Post-Adoption Supports from FCCS Build More Forever Families for Children in Foster Care

To help more children in foster care find permanency in their placement, Franklin County Children Services is providing access to more supports and long-term financial resources to families willing to commit to adoption.

“I think support is very important for families,” stressed Raquel Breckenridge, Family Services Director for Permanency at FCCS. Over the past year, her Adoptions team has connected 123 children previously in the agency’s care with “forever families.”

November is National Adoption Month, an opportunity to increase awareness and support for children in the foster care system who are waiting for permanent, loving families.

“Over the years, we have seen an increase in permanency achieved through kinship adoptions,” pointed out Ms. Breckenridge. She adds that grandparents, aunts and uncles, other relatives and family friends often start out caring for children who can no longer safely remain in the custody of their parents.

To help these kinship caregivers take the next step in providing a permanent, stable home, FCCS offers both ongoing financial stipends to support adopted kinship children until the age of 18 and connections to more community resources.

“Having support from families who may have adopted before or raised a child who may have special needs or raised a child who is from foster care or experienced foster care,” are some of the examples Ms. Breckenridge shares.


CLICK TO HEAR MORE TO THE STORY: Ms. Breckenridge shares the adoption story of a young person who found his forever home after a parent passed away.

In Franklin County, a majority of the children waiting for forever homes are ages 10 and older, often in sibling groups who need to stay together, or children who have special needs. 

Through adoption, older children are connected to a family that can provide a sense of stability, lasting connections, and guidance with important life tasks such as enrolling in higher education, finding stable housing, securing employment, and establishing healthy long-lasting relationships.

FCCS has worked to make the adoption process easier and more supportive. Over the past year, we have also developed additional post adoption services that give the families more security and comfort.

If you’re thinking about adopting, learn more about the supports and financial resources available through FCCS - and meet some of the young people currently in foster care looking for a forever home - at fccs.us/adoption. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Love Doesn't Hurt or Harm" in Powerful Message about Surviving Intimate Partner Violence

Image
CLICK TO HEAR MORE OF TIFFANY'S POWERFUL STORY AND HER TIPS FOR SURVIVING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE Abuse hurts everyone in the family.  “I remember the counselor telling me that my children were very resilient,” says  Tiffany, a mother of four and a survivor of intimate partner violence. She “won’t sugarcoat” the reality that leaving an abusive spouse is easy. She endured hard times, struggling to pay bills while anxious and afraid that her children would not find a way through the emotional trauma.  Fortunately, she says, “the tough times didn’t last long and, in the end, it was worth it. We made it.” While Tiffany courageously shares her story because she wants to encourage others to be safe, we’re honoring her request to not use her full name to protect her privacy.  Tiffany’s story sadly echoes that of many others. One in four women will face a domestic violence situation over their lifetime and are often caught in a cycle of violence with a partner that can las...
Read more

Healthy Relationships: Helping Children Move from Trauma to Recovery

Image
CLICK TO HEAR DR. HOUSTON BECK'S ADVICE ON HELPING CHILDREN MOVE FROM TRAUMA TO RECOVERY Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Maria Houston Beck serves as the Executive Director of LSS CHOICES, the only emergency shelter for domestic violence victims in Franklin County.  It’s the work she has dreamed about since high school.  “I was 16 and a student athlete. I had a teacher who kept a couch in the back of his room and during track season, I would take a quick nap before our meets,” she says. “One day he was showing a video about Sigmund Freud in his Introduction to Psychology class. I couldn’t stop watching it. I was so intrigued that I went home and talked to my family about it. I learned that I had several family members who suffered from mental illness. From that moment on, I never looked back.” Dr. Houston Beck spent several years counseling youth and families exposed to trauma and consulted with a domestic violence center prior to joining Lutheran Social Services and CHOICE...
Read more

Preventing Overdose Deaths, FCCS Equipping Caseworkers with Life-Saving Narcan

Image
In a bold move aimed at preventing overdose deaths and the trauma on children who experience losing a loved one to drug addiction, Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) is teaming with Franklin County Public Health (FCPH) to equip the agency’s caseworkers and staff with the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone.  After completing training provided by experts from FCPH, FCCS caseworkers will be given a supply of Narcan nasal spray to carry with them when out in the community to meet with families. Doses of Narcan will also be stationed at the front desks of the agency’s office buildings. “Despite the progress that’s been made in reducing overdose deaths, far too many residents in Franklin County are still losing their lives… which means far too many of their children are also losing their sense of safety, stability, and care,” said FCCS Executive Director Chip Spinning.  “Franklin County Children Services joins the growing number of public children service agencies in...
Read more