Wonder #1: Loss and Grief

FosterParentCollege.com recently outlined seven commonly identified adoption issues, reframed from the child's point of view as "wonders," as researched by Betsy Keefer-Smalley, the director of foster care and adoption training at the Institute for Human Services in Ohio.

NFPA has gained permission to reprint these "wonders," along with some possible behaviors displayed by a child experiencing feelings associated with each of the issues.

Wonder #1: Loss and Grief
"I wonder why I lose everyone and everything that is important to me. What is the matter with me?"

Behaviors associated with this issue:

• Overreactions to real or perceived losses (death of a pet or grandparent, a friend moving away, school transitions, etc.)
• Difficulty with separations from foster or adoptive parents (school or day care, camp, sleepovers, parents' getaway or business trips, hospitalizations)
• Difficulty emancipating from the foster/adoptive home; attempts to delay emancipation through self-induced failure

Stay tuned tomorrow for Wonder #2...

NACAC to host webinars on adoption assistance

The North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) will host two free webinars on adoption assistance on January 31 and February 7. See details below:

Adoption Assistance Benefits and Eligibility
January 31, 2012
2:30 p.m. CST

Josh Kroll will present information about adoption assistance benefits, including which children are eligible and the benefits available. The session will be of use to prospective adopters as well as parents who are seeking to make a change in the child's benefits due to changes in the child's needs or family's circumstances.

Register here for Adoption Assistance Benefits and Eligibility.


Adoption Assistance Advocacy
February 7, 2012
2:30 p.m. CST

With state and provincial budgets continuing to be tight, adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and other child advocates will need to be vigilant in case legislators seek to balance budgets by reducing adoption assistance benefits. In this session, Adoption Subsidy Resource Center project coordinator Josh Kroll will explore advocacy strategies to maintain and enhance adoption subsidy programs.

Register here for Adoption Assistance Advocacy.

Source: NACAC