World Wide Wednesday – September 25, 2013

It’s World Wide Wednesday! Here’s what’s happening the world of foster care and adoption around the web:

• Supporting Children and Families When Adoption Dissolution Occurs: It is estimated that between 1% and 10% of adoptions result in dissolution. In this issue of NCFA’s Adoption Advocate, authors Jon Bergeron, Jr., Ph.D. and Robin Pennington highlight ways to help and support those involved in an adoption dissolution, beginning with the child. The article also includes recommendations for those working with relinquishing parents as well as re-adopting parents. Click here to download the PDF of Adoption Advocate No. 62 or click here to view the web version.
• KidsPeace has a page of videos on their website that answer some of the frequently asked questions from those considering becoming a foster parent. You’ll find them here.
• Check out a compelling infographic about aging out of foster care from the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative.
• Have a chance to see “Turbo” recently? Addison Cooper has an Adoption at the Movies review: No Dream is Too Big, No Dreamer To Small.

Have news you’d like to share? Please post in our comments!

World Wide Wednesday – September 18, 2013

It’s World Wide Wednesday! Here’s what’s happening the world of foster care and adoption around the web:

• The Child Welfare Information Gateway presents a redesigned website section that includes four new sub-sections on foster care, group and residential care, family finding/recruiting and retaining resource families, and resources for kinship caregivers and foster families.  It also includes sub-sections on casework practice, transition to adulthood and independent living, placement decisions, and resources for kinship caregivers and foster families.
• This webpage from FindYouthInfo.gov highlights the topic of children of incarcerated parents.  It provides a variety of resources on this topic, including feature articles, publications, information on T/TA Network resource centers, tools and guides, and websites.
• School has just started; are you seeing any troubles? Check out this Back to School Issue of the Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association’s Weekly Word.
• In an article on Huffington Post, Gary Stangler—executive director of the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative—details the incredibly high costs related to youth aging out of foster care. An Initiative study found that on average, for every youth who ages out of  care, taxpayers and communities pay $300,000 in costs such as public assistance, incarceration, and lost wages over that person’s lifetime.

Have news you’d like to share? Please post in our comments!

Celebrating Multiple Cultures and Heritages

This month we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. The number of families that include multiple cultures and heritage roots grows every day – especially among the foster care and adoption communities. Parenting a child of a different race or culture other than your own can be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life, but may also be challenging. We have a few tip sheets that can provide some helpful resources, but I’d love to hear from you!

• How do you celebrate or honor the different cultures in your family?
• What websites, blogs, resources, books, movies, groups, etc. would you recommend for other families like yours?

Coalition Tip Sheets:

• Twenty Ideas to Keeping Connections to Racial and Cultural Identity
• Honoring Your Child’s Racial and Cultural Identity

World Wide Wednesday – September 11, 2013

It’s World Wide Wednesday! Here’s what’s happening the world of foster care and adoption around the web:

• Foster care: A challenge worth taking — Many people become foster parents with a longing to adopt. In fact, Charonne Ganiere says that, “when my husband and I began the foster process, it was with the heart and the intent to adopt. We never imagined we would foster beyond that, or have an open door for children to come in and out of our home.” Read more on the Kid Hero blog.
• Need an Adoption Movie Guide to “Monsters University”? The Adoption at the Movies blog has you covered.
• The Iowa Foster & Adoptive Parents Association created a handy list of foster care & adoption-friendly children’s books.
• Collecting Information on Your Adoptive Child’s History — Whether you adopted your child at the age of 3 or 15, your child comes with his or her own life experiences that are different from yours. Often there have been many adults working to assure your child’s safety and wellbeing. Unfortunately, despite social workers’ best efforts, sometimes the details of a child’s life can be lost as that child travels from his birth family into foster care and then into adoptive placement. It’s important for adoptive parents to obtain as many details about their child’s life as possible and waiting years later to obtain those details can be difficult if not impossible. This workbook was written by DePaul Family Services to guide adoptive parents in obtaining those details that are often hidden in files and in people’s memories.

Have news you’d like to share? Please post in our comments!

An “X-traordinary” Anniversary

It’s the 50th anniversary of Marvel Comics‘ X-Men! If you have any comic and/or X-Men fans among your family, you may be interested in Addison Cooper’s adoption movie guides. His blog, Adoption at the Movies, has a plethora of posts about themes of adoption and foster care in film. Check them out by following the links below.

• The Wolverine
• X-Men
• X-Men: First Class
• X-Men: X-Men United
• X-Men: The Last Stand

You can also read our tip sheet about Adoption in the Media and Entertainment.

Grandparent’s Day

Happy Grandparent’s Day!

Raising children is a difficult task, and there’s a reason that people are typically in their 20’s and 30’s when they have kids. Raising grandchildren, (or in other cases nieces, nephews, cousins, and even younger siblings) is an even more challenging undertaking.

A growing number of grandparents who have given years of love, money, time and energy to their first family, find themselves giving those same things to their children’s children.

Today, we celebrate those grandparents who have not only raised one family, but have continued to parent as foster parents, relative caregivers, or adoptive parents. Celebrate yourselves today! (And take advantage of some of the resources we have available to help, inform, and support you!)

 

• Tip Sheet: The Changing Role of Caregivers – Grandparents
• Story: A Grandmother’s Gracious Love
• Relative Caregiver Guide
• Relative Caregiver Resources

World Wide Wednesday – September 4, 2013

It’s World Wide Wednesday! Here’s what’s happening the world of foster care and adoption around the web:

• Four-Part Video Series: Trauma and Behavior — The Family and Children’s Resource Program at The University of North Carolina developed a 4-part video series on trauma and behavior. In the series, educational specialist Laura Phipps describes the many effects of trauma on the brain, and what this often looks like in terms of children’s behavior; explains the importance of building a positive, trusting relationship as the foundation for changing any behavior; and provides suggestions and encouragement for parents and caregivers struggling with serious behavior problems.
• Preparing and Supporting Foster Parents Who Adopt — Foster parents are the most important source of adoptive families for children in the child welfare system. In order to facilitate these types of adoption, professionals should be knowledgeable about the benefits, costs, and practice implications. This bulletin for professionals discusses the ways that professionals can help foster parents before, during, and after they adopt in order to ensure that the child and family experience a successful adoption outcome.
• The Pennsylvania Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) launched a compelling media campaign to help find families for older children and youth in foster care. The state’s lieutenant governor, who recently adopted from care, narrates a wonderful documentary explaining the campaign.
• View the webinar recording of Finding What Works: Helping Young Adults Transition into Adulthood from SPARC.

Have news you’d like to share? Please post in our comments!