Greetings Permanency Champions,
Permanency Tip of the Week: The Goal of Finding Joy – In Our Youth Finding Permanency
One of the self-protection/preservation strategies that our Youth in out of home care may develop in response to repeated experiences of trauma, abuse, neglect, and loss is to pull back both their engagement in relationships and experiencing of emotions. One of the emotions that our Youth likely miss out on the most is Joy. When we provide them with the opportunity to regain Permanency in their life, we also give them the gift of being able to once again open themselves to experience emotions again, particularly Joy. Let’s go out there and help our Youth find and keep Joy in their lives!
Permanency Success Story of the Week: From 15 Foster Homes to One Adoptive Family
Boys and Girls Aid – Alex moved between 15 foster homes over 11 years. He had lost hope in ever finding a forever family until Jenny and Stephen stepped forward. With the support of Boys & Girls Aid, Alex now has an amazing bond with his adoptive parents.
Permanency Related Articles:
Infographic Demystifying Foster Care
Creating A Family – May is National Foster Care Month. Help spread awareness and find homes for the 400,000+ kids in foster care in the US by sharing this infographic on foster care.
Source: Simmons School of Social Work
Talking About Adoption: A Birth Mother’s Perspective
Adoptions With Love – Years ago, Adoptions With Love met a courageous young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy; she knew she could not provide for a baby at the time and wanted her daughter to have the best possible life. With great love and consideration, she created an open adoption plan and chose the right family to raise her daughter.
While this birth mother does not go sharing her adoption story from rooftops, she does take the time to help others understand adoption when the opportunity arises. When hearing negative comments about adoption, she takes time to educate others on talking about it positively or helps them to think about it from a different angle. In this interview, C shares her thoughts on adoption language and provides advice for others on how to talk about adoption the “right” way…
CA Assembly Signals Support for Emergency Hotline for Foster Kids
Public News Service – A California State Assembly subcommittee voted Thursday to include in its budget a proposal to create a statewide hotline to help foster parents and children. The idea is to reduce the involvement of local police when there are confrontations between foster parents and children, who are often traumatized and may act out. Susanna Kniffen senior director of child welfare policy with the nonprofit Children Now says the teams could de-escalate tense situations, intervening in ways that are helpful, not punitive.
Know Your Story, Tell Your Story: Build Relationships and Resilience and Begin Healing
ACEs Connection – Know your story, is a concept I learned through my own self-development and reflection. I kept finding myself in these precarious situations in my life and when I dug deep it all made sense. You can read my story by clicking on this link. I now realize that I also want to know the stories of others in my life, I ask friends questions about their childhood and again, things add up.
I also hear from others that people don’t want to talk about their story because it is too painful. Well, what I find “too painful” is knowing that a young man just shot people in his school because he wanted someone to “know his story.”
The other reality is that many people who read my story thank me for sharing it because it helps them to realize that they are not alone. The shame and secrecy that results from not knowing and talking about your story are unhealthy. As Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. says: “In order to understand trauma, we have to overcome our natural reluctance to confront that reality and cultivate the courage to listen to the testimonies of survivors…”
Doctors are Burning Out and Trite ‘Wellness’ Measures Aren’t Helping
Center for Health Journalism – “I’m already beat. The trick is to not let the caring get to you.” These were the words recently uttered by one of my physician colleagues, referring to the stresses of caring for patients in the world of modern health care. The weariness was clear over the phone. Without missing a step, I responded, “I know. Of course.” It took me weeks to realize that it might be concerning that I immediately empathized with her sense of being submerged and overpowered by an uncaring health care system.
Burnout is a syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, cynicism and a pervading sense of professional ineffectiveness. What my colleague was referring to was the pervasive sense that her time with patients was being devalued in favor of other administrative tasks. For those suffering from burnout, patients, caregivers, and other providers are all reduced to objects, or worse, obstacles, rather than people worthy of respect and care. With the problem reaching epidemic levels, it’s no exaggeration to say burnout is the most pressing human resource problem we face in healthcare today…
-
Please forward this blog, via email and/or social media, to other Permanency Champions and those that could use a healthy dose of Permanency.
-
If this Blog has been forwarded to you, please sign up to receive it directly by going to my website or emailing me: drgregmanning@gmail.com.
-
If you are interested in my keynote speaking, professional training or consulting services, please contact me through my website, call me: 949-683-0753 or email: drgregmanning@gmail.com
-
Take care and keep up the Permanency work – Our children, youth, young adults, families, and communities are depending on it!