Adoptive And Foster Parent Screening

Screening applicants for adoption or foster homes has life-altering consequences for the children involved, yet there are incredibly few programs available to train screeners. The educational system that certifies thousands of social workers each year does not understand the specialized training required to screen adoptive and foster parents; social work schools provide minimal interview training and what training they do provide focuses on therapeutic interview techniques rather than screening skills. There is a clear need for a book like Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening, one that can be incorporated into course requirements and used by working social workers and psychologists involved with adoption and foster parent screening. Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening, written by a former social worker, who has placed hundreds of children into adoptive and foster homes, and a clinical psychologist, meshes the best of psychology and social work experience into a definitive guide for screening adoption and foster home applicants. The book provides information on: evaluating aberrant behavior and unhealthy parenting attitudes interview techniques psychological testing. Adoptive and Foster Parent Screening is based on case histories, research data, and interpretive analysis. The book is written in an accessible style free of technical language, thus making it appropriate for college-level students and professionals who don't have time to sift through empirical data to obtain accessible information that they can adapt to their profession.

There are great rewards that come along with being a foster parent, yet there are also great challenges that can leave you feeling depleted, alone, and discouraged. The many burdens of a foster parent's day--hurting children, struggling biological parents, and a broken system--are only compounded by the many burdens of a foster parent's heart--confusion, anxiety, heartache, anger, and fear. With the compassion and insight of a fellow foster parent, Jamie C. Finn helps you see your struggles through the lens of the gospel, bringing biblical truths to bear on your unique everyday realities. In these short, easy-to-read chapters, you'll find honest, personal stories and practical lessons that provide encouragement and direction from God's Word as you walk the journey of foster parenting.

Screening Adoptive and Foster Parents: A Guide for Students and Professionals combines the best of psychology and social work experience into a definitive guide for screening adoption and foster home applicants. Based on professional experience and research data, this book provides information on evaluating unhealthy parenting attitudes, interview techniques, and psychological testing.

Raising Other People's Children helps you navigate the complicated world of foster and step-parenting with better awareness and greater empathy, providing real-life solutions for forging strong relationships in extraordinary circumstances. Drawing on Debbie Ausburn’s decades of experience with every facet of the foster care system, Raising Other People's Children provides expert guidance viewed through the lens of real human interactions. The responsibility and complexity involved in raising someone else’s child can seem overwhelming. Regardless of whether you’re a stepparent, foster parent or adoptive parent, it is on you to take on the challenge of caring for them, helping them to move forward while also meeting their unique emotional needs.

Discover What Adoption and Foster Care Really Look Like If you are considering adoption or foster care or are already somewhere in this difficult and complicated process, you need trusted information from people who have been where you are. Mike and Kristin Berry have adopted eight children and cared for another 23 kids in their nine-year stint as foster parents. They aren’t just experts. They have experienced every emotional high and low and encountered virtually every situation imaginable as parents. Now, they want to share what they’ve learned with you. Get the answers you need to the following questions, and many more: Should I foster parent or adopt? How do I know? What is the first step in becoming an adoptive or foster parent? What are the benefits of an open versus closed adoption? How and when do I tell my child that he or she is adopted? How do I help my child embrace his or her cultural and racial identity? Honestly Adoption will provide you with practical, down-to-earth advice to make good decisions in your own adoption and foster parenting journey and give you the help and hope you need.

BECOME A FOSTER PARENT A mom, dad, house and dog do not make a home. Everyday, there are children who experience this sad fact when they are removed from their home due to neglect or abuse. Not every foster child has a foster family. In some regions, foster children must wait for long periods of time in shelter care. More than one-half million children in the United States rely on foster families to provide a safe and loving home. Many wonderful and caring families would like to open their homes to these children, but are clueless about how to get started. There are many misconceptions, myths and misunderstandings surrounding foster care. These concerns must be shattered and waiting children must be nurtured. This book details for prospective foster parents the requirements, qualifications and screening process. Step by step, foster parents are guided through the crucial decisions and directed to the vital information they will need to foster parent effectively. Foster Parent Handbook provides an indispensible guide for navigating through the foster care system. It is designed for use by prospective foster parents, those who are currently foster parents and professionals providing foster care services.

The requirements of the child being fostered as well as the life situation of the foster parent can both have a significant impact on the type of foster care that can be provided. Some children remain in foster care for only a few days or weeks at a time, whilst others may remain there for several months or even years at a time. Foster parents have the option of taking care of only one kid at a time, as well as taking care of numerous children at once, including siblings. Adoption may offer children who need a loving home with stability, security, and a feeling of belonging in their new family. Adopted children sometimes come from tough situations, such as households in which they were abused or neglected, and consequently, they may have suffered trauma or struggle with emotional challenges. These children may be given the love and support, as well as the secure and caring home environment that they need in order to recover and grow when they are adopted by loving families. My desire to write an eBook about fostering and adoption is driven by a desire to share my experience and insights with others who may be considering fostering or adopting. My story can serve as a source of inspiration and guidance for others, providing practical advice and emotional support for those embarking on this challenging journey.

Addresses the growing issue of foster parent adoption.

One night after midnight social workers brought a baby girl to the author's home, and her life as a foster mother began. A social worker herself, Gerstenzang discovered that raising Cecilia, deespite all the personal joys, would be a complex and frustrating process of "co-parenting" with the foster care system in New York City. Foster parents are in great demand, but they are not necessarily treated well. We follow the author through the home visits, the Early Intervention evaluation, the WIC program that (with much bureaucratic hassle) provides free formula and cereal, and the mandatory parenting training sessions. She comments, "When Michael and I became foster parents, we learned how stigmatizing, demoralizing, and just plain inconvenient and time-consuming being part of the 'unentitled' population can be. With the exception of Early Intervention, we often felt that the programs were more concerned with regulating our behavior than with providing services." Regular meetings with the birth family were also part of the process. Not only were they awkward for all concerned, but each visit involved a commute of several hours. One social worker admitted that she preferred a foster parent who didn't work because that person could more easily comply with the time-consuming regulations. Sarah and her husband Michael also agonize over complying with special regulations about hiring babysitters or traveling ("anytime we left New York State we needed to ask the agency's permission, which in turn had to get the signed consent from the birth mother"). Central to Another Mother is the issue of transracial placement. Sarah remembers, "That first day the contrast between my pale skin and Cecilia's brown skin seemed glaring. Not only did I feel that I had someone else's child, I felt that I had a child from another culture. Would I owe someone an explanation?" (Gerstenzang is recalling the 1972 opposition of the National Association of Black Social Workers.) Her account is full of anecdotes and reflections about race: acceptance and prejudice from others; the feelings of her two children about having a sibling of a different race; and culture keeping, beginning with skin and hair care.