Nancy Vivoda reminds birth parents: ‘There’s still hope’
Nancy Vivoda is a mother who overcame the obstacle of having all five of her children removed and placed into foster care and is now a respected and accomplished parent advocate in Detroit. She was the first birth parent in her county to work as a Parent Partner for the Association for Children’s Mental Health. She was recruited to work as a family advocate at the Detroit Center for Family Advocacy, and is a national consultant and trainer for the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections. Since 2007, Vivoda has been engaged with Casey Family Programs’ birth parent work.
“My passion is to reform the system, so it’s really there to help those children that truly need it,” she says. “As a family advocate, sometimes my role is to remind birth parents … that there’s still hope.”
Vivoda received a 2014 Casey Excellence for Children Award for birth parents.