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Ten Tips to Help Foster Families Transitioning a Child to an Adoptive Home
Transitioning a child from a foster care setting to an adoptive home can be a profound and emotional experience for both the child and the foster family. The process requires sensitivity, patience, and intentional planning to ensure a smoother transition for everyone. In this week’s blog, we’ll explore some key tips for foster families to facilitate this crucial change positively and respectfully. 1. Start with…
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Meeting the Cultural Needs of Foster and Adoptive Children in Your Home
Welcoming a foster or adopted child into your home is a beautiful and enriching experience that can bring joy to your family, but it also comes with important responsibilities—particularly as it comes to addressing and honoring the cultural needs of your child. Culture plays a critical role in shaping a child’s identity, values, and sense of belonging, so it’s imperative to create an environment where…
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Understanding Adoption Depression and Blocked Care: A Guide for Adoptive Families
When families embark on the journey of adoption, they often envision a beautiful story filled with love, joy, and connection. However, the reality can sometimes be more complex, leading to emotional hurdles such as adoption depression and a phenomenon known as blocked care. It’s important for families to recognize and understand these challenges, and doing so can help them find the support necessary to navigate…
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Mindfulness and Self Care for Professionals
January 27, 2022 – Introduction: For My favorite analogy for self-care is clichéd, but accurate. When you get on an airplane and the flight attendant gives that safety spiel, when they get to the part about the oxygen masks, the first thing they tell you is: “If you’re traveling with children or others who need assistance, put your oxygen mask on first.” Think about it. Let’s say you don’t…
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Transitioning Children with Developmental Trauma into an Adoptive Home
January 27, 2021 – By incorporating The 3–5–7 Model: Preparing Children for Permanency, by Darla Henry, workers and families conduct the preparation work, assist the child in grieving losses, formulate self-identity, establish trust and security through attachments, and build relationships and openness to join families on a permanent basis. 3 Tasks, 5 Questions, 7 Skills The 3-5-7 Model for the preparation of children for permanency is based…
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Trauma’s Impact on Social Skills – Now What?
February 17, 2022 – I felt the sting as my girls, ages 7 and 7.5 headed out the door to catch the bus without as much as a wave. What was that? Were they blowing me off because I was short with them after the 5th reminder to brush their teeth? Or maybe they just don’t care that I have a good day? Are they even bonded to…
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Silencing the Savior Complex
March 9, 2022 – I’m sure you’ve all experienced it…walking through the grocery store, leaving the school play, grabbing lunch at your favorite local diner, the church parking lot…it doesn’t matter where you are, I’m sure you can all spot them, or at the very least feel their stare as you wrangle the kids from point A to point B. You know, it’s that one smiling…
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How to Talk to Children in Foster Care about School Shootings
May 27, 2022 – It’s hard to find words in the wake of tragedy. The death of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Middle School in Uvalde, TX due to gun violence is just the latest in a long line of school shootings in the US over the past several decades. Knowing how to talk to children about these events is a challenge. But for…
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Building Your Family’s Adoption Profile
September 27, 2022 – The time has come, you’re finally ready to take the plunge into the world of Adoption! While you set aside time for training, background checks, paperwork, paperwork, and well…more paperwork, this is also a great time to start thinking about your family’s story and how you’d like to share information with professionals and youth who may be considering you as their no matter what family.…
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Intimidated by Adopting? Why You Don’t Have to Be Perfect
November 23, 2022 –Many people are intimidated when they think about adopting a child. Will I be a good enough role model? Will I provide well enough? What if I lose my temper or make a huge mistake in front of them? Well, let us be the first to say, none of these things should deter you from pursuing adoption. In fact, here’s the big…