Permanency Tip of the Week: Learning From Their History – Housing and Services
In order to make the most informed decisions related to preparing a Youth for Permanency, we can learn a lot about what to do and potentially what not to do by assessing their strengths, areas of concerns and successes related to their history of living situations. Some questions to ask include: With whom, where and why was the child successful and struggled in different living situations? Foster home, group home, relative caregivers. The same can be applied to assessing with whom, where and why was the child successful and / or struggled in response to different services (individual / group / family therapy, medication, behavioral coaching) and service providers (male / female, professional / para-professional, older / younger).
Permanency Story of the Week: Meet The Crenshaw Family
Adopt US Kids – Our new three-part video series provides a behind-the-scenes look at the adoption journey of a dynamic Illinois family, which includes six children who joined the family through adoption or legal guardianship. The Crenshaws wanted to share their adoption story and invited AdoptUSKids to spend a few days filming their family in action.
Current Permanency Related Articles:
Using Language to Give Foster Children a Sense of Belonging
When foster parents use words that emphasize a sense of belonging, it can be a powerful tool to help ease foster children into a new home and even enhance the possibility that it will be a successful placement. When a foster parent says, “This is our house; this is your room,” to a foster child, they’re relaying an important message of belonging…This is known as “claiming language,” and its consistent use by foster parents plays a critical role when foster children enter a new home. These children are better able to adapt when they feel a sense of belonging, and even further, know that their foster parents will advocate for them and help with the stressful transition to different schools and neighborhoods.
Cultural Competence and Trauma Informed
First thought when thinking about cultural competence, is the aspect of being aware of the cultural differences, backgrounds, and nationalities of this diverse world we live in. But how about being culturally competent in relation to being trauma informed? Being trauma informed is not only about who has experienced trauma and the severity of it, but how each person reacts to the experience of trauma. Being aware of the cultural differences in reacting to trauma can help those in need of support.
We’re Learning More about Housing, Child Welfare and Vulnerable Families
Three years ago, Robert Wood Johnson, Annie E. Casey, Edna McConnell Clark and Casey Family Programsbegan a journey leading us toward a better understanding of the roles that housing, case management and supportive services play in stabilizing vulnerable families, particularly those confronting complex challenges that trigger the involvement of child welfare agencies. We became partners in the national effort spearheaded by the federal government and four well-known philanthropic foundations – – to evaluate whether supportive housing could change the trajectory of families facing a number of destabilizing factors that can lead to homelessness, open cases with child welfare agencies and foster care placements.
There are currently more than 415,000 children in foster care and nearly 108,000 children waiting to be adopted.[1] Data indicates that among children who are adopted from foster care, the overwhelming majority are adopted by the foster parent (52%) or relative (32%) caring for them.[2] Studies show that permanent, stable families lead to better life outcomes for children. In honor of National Foster Care Month, yesterday this bipartisan congressional briefing explored efforts to better recruit and retain quality caregivers as a pathway to permanency for children in foster care across the U.S.
Partnering with the Senate Foster Youth Caucus and Fostering Media Connections, CCAI was pleased to bring the voices of experts on both kinship and faith-based recruitment efforts to the U.S. Congress, particularly highlighting how particularly highlighting how a Colorado church has partnered with the state and local government to successfully lower the number of children waiting for adoption, and how a Pennsylvania county is raising the numbers of family taking in kin.
Dave Thomas’ commitment to giving back drives me to help and do much more. Today, as I begin to transition my business to the next generation, I want to honor and recognize Dave Thomas, who not only taught me everything about running a successful business, but who also created the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to help children waiting to be adopted from foster care.
In that spirit, I am embarking on another journey – a “Tour de Adoption” via cycling across America, from Virginia Beach to San Diego. My goal will be raising funds & awareness by making stops along the way. My dream is to ensure that the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, has my support to help the more than 107,000 abused and neglected children who are in foster care and waiting to be adopted move into a loving family and a permanent home.
Learn more about my story here:
Video about my tour / Full details about my tour / Facebook / Twitter
Five Things to Know about the Transition from Foster Care to Adulthood
The transition from childhood to adulthood is a challenge in the best of situations. It takes a network of strong and stable connections with family, friends, and community to help young people learn and grow into healthy adults, and to support the incredible brain development that occurs during this time. But what about young people who have spent some or all of their childhood in foster care? Many of them lack these stable connections. They are also more likely to have faced, and continue to face, a host of disruptive and traumatic experiences including school instability, mental and physical health issues, and homelessness. What does the research tell us about the unique circumstances of their transition to adulthood?