Adoptive Families Magazine online featured an article in their Circle forum by Jane Brown, an adoptive parent well known for her workshops for adoptive families, on why race matters for a transracially adopted child. In many ways the article was actually a lesson in why race matters for transracial adoptive parents. There are many adoptive [...]
Studies have found that children with disabilities experience a higher rate of maltreatment than children without disabilities, and that they are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system. For example, a study in 2000 by Sullivan and Knutsen showed that youth with disabilities were 3.4 times more likely to be maltreated. Last year, CASCW released [...]
Legislation to close the "doughnut hole" for adopted individuals born between 1964-1996, the years of closed adoptions in Ohio, is currently in committee. Legislation opening access to original birth certificates (OBC) in 1996 was not retroactively given to adoptees born in these years. The Toledo Free Press reported in February that opposition to access regarding [...]
In the 2011 legislative special session, the legislature passed a Safe Harbor law that began addressing how sexually exploited youth are viewed in the eyes of the law in Minnesota. Under this law, sexually exploited youth under age 18 are viewed as victims of crime (children in need of protection) rather than juvenile delinquents, at [...]
A new report by the British Association of Adoption and Fostering on children adopted by same-sex partners found that these children have same outcomes as children adopted by heterosexual parents. "Gay, Lesbian and Heterosexual Adoptive Families: Family relationships, child adjustment and adopters' experiences" studied130 families, 40 2-parent lesbian mother-headed households, 41 2-parent gay father-headed household [...]
If you missed it, Ampersand Families, a local agency in Minnesota, made an appearance on KFAI's Morning Blend show in February to discuss finding permanency for older youth in care - the teens. Ampersand Families focuses on recruitment and placement for this population. You can hear Jen Braun, co-founder and co-executive officer at Ampersand, discuss [...]
California Senator Leland Yee is sponsoring a bill that would help support foster youth who are parents in the state. The bill would help foster youth raising children with resources to help them stay in school, provide needed parenting and child care. In the Pleasanton Weekly, Leland states that "parenting and pregnant youth are 200% [...]
Among the losses that youth in foster care experience are those that most of us take for granted. For example, baby photos. Schools and even work places often have planned activities that ask people to bring in baby photos. Sometimes it's for a "guessing game" and sometimes just to share your early life. For youth [...]