Permanency Tip of the Week: What a Loss History says about Attachment
When we react to the experience a loss in our lives, it shows that we were attached to that person, place or thing and that is a good thing. When working with children in foster care, sometimes the child may look / act like they have little or no attachment history.
Here are some questions to ask which can help change the narrative of our conversation: 1) Does the child have siblings elsewhere with whom they are not living and / or connected to? 2) Who, when and how did they experience losses related to family, homes, and schools? 3) Were changes in placement, school, and providers framed for the youth and others as a loss? 4) How were these losses grieved (if at all)? If we do not facilitate the processing of the losses for our youth, their natural response may be to emotionally shut down and begin to appear “Attachment unfriendly.”
Permanency Story of the Week: Inspiring Story of One Boy’s Second Chance at Life
On this International Day of Families (2015), Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute is pleased to feature 2015 Angels in Adoption™ Honoree Deirdre DeVeny and her son Sasha DeVeny...When your life changes around you, you have to make changes to yourself. What I learned from this experience was that something bad might happen to you, but in the end something good can come out of it. I also came out of it a different person from the bad experience. Most kids that go through this come out very angry and they grow up being hateful and always getting in trouble with the law. I came out a completely different person; I am a nice caring young man. I will always remember what I went through. Only now I know that I can get through anything because the fear is no more. I am stronger as a person now.
Current Permanency Related Articles:
CTISP – DI – Using Implementation Science When Delivering the RPC
In this 13-minute podcast entry on the Resource Parent Curriculum site, Jared Martin, Research Associate with the Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego—in conversation with Lorena Avitea, LCSW, Trauma Informed Systems Specialist with the Chadwick Trauma Informed Systems Project-Dissemination and Implementation (CTISP-DI)—describes the use of implementation science to accomplish the goal of sustainability. Additionally, Avitea talks about using the four phases of the EPIS (Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment) framework when Chadwick helped Volusia County, Florida Department of Children’s Services to create a countywide RCP “Super Community.”
Attachment-Aware Schools Improve Outcomes for Children in Care
A project that has trained teachers on how to develop strong relationships with looked-after children has seen pupils’ reading and math attainment improve and problem behavior reduce, a study has found. Looked-after children’s attainment improved as a result of intensive support from teachers trained in attachment theory.
Working With Military Families as They Pursue Adoption
This bulletin discusses the positive aspects and potential challenges of working with military families who are pursuing adoption, and it describes the many resources available inside and outside of the military support structure. Positive aspects include the flexibility and diversity of military families, while challenges to the adoption process come from deployments and frequent relocation. Adoption professionals should be aware of the different resources available to military families who wish to adopt.
2016 Rudd-REFCA New Worlds of Adoption and Foster Care Conference: Thriving on the Frontline
Each year the Rudd Adoption Research Program hosts an event to provide evidence-based knowledge to inform adoption policy and practice to the community. We are excited to announce that our 2016 conference will be presented in partnership with the Treehouse Foundation and the Boston College School of Social Work. As you will see on these pages, the conference will be held on the campus of UMass Amherst on Friday, May 13, 2016. Please enjoy our Past Conference Archive, which includes videos, PowerPoint presentations and much more.
We also welcome you to join our email list and Facebook page so you can regularly be updated about our upcoming events.
May Is National Foster Care Month
Reunification with the birth family is both the most common goal for children in foster care as well as the most common outcome. May is National Foster Care Month, and the Children’s Bureau’s National Foster Care Month website provides free resources and tools to help professionals support and educate youth, birth parents, foster parents, and caregivers as they work toward reunification and supporting reunification, depending on their role.
In support of National Foster Care Month, NRCDR created a new webpage with ideas and strategies to help child welfare systems recruit, develop, and support foster parents who are prepared to support reunification when it is the permanency goal for a child in their care.
Human Trafficking Video Series
The Office for Victims of Crime has released the “Faces of Human Trafficking,” a nine-part video series to help service providers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and communities raise awareness of human trafficking. The “Faces of Human Trafficking” videos are entitled the following: (1) An Introduction (2) An Introduction to Sex Trafficking; (3) An Introduction to Labor Trafficking; (4) A Multidisciplinary Approach; (5) Effective Victim Services; (6) Focus on Youth; (7) Legal Needs and Rights of the Victims; (8) The Victim-Centered Case; (9) Now That We Are Free. The video series includes a discussion guide, fact sheets, and posters—all available to download.