Permanency Tip of the Week: Secondary Trauma/Burnout/Compassion Fatigue – #4 – What to do
In developing a plan to prevent, mitigate and reverse secondary trauma, burnout, and compassion fatigue: 1) Recognize that both Organizational Change and Self-Care are equally important; 2) Getting and staying connected with healthy relationships ~ Permanency; 3) Finding enjoyment and passion outside of work; 4) Treating and caring for each other as a work family; 5) Managing stress (not trying to prevent it) with healthy and varied coping strategies; 6) Seek out joy and humor in our life and work.
Next week – Our goal is Compassion Satisfaction
Permanency Success Story of the Week: Meet the Couple That Adopted 6 Foster Siblings: ‘These Are Our Babies’
Today Show – Ashley and Alo Moli turned to adoption after learning that they wouldn’t be able to have biological children. They decided to open up their home after learning of six siblings with special needs looking to be adopted. Savannah Guthrie sits down with the couple and their children to talk about the inspiring story.
Permanency Related Articles:
MassLive – Nelly Medina was 9 when her mother, who was addicted to drugs, left her and her two siblings and did not come home. By the time Medina turned 18, she had lived in 14 foster homes and attended 10 public schools. She asked to be emancipated at 16 so she could abort a pregnancy. She ultimately miscarried. There was no consistency in her education, social life or support system. “The biggest problem with the system was they keep moving us around like that,” Medina said. “We didn’t have a place we could stay where we felt welcome.”
Children who age out of foster care without family have increased rates of incarceration, unwanted pregnancy and homelessness. According to the National Foster Youth Institute, 23,000 young people age out of foster care alone each year in the U.S. “They’re the next generation of poor and homeless Americans,” said Judy Cockerton, founder and executive director of Treehouse Foundation in Easthampton, an intergenerational community where families adopting children from the state’s Department of Children and Families live alongside older adults. “Our child welfare system is not a good parent.”…
The problem of children in the foster care system who are unable to find a permanent family is “huge,” said Lesli Suggs, president and CEO of the Home for Little Wanderers, which provides services to children in state care from birth through age 22. Suggs estimates that 600 to 700 kids age out of the foster care system without a permanent family, although DCF pegs the number at closer to 400…Around two years ago, Suggs and James Lister, executive director of Plummer Youth Promise, teamed up with three other social service agencies to start the Massachusetts Permanency Practice Alliance. The groups work to implement new strategies to provide children in state care with someone who can guide them as they transition into adulthood…
Take the ACE Quiz — And Learn What It Does and Doesn’t Mean
NPR – An ACE score is a tally of different types of abuse, neglect, and other hallmarks of a rough childhood. According to the Adverse Childhood Experiences study, the rougher your childhood, the higher your score is likely to be and the higher your risk for later health problems. You can take the test here. So, you’ve got your score. Now what?
First, remember that the ACE score isn’t a crystal ball; it’s just meant as guidance. It tells you about one type of risk factor among many. It doesn’t directly take into account your diet or genes, or whether you smoke or drink excessively — to name just a few of the other major influences on health.
To learn more, check the CDC’s ACE Study website. You’ll find, among other things, a list of studies that explore the ways adverse childhood experiences have been linked to a variety of adult conditions, ranging from increased headaches to depression to heart disease.
Remember this, too: ACE scores don’t tally the positive experiences in early life that can help build resilience and protect a child from the effects of trauma. Having a grandparent who loves you, a teacher who understands and believes in you, or a trusted friend you can confide in may mitigate the long-term effects of early trauma, psychologists say…
Adoption-Friendly Workpace: Bank of America
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption – After spending more than six years in foster care, Miah was adopted by the McClellan family when she was 15 years old. “I knew I had room for children in my home and my heart,” says her mother, Charita. Charita is an employee of Bank of America, which has been recognized on the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list for nine years and counting. “Bank of America’s adoption benefits really helped me during the adoption of Miah,” says Charita. “The process was simple, and the parental leave available is amazing.”…
Right Relationships Crucial to Help Foster Youth Get Into, Through College
Youth Today – Nathanael J. Okpych – Having relationships with resourceful, knowledgeable individuals is important for the college success of young people with foster care histories. Put more simply, relationships with the right people matter. Education researcher Ricardo Stanton-Salazar, who writes about the importance of social connections for students who are underrepresented in higher education, describes characteristics of individuals who are particularly influential. These are people who are not related to students, who occupy a position of high status and authority, and who can link students to resources (tangible and intangible) that are highly valued. Stanton-Salazar calls these people institutional agents…
The importance of institutional agents was demonstrated in a recent study of more than 700 young people in California foster care. The researchers investigated several different types of social relationships to see what was important for increasing the chances that foster youth enrolled in college by age 19/20. A measure for institutional agents was created that included individuals who the youth named as someone who could be relied on for advice and/or practical help (e.g., a ride, borrow money) and who had gone to college. These were people like their high school teachers, guidance counselors, child welfare workers, mentors, therapists and non-relative foster parents…
A recent study of more than 300 young people in foster care underscored the toll that trauma-related emotional guardedness and self-reliance can have on the college outcomes of foster youth. The researchers found that, for foster youth who went to college, being more emotionally guarded and self-reliant hurt their chances of persisting to the second year in college and ultimately graduating. This was explained in part by these young people having less support from their social connections. This is a challenge for adults who see foster youth who could benefit from help and are eager to give them time, information and encouragement. Their interest may not be reciprocated. This is understandable from the perspective of the young people, who have learned that relationships can be disappointing, painful and even dangerous…
BREAKTHROUGH: A True Story of Love
National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) – A mother’s love drives the incredible true story told in BREAKTHROUGH, which opens in theaters everywhere next Wednesday, April 17. Chrissy Metz and Josh Lucas play Joyce and Brian Smith, who adopted their son John (Marcel Ruiz) from Guatemala. Watch as director Roxann Dawson, herself an adoptive mother, shares how the Smiths’ story connected with her.
Releasing the Wednesday of Easter week, BREAKTHROUGH is the ideal movie to see when you are with your family and friends next week. Be inspired: get your tickets today for BREAKTHROUGH.
Some of the most influential adoption and foster-care organizations are partnering with BREAKTHROUGH to help share the love of this movie. To learn more about these vital issues, be sure to connect with the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and the National Foster Parent Association. You can find out more about them and other movie partners on the movie’s website.
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