Foster/Kinship Care Education Team

RFA POD 3: Attachment, Bonding & Trauma; RFA POD 7: Trauma Informed Discipline; Annual Workshops

Senta Burton has been a Butte Foster Kinship Education Program trainer for over 12 years. Senta’s 25 years of experience includes working with child welfare, juvenile probation, private and court-mandated adoptions, addiction, and domestic violence programs.

Senta holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a Minor in Drug and Alcohol Studies from Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work with a concentration in mental health at California State University, Chico. 

Senta is the mother of six children, four of which were adopted through the child welfare system. Senta’s passion for training and advocacy stems from her desire to ensure that caregivers are provided the information that was not readily available to her as a foster parent of children who experienced trauma. Participants of Senta’s training have expressed an appreciation for Senta’s open, down-to-earth, humorous, non-judgmental, nurturing approach.

RFA Pod 5: Common Illness, Car Safety & Resources

Butte County Public Health (BCPH) nurses facilitate the Common Illnesses portion of Pod 5, which covers the public health nurse and foster parent role in ensuring the welfare and health of children in care.

Additionally, it provides descriptions and treatments for illnesses commonly seen in childhood. (The Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care (HCPCFC) is embedded in local Child Welfare Departments providing Public Health Nurse consultation, oversight, and management of the medical, dental, behavioral, and developmental needs of youth in out-of-home placement. The program functions as a part of local Child Welfare Departments, bridging the unique social determinates of health experienced by this population, health outcomes, and providers of health services.)

Trainers/technicians from the BCPH Car Seat Program facilitate the Car Safety portion of Pod 5, which provides an overview of car seat laws, the types of car seats, parts, and how to properly install car seats in vehicles. Choosing the correct type of car seat for children in your care is also reviewed. BCPH is funded by the Office of Traffic Safety to conduct child passenger safety.

RFA Pod 2: LGBTQ & Cultural Humility

Joyce Gonzales grew up in San Francisco and moved to Butte County over 40 years ago. She was adopted as a child, with many foster children in and out of her home of origin.

Joyce is a mother of three (and for several years while her birth children were young, a foster mother of two boys from Mexico), a grandmother of eight and great grandmother of five. Joyce is a community member who believes that healthy communities come from knowing and communicating with each other.

A Certified Substance Use Disorder Counselor and Domestic Violence Counselor, Joyce has worked for 30 years in the local Native American communities in varying positions. She is a trainer to community members and professionals throughout the nation in areas of cultural diversity, proficiency and humility, historical trauma and its effects on certain populations, as well as facilitating Gathering of Native American trainings since 1998.

As the Trainer Coordinator for Connecting Circles of Care for seven years, Joyce worked with several populations of focus, including African American, Latina/o American, Native American, Asian American and rural mountain populations. This experience gave Joyce the ability to learn and participate in varying local populations’ celebrations.

Joyce feels that facilitating RFA Pod 2 is important for foster parents, birth parents and, most importantly, children and is honored to present it.

RFA Pod 2: LGBTQ & Cultural Humility

Marin Hambley is the former Advocacy & Education Coordinator for Stonewall Alliance of Chico, a LGBTQ+ community resource center in Butte County.

In their role for Stonewall, they traveled across Butte, Glenn, Colusa, Plumas, Tehama, Shasta, and Trinity Counties to support organizations in creating more gender-inclusive spaces, and to support LGBTQ+ community members in accessing the resources they need.

Outside of their role at Stonewall, they work with Safe Space Winter Shelter as an Shelter Operations Manager, with Northern Valley Harm Reduction Coalition as Board Chair, and facilitate workshops on crisis de-escalation, trauma-informed care, and harm reduction.

RFA POD 4: Grief & Loss, Transitioning Children into Your Home; RFA Pod 6: Mandated Reporting & Supporting

Stephanie Hawkins is a Social Worker with Butte County Children’s Services. She recently began training with the Butte Foster Kinship Education Program and has loved the opportunity to share her knowledge and experiences in Child Welfare with FKCE participants! She has lived in Chico for 25 years and returned to Chico State in 2022 to earn a BSW and a Master’s in Social Work. Stephanie has a patient, supportive partner and twin teenage girls who are her entire world! They enjoy music of all kinds, community theater, and frequent trips to California’s Redwoods and majestic coast.

530-892-3035
jimenezst@butte.edu

Stephanie Jimenez is a first-generation college graduate. She currently holds a Master of Public Administration from CSU, Chico. She has been employed at Butte College for over 15 years.

Stephanie recently took over as Program Coordinator of the Butte College Foster Kinship Care & Education Program. In her previous positions as Program Coordinator of Safe Place & Wellness Program and Butte College's Title IX Coordinator, she was responsible for the prompt and equitable response to disclosures/reports alleging sexual harassment and discrimination on campus.

Stephanie has also had the honor and privilege of working with the local Native American community as a Domestic Violence Advocate. Prior to this role, she worked closely with foster youth as an Independent Living Program (ILP) case manager, working with youth ages 16-21.

Stephanie has three wonderful sons that she adores and three amazing grandbabies. She says, 'being with them is like watching your heart walk around outside your body.”

RFA POD 3: Attachment, Bonding & Trauma; RFA POD 7: Trauma Informed Discipline; Annual Workshops

Sara Tingey Gordon has served as an instructor and mentor in child welfare for 20 years. Since 2005, Sara has been training, coaching, consulting and developing curricula on a variety of topics relevant to child welfare professionals and caregivers including, childhood trauma, attachment, prenatal substance exposure, therapeutic caregiving, harm reduction, child development, birth family contact and professionalism. She has helped create over 40 hours of RFA compliant training for foster family agencies in the North State.

In addition to nearly two decades as an instructor, Sara has over 20 years of personal experience engaging with the Child Welfare System as a foster and adoptive parent. She draws from her academic and personal history to support, inform and engage participants in her trainings.