annual #/

11/21/2025

This week Kelly addressed a group of faculty and grad students from the Applied Developmental Psychology department at GMU. Kelly shared about the unique and often intensive needs of foster, adoptive, and kinship families. We are glad to have this opportunity to share with students preparing to be clinicians and psychologists.

11/21/2025

Happy Family Friday!! The Arc of North Central Virginia will be offering sensory-friendly photos with Santa on December 6th. 🎅Sign up today!

🔗https://www.arcofncv.org/event/pictures-with-santa-at-the-arc-of-ncv-2/

11/21/2025

This past week, you may have heard about changes to structure of the US Department of Education. Please know that protections remain in place for individuals with disabilities, guaranteed through provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The US Office of Special Education Programs has returned to work and is fully operational.

We also want to assure families that FFF continues to do its core work of supporting foster, adoptive, and kinship families raising children, youth and young adults with disabilities and other specialized needs. As always, we are here for you! Feel free to reach out through our contact form if you have questions or needs that we can support. https://formedfamiliesforward.org/contact/

Your input on the importance of IDEA and the guarantees of a free, appropriate public education for ALL children and youth with disabilities, guided by strong federal protections and supports is now more critical than ever. Share your stories and perspectives with US Congressional representatives and Senators. Find yours at https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

11/20/2025

Happy Throwback Thursday! We had such a wonderful time with all of you at our Season of Thanks celebration last Friday. Here are some more pictures from the event! Families enjoyed Bingo, LEGO, and dancing.

11/20/2025

Giving Tuesday is coming up! Are you passionate about connecting northern Virginia foster, kinship, and adoptive families of children and youth with disabilities and other specialized needs to resources? Have you participated in one of our trainings or support groups? Your involvement and generosity makes what we do possible. We hope you'll support FFF this Giving Tuesday. As FFF is a 501 (c) (3), donations are tax deductible. Thank you! 🔗https://formedfamiliesforward.org/donate

11/19/2025

🚨The FASD Education Survey for caregivers, self-advocates, and educators is open! Please take a few moments to complete the survey. FASD United is administering the survey to better understand students' experiences with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD), as well as the perspectives of their parents and caregivers, and professionals involved in this field.
🔗http://bit.ly/FASDEdSurvey2025

11/18/2025

From our friends at the I'm Determined Center: Applications for the 2026 Youth and Family Summit are now open!

🗓 Dates: June 9-11, 2026 (Tuesday evening – Thursday afternoon)
📍 Location: Festival Conference & Student Center @ James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Attendees: We will accept up to 50 youth residing in Virginia, plus their families
🎯 Ages: 14-18-year-olds (as of June 9, 2026)
💰 Cost: This event is fully sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education and the Partnership for People with Disabilities. Accepted families receive free meals and lodging (dorm rooms) during the event.

🔗Apply here: https://imdetermined.org/event/2026-youth-family-summit/

11/18/2025

From our friends at Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services: Apply now for My Brother's Keeper Fairfax Youth Advisory Council. My Brother's Keeper is a national movement dedicated to empowering boys and young men of color to lead change and reach their full potential. 🔗Apply by November 21st: tinyurl.com/MBKYouthCouncilApp

11/17/2025

Giving Tuesday is just around the corner! We hope you'll consider supporting FFF with a donation on (or before) December 2nd. Your generosity allows us to serve foster, kinship, and adoptive families of children and youth with disabilities and other specialized needs. As FFF is a 501 (c) (3), donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your support! 🔗https://formedfamiliesforward.org/donate