Meet Shirley M. Berens

            Although, Shirley has become an internationally recognized expert in the area of grandparent visitation, custody, and adoption, she continues working with a variety of families one-on-one to help at risk children.  She also serves as the Executive Director of Grandparents Resource Center, a nonprofit organization, dealing with family issues. Shirley, provides help to other non-profit organizations on grandparent issues. She is an educator, writer, and dynamic speaker on issues related to the family. She teaches wholeness and healing for the family, in general. Her passion is to share the realities the crisis' facing grandparents in America, helping to speak out about their deepest needs and concerns for their grandchildren placed into foster care,  Shirley's passion is to help mend the broken and hurting families in our world communities.

Professional Experience

• Executive Director of the Grandparents Resource Center
  A non-profit organization offering conferences, retreats, education and speaking services related to psychological perspectives on relational and family wholeness.  Denver, Colorado (1991 – present)
• Teaches' "ABC's of Parenting for Teen Moms",  offering help to teen moms at West High School helping to prepare young teen parents for parenthood.  

Personal Journey

           In 1991, when Shirley's grandchildren were placed in foster care, she was deeply affected by what she experienced when she tried to get her grandchildren out of foster care.  She alternated between feeling very angry about the injustice of the social services system and deeply hurt by the coldness of the judicial system. She often felt powerless, especially when she saw her three-year-old grandson abused and beaten by his foster mother.

            After lobbying to pass the Colorado Grandparents Visitation Rights Law House Bill 91-1255 in 1991, so she could intervene in her own grandchildren's court case and adopt them, her experience with the foster care system galvanized her to discover strategies to help other grandparents seeking to get their grandchildren out of foster care. She found the foster care system is pre-disposed against grandparents as guardians. She also found that other grandparents had to be educated by learning the relevant law and the policies and procedures of the human services system. However, that took a lot of time, which most grandparents don't have, so in November of 1995, Shirley founded a nonprofit organization, Grandparents Resource Center (GRC), which by educating grandparents to navigate the foster care system, fills an important gap in the community between grandparents, and legal services, along with government entities, which cannot adequately help them in their quest for custody.

Professional Speaking Experience

            Shirley regularly fills the role of keynote speaker at the GRC and Human Service conferences on family wholeness. She has spoken for Grandparents Resource Center, Focus Colorado Mental Health (Family Wholeness), Commission on Aging - Denver, and several local conferences sponsored by non-profit organizations and local churches. She works internationally with other countries on issues of grand parenting in Ghana, Scotland, Australia, Cambodia, England and Mexico, Trinidad, Canada, and Panama .

            For 8 years Shirley hosted "Family Issues in Colorado" a Community Television program on DCTV, Channels 57, 58 and 59 bringing current issues families were facing in Colorado.

Professional Education

• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology Specialization in General Psychology (In Progress): Capella University, Specializing in Intergenerational Relationships: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. (2011)
• M.A. in Non Profit Management:  Regis University,  Professional Paper "Assessing Capacity to Establish a National Organization to Support Grandparents Seeking Custody of Their Grandchildren in Foster Care". (2011)
• M.A. Criminal Justice (Partial) - Colorado University at Denver.  Special Project - "Juvenile Sex Offenders".  (1993-94).
• B.S in Management of Human Resources:   Under graduate course work at Colorado Christian University, MHR program 1991 with a minor in behavioral psychology. Writing her thesis on "Grand-parenting in the 90's, , which has been updated in 2011 "Research Study of Grandparents in the 90's".  Her past research on Grand-parenting in the 90's was instrumental in passing the Grandparents Rights Law H.B. 91-1255 in Colorado in 1991.
• Paralegal Certificate -  Center for Legal Studies. (1992-93)
• Private Investigators Certificate - Colorado University at Denver (1994)
• Victims Advocate Certificate - Colorado University at Denver - (1995)
• Leader Certification - Active Parenting Today  (1994)
• Victim Assistance Training Program for Clergy and Religious Leaders - (May, 1989)

Volunteer Projects In Denver

• Denver Victim's Service Center - Victim's Advocate (1990-91)
• U.S. West, Outstanding Campaign Runner for United Way - (1993)
• First Judicial District Probation Department, Jefferson County, Colorado Consortium for Dual Disability Disorders (1992-93)
• First Judicial District Probation Department, Jefferson County, Colorado Probation Officer (1992-93)
• Commerce City Police Department - Victims Advocate (1993)
• Inter-Faith Task Force  - Counselor for Grandparents at in Englewood, CO.  (1995)
• City of Sheridan School District researching local, state, and federal laws and regulations regarding special needs education for children being raised by their grandparents. (1995)      
• City of Sheridan Police Department - pro bono paralegal work helping low income families with juvenile offenders on probation.  (1995)
• AmeriCorps, in Denver for Catholic Charities/City of Sheridan -  committed 3400 volunteer hours (1995-1998)
• Sheridan Family Resource Center - Family Advocate – Grandparent Parenting Instructor (1996)
• Mulroy Center - Court Advocate facilitating the Youth with Vision and Right Track Programs. (1997)
• American Humane Association - Appointed Special Expert of the Advisory Committee for Kinship Care. (1998).
• Mental Health Association of Colorado - Presenting solutions to grandparents on custody, visitation and adoption in the Denver Metro area.  (2010)
• Round-Up - Advisory Committee helping grand families in Douglas County finding solutions to grandparent's raising grandchildren. (2011)

Shirley's Works

• Training Manual on Child Abuse to train Victim Advocates, and Probation Officers for the Commerce City Police Department. (1993)
• Colorado Supreme Court/Grandparents Visitation. (1998)
• Legal Issues Facing Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Today’s Society. (1998)
• Kinship Placement vs. Non-Relative Adoptions. (2000)
• Who Protects the Children and Organizational Point of View? (2000/2005)
• "No Preponderance of Evidence".  (2004)
• Achieving Permanence For a Foster Children Placing Them with  Grandparents. (2004)
• After Raising Grandchildren What Do You Have To Say - An Invitation to Share Your Story. (2007)
• "One Response" to Colorado nonprofits try to sort out recovery act funding at workshop. (2009)
•  Citizens Review Panel (2009)
•  Disabled Children. (2009)
• Social Responsibility. (2011)

Published Books/Research Documents:

• Berens, S. (1991).  Research Study of Grandparents in the 90''s - Research document helping to establish Grandparent Visitation in Colorado. Warrior Women Publications, Denver, CO
• Berens, S. (1991).  Grandparenting in the 90's - Research document helping to establish Grandparent Visitation in Colorado.
  Warrior Women Publications, Denver, CO
  
• Berens, S. (2001).  Grandparenting in the 21st Century - Research document about the importance of grandparent relationships.
  Warrior Women Publications, Denver, CO
  
• Berens, S. (2010). The Only Coconut On The Tree -  A Spiritual Journey to the Land of Beauty and Darkness        
  Warrior Women Publications Denver, CO
  
• Berens, S. (2011). Assessing Capacity to Establish a National Organization to   Support Grandparents Seeking Custody of Their Grandchildren in Foster Care. Thesis research document about the problems grandparents face in getting custody of their grandchildren when placed in foster care.
  Warrior Women Publications Denver, CO
  
• Berens, S. (2011).  The Self- Help Manual - for grandparents seeking custody of their grandchildren placed in foster care.
  Warrior Women Publications, Denver, CO
• Berens, S. (2011). A Guide To Understanding Grandchildren Being Raised by Grandparents - "Parenting Skills". Warrior Women Publications, Denver, CO

Magazine Articles

• CCU Alumni Just How Far Can a CCU Graduate Go? - Alumni Communiqué, You Have No Rights, Volume 1, Number 1 - Page 3 Column 1, 1995).
• Big Beautiful Woman (BBW) Magazine - Grandparents Have an Advocate - Hope In Bloom,(June 1999)
• Colorado Mature Lifestyles  Granny's Corner - Volume 2 - Number 2,  (April/May 2000)
• Colorado Mature Lifestyles -  Grandparents Resource Center - Volume 2 Number, 3(June/July 2000
• Get Up & Go - (Summer 2002), Grandparents Resource Center Support for Denver's Modern Grandparents.
• Food Bank of the Rockies - Life Line - Grandparents Resource Center Helps 5.5 Million Children -  Volume 11, Issue 4 (November 2000)
• Guardian Unlimited - Special Reports - The Enforcer, " President Bush grandchildren Misbehave" - Grandparents Resource Center Comments - Shirley Berens (June 2001) 
  

Professional Awards

• Outstanding Graduate, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Colorado Christian University.  (1991)
• Recognition from Colorado Governor Roy Romer - Proclamation for the "Year of the Grandparent". (1993)
• Awarded grateful appreciation of faithful and dedicated service to College For Living - Archdiocese of Denver (1994)
• Awarded #1 Organization by Commerce City Police Department - Nancy Mascarenas-Black for helping underprivileged at-risk children in Commerce City (1994)
• Awarded Volunteer Probation Award for Outstanding Advocacy (1994)
• Recognized most Influential Grandparent Organization in Colorado by State Representative Donald Armstrong (1995)
• Appreciation Award by Governor Roy Romer for dedication to the grand families of Colorado (1995)
• Certificate of Achievement from the Sheridan Family Resource Center for dedicated service to the senior families of Sheridan, CO (1996)
• Voted Colorado Extraordinary Woman. (1999)
• Special Recognition by President Clinton. (1999)
• Denver Commission On Aging, Denver. (1999 - 2002)
• Recognized Leader of Grandparents Visitation - Right Path Program Executive Director - Barbara Huttner (2003)
• Extreme Home Addition Award for Most Caring Organization for Grandparents in America (2008)

Associations - Member in Good Standing

• Member  in good standing of  National Association of Counsel For Children
• National Association of Advocates for Grandparents
• AARP - American Association of Retired Persons
• Colorado Bar Association
• Arbitration and Mediation Associations in the USA