Let’s All Try to Be Patient with Each Other
When working in the child welfare and juvenile justice arenas, we often are faced with arbitrary and sometimes unrealistic time constraints that are established by entities that are both outside of our control (ex. Court) and sometimes far removed from the front lines of serving our youth and families. It is critically important that we exercise patience in working with the wide range of people involved. Our youth, families, court personnel, agency staff, and care providers may have vastly different ideas of the proper timeline for reaching a resolution to our Permanency efforts. When we openly discuss that it is normal for people to be at different levels of readiness and wanting to move at different rates of speed, we set the stage for greater collaboration and understanding among all the parties involved. This will help increase the chances that the resolution of our efforts happens at the right time, not the fastest time.
No One Has Ever Wanted You Here. If You Find a Family That Will Actually Love You, Go Be With Them.
Love What Matters – With a name like Annie, I’m sure you can imagine that the most common nickname I heard growing up was ‘Little Orphan Annie.’ The thing is, though, that was truly who I was for many years of my life. An orphan. A girl growing up without a mother to hold and a father to protect me. A teenager who was torn down and living in fear because of all that happened behind closed doors. A very confused young girl who begged God to set me free from the life of pain I was living in, but was threatened to stay silent about. I was the Little Orphan Annie who’d watch that movie and not care for the mansion but dreamed of the loving family who’d save me from my home. I wanted her happy ending. For so long I was afraid to share my story. I spent years protecting everyone but me. But now I know, more than ever, that my life is a tapestry that God has been weaving with redemption, restoration, and healing. He tells His story through mine. The best part is that He’s still not finished…
Adult adoption is available in many states. We all need families. There is nothing that disqualifies someone from belonging in a family. You’ll never be too old to need parents. No one outgrows the necessity of having a tribe to call their own. I’ve been surrounded by family and friends who continually show me love beyond measure. Biology isn’t required. These are truths I’m learning with each passing day as I identify as a daughter in Heaven and on earth. I’m beyond grateful for this God-dream fulfilled and I’m deeply hopeful for more stories like this as hearts are moved upon to add another seat at their tables. As Jessica Satterfield so beautifully worded it, ‘He asks us to lay down our ideas about what family should look like and listen to His.’ Nothing is impossible with Him!”
Permanency Related Articles:
| Using Big Data to Solve Big New Mexico Problems |
| Sandia National Laboratories – An informal analysis identified about 16,000 families in New Mexico interfacing with public services like child welfare, mental health and substance abuse services, as well as adult and juvenile incarcerations. The state spent about $56,000 per family on services, with no outcomes documented. The NM Appleseed approach is to use scientific rigor to look at results rather than judging effectiveness based on how many people are serviced. Along the way, the analysis could unearth unexpected opportunities to improve outcomes by focusing on specific populations and improvements, as it has when the method was deployed in other states. |
| Clark County, National Partner Mount Effort to Accelerate Adoptions |
| Las Vegas Review-Journal – Clark County (NV) Department of Family Services is collaborating with a nonprofit in hopes of placing over the next year more than 70 foster children who statistics indicate would otherwise have difficulty finding adoptive homes. Teenagers, siblings of three or more and those with medical needs often face additional challenges in being adopted, county officials said Thursday at a news conference announcing the partnership. In response, the county’s Department of Family Services is partnering with The Adoption Exchange to launch two evidence-based programs to enhance recruitment efforts and to give families hands-on training before and after adoption to help their children heal from past trauma. |
Boys Town is Home: A Veteran’s Story
Boys Town – Since Boys Town’s founding in 1917, thousands of our former citizens have proudly served in our country’s armed forces, both in wartime and in peace. More than 70 made the ultimate sacrifice in battle and many more were wounded. All are heroes of the Home where they were given a second chance. As we pause this Veterans Day to honor and remember veterans everywhere, Boys Town is observing this special day by highlighting the life and military career of one of our alums, retired Air Force Colonel John Mollison. Boys Town takes pride in all of its former citizens – men and women – who have protected and defended our great nation. They hold a special place of honor at Boys Town, where children have found healing and hope for more than 100 years.
Positive Youth Development Holds Promise for States Working with Transitioning Youth
Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JJIE) – The transition out of the juvenile justice system has considerable consequences for the transitioning youth, for the neighborhood into which the youth is transitioning and for society more broadly. For youth experiencing homelessness and insecure housing, that transition is particularly challenging. A recent study from Chapin Hall showed that nearly half the nation’s youth who have experienced homelessness have been involved in the justice system and that those without stable housing upon release are more likely to be rearrested.
How do You Engage Teens Who are Resistant to Coming for Therapy?
Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE) – This is such an important question! It is not uncommon for adolescents to experience anxiety, mistrust and refusal in response to their parents’ attempt to bring them in for an initial session. Adolescents who have had multiple previous therapists may feel especially wary of seeing yet another therapist especially if the teen felt these experiences were either unhelpful, negative or both. It is therefore vital that therapists work to set the frame for therapy and give the adolescent some sense of agency over the therapeutic process. I like to encourage teens to be open about why they don’t want to be in therapy and give them a chance to express what their concerns are about therapy. If they’ve been in therapy before, I invite them to share their thoughts and feelings about these previous experiences.
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Sincerely,
Dr. Greg Manning