Work/Life Work/Life

ConnectionsConnections

D id you know that there are 5,000 grandparents raising their grandchildren in Ventura County? Are you one of those

grandparents; or perhaps an aunt, uncle, godparent, a close fam-ily friend, or older sibling caring for a relative‟s child? Not just babysitting or providing after-school care; but raising another family member‟s child on a full-time basis. If you are, then you are not alone. It is a phenomenon that is growing throughout our nation. The impact of the war in the Middle East, tragic accidents, drugs, alcohol, jail or imprisonment due to criminal activity, and young families who find that they simply are not prepared to raise their children has resulted in the growth of what is now called

Kinship Care.

Kids & Families Together (K&FT), a local non-profit agency, has been selected to enhance and expand its successful Kinship Support Services Program funded by the Human Services Agency. Established almost 12 years ago, K&FT specializes in providing support to families who have come together through foster care, adoption and Kinship care. Clinical staff at K&FT are highly trained in treating issues related to attachment

and bonding of children with their newly created families.

During this past year, K&FT has established a countywide coalition of agencies and organizations whose purpose is to provide community education and outreach so as to better support Kinship families. Along with the Countywide Coalition, groups have also been established in Ventura, Oxnard, Simi Valley/Moorpark and Santa Paula/Fillmore communities. Efforts

Holiday Stress-Busters

New Home Buyer Program

VCCU Shred Days

Elder Care Support Group

Balancing Work/Family Classes

Work/Life Resources

Inside this issue: Kinship Care:

Caring For a Relative Child

The Children‟s Services Auxiliary is a volunteer nonprofit organization focused on meeting the needs of Ventura County‟s court-dependent children. These children may be living in foster homes, group homes or with relatives or guardians. Each year, the Spark of Love toy drive helps to fill a holiday toy store set up for the benefit of these children. This toy store allows their caregivers to “shop” free of charge for these children so they can receive gifts

to celebrate the holiday season.

Many departments in the County will participate in the Spark of Love toy drive. Look for an email with more info during the first week of November. A toy pick up & delivery to the CSA Toy Store is scheduled for Wednesday, December 12 at the Government Center, HOA. Contact Patty Zoll at 805/477-7234 or patty.zoll@ventura.org for more info on the toy pick-up. Monetary donations and gift cards are welcome. Volunteers are also needed to staff the Giving Trees at the Pacific View Mall and The Oaks Mall. Contact Jeannette Maxwel l -McGowan at 654-3245 or J e a n n e t t e . M a x w e l l -McGowan@ventura.org for

more info on volunteering.

SPARK OF LOVE TOY DRIVESPARK OF LOVE TOY DRIVE

A Chance to Make a Difference in a Child’s Life

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are also currently underway to organize similar community

coalitions in Camarillo and Thousand Oaks.

The Kinship Project offers a professionally supervised “Peer Mentor” case management model of services; providing referrals to community resources including legal services for custody & guardianship issues, financial assistance, health insurance, medical/dental care, child care and after-school care programs, housing assistance, support groups, educational workshops, and individual counseling for children and their

caregivers.

Kinship Care cont’d... As part of the Balancing Work/Family series hosted by the Wellness Program and the Work/Life Program, a lunch time presentation will be made by K&FT staff about the Kinship Project and the resources available to support Kinship Families on Thursday, October 18, 2012, from noon-1:00 in the Atlantic Conference Room, Hall of Administration, Government Center,

Ventura.

Go to: http://securevcweb/wellness to register. To contact Kids & Families Together, please call 805/643-1446.

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M any parents have a love-hate relationship with the holidays. We love the idea of a “Currier & Ives

Christmas”, a picture perfect replica of the ideal holidays we had as a child but we dread the overwhelming, nearly impossible task of achieving that ideal. How can we beat back the dread and have the family holiday of our dreams? The experts say, start by lowering your expectations and be more realistic about what you can do. This may involve changing some of your traditions but building new traditions, unique to your family, can be exciting and fulfilling and bring back that spark of holiday spirit. Here are some tips on how to revamp

your holidays:

1. Reassess and Prioritize - Holiday stress sets in when you try to do it all. Stress is an emotional reaction to circumstances that you feel are out of control. To cope, take some time out, rethink what‟s stressing you out, and look for alternatives. Reframe your demands to preferences: Tell yourself, “If I have

time, I‟ll do this and that. If not, I‟ll only do that.”

2. Delegate! - Does the house need cleaning or decorating? Let each family member be responsible for a room. Lay out a variety of jobs to be done and let kids take ownership of a couple. When you delegate, you have to make your expectations clear to your kids and you may have to lower your

standards a little bit.

3. Don’t Give in to the ―Gimmes‖ - “I want, I want!” This familiar phrase can wear parents down over the holidays, but giving in to your child‟s every request can cause financial distress. It‟s okay to tell your child that a gift is too expensive, that even Santa has his limits! Fight the commercialism of the holidays by breathing life into traditions that don‟t cost any extra money. Bake cookies, go caroling, give to needy families or

volunteer. Explain to your kids that there are a lot of families who don‟t

have as much as they do.

4. Be Realistic about Relatives When the in-laws visit this season, have realistic expectations for the short term. Don‟t try to solve past issues with family members over the holidays. It‟s not the time to bring up every little irritation. And if going to a certain relative‟s house every year causes a lot of holiday stress, decide if you

really need to do it. Maybe you can go every other year instead.

5. Flexibility Can Buy You Time - How can you get anything done when the little ones are home on vacation and you only have a few days off? Invest in a babysitter for a few hours to take the kids to the movies or to play with them for a few hours while you‟re working around the house. You can even co-op with other

parents and take turns giving each other breaks.

6. Set Limits for College Kids - A college student home for the holidays can wreak havoc on family routines. For months now, your teen has been on his own and doing things very differently. The disruption could be the 1:00am bedtime habit that he has fallen into or the need for your daughter to sleep with the radio blaring. Whatever the case, you‟ll need to set some ground rules in advance. Everyone‟s going to have to compromise during the visit, so it‟s important that parents and kids be respectful of each

other.

Above all else, take it easy on yourself over the holidays. You may be concerned by what others might say about you if you don‟t do everything perfectly. Surprise! Ask yourself what

imperfection really means. You‟re human - like everyone else.

Holiday Stress-Busters: Advice for Parents By Ann Svensen

Article adapted from www.familyeducation.com

Oct. - Dec. 2012 Page 3

Use your Coastal Housing Partnership Benefits to Help You with the Process

Interest rates on home mortgages continue to be at historic

lows. And have recently taken another dip.

For potential home owners, this means that they can either afford a larger loan or keep their payments down. For current homeowners looking to refinance to a lower rate or into a fixed-

rate loan, it is certainly worth exploring the options.

Through the County of Ventura‟s membership with Coastal Housing Partnership (CHP), a nonprofit organization, County of Ventura employees are eligible to receive generous savings and benefits when purchasing a home, refinancing a mortgage or renting an apartment. These benefits are available to all County of Ventura employees – not just to first time home buyers; and

there are no income or length of employment restrictions.

Coastal Housing Partnership benefits available at no cost to

County of Ventura employees include:

Home Buying Benefit

The Home Buying Benefit makes buying a home more affordable by significantly reducing the closing costs associated with the purchase of your home. Closing cost savings and credits are offered by a network of local real estate agents, home inspection companies, lenders and residential developers. Check out the

CHP website for the listing of in-network partners.

Free Home Buying Seminars

Home buying education seminars are available to all County

employees.

Attend a free workshop to learn about the steps of the loan process, qualifying for a loan, how much of a loan you can afford and how you can purchase a home even if you don‟t have a 20% down payment.

Thinking about Purchasing a Home or

Refinancing Your Mortgage? Two home buying seminars wi l l be held at the Government Center in Ventura on October 23 and December 4 from 5:30 – 6:45 pm. See sign-up details below. Mortgage Refinance Benefit

If you are considering refinancing your mortgage, you are eligible for savings on some of the up-front costs of refinancing through the Mortgage Refinance Benefit. Just choose a lender

from the partner network and start saving!

Rental Assistance Benefit

Coastal Housing Partnership has partnered with several local landlords to offer monthly rental reductions. These landlords have agreed to reduce the monthly market rent on new leases starting at $50 / month for a studio or one bedroom and

$75 / month for a two or more bedroom unit.

What You Need to Do

In order to utilize the Coastal Housing Partnership Benefits, you will need a Letter of Authorization and you will need to let the Network Service Partners know that you are part of Coastal Housing Partnership. You can get a Letter of Authorization application on the Web site www.coastalhousing.org or by calling

Julia at 805/969-1025.

For More Details

For the details of all Coastal Housing Partnership benefits, seminar schedules/reservations and the network service partner listing, click onto www.coastalhousing.org or call their office at

805/969-1025.

Shred Days at VCCU! Protect yourself from identity theft! Two locations!!

Bring up to two boxes of personal papers to our complimentary shred day. Pass the word on to family

and neighbors!

Call 477-4000 or 800/339-

0496 for more info.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

6026 Telephone Road

Ventura 93003

(across from Gov’t. Ctr.)

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

18 W. Thousand Oaks Blvd.

Thousand Oaks 91360

(T.O. Blvd @ Moorpark Rd.)

Babies and You These seminars are based on the March of Dimes program to educate prospective parents about lifestyle behaviors and other factors that can affect pregnancy and improve their chances for a healthy birth.

Government Center, Main Plaza Level (check in at the HR counter) Monday, 10/15 Prenatal Care 12-1pm

Monday, 10/22 Prenatal Nutrition 12-1pm

Monday, 10/29 Prenatal Exercise 12-1pm

Human Resources

Work/Life Program

Ventura County

Government Center

Hall of Administration

800 S. Victoria Avenue

Ventura, CA 93009

Phone: 805-477-7234

Email:

WorkLife@ventura.org

Keeping Your Balance

Working a full-time job is hard enough! If you are providing care and support to an elderly family member who is ill or disabled, you are at high risk of burnout! If you let the stress of caregiving progress to burnout, it can damage both your physical and mental health. If you’re in this position, it’s essential that you get the support you need. Join us to receive support, resources and links to services at the Elder Care Support Group. Drop in as your schedule allows — no pre-registration is required.

The final Support Group meeting for this year is on Wednesday, Oct. 31, noon– 1:00, Room 241 in the Hall of Administration, Government Center. The Elder Care Support Group will resume in January 2013.

Elder Care Support Group

Before & After School Programs in

Ventura County

A comprehensive listing of before and after s c h o o l p r o g r a m s throughout Ventura

County!

Other Resources

Family Child Care

Choosing Quality Child

Care

Guide to „At Home‟

Nanny Care

First 5 New Parent Kits

Resources Available from the Work/Life Program

Family Guide to Elder Care:

Creating Caregiving Options

Are you caring for an elderly relative? Are you responsible for making arrangements for an elderly family member, either locally or long distance? This packet will provide much needed information. It includes “Eldercare” - the 2012 Resource Guide for Services in Ventura County, information on Seniors & the Law, a listing of elder care facilities in Ventura County and much more!

Child Care/Preschool Discount

Program Booklet

This booklet contains a listing of over 50 child care and preschool programs that offer a registration or tuition discount to County employees.

Email: WorkLife@ventura.org to request your resources

Balancing Work & Family

Workshops To Register go to:

http://securevcweb/wellness

Raising a Relative’s Child or Know Someone Who Is?

Thursday, Oct. 18 12:00-1:00 ACR-Gov‟t. Ctr.

Either way, you‟re not alone! Learn more about “Kinship Care” including both „formal‟ and „informal‟ placements. Find out about valuable local services to support children, youth and their relative caregivers including Peer Mentors for caregivers, individual support groups, financial assistance and health care

referrals.