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📷Highlights: 2025 Foster & Adoptive Parent Appreciation Day

Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As National Foster Care Month approaches in May, the University of Kentucky College of Social Work (CoSW), alongside the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS), hosted a Statewide Foster and Adoptive Parent Appreciation event at the Louisville Zoo on Saturday, April 19. 

The 2024 Foster and Adoptive Families of the Year were in attendance, as well as DCBS staff members, and College of Social Work Centers & Labs staff members.

Sheila Miracle, CoSW Assistant Director for the Training Resource Center, gave the opening remarks, followed by Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Eric Friedlander. 

“This annual event is an opportunity not only to recognize your contributions, but also to highlight the importance of partnership, perseverance, and community in the lives of children who need it most,” Miracle said in her remarks. “Whether through daily caregiving, navigating complex systems, or simply providing a safe and loving home, your impact is immeasurable.”

Families were provided lunch and tickets to spend the afternoon as a family at the zoo. Family portraits were also taken and provided to the families, celebrating the hard work and commitment it takes to raise a foster or adopted child.  

2024 Foster Families of the Year 

  • Wendell & Shirley Smith
  • David & Mary Caye Martin
  • Mary Lu Funyak
  • Kiana & Brant Cunningham
  • Sharon Chadwell
  • Jerry & Rena Bartley
  • Charles & Keshia Hurd
  • Kenneth & Cheryl Helton
  • Jason & Brenda Owsley

2024 Adoptive Families of the Year

  • Harold & Deanna Adkins
  • Sharekia Tunstull
  • Connor & Georgia Mook
  • Kaylee & Austin Arthur
  • Thomas & Amanda Elkins
  • Jonathan & Elizabeth Johnson
  • Wayne & Leslie Carr
  • Kayla & Joseph Bragg
  • Catherine & Rickey Dowdy

The CoSW provides many resources to foster and adoptive families through the Training Resource Center. These resources and programs include: 

Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb
Photo by Tim Webb

For over 85 years, the College of Social Work (CoSW) at the University of Kentucky has been a leader in education. Our mission is clear: Through rigorous research, excellence in instruction, and steadfast service, the CoSW works to improve the human condition. Always, in all ways.

As the state’s flagship university, our mission is actualized through our deeds. Our faculty are renowned academicians dedicated to fostering the development of high-quality practitioners and researchers. As a college, we promote community and individual well-being through translational research and scholarship, exemplary teaching, and vital community engagement. We are committed to the people and social institutions throughout Kentucky, the nation, and the world.

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