Tagged With "National Adoption Month"
Blog Post
Sharing Data to Benefit Kids: A Guide for Child Welfare and Education Systems [aecf.org]
Re-sharing this blog post from the Annie E. Casey Foundation where they shared a guide for data sharing linkages between child welfare and education - the Roadmap for Foster Care and K-12 Data Linkages . ...Successful data linkages mean agencies are able to draw on all the publicly collected information to create a more complete picture of individual students in foster care, helping inform interventions that are more effective. “Data sharing between foster care and educational agencies is...
Blog Post
Shortage of foster families for teens, older kids
There are enough foster parents in Shasta County for the county’s children, and more. So why are some children and youths housed in other care programs waiting for a foster family? The answer is in the age group most foster parents want to foster. “Shasta County is a receiving county because we have more foster youth coming… from other counties for placement than we send out…,” said Dianna Wagner, branch director of children’s services at Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency...
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Some 350 Florida Leaders Expected to Attend Think Tank with Dr. Vincent Felitti, Co-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study; Expert on ACEs Science
Leaders from across the Sunshine State will take part in a “Think Tank” in Naples, FL, on Monday, August 6, to help create a more trauma-informed Florida. The estimated 350 attendees will include policy makers and community teams made up of school superintendents, law enforcement officers, judges, hospital administrators, mayors, PTA presidents, child welfare experts, mental health and substance abuse treatment providers, philanthropists, university researchers, state agency heads, and...
Blog Post
States Explore Trauma Screening in the Child Welfare System [chroniclesofsocialchange.org]
As trauma-informed initiatives have multiplied in recent years, more child welfare agencies are now grappling with how to properly screen for trauma. Along with access to trauma-focused, evidence-based treatments and staff training, screening is a key part of building a trauma-informed system. But that approach has until recently had relatively little traction in the child welfare field. According to a new paper that looks at the implementation of a recent wave of trauma screening...
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Teen's documentary will focus on foster care benefits [lancastereaglegazette.com]
Alysia Wilson is living proof that teenagers can be adopted. Wilson shared her story of her time in foster care and recent adoption at the Fairfield County Job and Family Services' child abuse prevention month kickoff Wednesday. She was adopted March 30, a week before her 18th birthday. Now, the Pickerington Central senior is working on a documentary about the system. Read the article here .
Blog Post
Temporary County Jobs Offer Former Foster Youth Pathway to Employment (chronicleofsocialchange.org)
“Finding good full-time employment is a key factor in reducing the pipeline from foster care into homelessness,” said Wende Nichols-Julien, CEO at Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Los Angeles. On February 14 th of this year, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors moved to expand such opportunities with the Temporary Services Registry pilot project. Proposed by supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn, the pilot project creates a registry that connects residents facing barriers...
Blog Post
The Hello It’s Me Project comes to Pittsfield: Dr. Claudia Gold at the helm of initiative to create healthy bonds between parents and infants (www./theberkshireedge.com)
Cissy's note: I am a huge fan of the way @Claudia Gold works with those of us Parenting with ACEs . The first time I read her writing I relaxed. She was speaking with and for parents not about or at us. Unfortunately, her approach is rare. Fortunately, she just launched a new project she's been dreaming of for years. I love the way she supports all families and how she centers the role of all parents in the lives of all children - especially those - not all except those...
Blog Post
The Ubering of Foster Care has Begun [ChronicleofSocialChange.org]
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/ubering-foster-care/21670 Earlier this month , I wrote a story about how Los Angeles County was considering using ridesharing services like Uber to improve “family visitation.” The problem in L.A. and across the country is that it is hard to transport children and their parents to court-ordered visits. My back-of-the-envelope math suggested that if every L.A. foster child were to be afforded one hour of visits a week – way less than court...
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TIC: News and Notes for the Week of October 21, 2019 [dhs.wisconsin.gov]
ACEs, Adversity's Impact There is only one boat: The myth of normalcy by Dr. Gabor Mate Understanding historical trauma to strengthen community Childhood trauma linked to early, premarital childbirth and poor health for women Early life racial discrimination linked to depression, accelerated aging When mothers are killed by their partners, children often become 'forgotten' victims. It's time they were given a voice Children's language skills may be harmed by social hardship Does racism...
Blog Post
To help address foster care tragedies, better understand and listen to youth [www.tribtalk.org]
Earlier this month, two teenagers in foster care were struck by a vehicle after running away from Child Protective Services (CPS) offices in Houston, where they had been staying because of a lack of appropriate placement options. One, a 15-year-old girl, died from her injuries. The tragic fatality has heightened attention on Texas’ foster care capacity crisis, but it is important to recognize that the issues Texas must address are much broader. Due to challenges with how information was...
Blog Post
Trauma-Informed Care as a Universal Precaution: Beyond the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire [jamanetwork.com]
By Nicole Racine, Teresa Killam, and Sheri Madigan, JAMA Pediatrics, November 4, 2019 Experiences of childhood adversity are common, with more than 50% of adults reporting having experienced at least 1 adversity as children and more than 6% exposed to 4 or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). There is currently a controversial debate in the medical field as to whether the ACEs questionnaire, which asks about abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction before age 18 years, should be...
Blog Post
Trauma, Opiates, and Child Welfare: How Family Serving Agencies Can Do Better. [chronicleofsocialchange.org]
We all know far too well the devastating effects of the national opioid crisis, and specifically, the ever-present role of opiate addiction in child welfare. Follow here to read a piece by Nico’Lee Rohac, a foster care alumni and Social Worker, published 9/18/17 by The Chronicle of Social Change. By all outward appearances , I grew up in a normal American family. My parents had respectable jobs in construction and nursing, a four-bedroom home, family dog and a playhouse my father built from...
Blog Post
UK - The Kinship Care: State of the Nation Survey (Grandparents)
https://www.grandparentsplus.org.uk/Handlers/Download.ashx?IDMF=75a6b874-6666-4224-8770-48905670dbaf The Kinship Care: State of the Nation Survey This report is based on a survey of members of the Grandparents Plus Kinship Care Support Network, which includes almost 4,000 kinship carers. The results are based on responses from 671 kinship carers living in England and Wales, making it the largest ever survey of its kind. Carried out in February 2017 using both online and postal...
Blog Post
Videos & Audio
20/20 Reports On Foster Children And How Psychotropic Drugs Are Being Used To Control Behavior/Emotions. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...amp;feature=youtu.be Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...amp;feature=youtu.be Link:...
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Washington to combine child services programs into one department [RealChangeNews.org]
A commission released its recommendations to fix Washington state’s faulty system that delivers services to children and families by breaking up the agency out of the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and creating a new, independent department addressing the needs of children 21 years old and younger. The proposal would dramatically realign the current system, including the state’s foster care system, by taking the Children’s Administration out of DSHS and combining it with the...
Blog Post
What's Trending in Child Welfare? [National Child Welfare Workforce Institute]
What's Trending in Child Welfare? Evidence-Based & Trauma-Informed New CEBC resource, The State of the Evidence for Intervention & Prevention Programs for Child Welfare Involved Populations. 3 great resources by Echo on the physical impact of trauma , how to support someone who has experienced trauma , and how to empower survivors . A great read on models of trauma-informed organizational change. Leadership What makes an effective leader? Get the top 10 leadership competencies. This...
Blog Post
Who Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes [fostercarecapacity.com]
By The Chronicle of Social Change, October 2019 Who Cares is the nation’s first public resource on foster care capacity. The Chronicle of Social Change collects data directly from each state, and combines that with specially obtained federal reports to shed light on two critical questions: How many kids are in foster care today? And where are they living? This year the data suggests that nationwide, the number of youth in care is going down, and the number of foster homes is going up. But...
Blog Post
Who Cares: A National Count of Foster Homes [fostercarecapacity.com]
By The Chronicle of Social Change, October 2019 Who Cares is the nation’s first public resource on foster care capacity. The Chronicle of Social Change collects data directly from each state, and combines that with specially obtained federal reports to shed light on two critical questions: How many kids are in foster care today? And where are they living? This year the data suggests that nationwide, the number of youth in care is going down, and the number of foster homes is going up. But...
Blog Post
Why it makes more sense to care for kids and parents at the same time [centerforhealthjournalism.org]
It’s the flu season, and David, a 4-month-old baby with a chronic lung disease, is with his pediatrician for a flu shot. David’s condition leaves him particularly vulnerable to respiratory illnesses like the flu. During the visit, David’s parents, Clare and Dave, discover that they need to make separate appointments to receive their own flu shots, which only complicates their already overwhelmed daily routine. Now imagine a place where David and his parents can receive a flu shot at the same...
Blog Post
Why You Should Write a Letter to Yourself Tonight (Bessel van der Kolk, MD)
Why You Should Write A Letter To Yourself Tonight Writing is one of the most effective ways to access an inner world of feelings that is the key to recovering from ...
Blog Post
Young Parents Speak Out: Barriers, Bias, and Broken Systems [aecf.org]
By National Crittenton and Katcher Consulting, Annie E. Casey Foundation, March 2020 Founded in 1883 as a social justice advocacy organization, National Crittenton has been dedicated to the needs and potential of girls, young women and women facing violence, poverty and injustice across the country for more than a century. Additionally, National Crittenton convenes the 26 Yet, systems have turned a blind eye to the ways in which the “safety net” designed for adults is a “trap” for young...
Ask the Community
Are Foster Care Children Excessively Medicated?
I thought I'd bring this important Denver Post series, " Prescription Kids ," to the group's attention. The articles focus on the rate at which antipsychotic and antidepressant medications are prescribed to foster children in Colorado. The...
Ask the Community
Cross Culture/Loss of Culture in Foster Care
Hello everyone, I'm looking for a video or a great resource/article about the impact of adapting to different cultures and/or losing sense of their own culture while in foster care and the long-term impact of this. We are doing a discussion/student panel during Foster Care Awareness Month. A video or article may assist in the discussion. Thank you in advance!
Ask the Community
Looking for Writers: New magazine addressing foster care system and family trauma
Hello, Everyone, I am co-editor of a new publication on Medium.com, to be launched in March 2020. Collective Power is the written arm of Home for Good , a collective organization recently launched after 6 years of planning. HFG began when our founders asked themselves, "What would a system that reflects our love for our children look like?" HFG's mission is to transform the trauma too often perpetuated by the various helping systems, among the people they purport to help—whether the...
Blog Post
COVID-19 Pandemic, Unemployment, and Civil Unrest [jamanetwork.com]
By Sandro Galea and Salma M. Abdalla, JAMA Network, June 12, 2020 More than 110 000 people have died in the US because of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, a pathogen that was unknown just 6 months ago. Ubiquitous fear and anxiety that accompanied the emergence of the new coronavirus led to widespread limits on physical contact in attempts to mitigate the spread of the virus. That in turn brought the US economy to a halt, resulting in more than 40 million people filing for...
Blog Post
Invite: Community of Practice, Early Childhood (online)
For anyone who has access to the internet and a computer. Please share the invite widely! Details Community of Practice ∞ Invite Commitment Form Commitment Due by July 15th I'm thrilled to invite you and yours to join a six month pilot to imagine and actuate Early Childhood Learning & Wellness that more fully benefits all children, families, and communities. I cannot think of better people than you all to help shape this group. Also, I hope it's a helpful option for schools, programs,...
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Partnering with Local Mental Health Providers to Support Foster Youth in College [cccstudentmentalhealth.org]
LAST YEAR, NEARLY 18,000 CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS WERE CURRENTLY OR FORMERLY IN FOSTER CARE. These students, and students from other vulnerable or underserved groups, are motivated and resilient. However, many face higher rates of trauma and unmet mental health needs, coupled with systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing services. Without support, these challenges can contribute to lower college completion rates. BACKGROUND In 2018-2020, John Burton Advocates for Youth...
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The Experiences of Older Youth In & Aged Out of Foster Care During COVID-19 [fieldcenteratpenn.org]
By Johanna K.P. Greeson, Sara R. Jaffee, Sarah Wasch, and John Gyourko, The Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice & Research, September 2020 Executive Summary Disasters, including disease outbreaks like COVID-19, share a common potential for significant ecological and psychosocial disruption at the individual, community, and societal levels. The detrimental impact of COVID-19 is revealed daily in our news media. Although COVID-19 affects all segments of the population, it is...
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How to help an older child or teen adjust to your home [blog.adoptuskids.org]
By Kris Kittle and Kelly Reed, AdoptUSKids, January 16, 2021 When you adopt a child, it’s easy to focus on their immediate needs: home, food, routine, education, people, etc. These are all important, and your child certainly experiences significant changes that require patience, love, and understanding from you as they adjust to their unfamiliar life. But there are other areas of focus that can help an older child adjust as well. Be trustworthy. Your child may not have experienced...
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Santa Clara County is model for plan to give $1000 a month to California foster youth [mercurynews.com]
By Laurence Du Sault, The Mercury News, February 22, 2021 Borrowing from a Santa Clara County program he proposed, state Sen. Dave Cortese has introduced legislation to provide $1,000 monthly cash payments for California’s foster care youth as they leave the child welfare system. “I can’t think of a more urgent time to roll out this kind of assistance,” Cortese said during an online press conference Monday. “Especially as they enter the adult world during an economic decline caused by...
Ask the Community
Research/speaker to share sides of foster youth independence and resiliency
For each year's Foster Care Awareness Month, we pick a theme or topic to bring awareness to and to discuss among students within UC Davis Guardian Scholars Program. This year the title is "The Diary of the Independent, Resilient Foster Youth". We are aiming to highlight how former foster youth build skills and gain sense of independence and resiliency while also feeling isolated and alone or feeling the pressure to "do it all" by themselves. We are looking for a speaker that can address this...
Calendar Event
OC CAPC Blue Ribbon Community Forum
Member
Pamela Burrus
Calendar Event
Children's Mental Health Awareness Week
Blog Post
Foster Boy: National Foster Care Month Screening [fosterboy.com]
You're invited to a nationwide screening of the award winning film, ' Foster Boy ,' executive produced by Shaquille O'Neal and starring Matthew Modine, Shane Paul McGhie, Louis Gossett Jr., Amy Brenneman, & Julie Benz, and participate in a live Q&A about the importance of reforming the foster care system. REGISTER WATCH THE TRAILER Screening window: May 7 - May 10 Live Panel discussion + Q&A: May 11th at 8:00 pm EST/7:00 pm CST/5:00 pm PST MEET OUR PANELISTS Jay Paul Deratany Jay...
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Raising the Next Generation: Webinar on a Survey of U.S. Parents and Caregivers [rwjf.org]
From Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, May 2021 Please join us for an in-depth discussion of the findings, and their implications for the country as we move from recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession toward a future in which all children and families are thriving. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation recently completed an 18-month study with parents and caregivers in the United States, examining what it is like to raise children in America today. [Please click here for more...
Blog Post
Minneapolis Lawyers Rely on 'Gold Standard' Law to Keep Native American Families Together [imprintnews.org]
By Elizabeth Amon, The Imprint, May 17, 2021 A federal law enacted 43 years ago designed to protect Native American families from separation is now under threat like no time in recent history. Last month, the Indian Child Welfare Act, widely considered to be the “gold standard” of the field, was found to be constitutional by a federal appeals court. But the justices nevertheless chipped away at key provisions that make the law known as ICWA successful. The lengthy, complicated decision could...
Blog Post
California's Foster Youth UBI Bill Moves Forward, Bolstered By Promising Results from Similar Local Program [imprintnews.org]
By Sara Tiano, The Imprint, June 21, 2021 In May, Veronica Vieyra graduated from San Jose State University with a bachelor’s degree — a feat fewer than 6% of California former foster youth achieve. But entering a job market ravaged by a yearlong pandemic has proven an unexpected challenge. Months of submitting applications have so far been met with silence. What has allowed Vieyra to keep forging ahead toward her goal of working in a public health career, she said, is a $1,000 payment she...
Member
Jessica Phillips
Blog Post
How to Advocate for Child Abuse Prevention in Your Community?
The foster care system is designed to temporarily shelter children who have been removed from their homes due to maltreatment. Each year, the United States has more than 400,000 children living in foster care (1) . Placing children in foster homes can help to provide them a safe environment. Foster parents are dedicated to giving the best care for children living in their homes. Their care can provide children with a safe and stable environment to thrive and survive (2) . Effective child...
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Keeping children you foster and adopt safe online (AdoptUSKids.org)
By AdoptUSKids, June 15, 2021 Long before COVID, children’s lives were increasingly spent online. Researchers estimate that 70 percent of us spend more than two hours a day on social media alone. If you’re a parent, you might be thinking: “Only two hours! My son is on his phone a lot more than that!” There are many well documented dangers created by children’s spending excessive amounts of time online. Children in foster care are often at a greater risk because they may have less impulse...
Blog Post
The Staggering Number of Kids Who Have Lost a Parent to COVID-19 [theatlantic.com]
By Joe Pinsker, The Atlantic, October 16, 2021 Throughout the pandemic, media outlets and online dashboards have provided constant updates on the number of people who have died from COVID-19. Far less prominent—but just as striking—are the tallies of those left behind. According to an estimate published recently in the journal Pediatrics , at least 140,000 American children had lost a parent or caregiver because of the coronavirus by the end of June—meaning that one of roughly every 500...
Blog Post
Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (nctsn.org)
This resource from National Child Traumatic Stress Network supports caseworkers, supervisors, and all other levels of the child welfare workforce in implementing trauma-informed knowledge and skills in their daily interactions, professional services and organizational culture. The third edition of the Child Welfare Trauma Training Toolkit (CWTTT) incorporates two foundational trainings, a specialized skills training for supervisors and caseworkers, and a supervisor consultation series to...
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Trauma-Informed Guiding Principles for Working with Transition Age Youth: Provider Fact Sheet
This fact sheet from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network offers information for providers supporting transition age youth with trauma-informed guiding principles to inform their work. This fact sheet describes transition age youth and their unique experiences, and six trauma-informed guiding principles to better support youth in their journey and recovery. Please click here to download the fact sheet.
Blog Post
Use of Foster Care Went Down During the First Pandemic Year. Did Maltreatment? [imprintnews.org]
By Michael Fitzgerald, Illustration: Christine Ongjoco, The Imprint, March 17, 2022 In a wood- and marble-paneled Washington, D.C., hearing room last month, President Joe Biden’s nominee for a top child welfare post delivered a stunning number to United States senators: Despite all the devastation families experienced following the emergence of COVID-19, there were roughly 1,000 fewer children in the Oregon foster care system when compared with two years prior. Rebecca Jones Gaston cited “a...
Blog Post
Use of Foster Care Went Down During the First Pandemic Year. Did Maltreatment? [imprintnews.org]
By Michael Fitzgerald, Illustration: Christine Ongjoco, The Imprint, March 17, 2022 In a wood- and marble-paneled Washington, D.C., hearing room last month, President Joe Biden’s nominee for a top child welfare post delivered a stunning number to United States senators: Despite all the devastation families experienced following the emergence of COVID-19, there were roughly 1,000 fewer children in the Oregon foster care system when compared with two years prior. Rebecca Jones Gaston cited “a...
Member
Kimberly von Atzigen
Blog Post
May is Foster Care Awareness Month
Key Facts and Statistics from Childwelfare.gov Include these key points in your messaging to demonstrate the important role relative and kinship caregivers play in supporting family connections that are essential to a child’s health and well-being. There are over 407,000 children and youth in foster care , and 34 percent were placed with relatives or kin. The term kin encompasses both relatives (those related by blood or marriage) and fictive kin (those who are unrelated but have such a...