The fact that there is an urgent need for foster and adoptive families in Michigan probably does not come as a surprise to most people – particularly child welfare professionals. The fact that the greatest need for foster and adoptive families is in Southeastern Michigan is not groundbreaking news either. What many people may NOT know is that there is a new collaborative project in Southeastern MI that is rising to the challenge of finding safe homes and loving families for children who are part of the child welfare system.

Southeast Adoptive and Foster Family Effort (S.A.F.E.) is a cooperative effort of Wayne County Family Independence Agency, the Michigan Foster and Adoptive Parent Association (MFAPA) and 19 other private, non-profit child placing agencies in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Funded through a 3-year Federal Adoption Opportunity Grant, S.A.F.E. provides support and resources to foster and adoptive parents.

S.A.F.E. was created to increase awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families and to recruit families to meet that need. “Most people have no idea how many children are in need right here in Wayne County, or how they can become foster or adoptive parents,” said S.A.F.E. recruiter Bionda Grier. “Our project’s goal is to educate the community to the need and to find and recruit families who can provide safe, nurturing homes for the children.”

Another stated goal of S.A.F.E. is to significantly decrease the length of time it takes for a family to become licensed to provide foster care and/or to complete the adoption homestudy process. Many times potential foster and adoptive families are “lost” between the time they initially express interest to an agency and when the licensing/homestudy is actually started (or completed). S.A.F.E. hopes to avoid this problem by offering orientation sessions four times per month to families who have expressed interest in foster care and adoption. The orientation sessions are offered at various locations in Wayne County and include morning, evening, and Saturday opportunities in an attempt to meet the scheduling needs of interested families.

At the S.A.F.E. orientation, families will receive a broad overview of the foster care and adoption process and will be also be given a schedule of the MFAPA Foster/Adopt PRIDE training sessions, which are used to train families for foster care and adoption. Once a family attends their first PRIDE training session, one of the 19 partner agencies (who are part of the “Family Assignment System”) will contact that family within 48 hours to invite them to complete the foster care licensing and/or adoption homestudy process. The Family Assignment Agencies, for their part, are eligible for a financial incentive payment if they complete a foster or adoption homestudy within six weeks of the family’s referral date to that agency.

From mid-July through mid-August 2000, S.A.F.E. received 83 general inquiries about foster care and/or adoption and 15 families have attended a S.A.F.E. orientation. One family has completed the PRIDE training and another 10 families are currently attending the sessions. “We are making progress,” said David Tumpkin, Project Manager for S.A.F.E. “Even though we do not yet have all of the necessary materials to be 100 percent functional, we have still been successful in recruiting and training interested foster and adoptive families. I am very confident that once we are fully functional this will greatly increase our recruitment of families and we will be well on our way to meeting all grant requirements.”

The S.A.F.E. project has four staff including Project Manager David Tumpkin, Recruitment Specialists Bionda Grier and Philip Thomas, and Administrative Assistant Tanisha King. For more information, contact S.A.F.E. at (313) 396-5070 or (877) 271-4663.

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Based on the curriculum, Changing Hats: Foster to Adopt, by Betsy Keefer of the Institute for Human Services. To learn more, call (615) 215-6000. Reprinted with permission from the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

For foster children, life is a revolving door. Some move through the door as they are reunited with birth families. Others spin from home to home. For some, the door stops as they are adopted by their foster families.

Agencies used to discourage foster parent adoptions, concerned that families hoping to adopt might sabotage reunification efforts. Workers worried about losing homes as parents adopted and then stopped fostering, or worse, if they continued that the remaining foster children would be adversely affected. Fears about the impact of openness - when the birth family knew who had the child - abounded.

Fortunately, foster parent adoptions are increasing as agencies recognize their tremendous benefits:

• Families make informed decisions. Foster families nurture foster children during difficult times. They experience moments of joy, but also encounter trying times that test their relationship with each child. Parents have firsthand knowledge about the child’s medical, emotional, and behavioral needs. Their commitment is not based on expectations of the dream child, but grounded in reality.
• The child and family are already attached. If a child has established a loving relationship with her foster family, has built positive peer and school relationships, and senses acceptance from the extended family and friends, why should her life be disrupted? By becoming a permanent member of the known family, the child gains a sense that she is safe and secure, and can trust people in her world.
• Foster parent adoptions embrace openness. During reunification efforts, the family becomes acquainted with the birth parents and learns about issues that may be of future concern. This information can prove valuable in later years. Since the foster family establishes a history with the child, the birth family also has a higher degree of comfort regarding the placement decision.
• Foster parent adoptions expedite permanency. The time a child spends in foster care applies to the required six -month wait for finalization. A joint foster care/adoption certification process shortens preparation time for an adoption even further. When the agency knows the family, the groundwork is already laid.

Despite the benefits, all too often foster parent adoptions happen by default with little planning. Workers and foster parents must address the barriers to adoption - some of which are listed in the chart on the following page - and plan effective, long-term solutions.

Techniques for a Smoother Foster-to-Adoption Transition Include the child in the decision-making whenever developmentally possible. Determine whether to maintain relationships with siblings or other kin, and explain to the child when and how visitation will occur. Explore the impact of the adoption with the birth, foster, and adopted children who live in the home. Add to the child’s lifebook before and after the adoption, and encourage the family to keep it accessible to the child. Discover and eliminate the child’s misconceptions by asking open-ended questions: “What do you know about adoption?” or “What is the hardest thing about being a foster child?”Barriers to Foster Adoptions

 

 

Barriers to Foster Adoptions

Solutions

The family is “good enough to foster, but not to adopt.” Constrained by emergency planning and high caseloads, workers sometimes place children with foster parents who cannot provide for the child’s long-term needs. Parents may be unwilling or unable to recognize the responsibilities of a transracial placement. Siblings may be separated again later in life. If these placements are only temporary, workers might rationalize their hurried decisions. But when the plan becomes adoption, the child is attached to a family who cannot provide a permanent home.

Increase “front-door” planning. In an era of ever-increasing adoptions, placing children with families who clearly are unsuitable to meet their long-term needs is not in the child’s best interest. Workers must remember that any placement may become permanent - a family that is not good enough to adopt is also not good enough to foster. Workers who plan well never need to judge which is of greater significance: maintaining connection to a family versus continuing cultural heritage or keeping siblings together or finding parents who can see the child into adulthood.

Assumptions that foster parents do not need information. Because foster parent adoptions are less labor intensive, workers sometimes assume that the foster parents have enough information and support. Workers may not do a thorough job of preparing the family for permanency, advising about specific birth family issues, and discussing adoption-related issues that affect adoptees into adulthood.

Review complete information on the child and post-adoption services. Do not assume that foster parents have received all critical information - share everything about the child and his prior history so they can make an educated decision. Familiarize them with supportive services available for adoptive families: support groups, associations, therapists, training opportunities, etc.

Pressure by the agency. Families who are forced to keep children permanently are less likely to experience success with the adoptive placement. Occasionally, foster parents feel an obligation to adopt children in their care to avoid their own guilt and spare the child the pain brought on by another move. Obligation and pressure are two parts of an equation that leads to an eventual failure.

Help the family make their decision on sound criteria. Use a “Strengths & Needs” worksheet (or similar tool) to assess the family’s preparedness for adoption. In addition, while families are often active in foster parent associations, they may not be as well connected to the adoption community. Get them involved in groups that provide education and networking for adoptive families. Reinforce that post-adoption services are normal, not an indication of failure.

The family cannot handle a change in role/ entitlement. The foster family may demonstrate difficulty in assuming their role as the child’s permanent family. Perhaps they are overly dependent on the agency; display an attitude that says “you owe me ongoing financial support”; or fail to see the permanency of their commitment. Foster care is occasionally viewed as a job, and changing that into a relationship might be a challenge.

Plan a rite of passage at finalization. Ensure that the child and family understand and commit to the significance of the move to adoption even when no physical move occurs. Plan a party, plant a tree, take a family portrait with the new member, or celebrate within the religious community. Friends and extended family also need to understand that the child is a permanent part of the family system.

The child does not handle a change in status well. Sometimes workers take for granted that a child who is adopted by his foster family needs little preparation. However, this is not always the case - he may still believe that his life is not completely secure in his new home, especially if the family continues to foster other children. Many foster children are understandably torn by divided loyalties to their birth and adoptive families. Often they resist adoption shortly before finalization.

Help the child make the foster-to-adoption transition. The family should expect cold feet prior to finalization, and must not overreact. Discuss the child’s fears. Help him to understand that his relationship to - not his feelings about - his birth family is changing. Try to obtain permission from the birth parent or another relative for the child to be adopted. The relative should communicate to the child that he is loved, will be remembered, has permission to succeed with his new family, and is wished a happy future.

 

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Heather Craig-Oldson, M.S.W., of the Child Welfare Institute, (402) 755-2864. Reprinted with permission from NACAC.

Q: I work with a child who is now free for adoption. Who should talk to her foster family about adoption? When should the discussion take place? What ought to be said?

A: Foster parents who have close, lengthy relationships with their worker are much more likely to say “yes” to the adoption, so the worker with the deepest relationship with the foster parents should talk to them. To avoid coercion, the discussion should take place where the foster parents have sufficient control and power. Their home may be an excellent location, if distractions can be minimized. During this - and all - discussions, the worker should be honest, direct, and supportive. Foster parents who ultimately adopt most likely considered adoption early in the placement. Consequently, a good question to start with is, “Have you thought about adopting the child?”

Q: One of my foster families is hesitant about adopting a child who is now in their home. How can I help them make their decision without undue pressure?

A: Honesty and candor are critically important. Give foster parents every opportunity to ask questions about the child and supply as much information as possible about the child’s family of origin, placement history, experiences with loss and grieving, as well as any special needs. The adoption process creates stress and crises - review techniques for coping with the family as a whole and with individual members. Discuss the post-adoption supports available, including the adoption subsidy program. Assure the foster parents that if they decide not to adopt, their relationship with the child does not have to end. They can help the child successfully transition into an adoptive family and even become extended family members.

Q: Although the foster parents want to adopt their foster daughter, I believe a different family could better meet her long-term needs. But should I remove a child from a loving home?

A: If a child is attached to a family, and that family is committed to the child, trust that they have strong building blocks for a successful adoption. That the parents and the child consider themselves a family is more important than any unfounded fears about the parents’ ability to provide for the child’s long-term needs. The caveat is to be homes about your apprehension. Ask the foster parents to describe their most concerns about the adoption as well as the individual and collective family strengths that will help them in the tough times ahead.