"You Could be the Lone Star in a Child's Life" is the theme for the National Foster Parent Association's 36th annual conference, to be held in San Antonio, Texas.
Approximately 1 in 12 children in the U.S. are living in households headed by grandparents or other relatives. State Fact Sheets provide helpful state-specific data and information about the range of support services and benefits available
Another new study finds that informal care—using family, friends, or other arrangements—was associated with lower cognitive-ability test scores in kids ages 3 to 6. By contrast, formal, center-based child care had no negative impact compared with remaining in mothers' care. The study examined data from 1,519 single mothers involved in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in the States. Household income did not seem to have any significant impact on children's scores, particularly when mothers' educational levels were taken into consideration.
What's happening to children in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems in Louisiana and Mississippi? The two are already among the nation's poorest states, and the recent chaos has disrupted or destroyed facilities, group homes, and foster care arrangements. Children in the juvenile justice system are more likely to get stuck in facilities far from home and the systems themselves are vulnerable. The Annie E. Casey Foundation, which has long targeted reform efforts in these areas, has the story.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Connect for Kids has pulled together online resources for helping those affected. We’ve divided them into three sections: Emergency Guidelines for Helping Victims looks at how government agencies are developing procedures for helping the displaced; Giving & Getting Help is a compilation of information on donating and volunteering, also on help available to those affected; and Help with Healing offers information on supporting kids and families dealing with trauma related to Katrina. We expect to update this resource frequently.
What does it feel like to be a teenage male, yet have no one know that you're gay and have a secret crush on a "bad boy" member of the high school baseball team? How does suffering from a disfiguring burn as a child affect the way you relate to other kids with differences? When you finally adjust to life in a new group home, what do you do when funding problems and community opposition threaten to shut the place down?
All of those questions have piqued the interests of thousands of teen readers who've found something to relate to in the words of young adult author Brent Hartinger.
A powerful argument in favor of keeping brothers and sisters together as they navigate the foster care system comes in the form of a lyrical memoir by poet Paula McLain. Connect for Kids former Editor Susan Phillips reviews Like Family: Growing Up in Other People's Houses.
To let every child eligible for adoption become available for adoption. The Adoptive Parents Committee of Long Island (APC) is a volunteer organization that is dedicated to providing adoption information, support and education. We are knowledgeable about all types of adoption, including domestic infant adoption, international adoption, and adoption through the foster care system. Monthly meetings with workshops on both pre- and post- adoption topics are free and open to the public.
The mission of this organization is to find and support foster and adoptive families, and to educate communities of the Capital Region of New York State about the need for foster and adoptive homes.
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