Permanency Tip of the Week: Catch the Youth doing well
In working with our Youth in foster care, the focus of our attention is often on their deficits / problems. What would it be like if the first, last and most frequent impression that people had of us were of our deficits and problems? Instead of focusing so much on the negative, let’s instead focus more of our time and energy on identifying their strengths – especially on examples of attaching, pro-social and permanency building types of behaviors (ex. eye contact, smiling & listening).
Permanency Story of the Week: The Michaelsens and Monte Were Meant To Be!
Little Monte, at 5 years old, fits right in with the Michaelsen clan. It’s hard to imagine him not being a part of the family. Mom and Dad, Khadra and John, and their 13 year old son, Hayden, feel like their home and hearts are complete since Monte moved in. Khadra originally saw Monte’s profile the Metropolitan Washington Wednesday’s Child website, and noticed some striking similarities between Monte and her son, Hayden. After inquiring about Monte, Khadra’s observations were confirmed- Hayden and Monte share a lot in common!
The similarities that the boys have do not end with their shared medical condition- the boys also share a love of trains, music, and their mom and dad. Monte has found a safe and loving forever home with the Michaelsens, and continues to make fond memories with his mother, father, and big brother!
Current Permanency related articles:
Adoption from Foster Care – Boxtrolls Movie Trailer
The Adoption from Foster Care Ad Council campaign is excited to present new Boxtrolls PSAs! Through a partnership with Focus Features and animation studio LAIKA, we are introducing a new breed of family – the Boxtrolls, a community of quirky mischievous creatures who have lovingly adopted and raised a human boy named Eggs. In these PSAs, Eggs’ adoptive family of Boxtrolls tells prospective parents that “thousands of teens in foster care don’t need perfection; they just need you.”
Cumulative Risks of Experiencing Foster Care by Age 18
While the risk that a child will be in foster care on any given day is very low, a recent longitudinal analysis of Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data found that the risk is substantially higher when considered over the entire span of a childhood, and significant racial disparities exist. While the national average is that 5.91% (1 in 17) of children will experience foster care placement at some point before turning 18, the rate for Native American children is 15.44% (1 in 7) and for African-American children it is 11.53% (1 in 9).
Facing Trauma with Truth Conference – November 7th, 2014 – Los Angeles, CA
Jeanette Yoffe, Founder of Celia Center; “It is the goal of this event to educate, enlighten, empower, motivate, and illuminate all aspects of Adoption and Foster Care roots. Throughout this day we will discuss and provoke ideas that, hopefully, will eliminate the mystery of pain, shame, and trauma within the foster care and adoption constellation. One Day, 20 Presenters, 2 Films, 2 Live Performances, 3 Panels, Healing Wolfdog Closing Ceremony, Breakfast, Lunch, 6 Free CEU’s and the beautiful ambiance of the Luxe Hotel.”
Dione Mason: From Foster Youth to Foster Parent
Dione Mason knows all too well what it means to overcome adversity and that you have to play the cards that life deals to you. A former foster youth, he overcame many odds and has become an educator and productive community activist. Mason has always known he wanted to make changes in the same system in which he was raised – by touching the life of another young person. He found a way to do that by working with Seneca Family of Agencies, a leading innovator in the field of education, community-based and family-focused treatment services for children and families.
While he was growing up, Mason was a Seneca foster youth and appreciated the services he received and the caring nature of his foster parent. He says he has known since a teenager that he wanted to become a foster parent. So at age 25 he began the certification process and never looked back. “Being a foster kid myself I knew once I turned of age this is what I always wanted to do,” he said. Now at age 27, Mason is married and raising his 16-year-old son.
Fostering Success in Education Factsheet
The National Working Group on Foster Care and Education has released a new factsheet, fostering Success in Education: National Factsheet on the Educational Outcomes of Children in Foster Care (PDF – 279 KB). The factsheet reviews research findings and makes recommendations to promote improved educational outcomes for children and youth in foster care.
Download a free copy of: A Guide to Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools
Creating and Advocating for Trauma-Sensitive Schools – Volume 2 of Helping Traumatized Children Learn: Creating and Advocating for Trauma-Sensitive Schools, safe, supportive learning environments that benefit all children offers a Guide to a process for creating trauma-sensitive schools and a policy agenda to provide the support schools need to achieve this goal.
5 reasons you won’t adopt from foster care, and why they’re wrong
Rita Soronen – Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption – “It’s too expensive.” “Children in foster care are too set in their ways to blend in with my family.” “I’m not married, so I can’t adopt, right?” “I don’t want to deal with the birth parents in my face about their child or deal with the child welfare system – it’s all just too complicated!”
We hear these and similar comments all the time. It’s good to consider all of the challenges and needs potential parents could face when creating or expanding a family through adoption – from financial implications to household dynamics. But opting out of the process based on myths or mis-perceptions about the children or the systems involved is simply a disservice to the 104,000 children waiting to be adopted. So let’s address some of the myths.