Provides a list of competencies required for those working with young people with mental health difficulties that are transitioning to adulthood. Link to pdf Tips; Link to more detailed List of Competencies
Tag Archives: Adoption
Are Subsidized Guardianships Making a Positive Difference for Kids?
Under the federal Fostering Connections Act, Texas recently began providing financial assistance to relatives when they became legal guardians of children who have been abused or neglected, cannot return home, or be adopted. This paper explores whether these payments have increased overall permanent placements with relatives or have only led relatives to shift from adoption to legal guardianship, thereby increasing permanency through legal guardianships, but potentially decreasing adoptions. Early evidence suggests that while there have been increases in both overall permanency and relative guardianship, the proportion of children being adopted by a relative has declined. Link to pdf Evaluation
Parenting Traumatized Children
Provides support, information, and advocacy for professionals and foster and adoptive parents of traumatized children.
http://nysccc.org/wp-content/uploads/SchoolerPPointPart2TraumaCompPart.pdf (425 KB)
http://nysccc.org/wp-content/uploads/SchoolerPart2Essentials.pdf (302 KB)
A Building Bridges Initiative Tip Sheet: Evaluating and Improving Outcomes for Youth who have Received Residential Services
This tip sheet focuses on long term, post-program youth and family functional outcome measures. A key question is whether residential services achieve long-lasting success. While there are many anecdotes about the profound changes that occur for youth served in residential programs, these personal stories are not sufficient to demonstrate the programmatic or systemic effectiveness of service efforts. Outcome measurement is essential to document how a program is achieving long term results. Link to Tip Sheet
Building Successful Resource Families: A Guide for Public Agencies
Annie E. Casey Foundation: The Foundation recognizes the critical role played by resource families who often function as a bridge to reunification, kinship care or adoption. In many instances, resource families have not received the institutional support needed to ensure that a pool of appropriate families is available to serve children in need in a given community. We have worked with jurisdictions in which 25 percent of resource families discontinue providing foster care each year, and estimates indicate that 40 percent of the families who leave foster parenting do so primarily because of inadequate agency support. We have partnered with national experts in designing systems to recruit, develop and support resource families. The goal of this guide is to leverage our experience with different jurisdictions by sharing information and encouraging the use of best practices in working with resource families. Link to pdf Guide; Link to AECF Web Page Guide
Children in Public Foster Care on September 30th of Each Year Who Are Waiting to be Adopted FY 2003–FY 2011
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Statistics on the number of children in public foster care on September 30th of each year who are waiting to be adopted by state and year. Link to pdf report