Healthy Foster Care America

Did you know that the American Academy of Pediatrics has a Healthy Foster Care America section on its website tailored to foster care? 

The Healthy Foster Care America page is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of children and teens in foster care through the following key features:

• Educational fact sheets
• Adaptable forms
• Guidance for professionals and families
• Subscription to the Healthy Foster Care America listserv
• Tips on how to advocate for the health needs of children and teens in foster care
• A Special Place for Children and Families portal

This section also has a resource library, which includes topics and materials related to the health issues and needs of children and teens in foster care.

Texas foster youth camp seeks campers and mentors

Camp Constellation, which brings together foster care youth from across the state of Texas and pairs them with foster care alumni who serve as mentors, will be held May 4-6, 2012 at Camp For All in Burton, Texas.

Camp Constellation organizers are seeking foster care alumni to serve as mentors -- approximately 30 mentors are needed. Mentors can access the volunteer/counselor application here.

For parents interested in having their children in care participate, the camp's fees are $350 and covers supplies, insurance, camp cost and transportation costs.

Camp Constellation is the flagship program of the Constellation Foundation, which seeks to improve the outcomes of aged-out foster care youth by creating a network of peers and mentors and providing support during critical development stages.

For more information about Camp Constellation, visit the website or contact Natalie Lee at 817.991.3773 or at natalie@campconstellation.org.

Wonder #7: Divided Loyalties

Wonder #7: Divided Loyalties
"I wonder if I should remain loyal to my birth mother or if I should allow myself to love and be loved by my foster/adoptive mother."

Behaviors associated with this issue:

• Acting out during the holidays or near Mother's Day
• Refusal to attach to the foster/adoptive parents
• Modeling after birth parent or fantasy of birth parent

We hope you have enjoyed this series, "The Seven Wonders of Adoption," by Betsy Keefer-Smalley. Please leave a comment and let us know if you were helped in any way.

A special thanks goes to FosterParentCollege.com for allowing us to reprint the "wonders."

Wonder #6: Control

Wonder #6: Control
" I wonder why everyone else makes decisions about my family, how much information I get, how old I have to be to meet my siblings or birth parents. When do I get to make important decisions about my life."

Behaviors associated with this issue:

• Constant control battles with authority figures
• Lying, even with the lie does not seem to benefit the child
• Stealing
• Obsessive compulsive behavior (list-making, unusual orderliness)
• Lack of flexibility

Stay tuned tomorrow for the final wonder in this great series...

Wonder #5: Identity

Wonder #5: Identity
"I wonder who my people are and if I will be like them."

Behaviors associated with this issue:

• Looking and behaving in ways that are very different from the foster/adoptive family
• Changing identities frequently in a search for one that is like the birth family
• Recurring episodes of running away from the foster/adoptive home

Stay tuned tomorrow for Wonder #6...

Wonder #4: Trust

Wonder #4: Trust
"I wonder if I can believe what these people are telling me."

Behaviors associated with this issue:

• Refusal to attach
• Distancing from nurturing caregivers
  
• Stealing
• Caring for own needs and desires because child has not learned that others will meet his or her needs
  
• Lack of interest in pleasing others
  

Stay tuned for Wonder #5...

Wonder #3: Guilt and Shame

Wonder #3: Guilt and Shame
"I wonder what I did to make my own parents throw me away."

Behaviors associated with this issue:

• Magical thinking: belief he or she caused the separation from the birth family
• Low self-esteem
• Expectation of failure and future rejections

Stay tuned for Wonder #4...