Permanency Tip of the Week: Roles during the Family Finding Process
During the family finding process, the roles of all the supportive adults, should adjust to reflect any changing thoughts, feelings and experiences of the Youth. The family finding process is often both exciting and unsettling for a Youth, no matter what their experience of Permanency has been in their past. The role of the supportive adults should be one of providing the Youth with enhanced support, validation, encouragement and emotional security. We may hold our own thoughts and feelings about the process / outcomes of the family finding process; however we must continue to support the best interests of the Youth – even if that means that our role in their life will be altered.
Permanency Story of the Week: Kindle Family Connections – What We Do
The mission for the Casa Pacifica – Kindle Family Connections program is to reconnect children with their families, heal their emotional trauma, and reestablish relationships based on trust, love and permanence. Kindle Family Connections works closely with the child’s social worker, clinician, caregiver and others to develop at least one permanent emotional connection for each child we serve.
Current Permanency related articles:
The 7 Best Things About Adopting an Older Child
She hid her dimpled smile behind her 5-year-old hand, though that act could not conceal the smile in her dancing, green eyes. Then she called me Papa. Sarah wasn’t our first adopted child; she was the first who was old enough to understand what was going on. She wouldn’t be the last. My wife and I have adopted children between the ages of one month and 15 years. And there is something magical that happens when a child who realizes what they have been missing gets a family, against all odds. Here are my seven favorite things about adopting older children.
Three Brothers; Three Paths out of Foster Care
At the end of 2014, California will celebrate the three-year anniversary of Assembly Bill 12, which extended foster care to age 21. This means that the first group of 18-year-olds who entered the program in 2012 will start aging out. Are they any better off? The Chronicle of Social Change, published the story of three brothers who either benefited from extended care; were too old for it; or were excluded entirely. We will be following this story with more analysis on the state’s rationale for excluding certain foster youth from extended foster care benefits in the weeks to come.
He Doesn’t Call Me Mom- Older Child Adoption
It was tucking-in-bed time. He’d been quiet, withdrawn, and I could tell why. My son is an older foster child, whom we are in the process of adopting … I told him I was so sorry for all the hardships of his life. He held my hand and asked me to stay with him for a while longer. I did. Then, I kissed him good night. Mothering an older foster/adoptive child is hard. The “mother” seat may be taken already… Though, there is a place for me. For the honor of being called “mom” may not be mine, not yet anyway… But I have the honor of having him hold my hand as he travels across the state to find her in his thoughts. It was my arm he clung to as his heart tightened. It was in my embrace he buried his sweet little head, searching for comfort. My honor is to be counted trustworthy enough to accompany him in his journey.
Foster Care “Stigma” Is Felt by Youth, Perpetuated by Professionals
“My teacher called me the ‘F’ word,” one former foster youth mumbled during a “Pain to Power” meeting held by the RightWay Foundation. Twelve transition-aged youth sat around a table that filled the room. At first everyone looked confused, trying to figure out which of the many ‘F’ words the teacher could have thrown at him. “Foster child,” he finally said, his head bent down. You couldn’t see his tears, but you could hear his heart break. He was on the football team, none of his friends knew he was in foster care, and his teacher “outed” him. He was embarrassed and humiliated.
National Adoption Month Website Launches
The Children’s Bureau, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, is pleased to announce the launch of the 2014 National Adoption Month website, created in partnership with AdoptUSKids. National Adoption Month (NAM) draws attention to the urgent need for permanent families for the more than 102,000 children and youth waiting for adoption in foster care. This year’s NAM theme, “Promoting and Supporting Sibling Connections,” emphasizes the critical role sibling relationships play in helping to promote permanency for children in care. The NAM website offers a variety of audience-specific resources.
RISE Magazine – Stories By and For Parents Affected by the Child Welfare System Healing Together
Most parents whose children enter foster care are required to take parenting classes. Usually, that has meant going to a weekly class where an instructor talks with parents about children’s development, family routines, discipline and safety. However, another kind of parenting program is parent-child therapy, where a parent and her infant or toddler play together with the support of a therapist. The therapist gets to know the parent and the baby, helps them connect through play, and supports the parent in understanding and responding to the child’s emotional needs. This issue explores a range of activities designed to promote healing in families.