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Home > Conference Calendar > Conference Exhibits > 17th Annual Pennsylvania Permanency Conference
17th Annual Pennsylvania Permanency Conference
The following Information Gateway materials were made available at the 17th Annual Pennsylvania Permanency Conference held June 24 to 26, 2009, in Lancaster, PA.
Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted From Foster Care
In every State there are children with special needs waiting in foster care for adoptive families. The most recent data estimate that 126,000 children are available to be adopted from foster care. In the past, the costs of care and services were major obstacles to parents who would otherwise adopt and love these children, and most were not placed for adoption. The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 provided the first Federal subsidies to encourage the adoption of children from the nation's foster care system. These subsidies, known as adoption assistance, serve to minimize the financial obstacles to ...
Adoption Options
This fact sheet provides basic information about adoption options. It focuses on the choices between domestic and intercountry adoption, domestic infant or foster care adoption, and licensed private agencies, independent adoption, or facilitated/unlicensed agencies. A description of how the placement process will vary for each type of adoption is provided, as is a list of resources.
The Basics of Adoption Practice
Adoption is a highly specialized field that focuses on placing children with families and providing services to ensure that these placements are permanent. In recent decades, the emphasis of adoption practice has shifted from helping families find children to finding safe and permanent families for children. Adoption workers are now expected to have extensive knowledge and understanding of the recruitment and assessment of adoptive families, the placement of children with a variety of strengths and needs, and supportive postadoption services to promote attachment and permanency for children. This bulletin provides an overview of the basics of adoption practice and the ...
Child Welfare Casework With Nonresident Fathers of Children in Foster Care
Most children in foster care are not living with their fathers at the time they are removed from their homes, and once in substitute care, these children may experience even less contact with their nonresident fathers. Yet fathers and their relatives represent half of a child's potential family connections and kin resources. If ignored, important social or financial support for the child may be missed as permanency planning is conducted. Fathers or their relatives may be potential substitute caregivers for the child, may support a reunification plan with child support, respite or other assistance, or may voluntarily relinquish parental rights ...
The Children's Bureau
The Children's Burea administers a range of services designed to protect children and strengthen families. With an annual budget of more than $7 billion, the agency works with States, Tribes, and communities to plan, manage, coordinate, and support child abuse and neglect prevention, foster care, child welfare, and adoption programs that improve outcomes for children. and families.
Coming of Age: Employment Outcomes for Youth Who Age Out of Foster Care Through Their Middle Twenties.
| Author(s): |
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation., Urban Institute.
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| Availability: |
View Publication
Printable Version
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| Year Published: |
2008 - 84 pages |
Studies of former foster youth who age out of care find that these youth generally experience high unemployment, unstable employment patterns, and earn very low incomes in the period between ages 18 and 21. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) requested this study to examine employment and earnings outcomes for youth, through their mid-twenties, who age out of foster care. The key question and focus of the study is whether foster youth catch up or continue to experience less employment and significantly lower earnings than their peers even ...
Concurrent Planning: What the Evidence Shows
Concurrent planning is an approach that seeks to eliminate delays in attaining permanent family placements for children in the foster care system. This process involves considering all reasonable options for permanency at the earliest possible point following a child's entry into foster care. This issue brief examines examples of and support for concurrent planning across the United States; reports on practices and evaluations of research in recent literature; emphasizes the important roles of court personnel in achieving timely permanence via concurrent planning; illustrates examples associated with the successful planning and implementation of concurrent planning in public agencies; and establishes some ...
Costs of Adopting
This factsheet provides cost estimates for domestic and intercountry adoptions. Agency fees, legal fees, home study expenses, and foreign country expenses are considered. The factsheet also includes information about adoption benefits, such as Federal tax credits, state tax credits, subsidies, and adoption loans and grants. A brief list of additional resources is provided.
Enhancing Permanency for Older Youth in Out-Of-Home Care
Finding permanent families for older children and youth in out-of-home care continues to be a challenge for child welfare professionals. Many States and local jurisdictions have begun to implement programs specifically designed to help these youth establish permanent connections. This bulletin addresses the specific challenges of permanency planning with older youth, discussing the importance of focusing on older youth, barriers to permanency, strategies for successful permanency planning, and promising programs. A list of resources for further information is provided.
Family Reunification: What the Evidence Shows
Family reunification, the process of returning children in temporary out-of-home care to their families of origin, is the most common goal and outcome for children in out-of-home care. This issue brief examines States? successes and challenges related to family reunification, as documented in the Federal Child and Family Services Reviews; reviews research regarding factors contributing to timely, stable reunifications; offers specific program examples that illustrate these factors; and uses all of the above to suggest several guiding principles for practice in this critical area of permanency planning.
Foster Parent Adoption
This paper discusses issues related to the increasing importance of foster parents as permanency resources for children in foster care. In order to facilitate adoptions by foster parents, professionals should be knowledgeable about the benefits, costs, and practice issues surrounding foster parent adoption. Practice issues include assessment, adoption preparation and postadoption support, and facilitating ongoing connections with birth families.
Foster Parents Considering Adoption
This factsheet is written for foster parents who are considering adopting a child in their care. It provides information on the differences between foster care and adoption, and explores some of the things for foster parents to consider when making the decision about whether to adopt a child in their care. Additional topics discussed include: trends in foster parent adoption, benefits of foster parent adoption for all involved, characteristics of foster families who successfully adopt children in their care, and characteristics of foster families whose adoptions failed. Resources are provided.
Helping Your Foster Child Transition to Your Adopted Child
There are a number of ways to help foster children make the emotional transition from being "a ward of the State or the Court" to being "a son or daughter" of foster/adoptive parents. This fact sheet describes specific things families can say and do to help foster children transition, including: talking with children about the changes, engaging in activities to help children understand their own history and background and the reasons why they cannot live with their birth family, helping children adjust to these losses, and helping children transfer their attachments to the foster/adoptive family. Additionally, families will need to ...
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons
As discussion of the adoption process becomes more open and accepted in American society, and as more Americans have experience with adoption, there is also more attention focused on those involved in adoption -- the adopted person, the birth parents, and the adoptive parents (often referred to as the adoption triad or, more recently, the adoption constellation). People who have experienced adoption firsthand are coming forward to talk or write about their experiences, and researchers are conducting scientific studies to find out about the impact of adoption on all members of the adoption triad. This factsheet examines the impact of ...
Impact of Adoption on Birth Parents
This factsheet discusses some of the emotional issues that parents face after making the decision to place an infant for adoption, in surrendering the child, and in handling the feelings that often persist afterwards. In addition, it addresses some of the emotional issues of parents whose children are permanently removed from them and whose parental rights are terminated. This factsheet may be a helpful resource for birth parents, as well as family members, friends, and others who want to support birth parents. It may also provide some insight to adopted persons and adoptive parents who want to understand the struggles ...
Kinship Caregivers and the Child Welfare System
Informal and formal kinship care arrangements help to ensure stability and protection for children within their extended family. This fact sheet describes the benefits of kinship care as a child protection alternative and examines the agency's responsibility for the placement. The placement decision-making process, what to expect from the child welfare service and court system, and financial support, available services, and permanency planning are discussed. Questions for new kin caregivers to ask and a list of additional references are provided.
Obtaining Background Information on Your Prospective Adopted Child
This fact sheet explains why it is important to obtain background information about a prospective child. It discusses where a family might find background information, what questions to ask about the child's medical, family, social, and placement history, and why information may not be available. It includes a list of resources for more information.
Openness in Adoption
This factsheet describes the benefits of postadoption contact with birth parents and reviews considerations for determining the degree of openness that is most appropriate for the child. It suggests that adoptive parents consult Internet websites, books, counselors, and other parents when making decisions about open adoption. The factsheet includes a chart of the advantages and disadvantages of confidential adoptions, mediated adoptions, and open adoptions.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy With At-Risk Families
Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a family-centered treatment approach demonstrated effective for abused and at-risk children ages 2½ to 12 and their parents or caregivers. This issue brief explores the characteristics and benefits of PCIT to help child welfare caseworkers, other professionals who work with at-risk families, and caregivers make more informed decisions about family participation in PCIT programs. It includes information about what makes PCIT unique, key components, effectiveness, and what to look for in a PCIT therapist.
Postadoption Services
All adopted children and their families can potentially benefit from services provided after the adoption is finalized. These services may include educational and informational services, clinical services, material services, and/or support services. This bulletin addresses: who benefits from postadoption services, how can postadoption services help, what postadoptive services do families need, what postadoptive services do States offer, how are postadoption services delivered, how are postadoption services funded, why evaluate postadoption services, what are the implications for practice, and what future research is needed This bulletin specifically focuses on the benefits for adopted people and adoptive parents. Includes resources.
Postadoption Services
It is common for adoptive families to need support and services after adoption. Postadoption services can help families with a wide range of issues. They are available for everything from learning how to explain adoption to a preschooler, to helping a child who experienced early childhood abuse, to helping with an adopted teen?s search for identity. Experience with adoptive families has shown that all family members can benefit from some type of postadoption support. Families of children who have experienced trauma, neglect, or institutionalization may require more intensive services.
Providing Background Information to Adoptive Parents
This bulletin explains the importance of providing background information about a child to prospective adoptive parents so that they can be prepared to address the child's emotional, health, and behavioral needs. The briefing describes the liability of agencies in cases of wrongful adoption and identifies the types of information that families should receive. Issues regarding sensitive information and right to privacy also are discussed.
Recognizing Child Abuse and Neglect: Signs and Symptoms
The first step in helping abused or neglected children is learning to recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect. This factsheet lists general signs that may signal the presence of child abuse. It also includes signs associated with specific types of maltreatment such as physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional maltreatment.
Respite Care Services for Families Who Adopt Children with Special Needs: Synthesis of Demonstration Program Final Reports
This report synthesizes information from the final program and evaluation reports of 8 Adoption Opportunities discretionary grants programs written between 1994 and 1999. It summarizes project descriptions, lessons learned, accomplishments, and recommendations. An appendix includes project information for each of the 8 projects, including contact information, area served, target population, and evaluation activities.
Searching for Birth Relatives
The purpose of this factsheet is to provide some guidance on the search process and information access, as well as resources for further help in conducting a successful search. This factsheet is designed to address the concerns of both adopted persons who are searching for birth parents or other birth relatives, as well as birth parents (both mothers and fathers) who want to locate a child who was adopted. While not a complete "how to" guide to searching, this factsheet provides information on the decision to search, steps in the search process, hiring a professional searcher, international searching, and reunion ...
Selecting and Working With an Adoption Therapist
Adoption has a lifelong impact on those it touches, and members of adoptive families may want professional help as concerns arise. Timely intervention by a professional skilled in adoption issues often can prevent concerns from becoming more serious problems. Professionals with adoption knowledge and experience are best suited to help families identify connections between problems and adoption and to plan effective treatment strategies. Sometimes a difficulty that a child is experiencing can be directly linked to adoption, but sometimes the connection is not readily apparent. In other situations, issues that seem on the surface to be related to adoption turn ...
Strengthening Families and Communities: 2009 Resource Guide
This Resource Guide was written to support service providers in their work with parents, caregivers, and their children to strengthen families and prevent child abuse and neglect. The guide includes information about protective factors that help reduce the risk of child maltreatment, strategies for changing how communities support families, and evidence-informed practices. It also offers suggestions for enhancing protective factors in families, tools to build awareness and develop community partnerships, information about child abuse and neglect, a directory of national organizations that work to strengthen families, and tip sheets in English and Spanish on specific parenting topics.
Toll-Free Crisis Hotline Numbers
| Series Title: |
Related Organizations List |
| Author(s): |
Child Welfare Information Gateway
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| Availability: |
View Publication
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| Year Published: |
2007 - 2 pages |
This directory lists toll-free phone numbers maintained by various crisis organizations. It includes organizations that deal with child abuse, child sexual abuse, crime victims, family violence, mental illness, missing/abducted children, rape/incest, substance abuse, suicide prevention, and youth in trouble/runaways.
Child Welfare Information Gateway: Stay Connected
Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to timely, practical resources that help child welfare, adoption, and related professionals protect children and strengthen families. This flier describes Information Gateway?s free services, including reliable print and electronic publications, websites, online databases, and more.
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