Permanency Tip of the Week: Addressing Multiple Losses in the Permanency Process
Working with a Youth who has just suffered a loss can be very challenging. What happens if the Youth has had a serious of losses and you are trying to secure new sources of Permanency for them? We have to be open and honest with ourselves, the Youth and the new sources of Permanency that their past losses do matter and will have some degree of impact on their experience, perception and timing of the pursuit of the new sources of Permanency. By honoring their past, we can go a long way in helping them to come to terms with their past and slowly begin to open themselves up for these new sources of Permanency.
Permanency Story of the Week: Letter to a foster parent – You Are My Real Family
Growing up, Catherine Pearson alternated between living with foster parents and her birth mother. Now 34 years old, she wrote this open letter to the sixteen foster families who cared for her and taught her lessons that influenced her well into adulthood…I want you to know that I graduated from college with honors. I know you would have been proud. I wished you were there. I didn’t know what to do with the family tickets that I was given for the graduation. I think I may still have them. I became a Christian, and I have been married for 14 years. I have three kids, and I have done everything possible to be the best mom to them. I took in foster kids, too, and told them all about you! Though I don’t have but a handful of pictures from my childhood, I do have clear memories of you. I think of you all the time. You are my real family.
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Current Permanency Related Articles:
Los Angeles County Probation – Finding Permanency
This 2014 Statewide Probation Permanency Report details some of the rich permanency work performed in Probation Child Welfare around the state. Since many myths and misinformation exist in relation to Probation foster youth being wanted and being adoptable, the counties decided to compile stories within this report to share all the wonderful things that are happening statewide connecting youth and placing them in permanent families. For more information please contact Lisa Campbell-Motton, Probation Child Welfare Director, Lisa.Campbell@probation.lacounty.gov
Successes and Challenges of Transitioning LGBTQ Youth from Congregate Care
As part of the 2015 National Foster Care Month initiative, the Children’s Bureau, in collaboration with Child Welfare Information Gateway, hosted a free, interactive webinar about supporting permanency for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The webinar highlighted how the Children’s Bureau supports child welfare agencies in improving workers’ competency in serving both LGBTQ youth in care and prospective LGBT foster and adoptive families.
Building Community, Building Hope
The film Building Community, Building Hope highlights three innovative programs working to prevent and respond to child maltreatment by engaging parents and communities and forming the partnerships needed to ensure the safety and well-being of all children and families.
Managing Fear and Trauma as A Foster Parent
Does it ever feel impossible to manage your own fear and trauma as a parent? How about those same feelings and challenges that come up for your child? In this interview, Dr. John DeGarmo explores:1) What to do when nothing eases a child’s anxiety; 2) How to keep going when you are weary and burnt out; 3) Specific ways to reaffirm love to an anxious/angry/emotionally traumatized child.
The Reality of Child Sex Trafficking and Foster Children
Child Sex Trafficking. It’s an ugly secret that many in the 21st century simply do not know about. It is also an ugly dark secret that many today wish to ignore. Yet, today’s children are at risk more than ever. For children in foster care, it is an ever present danger. Sadly, the search for love for many children in foster care leads to a road of sexual exploitation…
Children with Traumatic Separation: Information for Professionals
The relationship with a parent or primary caregiver is critical to a child’s sense of self, safety, and trust. However, many children experience the loss of a caregiver—either permanently or for varying amounts of time—due to death due to other circumstances. Children with Traumatic Separation: Information for Professionals is a 5-page fact sheet that gives information on traumatic separation, challenges children may face, post-traumatic responses children may have, and suggestions for helping children who experience traumatic separation from a caregiver.