Permanency Tip of the Week: NO One Ever Has No One
Whenever you hear someone say or sense yourself thinking that “this child has no one,” please stop and reconsider the validity of that statement. When this negative and faulty belief is held, it gets conveyed to the child in our thoughts, words, and actions. Permanency efforts have repeatedly shown that everyone has someone, in fact, everyone has a lot of people in this world. These people can and will be identified if we ask the right questions and are diligent in our search efforts. Starting with the premise that everyone has someone enables us to focus our efforts on finding those people which is a far more strength-based approach than trying to disprove the notion that a child has no one in this world.
Permanency Success Story of the Week: Child Welfare Worker Adopts Teen She has been Helping to Find a Family
NBC Latino – Corpus Christi, TX — A dream came true for a local foster child who never had a permanent place to call home. That all changed thanks to one family who granted his wish, 24 hours before it was too late. Damien Cavazos waited his whole life for a family to call his own and he was all smiles Tuesday after being adopted into his new family . “It’s just real special, I got adopted and its one day right before my birthday. I’ve always wanted brothers and sisters and now I have them and everything,” Damien said. Damien turns 18 years old Wednesday and would’ve aged out of the adoption system, leaving him with no one to call Mom and Dad. Rebecca Cavazos, a child protective services employee, wasn’t going to let that happen…
Permanency Related Articles:
Addressing Trauma May Be the Key to Helping Foster Youth Succeed in the Workplace
Chronicle of Social Change – Internships can often serve as an important leg up for young people trying to gain work experience and build relationships with employers. But few foster youth participate in such opportunities. A recent study of California foster youth at age 21 found that only 30 percent had completed an internship, apprenticeship or other on-the-job training in the past year.
One big issue for why many foster youth aren’t able to capitalize on the benefits of internships is trauma, according to the RightWay Foundation, a Los Angeles nonprofit that helps coordinate an internship program for foster youth. “People have an idea that trauma is something that only veterans experience,” said Andraya Slyter, director of programs at the RightWay Foundation. “But there are a lot of other people, foster youth in particular, that experience levels of trauma.”
That’s why the organization offers a special class for employers in its Creative Career Pathways Program (CCPP) and other providers who work with foster youth. The hope is that greater awareness of trauma and other challenges faced by foster youth will help with retention efforts…
Understanding Trauma: Learning Brain vs Survival Brain
Jacob Ham – YouTube – This video reframes a trauma perspective in terms of learning brain versus survival brain as a way to make it easier for teachers to talk about trauma with students.
Family First Prevention Services Act Update
On behalf of the Children’s Bureau (CB) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, I am writing to provide an update on federal efforts to implement the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). I share with you below the major efforts that CB has made to date, and will be making in the future, in support of states and tribes to ensure that the FFPSA is implemented in ways that best serve children and families.
The FFPSA is an important tool that, if utilized effectively, will help move child welfare in the United States to a more preventative system that works to strengthen families and reduce unnecessary family disruption. As I am sure you are aware, it is also a highly complex piece of legislation that requires the CB, tribes and states to work together to make critical decisions that will affect the lives of children and families. The states and tribes must make significant decisions regarding policy, practice, and service array. It is CB’s hope that the resulting thoughtful and well-informed decisions by states and tribes will re-shape the way the child welfare system serves children and families.
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption – 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption – More than 25 years ago, Dave Thomas led an initiative advocating for better adoption benefits in the workplace, because to him, it was just “the right thing to do.” The Foundation has carried that legacy forward through its signature Adoption-Friendly Workplace program and annual 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list, which recognizes organizations that strive to make adoption a supported option for every working parent.
No matter how families are formed, new parents need time to bond with their children. Providing support for employees throughout the adoption process promotes loyalty, productivity and employee wellbeing…
How Direct Work that Empowers Families is Delivering Big Benefits for Social Workers in this Council
Lincolnshire County Council (England) – “In the last six months we’ve seen our looked-after children figures come down, our child protection numbers go down and the time children spend on child protection plans reduce,” says Danielle Marshall, the Signs of Safety restorative practice lead at Lincolnshire County Council.
The driver of these breakthroughs are the new practice approaches the authority’s been introducing in recent months as it enters phase two of its adoption of the Signs of Safety model. Phase two involves the council stepping up its embrace of restorative- and relationships-based practice through the introduction of family network meetings and Safety Plans that put families at the heart of the solution to improving children’s lives.
“We’re moving away from this idea that we come in with a magic wand and tell families what to do,” says Danielle. “What we’re doing now is much more a ‘done with’ approach that combines the restorative principles of high challenge, high support and Signs of Safety principles.”
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Take care and keep up the Permanency work – Our children, youth, young adults, families, and communities are depending on it!