Our mission is to assist kinship/relative care families and foster/ adoptive families as well as former foster youth and adults by providing services meant to improve their lives. Our eventual goal is to engage our staff and clients in purposeful, intergenerational communities of mutual support; ensuring that these same individuals will develop healthy, caring relationships withing the community. Active senior citizens will be an integral part of the community volunteering to provide that "old-fashioned" sense of community that is missing in modern day life.History: Incorporated in late 2011, the Annie C. Courtney Foundation, is named after Annie Courtney, a kinship caregiver during her early years who felt that a happy, healthy family is the most important thing in life, that without that, nothing else has meaning. Annie was the oldest sister of eight who raised her siblings after the deaths of her parents; a mother of four daughters who she was extremely proud of; a grandmother to 13 and a great grandmother, before her death, to six great-grandchildren.

Under contract with Department of Children and Families, Annie C manages the regional community collaborative, Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Coalition Team (northwestern CT region). Position entails day to day management of all aspects of community collaborative including but not limited to: inviting and leading member agencies in regional recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive families; design and implementation of all marketing, including press releases, social media presence and on-line marketing (i.e. Adwords) as well as design of ads, billboards, etc.; researching and leading regional and statewide recruitment efforts for all members of collaborative including booking and hosting information meetings and community events; design and implementation of retention events for all regional foster and adoptive families; facilitation of three support groups for kinship care families and adoptive families; manage annual budget of $72,500; edit and write monthly e-newsletter for over 1600 recipients; website management and upkeep. Highlights: Designed and implemented statewide National Adoption Month initiative, "Bells of Hope: Ringing in a Brighter Tomorrow for Connecticut’s Waiting Children" and co-designer and originator of "Everyone Needs a Nest" statewide recruitment and awareness project utilizing unpainted wooden birdhouses as an awareness tool. Project has been very successful affording us an opportunity to promote foster parenting to over 200 groups in our region.

Responsibilities included case management of DCF-referred families including: developing and maintaining on-going treatment plans; providing center-based supervision as well as in-home supervision of clients; parenting assistance; testimony as needed in court proceedings; ongoing assessment of clients’ needs resulting in community-based referrals as needed; maintenance of all required documentation and family member files; working collaboratively with DCF, DDS, as well as other service providers; committee membership and participation in area adoption/foster care collaboratives.

Working out of multiple area DCF offices, responsibilities included: advocating, supporting, and educating foster and adoptive parents; assisting at recruitment and retention events for area offices and area community collaboratives; sitting on adoption team; facilitating support groups; liaison with the Agency on Aging; secretary of the statewide recruitment collaborative

Responsibilities included: a/r, a/p, payroll, credit and collections, customer service, sales schedule management, supervision of employees when owner is absent. Proficient in Word, QuickBooks.

Acted as co-facilitator of state mandated PRIDE classes. Responsibilities included classroommanagement, interfacing with prospective parents and other facilitators; answering questionsand gathering information related to special needs adoption and foster care; managing updated curriculum and keeping presentation adapted to the needs of each specific class.