Tagged With "Center on the Developing Child"
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Daddy Matters [zerotothree.org]
Zero To Three has partnered with YouTube star La Guardia Cross to develop a 4-part web series called Daddy Matters . The first three episodes are already available, along with many other developmentally-based fatherhood resources. Fathers are just as critical to healthy development, safety, and well-being as mothers. This father's day let's celebrate the ways in which father's contribute to their children's development! This light-hearted web series explores "why dads matter and what matters...
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Data Sharing Tool Helps Educators and Caseworkers Focus on Foster Youth Success (chronicleofsocialchange.org)
As California continues to work to address educational disparities for foster students, an increasing number of counties in the state are buying into a homegrown data-sharing system designed to improve academic outcomes for the state’s foster youth. Since its rollout in 2000, 41 of California’s 58 counties have integrated Foster Focus, a web-based program that helps bridge the data gap between the education, child welfare and probation officials who share responsibility for the state’s...
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DCYF Director Says N.H. More Focused on Keeping Families Together [nhpr.org]
By Rick Ganley and Mary McIntyre, New Hampshire Public Radio, October 17, 2019 Reports of child abuse and neglect reached a record high in New Hampshire during the last fiscal year. That's according to data released last week by the Division for Children, Youth and Families, the state's child welfare system. NHPR's Morning Edition Host Rick Ganley spoke with the DCYF director Joe Ribsam about what this data mean for measuring the agency's progress and how DCYF plans to do better. [ Please...
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Demonizing ‘Crack Mothers,’ Victimizing Their Children [nytimes.com]
I am humbly honored to have been featured in “ Slandering the Unborn ” (“A Woman’s Rights” editorial series, nytimes.com, Dec. 28). As one of the mothers who suffered during the 1990s crack epidemic, I want to thank The New York Times for its apology for how it demonized mothers like me and for its brilliant journalism. The apology is welcomed, and it gives me hope. I want to apologize as well — to society, the media, my family and my children. My child welfare case happened because of my...
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Despite Gains, the Emotional Lives of Children Often Forgotten by Our Medical System [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
By A.K. Whitney, Center for Health Journalism, November 11, 2019 I don’t remember the date, or even the time of year, though the medical records tell me it was 1977. I was 6. But I will always remember that day: the gloomy, wood-paneled exam room at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, the hard, high table I sat on, the doctor looming above me as he muttered about swan necks and hammers, though there were no birds or tools in sight. He didn’t bother making eye contact with me. I’m not sure he...
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Developing Super Powers: Using Resilience Strategies to Cope with Negative Experiences. Introducing CRI's Newest Book!
“I believe that everyone, especially a child, deserves to know how their brains are shaped by environment, to then understand their capacity for building proactive protective factors. We all deserve to be super heroes as we do the best we can to consciously live life well. ” - Teri Barila The superheroes we learn about in comics, movies, and TV shows swoop in to save the world with their incredible powers, to shield people from harm. But in our world, no matter how much we wish to protect...
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Documentary on Florida's troubled foster care system draws big St. Pete crowd [floridapolitics.com]
A new film focusing on Florida’s troubled foster care system drew a large crowd at a screening in Gulfport Wednesday night. ‘ Foster Shock ’ is a documentary highlighting the ills of the state’s child welfare system showed how a government body had completely turned over the responsibility and care of children to contracted, for-profit companies, who, in turn, contract out the work to other companies, exposing minors to dangers such as violence, drugs, sex trafficking and criminalization.
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“Does Anyone Want the Child?”: Mom’s Viral Response to the Question That Destroyed Her Boy Is Too Powerful to Ignore [faithit.com]
It is said that if just ONE family in every single church across America agreed to take in ONE foster child, there would be nobody left in the system. Think about that for a minute. How many families do you have at your church? How many churches do you have in your town? It would take just ONE of those families from each of those churches to close what seems like an impossible revolving door. Sarah and her husband learned of the overwhelming foster care needs while researching adoption...
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Dr. Gabor Maté & Full-Potential Parenting, Even When It Is Hard
Note: Allison Morris had dozens of experts in her summit series through Full-Potential Parenting. I took notes only on those by Donna Jackson Nakazawa , Gabe Maté and Sebern Fisher (coming later this month). Though the audios are no longer available, for free, they can be purchased for $100. or less (depending on the year), here. Forgive me for sounding like an advertisement, I don't know Allison personally. I am a huge fan of all parent-led resources and wish I discovered this series...
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Early childhood programs can reduce the effects of trauma [missoulian.com]
Connecting very young children who've experienced adversity with high quality early childhood programs can provide both the child and the family with the tools, support, protective factors, and resources to address the effects of trauma on the child and the family. I've seen first hand the benefits early childhood programs can bring to families and communities. Often times, families who encounter child welfare don't need an extensive, court-involved child welfare intervention, and can be...
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Early Takeaways from 50-State Look at Extended Foster Care [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
Juvenile Law Center (JLC), with the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has built an excellent new resource for the field in its National Extended Foster Care Review , a website that breaks down each state’s foster care guarantees after the age of 18. Fittingly, the site was launched on the 10th anniversary of Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, a law signed by President George W. Bush in 2008. Fostering Connections, among other things, amended the Title IV-E...
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Early Takeaways from 50-State Look at Extended Foster Care [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
Juvenile Law Center (JLC), with the support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has built an excellent new resource for the field in its National Extended Foster Care Review , a website that breaks down each state’s foster care guarantees after the age of 18. Fittingly, the site was launched on the 10th anniversary of Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act, a law signed by President George W. Bush in 2008. Fostering Connections, among other things, amended the Title IV-E...
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Education resources, including mental health, for kids, families during coronavirus pandemic
We have an abundance of helpful links and posts swirling online to support families and school systems as we adjust to our new normal of learning while self-isolating at home. Thousands of free academic resources from the NYT student writing prompts, to the Anti-Racist, Anti-Oppressive Homeschool Resource list, to this excellent collection from BuzzFeed, and the ever-growing crowd-sourced collection aptly named Amazing Educational Resources are being shared. Our schools do so much more than...
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Equal Footing: Oakland Program Keeps Foster Youth on Track to Graduate with Their Peers [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
When Tramischa Cole , a homeless 24-year-old mother of one, stumbled across a Civicorps flier in 2015, she didn’t expect to be accepted into the Bay Area’s only accredited high school and job training program for 18 to 26 year olds. It’s not that Civicorps had a waiting list: Cole was worried her parenting responsibilities and lack of housing would be an issue. “I told them I’m homeless and I don’t have child care,” Cole said. “I thought everything I was telling them would be something to...
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Eunju Lee's Research on Kinship Care: Informing a Community-based ACE Response
Eunju Lee, assistant professor at the University at Albany, is a leading contributor to a body of research focusing on kinship care. Kinship care occurs when children cannot safely stay in the care of their parents due to child maltreatment, parental substance abuse, parental mental health issues or other reasons. In these cases, relatives, or family friends in some jurisdictions, take over the care of the children. Kinship care is often utilized by child welfare services as a diversion from...
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Everyday coping with moral injury: The perspectives of professionals and parents involved with child protection services
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740917305285?via%3Dihub This study examines how Child Protection Services (CPS) – involved parents and professionals describe coping with moral injury through resources available within their everyday lives. Moral injury refers to the lasting harm caused by one's own or another's actions in high-stakes situations that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations. This harm can occur at multiple, interacting psychological, social...
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EveryDay Strong: Teaching kids about family history helps increase resilience [heraldextra.com]
Resilience, or the ability to overcome challenges in life, is a trait many parents hope their children will develop. Resilient children are more likely to have good emotional and mental health. Research has shown that children who know more about their families and family history are more resilient and tend to do better when facing challenges in life. This may be because seeing patterns of overcoming failures and surviving hard times can help children recognize that people can recover and...
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Families in Limbo: Coronavirus Hobbles Reunifications from Foster Care [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
By Jeremy Loudenback and John Kelly, The Chronicle of Social Change, April 16, 2020 This week was supposed to be a triumphant one for a Northern California mother of two, a 39-year-old home health aide. Soon after a long-scheduled court date at the Sonoma County Hall of Justice this week, she imagined she would soon be able to gather her 1-year-old daughter in her arms at last and end what has been the most terrifying experience of her life: the seven months her toddler has spent in foster...
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Family First Prevention Services Act Update: Federal Rules, Delay Deadlines, State Flexibility and More [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
It’s been a little more than five months since the Family First Prevention Services Act, one of the biggest shifts in the history of federal child welfare financing, was shoehorned into a stopgap spending bill. The law’s two main provisions – reimbursement for services aimed at preventing the use of foster care, and limitations on federal funds for congregate care placements – take effect in October of 2019. This week Jerry Milner, associate commissioner of the Children’s Bureau (CB) and one...
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Family treatment court gets grant of nearly $2 million [columbian.com]
Family treatment courts are popping up across the country to serve families involved in child welfare. This is great news becuase family treatment courts often show positive results in earlier, and more stable reunification, consistency in service completion, and sustainable behavioral change. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Clark County Superior Court’s Family Treatment Court a five-year grant totaling nearly $2 million. The grant, which will be...
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Fathers’ Day in America [Message by The Rev. Patricia Templeton]
I recently finished a haunting novel, Before We Were Yours , in which Lisa Wingate tells a fictionalized account of the true story of one of this country’s great scandals, the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and its director, Georgia Tann. From the 1920s through 1950, Tann and her organization facilitated the adoption of thousands of children across the country. Tann was a prominent member of society, held up as the “Mother of Modern Adoption,” and consulted by Eleanor Roosevelt on issues...
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Finding Resilience in Broken Promises [socialjusticesolutions.org]
I remember the day very clearly; just after finishing dinner several cop cars that were escorting an emergency child protective services worker pulled up to the house. The worker had gotten the go ahead for removal about a half hour earlier based on a complaint that was later found to be unsubstantiated. But due to our household falling in the highest risk category from prior complaints, the state is required by law to visit immediately. And while that specific complaint wasn’t...
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Finding Your People: How Foster Youth Connect [Foster Club]
How did you find ‘a community’ through FosterClub, a Youth Advisory Board, or another peer network? Why is it important for young people in foster care to connect with other youth with similar experiences? Share your story, poetry, quotes, photos - or any other creative outlet! OFFICIAL RULES AND GUIDELINES: Any young person up to age 24 who have experienced foster care, including kinship (living with relatives), is eligible to apply. Submissions can take the form of stories, poems, quotes,...
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Five Things You Wish Your Community’s Early Childhood Programs Knew [CitiesSpeak.org]
By NLC Staff on May 10, 2019 Cities, towns, and villages are places of innovation and solution finding. If you want to improve early childhood wellbeing—local leaders are key partners. The Networks of Opportunity for Child Wellbeing (NOW) Learning Community is a program of Boston Medical Center’s Vital Village. The learning community’s goal is to support local early childhood coalitions and build their capacity to work together with the broader community to improve the wellbeing of our...
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Flourishing From The Start: What Is It, And How Can It Be Measured? [childtrends.org]
This comprehensive research brief discusses the important factors needed to promote child well-being across childhood. Of course, recommendations are grounded in maternal-infant health and relationships, but the recommendations also discuss how to build protective factors across developmental domains and the development of the child. The researchers make many actionable recommendations for both practice and policy, as well as how to obtain ongoing data, and make data collection and...
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For parents grappling with addiction, Family Drug Court offers a way out [www.al.com]
In communities across the country you can find family drug court programs doing good work to support the very large cross-section of child welfare cases involving issues with chemical dependency. Usually it’s one person, maybe a chemical dependency professional, a child welfare manager, or in this case, a judge. One person with a vision and a driving passion to serve this child welfare cross-section in a different way. From that, a family drug court is born, bringing together a...
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Former Foster Youth Share Findings of Survey on Preventing Removals from Families [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
In early February, the National Foster Care Youth and Alumni Policy Council hosted a webinar on its most recent policy focus on preventing unnecessary removal of children from their families. Three former foster youth – Dani Townsend, David Hall and Nico’Lee Biddle – presented the group’s findings from their survey on the subject and recommendations that will be shared with federal stakeholders. Hall shared a few highlights from the survey, which included responses from 200 current and...
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Foster Care Crisis Opens Door to Second-Chance Parents [pewtrusts.org]
By Teresa Wiltz, The Pew Charitable Trusts, June 5, 2019. With rising numbers of children under state supervision and a worsening shortage of foster families, more states have made it easier for parents whose rights to their children were terminated to renew those relationships, sometimes years after a court terminated legal ties. Severing parental rights is the nuclear option of child protective services: The adult can no longer visit or contact their children, and the kids are known as...
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Foster Care Rate Rises [CWA Flash E Newsletter]
The number of children and youth in foster care nationally rose for the fifth consecutive year , to 443,000, in federal fiscal year 2017. The number is a 12 percent increase from FY 2012, when the number of children and youth in care began rising after more than 10 years of decline. Child Trends state-by-state data show that most states (39) experienced an increase from FY 2016 in the rate of children and young people in foster care . These rates range from a low of 2.5 per 1,000 children in...
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Foster Child Greta Anderson (Part 2) speaks to Congress about Foster Care
http://youtu.be/-Cj8pv2o-Fc
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Foster parents push state to reform system [www.theindychannel.com]
Now, more than ever, child welfare reform is a paramount issue of many groups and organizations supporting children and families involved in child welfare systems. Across the country, groups similar to the one described in this piece are pushing their state legislators to re-examine how state and county run child welfare systems are working to serve families. Many groups, similar to this one out of Indiana, are also pushing for reform to include principles of trauma-informed practice.
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Foster Youth meets Psychiatry: First Do No pHarm
When a foster youth encounters a psychiatrist, chances are high that s/he will get medicated. Traumatized foster youth are often prescribed powerful psychotropics due to exhibiting a wide variety of “normal reactions to abnormal events”, such as despair, agitation, anxiety and self-harm. The practice has been well documented; foster children are prescribed psychotropics at a 2.7 to 4.5 times higher rate than non-foster youth [1] . The National Center for Youth Law aptly summarizes the...
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FOSTER YOUTH NEED MORE THAN EDUCATION TO BUILD A STABLE LIFE [Zocalo]
By Mike Stajura, August 19, 2019 Schools Don’t Nurture Long-Term Relationships—and May Even Discourage Them For the last three years, I have been working on public policy related to foster youth. But at a recent monthly foster care policy meeting in Sacramento, where experts were discussing the needs of foster youth fortunate enough to go to college, I found myself thinking, “They’re missing the point.” Getting the degree doesn’t fix the real problem that foster youth have, which is forming...
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Fostering care for others [clintonnc.com]
This article provides a nice example of how communities can support children and families through donations to their local child welfare agencies. In my opinion, child welfare systems can’t run effectively without caring and compassionate support from the communities these systems serve. There are many organizations in communities across the country who provide hygiene supplies, bags and suitcases, pajamas, clothing, comfort items and other essentials to be provided to children entering the...
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Fostering open house Jan. 19 in Jamestown (New York) [observertoday.com]
A foster parent should be someone who wants to make a difference in a child’s life, is flexible and capable of handling challenging situations, understands developmental needs of children, is trauma informed or willing to learn more about trauma, and can support and provide guidance to birth parents. If you've ever been curious about foster parenting and live near Jamestown. NY, or you know somebody who does, you may be interested in attending the open house sponsored by the Chautauqua...
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Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act: A Necessary Step to Protect Those Aging Out [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
Those of us who've worked in child welfare know all too well that child welfare systems do not make good parents. Meaning, youth who age out of foster care are lacking, more often than not, supportive connections that all youth launching into adulthood need to ensure their success. Think about where you went for your first Thanksgiving when you were a freshman in college. Think about who you called the first time you were short on your rent. Many youth who've aged out of foster care don't...
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Free DAILY Support: COVID-19 - Quarantined with Dr. B
Hi, I am Kristin Beasley (Dr. B) and have a PhD in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Parent-Child Mental Health (PIMH) and a strong emphasis on Neuropsychology. I am a Professional Keynote Speaker, a Certified iPEC Coach, and an Organizational Trainer. As we face this unprecedented crisis, building community is more important than ever. We are isolated but we are not alone. We must tap into our resilient selves more than ever. Join my FB Live daily, yes, daily at 10AM PST as we...
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Free Mind Matters Online Series -- Build skills to overcome anxiety and increase resilience
In appreciation of and support for the tremendous work you are doing under challenging circumstances, Dibble will be hosting a free, 12-week Mind Matters online series with Dr. Carolyn Curtis and Dixie Zittlow. Unprecedented times, such as these, are stressful and call for everyone to think about ways to help others and themselves. Thus, we see this as an opportunity to offer free, professional development and help you and your staff practice self-care. Join us as we teach the Mind Matters...
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Friendly Neighborhoods and Less Child Spanking May Reduce Likelihood of CPS Involvement, Study Says [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
There may be a relationship between the spanking of children, the type of neighborhood the children live in and the likelihood of a report of abuse or neglect to Child Protective Services (CPS), according to a new study published in the journal Child Abuse & Neglect. The study looked at a sample of 2,267 children drawn from Princeton University’s Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study . Researchers at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University compared that group...
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From Beauty Salons to Foster Homes, Denise Goodman Explains How to Crack the Recruitment Code [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
Denise Goodman has been trying to figure out how to recruit foster parents for a long time. “I once recruited a foster home for Moses,” she joked in an interview with The Chronicle of Social Change. She’s actually been working in child welfare for more than 40 years, including 32 years understanding the art and science of foster parent recruitment and retention. (She’s also served as a foster parent herself.) Since 1992, she has worked as a consultant for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. [For...
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From the Archives: Dr. Kenneth Clark on Racism and Child Well-Being [hogg.utexas.edu]
From 1971 to 1983, former Hogg Foundation program officer Bert Kruger Smith hosted The Human Condition , a radio show that, across a span of 400 episodes, engaged a variety of notable guests in wide-ranging conversations on the things that make us human. In recognition of Black History Month, this episode of our Into the Fold podcast takes us back into The Human Condition’s archives with a 1974 broadcast featuring the late African American psychologist Dr. Kenneth Clark, whose innovative...
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From trauma to hope in foster care [petoskynews.com]
This article casts a lovely spotlight on a caring foster family while also highlighting the importance of trauma-informed care at one of the many private foster care agencies across the country incorporating ACE informed practice into the care and community supporting children who've experienced trauma. Private child placing agencies across the US work with state or county child welfare agencies to license and support foster parents. Many foster parents prefer to be licensed through a...
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Getting from Foster Care to Where I Am Today [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
Part of what amazes me about foster youth is our ability to survive and love despite the never-ending hardships that follow us. What amazes me even more is our ability to know and believe love exists, even though most foster youth — including myself — never received enough love growing up. It is this resilience that sets us apart from all other communities — far from a negligible quality, it amounts to one of our greatest strengths. If you had asked me what love was when I was 13 years old...
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Grand Resources A Grandparent’s and Other Relative’s Guide to Raising Children with Disabilities
Introduction: Are you a grandparent or other relative raising another fam- ily member’s child? You are not alone. Grandfamilies – or extended family members and close family friends and the children they raise – are growing in...
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Grandparents as Child Care Providers: Understanding Their Experiences and Meeting Their Needs [zerotothree.org]
Grandparents provide formal and informal care to their grandchildren, and are the caregivers of choice for many working families. Often, if families are struggling, grandparents are the first to step in to ensure child safety and wellbeing needs are being met. If you work with grandparents as caregivers in any capacity (child care, relative care for out-of-home placement, informal caregiving relationships, etc.), you may find this FREE webinar of interest! When: Thursday September 14th...
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Greta Anderson (Part 3), Foster Child, Speaks before Congress about the 2008 Adoption Act
http://youtu.be/uVJTqbQf7AE
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Growth through Trauma-Informed Strategies: Coaching and Consultation with Rick Griffin
There is a Chinese proverb that states, “If you want 1 year of prosperity, grow grain. If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees. If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people." The benefits are evident, yet the real question becomes, “how do you grow people?” This Big Idea Session, CRI’s Trauma Coaching and Trauma Consultation Training, answers this question. Schools, organizations, and parents are discovering that the traditional “command and control” style of working with...
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Guidance for Teachers and Counselors to Help Kids at Risk at Home
People are beginning to be aware that one result of the increased stress around COVID-19 is the tragic fact that child abuse and neglect is increasing, but the safety net provided by schools is no longer in place. Teachers and counselors can continue to be a hero to students in this time of crisis, and can help mitigate the negative impact of traumatic events and stress. Caregivers might not be able to do it alone. We (Dr. Rachel Gilgoff, a child abuse pediatrician and trauma expert, and...