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ABOUT

Our founder, Jodi is a bio mom of two, adoptive mom of two, and foster mom since 2019. After struggling with infertility and miscarriages for many years, the Colemans turned to foster care, initially hoping to adopt but soon realizing that foster care has the goal of reunification. However, in 2023, Jodi and her family adopted, but her passion for helping children in need continues.

 

In addition to raising 4-6 children (depending on the day), Jodi is a foster parent mentor, an elementary art teacher and a proud police wife. But her personal journey and commitment to foster care inspired her to create Blossoming Bonds, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting foster and adoptive families through mentorship, healing and most importantly, PLAY!

The name Blossoming Bonds was inspired by her two daughters, who were adopted from foster care. Their names are Violet and Daisy. Daisy has profound autism and this lead the Colemans to discovering the healing power of sensory play and they have seen what positive impact it has on all the children in their care.

Executive Summary

Blossoming Bonds is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering healthy, nurturing relationships between children and their parents or caregivers, particularly in the foster and adoptive communities. Our mission is to create a space where children can heal, grow, and play through transformative sensory experiences that build lasting bonds. Play, particularly in a safe and supportive environment, has been shown to be a powerful healing tool for children, especially those who have experienced trauma. Partnering with the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS), we aim to reimagine third-party and supervised visitations, transforming them from transactional interactions into meaningful, healing opportunities for children and their families. Currently, visitations for families involved in the foster care and adoption systems are often held in sterile office settings with few activities and limited emotional warmth—often just a basic couch with a few toys and books in a clinical environment. This setup makes it difficult for families to bond and build meaningful connections, hindering the healing process. Blossoming Bonds seeks to replace this environment with a child-friendly, sensory-rich space where families can engage in play, communication, and connection in a warm and welcoming environment. The ultimate goal of foster care is the reunification of children with their biological families whenever it is safe and appropriate to do so. By providing a nurturing and supportive space for supervised visitations, Blossoming Bonds will help promote the critical bonding process that fosters healthy, lasting reunifications. Our facility will feature sensory-rich rooms designed for children of different age groups, a group play area, and private supervised visitation spaces equipped with safety measures like audio and video monitoring. Additional funding will allow us to expand our services, ensuring every family can access a safe and nurturing environment where they can build stronger, healthier relationships.

Objective

  • To establish a child-friendly facility that supports children’s emotional, developmental, and social growth.

  • To create spaces where supervised visitations between children in foster care and their biological parents can take place in a nurturing, supportive environment.

  • To provide mentorship programs for parents and caregivers that foster positive relationships and healthy attachment with children.

  • To generate sustainable revenue through event rentals and partnerships while securing grants and donations for operational costs.

  • To partner with the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) to provide continued support for foster families and the reunification process.

Our Why

 Blossoming Bonds was born out of my journey as a biological, adoptive, and foster mom. One of my adopted children has profound autism, and sensory play became a key tool for building trust and strengthening our bond. I quickly realized how effective this approach was with all the children in our home and saw its potential to help families navigating the trauma of foster care. Foster care is inherently disruptive, not only for children but also for parents who may carry their own unhealed wounds. Some parents have never learned to connect through play. By creating a sensory-rich environment and offering parent mentorship, we aim to support families in forming healthier, lasting bonds. We believe healing starts with connection. Our goal is to reimagine visitation spaces to prioritize sensory needs, play, and meaningful interactions, helping children and families heal together and move toward brighter futures.

Project Description

Blossoming Bonds will create a welcoming facility designed to foster connection and healing through sensory play, bonding activities, and support for families navigating foster care, adoption, and reunification.

Alleviating the Burden on DCFS

In addition to the challenges faced by children and families, caseworkers at the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) are often overburdened with heavy caseloads and administrative responsibilities. Supervising visitations is a time-consuming task that requires significant attention to detail to ensure the safety and well-being of children. This extensive supervision takes up a substantial portion of their schedules, limiting the time and resources they can dedicate to other critical aspects of their work, such as case planning, assessment, and providing direct support to families.

Impact on Caseworkers

Increased Workload: High caseloads lead to burnout and decreased job satisfaction among caseworkers, which can negatively impact their ability to effectively support families.

Limited Availability: Time spent on supervised visitations reduces the availability of caseworkers to engage in proactive case management and intervention, potentially delaying reunification or placement processes.

Stress and Burnout: The demanding nature of supervising visitations contributes to higher stress levels and burnout rates, leading to higher turnover and loss of experienced professionals within DCFS.

How Blossoming Bonds Alleviates This Burden:

Blossoming Bonds aims to partner with DCFS to streamline the supervision process by providing a dedicated, sensory-rich environment for visitations. By taking on the role of supervised visitation facilitator, Blossoming Bonds can:

Reduce Caseworker Workload: By handling the logistics and supervision of visitations, our organization allows caseworkers to focus more on case management and support services.

Enhance Supervision Quality: Our trained staff are specialized in creating a safe and nurturing environment, ensuring that visitations are both secure and conducive to building meaningful relationships.

Improve Efficiency: Streamlining the visitation process through our facility can lead to faster scheduling and more flexible visitation times, improving overall service delivery.

Facility Overview

Sensory Visitation Rooms: These private rooms will be equipped with sensory-friendly tools such as swings, padded floors, bean bags, and other sensory equipment. Designed for various stages of child development, these spaces will support children’s emotional and developmental needs. Each room will also include audio and video monitoring systems to maintain safety and adhere to DCFS supervision standards.

Group Play Area: A large, versatile room will feature a foam pit, swings, and open space for group activities and spontaneous play. It will also provide a supportive environment for social interaction and community-building among families with shared experiences.

Key Programs

1. Supervised Visitations: DCFS-arranged visitations will be hosted in child-friendly, sensory-rich spaces. Parents will receive guidance on meaningful engagement and play strategies to support the bonding process.

2. Parent Mentorship: Workshops and resources will be offered to biological parents, kinship families and foster parents, focusing on communication, play strategies, and nurturing techniques.

3. Special Events: Discounted birthday party rentals will allow foster and adoptive families to celebrate in a safe and supportive space, creating joyful memories and strengthening family bonds.

Impact 

Blossoming Bonds will provide a transformative environment where children can heal from trauma, build trust, and form deeper connections with their caregivers. By alleviating the burden on overworked caseworkers and offering meaningful resources to families, we will create stronger, healthier bonds and support the ultimate goal of reunification whenever possible. Through partnerships with organizations like the Utah Foster Care Foundation, we will expand our impact with babysitting events, play therapy trainings, and family-focused programs, ensuring a brighter future for families in the foster care system.

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