Greetings Permanency Champions,
Permanency Tip of the Week:
When engaging a youth with newly found connections, make an effort to work with the connections ahead of time on how to be as “trauma informed” as possible. Remind them of the importance of observing and responding in a sensitive manner to the non-verbal cues that our Youth often will send out (eye movement, rate of breathing, body movement / posture, etc.) when their trauma / abuse / neglect history may be activated and lead them to feel emotionally un-safe.
Story of the Week:
A Mother’s Day Love Story – National Casa
Five years ago, my future as a mother was in a judge’s hands. My little girl, Arianna, had been taken from me. She was living with strangers. The day Arianna was removed from our home was the day I vowed to turn my life around. Convincing others that I could succeed in getting clean and making a good home for my daughter was not easy. Many people questioned my determination. But not Linda, Arianna’s CASA volunteer. She could see how hard I was working and how much I loved my little girl. Before Linda, I felt like a number in the system – another mom in rehab claiming that I would change my ways. But Linda saw through the doubt and cynicism. She recognized that I was doing everything I could to be the loving and reliable mom Arianna needed. Linda’s advocacy for my daughter and faith in me helped others see that the best place for Arianna was with me.
I’ve been clean and sober for five years now. Arianna is thriving. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world. I’m not sure I would’ve made it so far if it hadn’t been for Linda.
With gratitude, Helen Horant
Current Permanency related articles:
May Newsletter containing Support Group information and the latest news on some of the Adoption Support Services in Los Angeles County (Please see attachment)
Dr. John DeGarmo – Are you Keeping your Foster Child Safe Online?
“Recently I was asked by a foster parent to give some advice about their fifteen year old foster daughter, one they were hoping to adopt. The fifteen year old wanted to keep in touch with a half-sister of hers, one that was in her 40’s and who did not desire to adopt her. The teenager also wants to keep in touch with some of her friends from a previous placement in another foster home. To be sure, one of the most difficult thing about being a foster child is having everything you know taken from you. I have watched many foster teens in my own home struggle with having to make new friends in their new school, and in the church we attend, while at the same time grieving the friends and family members they were taken from.”
Educational Specialists Boost Foster Youth Achievement in Washington State
The Chronicle of Social Change – Washington state-based foster youth support agency Treehouse just released their recent Semester 1 Report Card, which illustrates the current state of their “Graduation Success” program, noting specifically the increase in course performance for foster youth participants. The number of students achieving “Course performance,” which means a youth did not fail any courses, rose from 34 percent to 61 percent within the last year.
Graduation Success provides foster youth with one-on-one Treehouse Education Specialists, to work with middle and high school foster students on graduating and enrolling in higher institutions. The main idea behind the program is to bring up the foster youth graduation rate to that similar to their non-foster youth peers in King County.
How Can We Ensure Educational Success for Dependent Youth in Congregate Care?
The Legal Center for Foster Care and Education, a collaboration of the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Juvenile Law Center, and Education Law Center, has announced their newest Question and Answer factsheet on the educational needs of children in foster care. This factsheet focuses on youth who live in congregate care settings. (2014)
May – National Foster Care Month
For a child in foster care, an asset is someone to count on. For National Foster Care Month in May, CWLA is spotlighting children’s assets — the humble heroes of our community: mothers, fathers, grandparents, kin, social workers, foster parents, teachers, coaches, pastors, and mentors — to raise awareness about the importance of supporting children and youth. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to read inspiring stories and encourage others to be the one person who is an indispensable asset to a child.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act: 40 Years of Safeguarding America’s Children
The Children’s Bureau and its Office on Child Abuse and Neglect have developed this online publication to commemorate the 40th anniversary of passage of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). Passage of CAPTA in 1974 marked the nation’s first major step forward in addressing the issue of child abuse and neglect. This publication combines historical source materials with contemporary reflections on the impact of the legislation from leaders in the field.
Mary Eschelbach Hansen – The human services cost of adoption is about half the cost of long-term foster care for children whose birth parents’ rights have been terminated. Because adoption is an effective intervention for improving a variety of outcomes for those exposed to adverse childhood experiences, the total savings to government in areas such as special education and criminal justice is of the same magnitude as the child welfare savings. The private benefit to adopted children in terms of additional income earned over their working lives is similarly large. In all, a dollar spent on the adoption of a child from foster care yields about three dollars in benefits.
This year marks an important milestone in California’s effort to improve educational outcomes for youth in foster care. Ten years ago, California became the first state in the country to provide foster youth with an extensive set of educational rights. Modeled after the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, California’s Assembly Bill 490 was designed to increase school stability for youth in foster care, to ensure that they are placed in mainstream classrooms, to speed up the school enrollment and record transfer processes, and to ensure foster youth receive partial credit for classwork and other grade protections.
President’s Budget to Address Psychotropic Drugs and Foster Youth
In early March of 2014, when President Barack Obama announced his budget proposal, many child advocates were encouraged to see that he had included at least $750 million for a five-year demonstration project (a partnership between Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Administration for Children and Families) to address the over prescription of psychotropic medications to children in foster care.