Permanency Tip of the Week: Don’t Condone the Behavior or Condemn the Individual
When we look to respond to behavioral concerns displayed by our Youth in foster care, one perspective we can take is that while we will not condone the behavior, we should also not condemn the individual. Taking into consideration the individual’s trauma history can provide some explanation for why the Youth may act the way they do; however, even with a trauma filled history, an individual cannot be allowed to act without any consequences. At the same time, we should push back against unilateral efforts to condemn the child with powerful labels such as being a socio-path or a thug. This can be a delicate balance to establish and one that requires vigilance to view the individual through a trauma lens while at the same time ensuring that they learn how to function in society.
Permanency Story of the Week:Summer Camp Reconnects Siblings Separated by Foster Care System
Brothers and sisters torn apart by foster care or adoption get to see each other for one glorious week every year, at a summer camp that aims to reconnect separated siblings. For one counselor, the reunion was so touching she decided to take three campers home – permanently, so they would never be separated again. Tammy Gerber, a realtor in Las Vegas, told ABC News she had no idea what she was getting herself into when she signed up to be a volunteer at Camp To Belong for a week in 2009, but had no doubts about starting a family when she met three inseparable siblings, two boys and one girl, who all lived in different foster care homes at the time.
Current Permanency related articles:
Integrating Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being Series
The Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released a series of three papers that describe how a more fully integrated and developmentally specific approach in child welfare could improve both child and system level outcomes. The intention of these papers is to further the national dialogue on how to more effectively integrate an emphasis on well-being into the goal of achieving safety, permanency, and well-being for every child.
1)A Comprehensive Framework for Nurturing the Well-Being of Children and Adolescents; 2) Screening, Assessing, Monitoring Outcomes and Using Evidence-Based Interventions to Improve the Well-Being of Children in Child Welfare; 3) A Case Example of the ACYF’s Well-Bing Framework: KIPP
Guardian Scholar begins the next chapter in her life
Arianna Espinoza, 17, of Beaumont is an incoming Cal State Fullerton freshman. She is one of 12 students to be offered a Guardian Scholarship for the 2014-2015 school year. Espinoza also received a softball scholarship.
It was just another day of softball practice at Beaumont High School, when Arianna Espinoza received an email that would change her life: She was selected as one of 41 students who would be attending Cal State Fullerton through the Guardian Scholars Program. “I was so excited,” said Espinoza, 17. “This scholarship is so amazing. I’m basically going to college for free.” The program helps students who’ve been in foster care attend college. It provides them a year-round place to live on campus, life-skills workshops, mentors and counseling, among other services.
Film Program Offers Foster Kids Hollywood Experience
After leaving her job in corporate insurance, Tige Charity visited an all-girls group home and decided she wanted to do something to give back to youths in the foster care system. Five years later, the organization she founded has helped lend voice and video to the experiences of approximately 100 foster youths who have worked on 28 short films.
Senator Grassley’s Speech on the Senate Floor Highlights CCAI Foster Youth Intern
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) – Recently, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) gave a floor speech highlighting Amnoni Myers, a member of CCAI’s 2014 Foster Youth Intern Class and her experience in the United States foster care system. In the blog Amnoni tells her story—the adversity she faced in the system and her experiences this summer on Capitol Hill. We are so proud of you, Amnoni!
What I Want You To Know About Being A Sister Of An Adoptive Sibling
Adoption has changed my family for the better. I love my adopted siblings dearly and hope to someday adopt children of my own, but there is a side to adoption that many people don’t know about. What often goes unnoticed is the fact that when parents adopt children into a family where they already have biological kids, the adopted kids aren’t the only ones whose lives are changed forever…
Community College Student Equity Funding Directs New Resources to Foster Youth
The 2014-2015 budget bill, signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown last month, includes new student services funding that holds the potential for an expansion of support for community college students who are current and former foster youth. In order to access the new funding, each community college district is required to develop a student equity plan by January 2015, designed to close achievement gaps between student groups. SB860, the budget trailer bill that details equity planning requirements, specifies foster youth as a subpopulation that must be addressed in equity plans alongside various ethnic groups, students with disabilities, veterans and low-income students.