• National Adoption Day celebrates children and families

    November 16, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Ministry News

    Children come to foster care from all walks of life and every community. Most enter foster care due to abuse or neglect, while others exhibit behavioral disorders. As a foster care provider, Saint Francis strives to keep sibling groups together and in their home community. If possible, we place them with family members. Yet sometimes that’s not possible. Still, whatever the child’s story, foster care is and should always remain a last resort.

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    Two decades in, and this foster parent is still ‘getting through it’

    November 8, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Foster Care / Adoption,Ministry News

    There’s the family you were born into and the family you choose. John Arellano, JP, has both. One of Saint Francis Ministries’ longest serving foster parents, he’s built his family by becoming family to many of the 175 boys he’s fostered since 1999. And he’s done it as a single parent, most recently by working full-time as a truant officer for the Garden City, Kansas, school district and at his local YMCA.

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    7 Ways to Keep Your Family Cyber Safe

    October 31, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Ministry News

    Throughout October our IT department has talked about cybersecurity. For Saint Francis Ministries – as for any child welfare agency – cybersecurity is essential. An important part of our care for the children and families we serve involves the protection of their privacy. This includes their medical and treatment information, as well as their case files. In most cases, it also involves their identities.

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    Saint Francis Ministries names new head of Marketing & Communications

    October 27, 2022 · Ministry News,Press Releases

    Salina, Kansas – October 17, 2022 – Saint Francis Ministries announced today that Denny Marlin has joined the not-for-profit child and family provider as its new Executive Director of Marketing & Communications. Marlin will provide oversight, coordination, and leadership to both internal and external communications, as well as the organization’s marketing goals.

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    Saint Francis Ministries selected for Kansas Leadership Center grant

    October 27, 2022 · Ministry News,Press Releases

    Salina, Kansas – October 24, 2022 – Saint Francis Ministries is one of 42 non-profit organizations to receive a 2023 Leadership Transformation Grant awarded by the Kansas Leadership Center. Partner organizations will use the grants to “create a culture that embraces change, tackles problems and seizes opportunities,” according to the KLC. At least 45 other Kansas organizations from community-minded business, education, faith, and government sectors were also selected.

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    When a Leader Gets Better, Everybody Wins

    October 20, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Ministry News

    Leadership development is important for the success of any organization, and at Saint Francis we believe that when a leader gets better, everybody wins. So, in the quest for excellence, we have built our own leader development program. The Saint Francis Ministries Leadership Center (SFMLC) was created to build solid leaders who function confidently and competently in an unpredictable world.

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    Domestic Violence Awareness Month – Know the Signs

    October 14, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Ministry News

    It’s probably no coincidence that Bullying Awareness and Domestic Violence Awareness occur within the same month. Both address assaults on human dignity. Both also have the capacity to inflict multiple types of trauma on the most vulnerable among us, particularly children and women. And since Saint Francis Ministries works hard to be fully trauma-informed, and since most of the people with whom we work are dealing with some form of trauma, we make a point to raise awareness about both bullying and domestic violence.

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    Bullying can have lasting effects on kids

    October 6, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Ministry News

    Truth be told, most of us have probably experienced bullying in some form. It’s virtually impossible to escape middle or high school without becoming the focus of a bully at some point. It might come in the form of a verbal put-down, an act of physical aggression, or even a social media post.

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    St. Francis, our namesake’s feast day is October 4

    October 4, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Ministry News

    Run a quick Google search of “Saint Francis” or “St. Francis,” and look at the results. Odds are, you’ll see loads of links to churches, nonprofit organizations, hospitals, and others than have the 13th century Italian mystic as their namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. Why? What is it about him that inspires so many to consider Il Poverello (Italian for “the little poor one) both patron and model?

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    It takes a community

    September 23, 2022 · Forward in Hope,Ministry News

    We may be winding down our month-long celebration of child welfare workers, but we’ll never tire of thanking those who work so hard to secure the safety of children and to help families heal and regain wholeness. Child Welfare Workforce Development Month may come once a year, but the mission continues year-round.

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