Happy New Year!
Permanency Tip of the Week: Responding to Vacillating States of Readiness for Permanency
‘I’m ready, I’m not ready’; ‘I’m not ready, I’m ready’ … When working with Youth, especially older youth, it is critically important that we validate for the Youth that it is totally normal to go back and forth in terms of being “ready” for Permanency. When we step back and look at major decisions that we have made in our lives, it is exceedingly rare to find one in which we did not vacillate about our decision. This vacillation can be a frustrating experience for others, especially potential caregivers and providers; however, that needs to be completely separated from our work with the Youth. When we honor and normalize the experience of the Youth, it helps us to engage them with a sense of care and compassion, which always leads to better outcomes.
Permanency Success Story of the Week: Mary and Scott Lee: An Adoption Story
Child Welfare Information Gateway – ADOPT US Kids – Mary Lee was adopted by her adoption worker, Scott Lee, and his family one week before her 18th birthday. In this short video Mary and Scott talk about why teens need permanent families and the role of social workers in promoting adoption of older youth.
Permanency Related Articles:
A Look Back at 2016: The Year in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare
Chronicle of Social Change – The sun will soon set on a year of great upheaval in the American cultural fabric. The Chicago Cubs are World Series champions. It seemed like a different famous musician or thespian died every day. And of course, a businessman without any political background or ground game trumped an establishment candidate with the backing of a president boasting high approval ratings. For the fields of juvenile justice and child welfare, 2016’s biggest end product was angst about what comes next. Youth Services Insider will address that next week as we look at the big questions for the field heading into 2017.
10 New Year Resolutions for Foster Care
Dr. John DeGarmo – Huffington Post – With more children in foster care now than in years past, the foster care system in the United States is in need of attention, and in some ways, in need of change. While not everyone can be a foster parent, everyone can help a child in foster care in some way, and in some fashion. Here are 10 ways, or 10 New Year Resolutions, for the foster care system for this New Year…With the New Year upon us, we have the opportunity to bring change the foster care system. We have the opportunity to bring healing to children who have very little. We have the opportunity to help children in need. Let us all make that a top resolution this year.
We Have to Partner with Law Enforcement Around Trauma
Youth Today – Often kids experiencing traumatic responses are aggressive; defiant; distrusting of adults and authority figures; experience difficulty processing information; are impulsive; have a heightened fight, flight or freeze response; and are hypersensitive to noise. But to a professional without proper training these behaviors can also be interpreted as combative rather than a traumatic response. Additional Information Child Welfare Information Gateway resource: Role of Law Enforcement in Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect.
Dear Doctor: A Letter from a Survivor of Sexual Trauma to all Medical Professionals
ACES Connection – Dear Doctor – As a medical professional you have taken an oath to do no harm, but there are ways in which you can hurt your patients without even recognizing you are doing so. What seems to you as a simple exam may cause injury to those who have been victimized by someone’s touch. This is a subject that we, survivors of sexual violence, have been meaning to discuss with you for some time now, but your authority can be more intimidating than you may know. I am also unsure if you are aware just how much power you, as a physician, hold and to the extent that you affect the lives of all of your patients. Your interactions with us travel much deeper than the physical core. The relationship between patient and doctor is also mental, built on trust, understanding, and the security of knowing that your doctor has your well-being at heart. We, as your patients, entrust in you the most intimate parts of our bodies and our lives. But, this trust has to be earned and it is much harder for us patients who have been so severely violated. The intent of this letter is not to in any way criticize your work as a physician, but to better inform you of the needs of this specific group of patients…
Sincerely, Carol Chandler – Survivor
Garbage Bag Suitcase – A Memoir
Authored by Shenandoah Chefalo – Garbage Bag Suitcase is the true story of Shenandoah Chefalo’s wholly dysfunctional journey through a childhood with neglectful, drug-and alcohol addicted parents. She endured numerous moves in the middle of the night with just minutes to pack, multiple changes in schools, hunger, cruelty, and loneliness. Garbage Bag Suitcase is not only the inspiring and hair-raising story of one woman’s journey to over- come her desolate childhood, but it also presents grass-root solutions on how to revamp the broken foster care system.
Caregivers Having “The Talk” with Foster Youth – Is there a Guide for That?
John Burton Advocates for Youth – The California Department of Social Services’ Community Care Licensing Division (CCL) has released a technical support resource guide for children’s residential facilities and resource families, “Healthy Sexual Development and Pregnancy Prevention for Youth in Foster Care”.
The guide is intended to provide a basic framework for better understanding the issues concerning the healthy sexual development of youth in foster care and the utilization of available resources…The guide includes hypothetical scenarios under each topic that provide options for how to address various issues; online resources including identifying clinics, educational information on the topics discussed in the resource guide for caregivers and youth, training and tips for caregivers on talking with youth about these topics; and an appendix of laws applicable to the topics discussed.