Adoption 2008: Hooray for Kids!
Friday, May 9, 2008

Friday, May 9, 2008
Workshop Period 1 • 10:30-12:00 Noon

1. Can We Fix This Child?
A survival tool kit to help parents and professionals understand the impact of trauma on child development and deal effectively with difficult behaviors.Dee Paddock

2. Parenting Children with Developmental Disabilities: My Story
The challenges, successes, hurdles, and fears families of children with developmental disabilities must address throughout childhood and into adulthood. Janice Fitzgerald, Parent to Parent of NYS

3. Straight Talk for Kids
How to help children hear and understand difficult information about their past and their birth families by using developmentally appropriate "tough truth.”Maris Blechner, Family Focus Adoption Services  

4. Restoration of Parental Rights after TPR
For some foster care youth, permanency may mean returning to birth parents after termination of parental rights. When does it make sense to restore parental rights? Legal issues and case examples considered. Barry Chaffkin, CT Wocat

5. Kinship Care in NYS: What We Know and Where We Want to Go
A profile of kinship families throughout the state and the challenges they face. Recommendations for model practices and solutions to identified challenges. Gerard Wallace, NYS Kinship Navigator

Friday, May 9, 2008
Workshop Period 2 • 1:45-3:15 p.m.

6. Choosing a Good Therapist—Or Becoming One
What essential things do adopted or foster children and their families need in a good therapist? How to know when therapy is needed. Dee Paddock

7. Recruitment and Retention: Two Sides of the Same Coin – Part I
Effective recruitment methods and the care and feeding of prospective adoptive parents. Zena Oglesby, Institute for Black Parenting

8. Emerging Adulthood: Adolescent Development and Service Needs
How brain development affects adolescent behaviors and readiness for "independent" living. A compelling argument for services and supports for foster care youth even after age 21. Rosemary Avery, Cornell University

9. Empowered Transition: Moving Children into Successful Adoption
The child and prospective family each have their own advocates and are equal participants in this transition process. Techniques, underlying beliefs, and practical advice for making it work! Jack Brennan, Joanne Ferrante, Lisa Binder, Family Focus Adoption Services 

10. Blogs and Wikis and Lists: Putting Internet Tools to Work for You
How to use new internet tools for easier, more efficient, and more effective communication. Diane Hillmann; Susan Collins, NYS Citizens’ Coalition for Children, Inc. 

Friday, May 10, 2008
Workshop Period 3 • 3:35-5:05 p.m.

11. Parenting Adopted Teens into Their Adult Years
How does parenting change as children become adolescents? What are the challenges? Techniques to support and guide young adults through challenging times. Dee Paddock        

12. Recruitment and Retention: Two Sides of the Same Coin – Part II
Effective recruitment methods and the care and feeding of prospective adoptive parents. Zena Oglesby, Institute for Black Parenting

13. Loss and Learning: The Impact of Loss in the Classroom
How children’s previous losses affect their ability to be successful in school, and what they need to succeed. Strategies for educating the educators. Joan Clark

14. Xtreme Adoption: Adopting Youth Over Age 18
No matter how old they are, every youth in foster care needs a permanent family. Parents and the youth over 18 they adopted tell their stories. Panel. Chester Jackson, You Gotta Believe!, Moderator

15.   Truth Is Better Than Fiction: Openness in Adoption
Open adoptions, opening a closed adoption, increased openness in adoption… New ways of thinking that benefit kids—and families. Sue Badeau, Philadelphia Children’s Commission

 


 

Adoption 2008: Hooray for Kids
Saturday,
May 1
0, 2008

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Workshop Period 4 • 8:30-9:50 a.m.    

16. Ages and Stages of Adoption: A Child’s Journey
A tour of child development, focusing on how children perceive their belonging, how and when they grieve, and how they form their sense of self. Holly van Gulden          

17. Foster Parent Rights
What is the impact of a new change in NYS law that assures the right of foster parents to attend permanency hearings? What other rights do foster parents have? Margaret Burt

18. Finding a Fit That Will Last a Lifetime
What is best practice in matching waiting children with adoptive families?  Learn what is most effective in bringing children and families together. Sarah Gerstenzang

19. Becoming Your Own Best Friend and Managing Stress
Some theory and lots of practical advice for how to take care of yourself on the bad days—and the good days! Maris Blechner, Family Focus Adoption Services

20. Family Size in Adoption/Foster Care: How Many Kids Are Too Many?
Considerations of parental resources, family supports, and other issues related to family size in adoption and foster care. How to know when enough is enough. Sue Badeau, Philadelphia Children’s Commission             

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Workshop Period 5 • 10:05-11:25 a.m.

21. Living with an Angry Child 
Unresolved loss and/or poor attachment can result in angry responses, non-compliance, and rage. Techniques to avoid continual battles, de-escalate rage, and establish a joyful family environment. Holly van Gulden

22. Children’s Presence in Permanency Hearings
Judges must now "consult" with children in permanency hearings. How foster parents can encourage effective participation by children and related issues. Margaret Burt

23. Considering Our Own Aging: Adoptive Parents Speak
Will our kids be prepared to be on their own when we are at the end of life? What will give us peace when we look back at our whole adoption journey? Panel. Joyce Wilcox, Adoptive Families of Older Children,

24. Foster Care to Adoption: Eliminating the “Drift”
How to plan and celebrate the transition from foster care to adoption. Why do foster families need rituals and support as much as “new” adoptive families? Maris Blechner, Family Focus Adoption Services

25. Becoming a Service Detective
How to uncover available services and information resources, understand public and private service systems, and ask for help effectively. Susan Collins, NYS Citizens’ Coalition for Children, Inc.

Saturday, May 10, 2008
Workshop Period 6 • 11:40-1:00 p.m.

26. Keeping Healthy Siblings Healthy
Healthy siblings seldom receive enough attention and support when another child acts out. What are healthy children’s needs in times of crisis? Holly van Gulden   

27. Negotiating Conditional Surrenders
How will new appellate court decisions impact conditional surrender negotiations? How to advocate a good agreement for post adoption birth family contact. Margaret Burt

28. Youth in Progress: “Getting Solid!”
Current and former foster care youth from the Youth in Progress leadership team explore the different paths they choose to find permanency in their lives.  Panel, Joanne Trinkle, Moderator

29. Finding Each Other: Adoptees Search for Birthparents
Both domestic and international adoptees are successful in finding their birth families. A discussion of why they searched and what they found. Panel. Suzanne d'Aversa, Parsons Child and Family Center, Moderator

30. Maintaining Commitment When a Child Can’t Live at Home
Practical help for parents whose children cannot live at home, including maintaining communication, coping with “helpers,” and staying sane. Diane Hillmann         

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NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc.
410 East Upland Road • Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 272-0034 • fax (607) 272-0035
office@nysccc.org