Every year, more than 20,000 young adults age out of the foster care system. They are between the ages of 18 and 21, some having chosen to voluntarily remain in care after 18. Their transition from the child welfare system to adulthood is often difficult as they tackle education, employment, housing, relationships and, simply, next steps. 

Easing that transition often falls to social workers and social work organizations. It is a task these professionals do not and should not take lightly. After all, says Judith Schagrin, LCSW-C, a public policy analyst in Baltimore, “These are our children.” 

Mark E. Courtney, PhD, Samuel Deutsch Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice and Co-Director of the Transition-Age Youth Research and Evaluation Hub at the University of California Berkeley, agrees.

“Once we assume legal custody and we care for them for some period of time—and for a lot of these young people, most of them have been there for a while, years—we say we’re going to do a good job raising you, we have an obligation to follow through on that.” 

Mark E. Courtney, PhD, Samuel Deutsch Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice and Co-Director of the Transition-Age Youth Research and Evaluation Hub at the University of California Berkeley, agrees. “Once we assume legal custody and we care for them for some period of time—and for a lot of these young people, most of them have been there for a while, years—we say we’re going to do a good job raising you, we have an obligation to follow through on that.” 

As important as this transition and the young adults going through it are, there is still much room for improvement. Young adults facing a cutoff of services at 18 or 21, if not a bit older, depending on the service, can lack the tools and the network needed to progress forward independently. 

Read the full story in NASW Social Work Advocates magazine.

By Cynthia Henderson, PhD, LICSW, LCSW-C
NASW Senior Practice Associate, School Social Work and Child Welfare

November 23rd marks National Adoption Day.

In 1976, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts decided to celebrate adoption for seven days in his state. Eight years later, President Ronald Regan expanding the observance to becoming National Adoption Week. It was during the Clinton Administration when then President Bill Clinton declared November National Adoption Month.

On November 23, the month’s event culminates with National Adoption Day.

November 23rd is National Adoption Day

This day marks the finalizing of adoptions for families in their local courthouses, according to Adoption and Beyond 2021.

According to statistics from the Adoption Network statistics, about 140,000 children are adopted by American families each year, and around 62 percent of babies in domestic infant adoptions were placed with their adoptive families within a month of birth, according to Gladney Center for Adoptions.

Children are our future. They thrive when their environment is safe, permanent with continuous loving adults and caregivers who actively convey a sense of responsibility, love, and care on a permanent basis. Social Workers who serve these children, train, and update their skills as they develop a uniqueness that supports the child and their “Forever Family” through the challenges of creating a nurturing permanent environment.

This November, Adoption Month resources provides Child Welfare Social Workers and other social workers that work with children, valuable resources for families interested with providing a Forever Place Called Home. Here are some resources:

Requirements to Adopt a Child

Strengthening And Inspiring Adoptive, Kinship Families, And the Professionals Who Support Them

Requirements to Adopt A Child    

Resource for the Spanish Speaking Communities
Explore a new suite of recently translated adoption publications for youth and families.

Adoption: Considering Your Options and Making a Plan

Explore the options around adoption and learn what an adoption plan is and why it matters
Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted from Foster Care

Learn about the available subsidies, financial assistance, and tax credits for families who adopt
Searching for Birth Relatives

Learn tips for a successful search and about potential issues that might come up
Other Spanish translated resource for adoptions can be found by clicking here

Adoption and Guardianship for Children in Kinship Foster Care 

Adoption Resources                                                                        

You can reach NASW Senior Practice Associate for School Social Work and Child Welfare Dr. Cynthia Henderson, PhD, LICSW, LCSW-C at  chenderson.nasw@socialworkers.org

I am caught between leaving childhood, some of the benefits that it brought or benefits taken away

In route to adulthood, am I ready, my brain is still processing the shift and feeling it has gone astray

So many things I may never see again, so many places I dreamed of, will they ever materialize

My nights feeling abandoned, my world has been traumatized and my eyes puffy from my frequent cries

But some realized I am a process, my life is a process, my brain development is a process

You took the time to rescue and to help me untangle this emotional mess

You saw my anger but realized that it was not all about you

You saw my confusion and understood that I honestly, did not know what decisions to make and had no clue of what to do

You removed my labels of “bad Kid” or kid at-risk, and kid destined to fail, damaged and lost

You became the worker, the social worker who refused to be seized by documents and constrained by cost

You dared to learn what the development speed of the processing in my brain would take

You viewed my process as an opportunity to slow down, and think, and adjust to my growth, and consider my emotional ache

You used my processing time to help me heal and to shift the direction that my life was as it headed in deep depression

I used my amygdala, the emotional part of my brain that perpetrates impulses, instinctive behavior, and aggression

You took the time to realize that I was dealing with the impact of loss and trauma in my adolescent seasons

Please remember that if treated properly, I will one day get through this process and share my process reasons

Thank you for Caring

Cynthia Henderson is senior practice associate in child welfare at NASW and Project Coordinator Phase One of  the Integrating Adolescent Brain Development Into Child Welfare Practice with Older Youth initiative.

]]> https://www.socialworkblog.org/news/2020/08/a-poem-the-foster-adolescent/feed/ 0 https://www.socialworkblog.org/sw-practice/2020/08/nasw-offers-new-training-to-help-social-workers-others-under-teen-brain-development/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nasw-offers-new-training-to-help-social-workers-others-under-teen-brain-development https://www.socialworkblog.org/sw-practice/2020/08/nasw-offers-new-training-to-help-social-workers-others-under-teen-brain-development/#respond Thu, 13 Aug 2020 17:35:07 +0000 http://www.socialworkblog.org/?p=11670 Why are adolescents sometimes more impulsive or make poor decisions, such as drinking, hanging with wrong crowd or dropping out of school?

The reason could be because of brain development. Many people do not know the brains of youth do not fully develop until they are in their mid twenties, which is why they may behave in ways that bewilder adults.

The National Association of Social Workers, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, has developed training resources that will give child welfare workers, social workers, foster parents and others who work with older youth critical information about how the adolescent brain develops. The know-how these professionals gain through NASW’s Integrating Adolescent Brain Development into Child Welfare Practice with Older Youth curriculum will help older youth – especially those in foster care or involved in the child welfare system – get the life skills they need to overcome past trauma and become successful adults.

Youth in foster care or those about to age out of the foster care system especially need this support. Many have a spotty school attendance record and lack support from birth families. There are greater odds that they will end up in jail, a single parent, or have trouble getting a stable job. Even those who aspire to earn a college degree end up dropping out.

Such training can be used by more than just social workers employed by schools are in the child welfare system. Foster parents, health care and mental health care providers who serve youth, and people employed in juvenile justice facilities can benefit from the training.

“The period of brain development in adolescents provides a critical opportunity to help young people grow through learning experiences and heal from trauma they may have experienced,” said Joan Levy Zlotnik, PhD, ACSW, Director Emerita NASW Social Work Policy Institute. “That is why this curriculum and the accompanying resources are so important and we hope is shared as widely as possible.”

Professionals who are interested in the training should join a NASW Integrating Adolescent Brain Development webinar on August 25 at 2 p.m. ET. Don’t worry if you miss it. It will be available on demand.

PRACTICE. PROCESS. PROGRESS. POLICY. PREVENTION. PERSPECTIVE.

 Your Search for All Things Social Work Starts with NASW Press:

Our Latest Book and eBook Titles

Foundations of Social Work Practice in the Field of Aging: A Competency-Based Approach, 2nd edition, written by Colleen M. Galambos, Roberta R. Greene, Nancy P. Kropf, and Harriet L. Cohen, relies on the latest Council on Social Work Education core competencies to explore micro, mezzo, and macro practice with older adults through an ecological perspective. The authors present multiple assessment tools, demonstrating how to craft service plans and determine client goals.

 Social Work Practice in Child Welfare: The Interactional Model, by Lawrence Shulman, integrates and illustrates practice theory and practice skills. This book demonstrates how evidence-based practices can be integrated into a practice framework, consistent with a social worker’s professional role, while avoiding overly prescriptive practices. The general practice model is presented, illustrated, and then applied to the different areas of social work in child welfare including protection, family support, foster care, adoption, and residential care.

Macro Perspectives on Youths Aging Out of Foster Care, by Mary E. Collins, offers an extensive look at the issue through a “macro orientation.” Attempting to balance the primary focus on micro-systems, and consistent with a social work perspective, this book aims to provide a greater emphasis on the larger macro systems of society, policy, organization, and community. Successful or unsuccessful outcomes of the transition from foster care are heavily dependent on the processes and structures that make up the external environment.

In the Handbook on Bullying Prevention: A Life Course Perspective, by Catherine P. Bradshaw, chapter authors provide recommendations for  prevention and early intervention in bullying situations involving youth and adults across the life course. Bullying is a topic that has raised major concern for our nation, so much, that all states have passed policies that specifically address this issue. This problem is very common among youth and adults, and has the potential to have long-term effects.

Hear an in-depth discussion about the Handbook on Bullying Prevention: A Life Course Perspective on NASW’s Social Work Talks Podcast. For more information about all NASW Press titles, including books, eBooks, reference works, journals, brochures, and standards, visit the NASW Press website. If you have questions please send an email to press@socialworkers.org or call 1-800-227-3590.

Fulton, et al. v. City of Philadelphia, et al., pending in the US Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit, considers whether Philadelphia can enforce its anti-discrimination laws against foster agencies that refuse on religious grounds to certify same-sex couples as prospective foster parents. Philadelphia prevailed in front of the district court in July, which led to an appeal by foster care agency Catholic Social Services.
Represented by pro bono counsel at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, the four organizations—all non-profit organizations dedicated to improving child welfare and foster care and adoption policy across the United States—describe the harm to foster children that would result from permitting agencies to refuse to certify same-sex couples as foster parents.

Drawing on the organizations’ extensive experience, the brief explains that a diversity of foster and adoptive families is needed to help ensure that all children find loving and supportive families—and that gay and lesbian parents are essential partners in this effort:

“Allowing foster agencies to deny certification to same-sex couples on the basis of LGBTQ status shrinks the pool [of potential foster parents] and hinders the primary goals of foster care placement: the child’s safety and well-being, and stability that leads to the child’s having a permanent family.”

Read the full brief: Philadelphia Amicus (child welfare standards)

In a recent issue of the NASW Press-published journal Health & Social Work, researchers released their findings on a mixed-methods study examined the factors that contribute to the oral health care disparities of children who have transitioned from foster care.

The study found that foster care alumni without dental insurance are 93.5 percent less likely to have their dental needs met than those with dental insurance. Additionally, their analysis revealed several themes around the issue of oral health care for former foster youths:

• Ongoing need for treatment of serious dental problems
• Difficulties accessing dental care with Medicaid, without insurance, or inadequate income to pay
• Lack of information on continuing Medicaid eligibility when exiting foster care
• Stress and resilience due to the lack of dental care
• Quality-of-life implications of poor oral health
• Inconsistent dental care received in foster care

In the article, the researchers addressed the challenges around these themes at length.

This study highlighted the fact that having dental insurance has a unique and significant impact on oral health, even when race, gender, age, and permanency arrangement are controlled for foster care alumni. Having appropriate dental care is crucial to overall health, quality of life, and employability. Poor dental health care can lead to systemic health issues in the form of heart and lung disease, strokes, and problems with pregnancy and diabetes. The findings from this study indicated that access to insurance is the most important factor, but that these associations warrant further studies that are longitudinal with larger sample sizes. Considering the high percentage of social workers who are employed as community health workers, and the profession’s commitment to social justice, including the eradication of health disparities of vulnerable populations, such as children placed in out-of-home care settings, social workers are uniquely positioned to provide leadership in the development of policy and practices that promote increased access and service utilization of oral health care treatments. As oral health care is directly related to overall health, it should be given the same priority for prevention and intervention as other forms of physical health care. The ACA called for the provision of health care benefits for youths who age out of the United States’ foster care system through age 26. The researchers called for this provision to be expanded to include support for dental coverage to ensure that foster care alumni are in the best health as they forge their paths into adulthood.

To help professionals in this process, Child Welfare Information Gateway, in collaboration with AdoptUSKids, has gathered resources on this year’s National Adoption Month website to help child welfare agencies develop an effective response system that includes targeted recruitment, preparation, and ongoing development and support of prospective and current adoptive parents. For more information visit the following:

• Explore resources For Professionals, featuring materials on recruiting and responding to families for teens and involving and engaging teens in the process.
• View the Videos and Podcasts page that showcases the stories and voices of adopted teens and their families.
• Print and use the tip sheet, Talking With Older Youth About Adoption, which provides practical examples on how to start the adoption conversation with youth.

These resources can help social workers and their agencies build more targeted recruitment strategies and develop a continuum of development and support services. Social workers can also help promote and support the adoption of teenagers and keep these critical conversations going all year long.

For more information on National Adoption Month, click here.

In addition, please visit the following NASW resources:

HelpStartsHere

NASW Standards for Social Work Practice in Child Welfare

­How to Screen Adoptive and Foster Parents

For other child welfare resources at NASW you can click here.

Sanctuary Palm Springs
Sanctuary Palm Springs is a new transitional housing program based in Palm Springs, Calif., focused on helping LGBTQ foster care youth who are ages 18-21 — a critical period in their development, when they are transitioning out of the foster care system and into adulthood and independence.
The organization provides a home where youth can live for up to three years, where they receive support, education and mentoring.
NASW member Julie Siri, MSW, LCSW, is program director for the organization. Since 2015 when she began working with Sanctuary Palm Springs, she has helped the organization navigate the many obstacles they faced — from housing laws to funding obstacles and beyond — to get licensed and finally open in November 2016.
Now that this groundwork has been laid, not only are they operational, they are in the process of opening a second location.
Siri explains that in her role, she has observed that social workers are especially well-suited to work with LGBTQ foster youth and encourages social workers to get involved.
“We want these youth to be in charge of their own lives — and empowerment and self-determination are also core principles of social work,” she says. “We also promote a life-affirming style, to move forward and become more successful, which is also a social work value.”
Here are other ways Siri says she sees social workers adding significant value to the lives of LGBTQ foster youth in transition:
Social workers value teamwork and promote growth through relationships and inclusion.
There is great diversity within the social work profession and being culturally competent is a core social work value.
Social workers have a biopsychosocial perspective and have been educated in multiple disciplines. They understand a bit about biology, medicine, psychology and more — and all of these things impact LGQTQ youth in foster care.
Social workers have the ability to understand the grief LGBTQ youth experience in having their identity invalidated and help them find ways to overcome it.
Finally, she says, the modeling social workers can offer could be the most beneficial of all.
“If social workers live with integrity, if they keep their word and live out their values, this is great modeling for youth to see,” Siri said.
Resources
• True Colors (truecolorsfund.org) offers free online training, toolkits and other resources for social workers and service providers working with LGBTQ youth
• Sanctuary Palm Springs (sanctuarypalmsprings.org).

From the July 2017 NASW News.