Greetings Permanency Champions,
Permanency Tip of the Week: Bringing the Gift of Permanency to Everyone
The holiday season, no matter your belief system, often stresses the ideals of love, family and giving. When you have been the subject of abuse, neglect and/or trauma, particularly within your family of origin, these ideals can be challenging to experience and/or embrace. As we continue to journey with our Youth, let us be sure that we focus on being compassionate, patient and understanding as we bring the gift of Permanency to our Youth. Remember that the Gift of Permanency is a Gift of life-long love and belonging! What better gift could anyone want and need?
Permanency Success Story of the Week: Tears Flow As Some South Coast Kids Get New Shot At Life Through Adoption
KCLU – Ventura County, CA – It’s a day when tears are flowing in a Ventura County courtroom. But, they aren’t tears of sorrow. They are tears of joy, because it’s adoption day. Julie and Ray Clayton are at the Ventura County Juvenile Courthouse, in El Rio to finalize the adoption of Anthony Clayton. The little boy is only three and a half, but he’s lived through a lot just to get to this point. He was born with a drug addiction, because his mother was addicted…Family after family goes through the process, many after years of effort. Finally, it’s time for the Clayton family, as Judge Cody calls parents Ray and Julie Claton foreward, along with daughter Baily, and their soon to be official son, three and a half year old Anthony. As the cameras click, and the tears fall, the lives of the Clayton family, and especially their newest member, Anthony, change forever.
Permanency Related Articles:
Child Welfare Information Gateway – There are thousands of teenagers waiting to be adopted from foster care, many of whom will age out of the child welfare system without ever finding permanency. Ensuring permanency for teenagers in foster care involves the coordination of services across the continuum, from targeted recruitment efforts for families to the active engagement of teenagers in permanency planning.
This November, National Adoption Month (NAM) highlights the importance of securing lifelong connections for these teenagers through the establishment of a stable support system. The NAM website includes resources tailored to help prospective adoptive families, youth, and child welfare professionals develop their capacity to understand, discuss, and support teenage adoption. 1) Going Beyond Recruitment for Older Youth: Increasing Your System’s Capacity to Respond to Prospective Parents and Prepare Older Youth for Adoption; 2) Authentic Youth Engagement ; 3) Talking With Older Youth About Adoption
A Growing Number of Kids Are Impacted by Parental Incarceration
Annie E. Casey Foundation – Close to six million kids in America have experienced losing a parent to prison or jail at some point in their lives — and this number is growing. Nationwide, this population has grown by 636,000 children since 2011-2012.
At the state level: 30 states and the District of Columbia reported an uptick in the number of kids impacted by parental incarceration between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016…The incarceration of a parent can be devastating to a family’s stability and have as much impact on a child’s well-being as abuse or domestic violence. Because of this, states must invest resources to support family members left behind.
Read A Shared Sentence to learn more about the toll of parental incarceration.
Where to Start When Choosing Your Adoption Team
Adoptive Families – Once you have decided what kind of adoption you want, you need to choose the people who will bring your child home. Your team should include the professionals who will handle the logistics and legalities, a doctor who can help you understand medical issues, if necessary, and other adoptive families who can advise you when it is time to make decisions… Who else should I add to my team? Even the smoothest adoption is an emotional journey. Make sure you have a support group: family and friends who are enthusiastic about your plans, other adoptive parents (many agencies maintain web-based groups), and at least one person who has recently completed an adoption like yours.
A Special Message from a Foster Care Alumna to Our Veterans
Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) – As we celebrate National Adoption Month and Veterans Day this November, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) honors all our Veterans, as well as our Foster Youth Interns and Angels in Adoption® Honorees who have served (and are serving) in our military. We asked Tonisha Hora, one of our 2017 Foster Youth Interns and a service member in the Army National Guard, to share about herself and offer a message to our Veterans…Regarding CCAI, Being a Foster Youth Intern this summer at CCAI quite literally changed my life. It opened my eyes to new career paths and interests as well as opened a multitude of doors and connections. It was truly a blessing… want to thank
As we celebrate Veterans Day, what is your message to our veterans? I just you all so much for your service and the sacrifice you and your families have made. You chose to possibly put your life on the line for others and that in itself is bravery and commitment. I applauded you and consider you an inspiration.
The Faster Your Brain Moves the More Time Off You Need
Inc.com – Science shows us that your brain can only focus for 90 to 120 minutes at a time. If you just started working out you may be tempted to push your body to the limits. The problem isn’t how hard your training. It’s that you’re still partaking in unhealthy habits, like poor diet and not getting enough sleep, as well as not giving yourself enough recovery time. Like any other muscle in your body, the same can be said about our brains…1) It’s Evolution, Baby – Here’s the thing. The human brain wasn’t meant to run a marathon. It’s not designed to be alert and stimulated for a majority of the day; 2) Give Your Brain a Break; 3) Incorporating Brain Breaks; 4) Take a Vacation…
If you keep overloading your brain and don’t take a breather, there are serious side-effects besides workplace performance. So kick your pride to the curb and take some time off. Your brain deserves, and needs, it!
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Take care and keep up the Permanency work – Our children, youth, young adults, families and communities are depending on it!