Permanency Tip of the Week: Parenting this Child Like All Their Other Children
When working with foster parents (or teachers), the question is often asked “Why can’t I parent (teach) this child exactly like I have parented all my children from birth (students)? The problems with that idea are two-fold: 1) Children with histories of trauma, abuse, neglect and loss generally do not respond to parenting / discipline / instruction in the same way as children without those histories. 2) No parent or teacher treats all of their children / students in the same way since every child / student is unique (even those that are identical twins). Let us be sure that we focus on the unique needs of each individual using a trauma informed and permanency focused lens.
Permanency Story of the Week: Now I Know What Family Means
Lorraine Hayward was 22 years old when she was adopted by Nicole and Mark Hayward. She had met the couple through You Gotta Believe, an organization that focuses on finding permanent families for older youth. Lorraine shares with AdoptUSKids her feelings about family and advice to prospective parents.
Current Permanency related articles:
“Justice is priceless, and in justice, there must be resolve. That is our job,” said Dr. Sandra Morgan, director of Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice and keynote speaker for the luncheon. “We need to educate every teacher, school-based professional, probation officer, healthcare provider, and child welfare worker because this is happening in our own community, and these human trafficking victims have worth and value.”
Refining Residential Treatment in CA: Evaluation Case Study
This evaluation case study briefly describes a multiyear demonstration project aimed at transforming California’s current system of long-term residential treatment center and group home care into a system of residentially based services programs. The goal was to improve both care and long-term success without increasing costs to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program by producing savings from reduced lengths of stay in high-cost group care that would offset increased upfront costs for services.
Reference: Pecora, P.J., Blackwell, D. & Davis, M. (2015). Implementing Group Care Reform in California: The RBS Case Study. Seattle: Casey Family Programs.
Chinese Girls Raised in America Find Their Identity
Voice of America – Over the past two years, Ms. Ludtke has helped her daughter and another Chinese-born girl document their return to their rural home. Jennie Lytel-Sternberg, 19, was at the same orphanage as Maya and was adopted by another woman living in the same part of the U.S.
Preventing Repeat Pregnancies by System-Involved Moms
Chronicle of Social Change – Last week, I wrote about the need to address teen pregnancy among youth in foster care. This week, I focus on repeat pregnancies among mothers who are already involved with the child welfare system. This includes mothers with children in foster care and those who are being supervised by the child welfare agency due to abuse or neglect.
AAP Recommends Close Monitoring of Foster Children by Pediatricians
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that medical care for children in foster/kinship care occur in a pediatric medical home that is educated on the effects of trauma/toxic stress on children and adolescents, is able to communicate with caseworkers and foster caregivers, and is able to provide comprehensive and frequent monitoring.
Number of US Children in Foster Care Up Sharply
For the first time in a decade, there was a notable increase last year in the number of U.S. children in foster care, according to new federal figures released Wednesday. The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services tallied 415,129 children in the foster care system as of September 30, 2014, up from about 401,000 a year earlier. The peak was 524,000 children in foster care in 2002, and the number had dropped steadily since 2005 before rising slightly in 2013.