Meet the 2014 Family and Alumni Honorees
Estos premios reconocen a aquellos antiguos alumnos de hogares de acogida, padres biológicos, cuidadores familiares y padres de acogida que han demostrado un esfuerzo extraordinario en favor de las personas involucradas en el bienestar infantil.
Seleccione la foto a continuación para obtener más información sobre los homenajeados de este año.
Nancy Vivoda
Nancy Vivoda is a mother of five children between the ages of 10 – 19. Ms. Vivoda overcame the obstacle of having all five of her children removed and placed into foster care and is now a respected and accomplished parent advocate in Detroit. She was the first birth parent in her county to work as a Parent Partner for the Association for Children’s Mental Health. She was recruited to work as a family advocate at the Detroit Center for Family Advocacy where she continues to work today. She is a national consultant and trainer for the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections. Since 2007, Ms. Vivoda has been engaged with Casey Family Programs’ birth parent work. Currently, she is a member of the Casey Family Programs Birth Parent Advisory Committee and is a founding member of the Birth Parent National Network.
Eric Luciano
Mr. Luciano is involved with Paternal Opportunities Programs and Services, known as POPS, an advocacy group that encourages fathers to become engaged in their children’s lives while the children are involved with San Diego’s child welfare system. Additionally, POPS advocates for fathers with child support, custody and visitation and co-parenting issues. Mr. Luciano has been an advisory committee member with the Casey Family Programs Birth Parent Transition and Implementation Committee and currently serves on the Birth Parent Advisory Committee. He recently earned his master’s in social work and has been hired as a social worker with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency.
Michelle Burnette
In 2000, Michelle Burnette started a Resource Parent Association in California, Md. In 2005, she helped form the statewide Resource Parent Association and has served on its board since its inception. She has also served on the National Foster Parent Association’s board of directors since 2008 and she currently is the chairperson for the annual educational conference for Resource Parents. Three years ago, Ms. Burnette developed the nation’s first non-traditional Parent Teacher Association for Resource Parents. Ms. Burnette has represented the National Foster Parent Association in congressional hearings, authored several publications and has spoken on National Public Radio (NPR) regarding foster care.
Linette Kinchen
A decade ago, Linette Kinchen founded the GRANDFamilies Program of Chicago, an organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for grandparents raising their grandchildren. Since then, the organization has served over 2,000 kinship families. In addition to her involvement with state policy makers, Ms. Kinchen advises the Illinois State Department of Aging on kinship related issues. Ms. Kinchen has served as one of the state’s coordinators for three national “Grand Rallies” in Washington, D.C. Her involvement with LEGACY intergenerational housing led to a national educational convening for all Housing and Urban Development employees about kinship care providers and their housing needs.
Darrell Armstrong
An alumnus of foster care, Reverend Darrell Armstrong has worked tirelessly to strengthen families by addressing issues that impact their physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being. In 2009, Rev. Armstrong founded the Institute for Clergy Training which is dedicated to helping clergy of all faiths understand family engagement programs that strengthen overall family functioning. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous national conferences including CWLA, Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems and the Center for the Study of Social Policy’s Strengthening Families Summit. The author of three books, Rev. Armstrong has earned a post-master’s Educational Specialist (ED.S.) degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from the College of New Jersey and has pastored the historic Shiloh Baptist Church of Trenton, N.J. for the last 14 years. The impact of Rev. Armstrong’s work is significant. Today, he is considered a national and international leader and has made many lasting contributions on issues pertaining to child welfare, child displacement and family strengthening, particularly on foster and kinship care.
