Vol. 10, No. 1• November 2005

Message from the NC Foster and Adoptive Parent Association's new president

My name is Stacey Darbee and I am very honored and excited to be the new president of the NCFAPA!

My Story
My professional background is quite diverse. I spent many years as a contractor in the electro-mechanical design field, leaving that area to become a nonprofit administrator first with a nonprofit that I formed and then with several other agencies in south Florida. I found a passion doing something for a living that also had a positive impact on people’s lives.

We moved to Apex, North Carolina in 1999, built our dream home, and began settling in. We didn’t realize at the time what kind of chaotic changes were about to befall us!

My husband, Oz Franco, and I became licensed foster parents with Wake County almost five years ago. Since that time we have been active with the Speaker’s Bureau and I became certified to train MAPP classes.
As I’m sure most of you understand, we feel that fostering is something we were meant to do. When we began we had one grown daughter and considered our family complete. (Ha! I can hear you snickering at me now!)

Since becoming licensed we have had eight children placed with us and have adopted three children, bringing our total family to six. At this time we also have one foster child who has been with us for nearly a year. As I’m sure has happened to a great many of you, we trained for fostering but not necessarily adoption. We’re in a new ball game now, with new things to learn and be concerned about.

We cannot imagine our lives without our children. How much they have added to our very existence!

We also cannot imagine how we would do this without support. The support of our friends, families, and church family has been so essential to our success. The NCFAPA has also played an integral part. We have attended every conference since becoming licensed. Each time we have been astounded by the energy and the sense of revitalization we feel when we leave. The tools learned, knowledge gained, and connections made with other foster parents sustain us through the tough times.

Please Join Us!
NCFAPA is a voice for all foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. We advocate for you at every level of state government. The stronger we are as a group, the more influence we yield. We need membership to show that we are a strong group. And we need you to keep us inspired and encouraged so we can ensure the needs of our children and our foster, adoptive, and kinship parents are met. Increased board rates, adoption assistance, more training dollars—these are all things that the NCFAPA has advocated for with a high degree of success. We partner with SaySo, NC Kids, and many other organizations. But we can—and should—do more.

We need you to help us achieve for our families and our children what we cannot do alone. As a strong, viable association we can do wonderful things.

Please join us—TODAY!!

To join the NCFAPA, go to http://www.ncfapa.org

Copyright � 2005 Jordan Institute for Families