Building Blocks Toward Permanent Families: Annette's Story Her eagerness in getting her family back together was very strong. We worked together as a team with her kids, and in turn, her kids did very well in our home, knowing we were on the same page for everything.” – Annette, Foster Parent
Informational & Practice Publications, Resources, & Tools
For Child Welfare Professionals
Birth Parents in the Adoption Process
This NRCPFC information packet synthesizes research focused on birth parents who voluntarily relinquish their parental rights and explores some of their experiences throughout the adoption process. It provides a summary, a fact sheet that discusses pre-adoption agreements and studies on the impact of voluntary relinquishment on birth mothers, an overview of relevant laws and policies, best practice tips, and a listing of resources. By Susann A. Cortes (May 2012); Edited by Lyn Ariyakulkan, MSW (August 2012)
For Youth & Families
Birth Parents Handbooks
For birth parents whose children have entered the foster care system, the intricacies of the foster care and legal systems can be overwhelming. In response to this, the NCCWE has compiled this state-by-state listing of free online handbooks. These handbooks assist birth parents to help guide them through the process.
Teleconferences, Webinars, Webcasts & Videos
Reinstating Parental Rights for Youth in Care
Despite laws that require termination of parental rights when a child has remained in foster care for a specified period of time, studies indicate that relationships with their biological parents/relatives are important to children/youth in foster care. Youth who become “legal orphans” through the court process often make efforts to maintain that connection. In some cases where the purpose for terminating parental rights (i.e. adoption) is not fulfilled, the child, child welfare agency, or parent has asked that the court reinstate the legal relationship between the child and parent. This NRCPFC teleconference discussed how some States are finding permanency for youth by reinstating parental rights or by biological parents adopting their birth children. This session provided an overview of issues, discussed legal actions taken by States, considered possible solutions, and explored the question, “Where do we go from here?” (April 2011)
Meaningful Family Engagement Meaningful family engagement is a prerequisite for helping families achieve their goals. This National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections webcast focused on meaningful engagement of families, particularly birth parents. The discussion included strategies for states focusing on how to successfully engage family members affected by the child welfare system, including fathers and paternal resources. In addition, a birth parent shared her experience as a former client and now a national consultant helping public child welfare agencies better engage families within and beyond the case plan. Using state examples of promising practices with meaningful family engagement strategies, this webcast also discussed utilizing the voice of parents as presenters and in digital stories. (January 2011)
*Many of these resources were developed previously by the
National Resource Center for
Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC).
Informational & Practice Publications, Resources, & Tools
For Child Welfare Professionals
Openness in Adoption: Building Relationships Between Adoptive and Birth Families This factsheet from the Child Welfare Information Gateway is intended to support adoptive families in considering and maintaining open adoption. It describes open adoption and various levels of openness, trends towards increasing openness, and the potential benefits of open adoption. Additionally, this factsheet provides adoptive families with questions to consider in deciding whether open adoption is right for them, strategies to build and maintain relationships with their children’s birth families, and tips for using social media for contact with birth families. (January 2013)
Working With Birth and Adoptive Families to Support Open Adoption The Child Welfare Information Gateway has developed this bulletin for professionals which describes open adoption and ways in which professionals can guide birth and adoptive families who are contemplating open adoption or who are already having post-adoption contact. The bulletin examines trends in openness; explores the benefits of open adoption, implications for casework practices, and implications for agencies; and discusses adoption and the internet. (January 2013)
Icebreaker Meetings: Building Relationships Between Birth and Foster Parents
Building working relationships between birth parents, foster parents, and caseworkers can be extremely important for foster children, and using Icebreaker meetings can be an effective mechanism for doing that. However, to be successful, an agency seeking to introduce Icebreakers must understand how the practice works. This Annie E. Casey Foundation publication is designed to: Give agencies an overview of Icebreaker meetings; describe a work group process for planning and implementing Icebreaker meetings; identify common barriers and roadblocks to successful implementation of Icebreaker meetings; identify implementation steps that are often overlooked or missed; share successes and examples of agencies using Icebreaker meetings; share samples of Icebreaker documents and materials developed by agencies from across the country; and, provide a self-assessment tool to guide planning and implementation. Also, see the Icebreaker Training Video produced to support the use of Icebreaker meetings by child welfare agencies. (2012)
Improving Outcomes by Improving Practice: Engaging Children, Youth, and Families
This newsletter issue deals with a foundational element of child welfare – engaging children, youth, and families. The value of family engagement is widely accepted in the field and would seem to be a natural skill among those who choose a profession in helping children and families. However, in actual practice its presence in relationships between workers and families is often absent or conditional, leading to unsuccessful efforts to support children and families on a path to change. This newsletter by the Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group explores some of the reasons family engagement is challenging, how it can be achieved, and how its presence can be evaluated. (September 2011)
For Youth & Families
Impact of Adoption on Birth Parents: A Fact Sheet
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. It 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 faced by birth parents. (August 2013)
Facing Termination of Parental Rights: Rise Magazine
While the majority of children placed in foster care return home to family, many children do not. In some cases in which parental rights are terminated, children and parents may not see each other again. Other times, families stay connected despite termination. In this issue of Rise Magazine, parents write about how they have handled termination. Rise magazine is written by and for parents involved in the child welfare system. Its mission is to help parents advocate for themselves and their children. (Spring 2010)
Resources to Help Youth Build Relationships with Parents and Foster Parents
Youth Communication provides resources to help youth build good relationships with birth parents and foster parents. Each of these web pages includes the following sections: Stories by Teens, Resources for Teens and Staff, Tips for Staff, and Helpful Links.
Research & Reports
Supporting Parents of Young Children in the Child Welfare System
This report from the National Center for Children in Poverty explores the challenges and opportunities of improving mandated parent training. Drawing on lessons from research and practice, it calls on states, courts and communities to use a more intentional, cost effective, and strategic approach to required parent training. (February 2010)
Parent Education & Training Programs in a Child Welfare Population: A Review of the Evidence
Executive Summary: This review compares and contrasts the utility of the most widely used and disseminated models of parent training and education according the strength of the empirical evidence and their relevance to parents with substantiated histories of child maltreatment. (2010)
Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework Online Training
The National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds has launched an online training to support implementation of the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors Framework. This curriculum includes materials on partnering with parents and addresses promising strategies to strengthen families for practitioners in multiple settings. There are 7 courses: Introduction to the Protective Factors; Concrete Support in Times of Need; Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development; Parental Resilience; Social Connections; Social and Emotional Competence; and, Moving from Knowledge to Action: Wrap-up Course.
Teleconferences, Webinars, Webcasts & Videos
Children Whose Parents Have Experienced Childhood Trauma – Challenges, Obligations, and Reasonable Efforts for Reunification
In this forum recording from the Chapin Hall Child and Family Policy Forum, presenters discussed findings from a Chapin Hall report in which researchers identified a subset of parents involved with the child welfare system who have extensive childhood trauma experiences and face multiple challenges or service needs. These findings have implications for caseworker engagement and service interventions, and they also raise fundamental questions about our obligation and approaches to working with parents, protecting children, and promoting well-being. This forum also discussed changes to policies and practices in the child welfare, legal, and human services fields that may be necessary in order to improve the well-being of this group of children and their families. (May 2013)
