Orphans are more likely to thrive in foster care than in orphanages, according to a new study from the University of Minnesota.

• Dr. Dana Johnson and his colleagues studied 136 babies in Romanian orphanages. The average age of the children was 21 months.
  
• Half the children stayed in the orphanages, where they got very little individual attention but adequate food, the other half were placed in foster care.
  
• Dr. Johnson's team assessed both groups of orphans on a regular basis starting in 1999.
• The children in foster care increased their heights and weights, as well as their IQs.
  
• After one year, all were in the normal range for height and 90 percent were normal for weight, although the children in the orphanages were behind in both measurements.
  

"Psychosocial stimulus interacts with the physiological system," said Prof. Nathan Fox, a member of the research team. "It increases the production of growth hormone and reduces stress. Providing adequate psychosocial stimulus is necessary for growth."

This study appeared in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Labels: orphans, orphanages, foster care

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According to a March 24 article by Rebecca Martinez of newsleader.com, adoption advocates in Virginia are working to change the state's foster care system to provide additional services for youth who "age out" of the system without adequate support:

In 2007, 62 percent of foster children left the system to live permanently with either a relative or adopted family.

A study by the Pew Research Center that year found older youths who age out or are emancipated from the system spend nearly five years without a permanent home. Twenty five percent will be incarcerated within two years and 20 percent will become homeless.

"The impact, just simply from not having a family is just tremendous," said Ray Ratke, Virginias Special Advisor for Children's Services, who oversees state agencies' compliance with Childrens Services System Transformation, a subsequent initiative to improve care in 13 localities. "Let's develop a plan to keep that family together."

Labels: foster care, laws

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In a March 29 opinion article in Iowa's Press-Citizen newspaper, adoptive mother Marlene Jessop wrote about the great need for more foster parents:

Close your eyes and imagine for a moment that you are 7 years old. Everything you own is stuffed in a black garbage bag beside you. You sit in the backseat of a car as a social worker drives you to a different part of town to new home, and a new family, where you will be expected to learn new rules, attend a new school and make new friends.

If you are one of the nearly 6,000 children currently in foster care in Iowa or a resource family (commonly called foster families) who opened your heart to them, imagination is not necessary. ...

Nearly every community is suffering from a shortage of resource families. Children in foster care feel more secure and are likely to do better in school when they are able to stay in their own community.

The simple truth is that the larger the pool of qualified resource families, the easier it will be to ensure that children will not only achieve permanence in a timely manner but also that they can remain in their own neighborhoods and schools and stay together with their siblings more often.

Labels: foster care, foster_families, foster parents

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A successful mentoring program for foster children in Fairfax County, Va., is on the verge of being cut, according to a March 14 Washington Post article by Henri E. Cauvin:

Families4Kids was created five years ago by the county to build bonds between community volunteers and some the county's foster children. ... Mentors provide one-on-one support and participate in monthly group activities.

In the social-services budget of about $211 million, Families4Kids is a $133,000 blip, fueled largely by the work of the volunteers. But with the county executive requiring more than $6 million in cuts from the Department of Family Services for the coming fiscal year, the program is on the chopping block.

Officials say they concluded that cutting Families4Kids would not only save the county at least a small portion of that $6 million but would accelerate their efforts to apply the lessons of the program to many more of the county's 360 or so foster children.

Labels: foster care, mentors

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An effort is underway in West Virginia to form a statewide support and advocacy group for foster parents. Charleston Gazette staff writer Susan Williams described the effort in a Dec. 4 article:

Rachel Probst, support specialist for Mission West Virginia, said West Virginia has no active group that encompasses the entire state. & "First of all, we want to improve the quality of life for children in foster care. But foster parents and adoptive parents also need a collective voice." &

Although Probst works for Mission West Virginia, she said the new foster parent group will be independent of her organization.

"We want to be a central resource for parents," Probst said. "We want to educate people about the role of foster parents, and we want to be a support group for them and for adoptive parents.

For more information about the new group call 866-225-5698.

Labels: foster care, foster parents, awareness, support, west virginia

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Adoption proceedings in Michigan, which are typically closed to the public, were opened for one week in honor of National Adoption Day. Across Michigan, more than thirty counties took unique steps to mark this important day.

According to a Nov. 25 article by Kathryn Prater of the Lansing State Journal, this year's Adoption Day events were a time to celebrate successes as well as re-focus on the challenges that remain:

More than 2,700 children were adopted through the Michigan Department of Human Services and private adoption agencies during the fiscal year 2009, which ended Sept. 30, according to the department. That's up almost 10 percent from 2003, when about 2,470 children were adopted, it said.

More than 16,600 Michigan children and teenagers are in foster care for various reasons and lengths of time, [said Gisgie Davila Gendreau of the Michigan Department of Human Services]. About 3,800 of those children are able to be adopted, she said.

"We're building awareness and reminding people that they don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent - you just have to be willing to open your home to a child," she said. "There are children waiting for a 'forever family,' and we hope that they will consider fostering or adopting a child."

Labels: foster care, adoption costs, milestones, michigan

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Children in central Ohio have a strong advocate in Laura Barrington.

Barrington is the coordinator for Ross County Childrens Services, and according to an article in the Nov. 25 edition of the Chillicothe Gazette, she is working hard to match children in foster care with adoptive parents, ideally in time for the holidays:

One of the challenges for those working in fields dealing with adoption, she said, is finding placement for older children. Typically, infants and younger children are adopted more quickly than older ones.

"Some people have this idea of older children, that they are troubled youth, and that's not true," she said.

Another misconception is that a person has to be wealthy in order to adopt, she said.

Barrington said many of the older children go off to college and don't even have a home to return to on breaks or over the holidays. Those children, even though they are on the verge of full adulthood, need that family structure as well, she said.

"Every child is adoptable," Barrington said.

Labels: foster care, adoptive parents, ohio

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After years of being foster parents and applying to formally adopt one of their foster kids, a Dayton, Ohio, couple is having second thoughts. They recently asked Dr. Gregory Ramey if he felt it was too late – or even appropriate – for them to back out.

“It’s unclear if your expectations are unrealistic, or if your 4-year-old is truly having problem that may require professional help. I’m more concerned about your apparent lack of commitment to this little boy. If you and your husband feel you are unable to completely commit to this child, you need to have a frank discussion immediately with the child’s caseworker.” (Source: Dayton Daily)

Adoption is obviously a serious decision. And, as Dr. Ramey says to this couple, commitment to a child must be absolute – in both good times and bad. For those who are considering adoption, it’s OK to decide that it’s a commitment for which you’re not ready. But it’s also a decision that should be made long before the process is started.
 

Labels: foster care, adoptive_parents

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

Children in foster care are more likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases, according to a new study from the University of Washington.

• Girls were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors, such as having casual partners or a high number of them, or accepting money in exchange for sex.
• Boys in foster care did not show an increased likelihood of risky sexual behaviors compared to boys not in foster care.
• Researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health collected on over 14,000 children and young adults.

"If our findings are confirmed," the researchers wrote, "then health care providers for current and former foster youth should consider modifying their screening practices to reflect the increased risk for sexually transmitted diseases of this youth."

Labels: foster care, disease, sex

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Central Florida may soon have a new organization managing its child-welfare system. State officials put management of the system up for bid, hoping to attract organizations that were both effective and fiscally responsible.

“The two finalists are Family Services of Metro Orlando, the nonprofit that has had the contract for Orange and Osceola for the past six years, and Community Based Care of Seminole, the nonprofit that has had the contract for Seminole County for the past five years. Both agencies were created when DCF [Department of Children and Families] privatized its child-welfare system county by county earlier this decade.” [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

The contract winner will manage foster care, adoptions, and child abuse and neglect cases in both counties. State and county officials plan to make their final decision by September 28th. The winning nonprofit will be awarded a four-and-a-half year contract.

Labels: foster care, adoption_agencies, welfare

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment