Permanency Tip of the Week: Responding to: “You Care for Me Because Your Being Paid”
Our Youth in out of home care have had a wide range of relationships with authority figures in their life (parents, caregivers, providers, judges, attorneys, law enforcement, etc.). We need to be keenly aware that many of our Youth feel objectified by others and that if they were being paid to provide the care/service, that they would not even care about them at all. I can remember the first time when a Youth told me that I care about him only because I am being paid. I was unprepared for that statement, it hurt me greatly, and I reacted defensively stating that his statement was not true. After much reflection, growth, and experience, I have come to shift my response. I now generally respond “Yes, I am being paid for working with you; however, I choose to be here and have the opportunity to work with you.” We need to honor our Youth’s experience and at the same time work diligently to help reshape their view and experience of current and future relationships.
Permanency Success Story of the Week: Our Child is Perfect, Even When He Isn’t
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids – People often say that our son is ‘lucky’ to have us, but they could never understand that we are the ones who are truly lucky and blessed to have him. My husband, Cody, and I had thought about adoption for a while. But adopting a teenager was never the plan until it was. Cody is a middle school teacher and had a 14-year-old student named Latrell. Cody and Latrell formed a bond that extended from class to extracurricular activities. And it was during this time that Cody learned that Latrell was in foster care. Months later, I met Latrell.
Latrell spent eight years in foster care. He needed a family. Before we finished the certification process, Latrell was moved to Monroe, Louisiana, which was about two hours away. Frustrated, but not deterred, we pressed on. We exchanged phone numbers, became Facebook friends and traveled to Monroe to take Latrell to dinner so we could see him and continue getting to know him…To anyone considering foster care adoption, a teenager can bring out the most love and hope a person can have in their heart. We are so lucky to have met Latrell and be given the opportunity to bring him into our family. He is the light of our world, and we couldn’t imagine life without him in it.
Permanency Related Articles:
November is National Adoption Awareness Month
Adoptions with Love – This initiative, funded by the Children’s Bureau, works to raise public awareness of adoption and bring attention to the need for permanent, loving homes for the many children in foster care. Every year, National Adoption Month is dedicated to a special adoption-related theme, which helps support professionals working each day to match children with forever families. This year’s theme is: “In Their Own Words: Lifting Up Youth Voices,” which highlights the needs of older children in U.S. foster care.
It is common knowledge that teenagers are adopted much less frequently than newborns and infants, largely due to their age. Because of this, teenagers are much more likely to “age out” of foster care, without ever gaining valuable family support or a permanent place to call “home.” Their well-being, as result, is often compromised. Placing older adolescents in healthy, stable care is an important step in ensuring that our youth have positive and successful futures. This is what National Adoption Month 2018 is all about. 1) The History of National Adoption Month; 2) The Importance of National Adoption Month; 3) What is Adoption?; 4) Celebrating National Adoption Month 2018
Can People Be Saved From A Terrible Childhood?
The Guardian – When Sabrina Bugget-Kellum walked into a neighborhood clinic in New York for a routine appointment in 2016, she was desperate. Her son was in prison. She was trying to look after his two young children, who were aged one and two. Their mother was emotionally unstable. Bugget-Kellum did not want the chaos of the adults’ lives passed down to another generation. “We didn’t know if they would be safe with their mother,” she recalled recently. “I began to pray, please God, I need some help. There were so many things going on.”
While at the clinic, Bugget-Kellum learned about a new parenting programme designed for carers of young children who have faced early adversity such as domestic abuse, homelessness or the loss of a parent to incarceration. “It was like I had my ammunition and I knew how to fight,” said Bugget-Kellum of the programme. The scheme, called Attachment and Biobehavioural Catch-up (ABC), pairs parents with a coach trained in the needs of infants and toddlers who have experienced trauma…
Using Data to Improve the Well-being of Infants, Toddlers, and their Families
National Association of Counties – Counties across the United States offer a range of supports and services to infants, toddlers, and their families, including home visitation, early intervention, and family support services, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Each program and service requires the collection of data on the children and families served, but these data are typically collected for federal or state reporting purposes, rather than for quality improvement. By examining the data already being collected—and collecting additional information about young children and their families—counties can make better-informed decisions to promote the well-being of these populations.
Specifically, data can indicate where to prioritize needs and investments. The data can also be used to track progress on these investments over time. Collecting, sharing, analyzing, and using data is not without challenges; this blog explores the benefits of collecting and using data to understand infant and toddler well-being and highlights ways to overcome common challenges.
Should Childhood Trauma Be Treated As A Public Health Crisis?
NPR – When public health officials get wind of an outbreak of Hepatitis A or influenza, they spring into action with public awareness campaigns, monitoring, and outreach. But should they be acting with equal urgency when it comes to childhood trauma? A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests the answer should be yes. It shows how the effects of childhood trauma persist and are linked to mental illness and addiction in adulthood. And, researchers say, it suggests that it might be more effective to approach trauma as a public health crisis than to limit treatment to individuals…
The policy implications are clear, says Jonathan Purtle, a mental health policy researcher and assistant professor at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health. “We need to prevent these things from happening to children and support family and community so that people can be more resilient,” he says. Policymakers can create coalitions around issues like mental health and trauma-informed approaches in contexts like education and healthcare, he says. One step in that direction comes with the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a bipartisan bill to address the opioid crisis that was signed into law October 24.
“It’s more than just ‘toughen up and deal with it,’ ” he says.
“A lot of it comes down to people not having to live their lives in a state of chronic and constant stress.”
Trump Declares National Adoption Month, says ‘Every Child is Wanted’
Catholic News Agency – President Donald Trump issued a presidential proclamation Oct. 31 declaring November 2018 to be “National Adoption Month.” The president called adoption a “life-changing act” and a “blessing for all involved.” In addition to assisting families who seek to adopt, Trump said, “we must also encourage all Americans to recognize that adoption is a powerful way to show women they are not alone in an unexpected pregnancy…”
National Adoption Month will honor the thousands of families in this country who chose to adopt, said Trump. Trump also highlighted the plight of the nation’s growing foster-care system, and said that he appealed to “families, communities, and houses of worship across our great Nation to help these children find a permanent home.”
The president said it was “unfortunate” that many children in the foster system reach the age of 18 without being adopted, and that “these children deserve a permanent family” that will provide them with love and stability…
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