Permanency Tip of the Week: Permanency for the Caregiver(s)
When working to secure Permanency for our Youth in foster care, we should also assess the level of Permanency for the relatives who we locate and with whom the Youth may potentially live. Given a history of lacking Permanency, the adjustment process for our Youth into family homes can be a particularly rough one. This adjustment process requires caregiver(s) who have a strong levels of their own Permanency so that they will have people that they can lean on for support when the going gets rough. It also creates an even richer and more diverse Permanency experience for the Youth. Let’s make sure that everyone with whom we work has Permanency in place!
Permanency Story of the Week: Meet the Ranko Family
With the adoption finalization on November 19, 2014, Liz and Stanley Ranko began a new chapter in their lives as they became the official parents to 5-year-old Angelina. After experiencing a lot of sleepless nights, stress, and waiting, the family describes that day as being very surreal. “We had her since she was 5-days-old, and knowing that she was finally ours felt like a huge relief,” said Liz. The Rankos saw adoption as a wonderful way to build a family. Angelina adds plenty of joy to their lives as she is described as outgoing and loves putting a smile on her mom’s face.
Please visit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption – Wednesday’s Child Program for more information and success stories.
Current Permanency related articles:
NCAP – Adam Pertman and Graham Wright: Getting to the heart of foster children’s problems
Special to the Mercury News – It is heartening to hear that the Legislature may finally address the chronic overuse of psychotropic medications for children in foster care in California, as described in this newspaper’s series “Drugging Our Kids.” As lawmakers craft a solution to this distressing problem, it is critically important to point out that genuinely helping the tens of thousands of children at risk — in the short term and for the long run — will require systemic changes that go far beyond more wisely writing prescriptions, reducing their numbers and finding alternatives to them. Adam Pertman is president of the National Center on Adoption and Permanency (NCAP). Graham Wright is an NCAP senior consultant based in San Jose.
Adopting Through Foster Care: a Less Expensive Alternative
A private domestic or international adoption can cost tens of thousands of dollars. But Americans wishing to expand their family have another option that costs next to nothing: adopting through foster care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Children’s Bureau reports that nearly 400,000 American children were in foster care in 2012, and about a quarter of those were waiting to be adopted. Information Gateway resource: Adopting Children from Foster Care.
Foundations for Understanding Self-Regulation from an Applied Developmental Perspective
This report, which is the first in a series of four inter-related reports titled Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress, provides a comprehensive framework for understanding self-regulation in context, using a theoretical model that reflects the influence of biology, caregiving, and the environment on the development of self-regulation. In the present report, the authors introduce and describe a set of seven key principles that summarize our understanding of self-regulation development in context.
New study examines the effects of ‘open’ adoption on families
Adopted children who are satisfied with how much they can communicate with their birth parents do better, according to new research out Monday from the University of Massachusetts that identifies the benefits of “open” adoptions. Data from the first of its kind, two decade-long study suggest that adopted children are better adjusted and have fewer behavior problems when they are happy with how much contact they have with their birth parents. Dr. Harold Grotevant, Rudd Family Foundation Chair at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, says the data debunk the theory that open adoptions confuse children.
Child Trends – 5 Things to Know About Adoption
1) The number of children waiting to be adopted from foster care is declining. 2) Post-adoption contact with birth families is common. 3) Sibling contact provides continuity for adopted children. 4) The number of same-sex couples with adopted children in the home is on the rise. 5) Children and families benefit from post-adoption supports.
Strategies for Sibling Adoptions and Foster Placements
Most children and teens in foster care have brothers and sisters. The accounts of youth advocates and foster care alumni have focused attention on sibling relationships and the pain incurred when sibling bonds are strained or severed while children are in out-of-home care. Adopt US Kids provides a large collection of resources and program examples: 1) Promoting and Supporting Sibling Connections; 2) State Examples of Ways to Maintain Sibling Connections ; 3) Promoting Permanency for Siblings and Youth; 4) Recruiting Adoptive Families