Permanency Tip of the Week:
In healthy families, children form attachments to trustworthy caregivers, who consistently meet their needs and ensure their survival. Many of our Youth in foster care have not been able to entrust their survival to anyone in the world and thus often come to the belief that they have to rely on themselves for survival. These Youth have been successful since they are still alive. When working with a Youth in foster care, consider that their willingness and ability to attach to the new caregiver(s) can be seen at least in part as a measure of their trust that they can finally transfer the responsibility for their survival from themselves to another person.
Permanency Story of the Week:
- Youth Voices – Life After Foster Care – Preview
- Youth Voices – Life After Foster Care – Full Version
This is the latest film project from the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Current Permanency related articles:
Childhood Brain Science Takes Hold in California
The Chronicle of Social Change reports on the trauma-informed approach toward childhood development that is taking hold across the public and private sectors in California. Mental health professionals have long understood the drastic consequences of severe trauma for children. The notion that this is a serious public health threat has only become popular within the last couple years.
YC-Teen and Represent Magazine Teen Stories and Lessons
Youth Communication’s YCteen publishes true stories by teens, giving readers insight into the issues that matter most in young people’s lives. Represent Magazine is its sister publication that is written by teens in foster care. In the first story, one teen shares her experience of unfair treatment while living in foster care and how she found her voice to stand up to her foster mom. The second story shares how one teen found support and family while living in a group home. Each story is accompanied by a lesson plan that can be used in helping to process the story and facilitate discussion among young people.
When siblings placed in different households have had the chance to write or speak publicly about their experiences, they have emphasized the pain, sadness, and complete shock that separation can inflict.
Former Foster Youth Take Politics into Their Own Hands: Estakio Beltran
Chronicle of Social Change, a publication that focuses on coverage of issues pertaining to the foster care system and child welfare, has just published it’s first in a series of stories about former foster youth turned advocates/politicians! The first in the series brings about the story of Estakio Beltran, a politician and former foster youth who is running for a congressional seat in District 4 of Washington state.
Concurrent antipsychotic, psychotropic use common among Medicaid-enrolled children
New data suggest an increase in concurrent, or combination, prescribing of second-generation antipsychotics with other psychotropic medications among Medicaid-enrolled youth. “We knew that antipsychotic use was increasing among youth, but we were surprised to learn just how often youth on common psychotropic medications like stimulants or antidepressants also receive an antipsychotic as part of their treatment, and when they do, it is for sustained periods of time,” David M. Rubin, MD, MSCE, attending pediatrician and co-director of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s PolicyLab.
New NCCWE Curriculum—Making it Possible: Permanency Pathways for Older Youth in Care
The National Center for Child Welfare Excellence (NCCWE) is pleased to announce the release of the new curriculum, Making it Possible: Permanency Pathways for Older Youth in Care, which focuses on improving permanency outcomes for older youth in care. This curriculum seeks to shift long held assumptions about what can and cannot happen for older youth in care and provide concrete steps for achieving positive permanency outcomes. Participants will also develop knowledge of how to engage and prepare youth for permanency.