A Moment with Berry Kerr

Merry Christmas

Foster Hope

Partner & Sponsor Spotlight

A Moment with Berry Kerr

I understand that Morningstar recently changed its name from Morningstar Treatment Services to Morningstar Children and Family Services. What were the reasons behind the name change?

BK: The name change was an effort to reflect the broader scope of services now provided by Morningstar. What began as an organization that offered treatment services to at-risk children in residential care has expanded to include Family Resource Centers, Mental Health Clinics, Foster Care & Adoption Support and Global Services. It was fitting and appropriate to expand the name to reflect these changes.

What are the biggest challenges currently facing Morningstar?

BK: The biggest challenge right now is a shortfall in funding due to government cutbacks. The cutbacks have required us to make two choices: we can decrease the number of children and families we serve or we can find creative ways to stretch the funding we still receive.

We find that we are seeing a larger number of referrals each year. This increase is typical in a time of economic crisis. Because of a lack of income, families are pushed to the edge, which causes some families to require more services.

The challenge for us at Morningstar is to balance the increase in requests for services with the decrease in funding. As an organization, we are learning to work harder and smarter. We also must rely on our generous donors who believe in and support the work of Morningstar.

We face another challenge in our desire to attract and hire qualified staff members. We need staff members throughout the state of Georgia who are willing to roll up their sleeves and go the extra mile to provide excellent care for the at-risk children we serve.

How can the donations of individuals and organizations make a difference?

BK: There are so many ways that caring individuals and organizations can help further the ministries of Morningstar. We welcome additional support in any form, but when a donor or organization makes a commitment to donate on a monthly basis, this is especially appreciated because it allows us to plan ahead and budget for the services that we can provide with those funds.

Because of the shortfall in government funding, we want to send out a real plea for additional monthly partners. The generous gifts that our monthly partners provide are the backbone of our ministry budget. Our website, EveryChildDeserves.com, gives a quick and secure method for donating online. Just click on the “Ways to Give” tab to find several ways to help Morningstar.

What do you see in the year ahead for Morningstar?

BK: Morningstar is growing and expanding, and the year ahead promises to be an exciting one. We recently received a request for a Family Resource Center in the Athens area, and that office will be fully operational within a few months. We are currently sending staff members from our other centers to Athens to begin seeing clients.

The need for Mental Health Clinics continues to grow, as clients and court systems become more aware of our services. The juvenile court system in Macon recently requested our mental health services for 25 clients. We are training staff members now to handle that request. They will operate from our current building in Macon for now, but as the program grows, they will most likely need additional space.

Our Mental Health Clinics in Brunswick, Reynolds, Albany, Columbus, and Flowery Branch continue to flourish and grow, calling for additional staff members in several of these locations. Also, we are adding Mental Health Clinics to the Family Resource Centers in both Rome and Cartersville.

Morningstar is in its seventh month of a five-year grant for adoption support services. We have a new office in Atlanta, where two full-time staff members and 25 contract staff members will complete 1500 child life histories for adoptions each year.

In an announcement made at our Board of Directors’ meeting in August, we revealed that Morningstar will be opening a new residential facility in the coastal area. The sixteen-bed facility will be named in honor of Hugh and Janie Peacock. Both Hugh and Janie served as charter members of the board of directors and Hugh served as our first board chair and then worked as the Director of Church Relations for Morningstar until August.

As generous individuals like the Peacocks continue to show their support and belief in Morningstar, we look forward to another year of valuable work and quality care for the children and families of Georgia. (top)

Merry Christmas

Dear Friends:

It is time to begin preparing for a joyous Christmas season for the 100 plus children in Morningstar’s residential facilities or in Morningstar’s specialized foster care program.  Last year caring people like you made it possible for our children to have a memorable Christmas.  We hope that we can count on you to help make this Christmas season a joyous and blessed time for our children. 

Morningstar Children and Family Services provides specialized care to address the educational, physical-psychological, spiritual and social needs of at-risk children in Georgia. We currently have more than sixty children ranging in age from eight to seventeen who have dual-diagnosis of mental retardation and secondary behavioral and emotional problems residing on the campus of Morningstar Youth Estate Center. In addition, we have thirty children currently or soon to be placed in foster care homes. 

You or your organization can help Morningstar this Christmas by:
1.Sponsoring one or more of our children. We will provide you with the entire needs list and sizes of a specific child. 
2.Sponsoring a specific item needed by all of our children such as robes, slippers, jackets, t-shirts, underwear, socks, twin sheets & comforter sets, games, baby dolls, MP3 players,  wireless remote control cars, etc.
3.Sponsoring a specific item needed by our residential cottages and facility such as:  Playstation 2, 20” televisions, rollaway ping pong table, portable basketball goal, twin bed-in-bag sets, heavy duty/commercial washers & dryers, DVD players, wash cloths, towels, and batteries.
4.Making a monetary donation to the Morningstar Children’s Christmas Fund.

If you are interested in making this Christmas special for the children of Morningstar, please call 912.267.7583 or Email:  This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Thank you in advance for your prayers and support. Please join us in making Christmas 2008 a meaningful and lasting one for our children of Morningstar.

Sincerely,

Laura Moore - 912.267.7583
Nancy Davis - 912.270.7305
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Foster Hope

Morningstar Children and Family Services, Inc. provides specialized foster care services for some of Georgia’s most needy children.  These services are provided from three locations throughout the state of Georgia; West Point, Flowery Branch, and Brunswick.  Each location has an office but most foster care services are provided in the field.  The bulk of our work is done in the homes, schools, and the communities in which our foster parents reside.  Children in specialized foster care usually have not experienced success in regular foster care settings.  The children referred to Morningstar for specialized foster care have typically experienced significant trauma in the form of physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse and/or severe neglect.  Their lives have been shattered by these traumatic events.  Our job is to find healthy, stable families who are prepared and willing to provide a safe and nurturing home environment for the children we serve.  Foster parents must be able to recognize that children who have been rejected often have difficulty adjusting to new families and living situations.

We are constantly active in recruiting new foster parents in all of our locations.  Prospective foster parents must be thoroughly screened.  The screening process includes but is not limited to reference checks, a physical examination, criminal background checks, drug screens, and a home inspection.  Prospective foster parents must attend approximately thirty-five hours of pre-service training.  Experience in the area of providing foster care services is helpful but not required.  Our staff provides IMPACT training which is designed to help foster parents be successful dealing with the challenges that our foster children pose.  After a family completes all background checks and training they indicate the profile of children they would be most comfortable with caring for in their home.  The age of the child is usually the primary concern.  Our family consultants try to pair referred children with the desired profile presented by the foster parents.

Children in foster care are able to attend community schools and churches.  They are able to participate in a variety of community activities such as sports and music.  Children learn how to be positively involved in their community.  Foster children learn the social skills needed to successfully participate in family and community life.  They learn appropriate coping skills in order to deal with their emotions and feelings.  Some foster children become available for adoption and have been adopted by our foster parents. One child had been in the DCFS foster care system for years.  He had been a resident of Morningstar Youth Estate campus and transitioned to Morningstar Foster Care.  The success of this foster care placement exceeded everyone’s expectations including the child’s.  He bonded with the family.  In this case, Morningstar’s foster family was able to provide the child with a permanent living arrangement.  Other children in care move on to other adoptive homes, relative homes, and some return to one or both of their birth parents.

In May we celebrated National Foster Care month in all three of our foster care locations.  In each location we hosted an event for all of our active and prospective foster parents, and our foster children.  As we recruit and train families it is important for them to know that they are valued and appreciated.  Our committed, veteran foster parents were able to tell our prospective foster parents about Morningstar’s values and commitment to families.

In West Point we currently have ten children placed with nine active foster families.  We have nine families in the training/certification process.  We have ten children in placement in Flowery Branch.  There are seven families engaged in the training/certification process with five more families who are active prospects.  In Brunswick we have two children in placement in two foster homes.  We have five families in the approval process.

From our Adoption Support office in Atlanta we are a part of an effort to convert foster homes to adoptive homes.  We also create the documentation that is necessary in order to ensure Georgia’ foster children become available for permanent, adoptive homes.  Our goal is to increase the number of children we are able to serve in our foster homes.  In order to achieve this goal we are actively seeking families willing to make a commitment to serve children with special needs.  Call 1-888-216- STAR (7827) to inquire about being a Morningstar Foster Parent. (top)