Permanency in the News Blog – Week of 11-11-13
Greetings Permanency Champions,
‘A sense of identity’: Adult adoptions offer instant roots to a chosen few
For scattered people, including those who grew up in foster care, new parents are finally found through chance meetings. Jamari Hernandez, a 19-year-old woman, “bounced around” group homes for five years after she was removed from a biological mother with an alcohol addiction, she said. This is part of a week-long series “Choosing Adoption” on TODAY.
That maternal ‘moment’: When parents first bond with adopted child
For adoptive parents, that feeling of familial connection often comes later. But many TODAY Moms Facebook readers who have adopted children will tell you: There is definitely a moment. This is part of a week-long series “Choosing Adoption” on TODAY.
Childhood maltreatment can leave scars in the brain [Includes audio]
Maltreatment during childhood can lead to long-term changes in brain circuits that process fear, researchers say. This could help explain why children who suffer abuse are much more likely than others to develop problems like anxiety / depression later on.
Health Insurance for Young Adults Who Used to Be in Foster Care
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections – Young adults who left foster care at 18 years old or older and will be younger than 26 years old on January 1, 2014 can get Medicaid health insurance coverage until they are 26 years old. But they have to sign up! Caseworkers should talk with teenagers/young adults who will be leaving foster care soon about signing up so they will have Medicaid health insurance until they are 26 years old. Youth who were in foster care and returned home, or were adopted or stayed with other family, may still be able to get Medicaid depending on their income.
Support National Adoption Day Nov. 23
Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) – Help support National Adoption Day on Nov. 23. This national effort to raise awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families is an annual, one-day event celebrated the Saturday before every Thanksgiving. It honors families who adopt, encourages others to adopt children from foster care and builds collaboration among local adoption agencies, courts and advocacy organizations.
Building an institution of social change
Three years ago, I set off on the road with a cameraman and an idea: That we could use solution- based journalism to drive public and political will behind improving the foster care system, says Daniel Heimpel. What is clear is that the theory of change we tested, “On the Road With FMC,” works: that solution-based journalism — the simple exposition of truth — is often the most compelling tool to impel positive reform to systems that serve children.
Former foster kids still connect with special shelter
“I think the way to really measure success would be an active, strong, giving alumni association,” said Steve Elson, Executive Director of Casa Pacifica, a nonprofit residential treatment center in Camarillo for abused or neglected children.
Out of foster care, into college
A growing number of colleges – from those that are selective, like UCLA, to those that are not, like Los Angeles City College – have created extensive support programs aimed at current and former foster young people.
Foster care adoptions: a federal success story
The Boston Globe – Few laws have had a more dramatic impact on America’s most vulnerable children than the Adoptions and Safe Families Act, signed by President Clinton in 1997.
Granger, Bass Introduce international adoption bill
The Children in Families First (CHIFF) Act would simplify the process for families who want to adopt internationally and help foreign governments develop stronger child welfare systems that can find a caring family for every child in need.