Grief in Adopted Children- One hour left to register!

It’s not too late to register!!!

Grief in Adopted Children– The Webinar airs tonight at 7pm central time and there is STILL time to register. 

Can’t make it tonight?  Too much craziness going on at your house during those evening witching hours?  I get it!  Everyone who registers will receive the recording that you can access whenever, wherever, and forever!!!!

Grief is inevitable.  You are going to have to face it with your children.  I can help!!!

We can do hard things together.

CLICK HERE to register!!!

Investigating Unlawful Adoptions

Source: http://wvtf.org/post/investigating-unlawful-adoptions

By Anne Marie Morgan

The Virginia Commission on Youth is scrutinizing the practice of finding new homes and transferring custody of adopted children—while bypassing state oversight and safeguards.

The practice—known as “re-homing”—was uncovered through last year’s Reuters and NBC News investigation, which found an underground market for adoptive parents who no longer wish to care for their adopted child.

Read more.

Children of Trauma: What Educators Need to Know

Worthy and reposted from the Adoption Advocate No. 63

Many adopted children and children in foster care have experienced traumatic events which can impact their development and present challenges for both parents and educators. In the September 2013 issue of NCFA's Adoption Advocate, author Kathleen Benckendorf outlines information, methods, and strategies that can help teachers and school officials better understand and meet the needs of children with histories of trauma, abuse, or neglect.
Click here to view, print, or download.

Has your school sufficiently addressed your child's specific needs related to adoption trauma?  What are some creative ways great teachers have supported your child?
-Robin E. Sizemore, Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc

Voice for Adoption Seeks Input on Access to Mental Health Services for Foster and Adopted Children

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is seeking input on how to ensure that all Americans have necessary mental health treatment. Specifically, they are asking about administrative and legal barriers to care, key policies that have lead to improved outcomes, and how Medicaid and Medicare can be improved to help people with mental health needs.

Voice for Adoption (VFA) wants to be sure that the U.S. adoption community is part of this process. VFA has created a brief survey to gather information on these issues as they relate to children adopted from domestic foster or institutional inter-country care, and will share the results with Senate leadership.

Please take a moment to complete the survey. The survey deadline is September 17.

Thank you,
Robin E. Sizemore
Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc

Latest Research on the Mental Health of Adopted Children

Photo credit: thinkprogess

All For You!!

If you are a Hopscotch Family, we have something great to share with you - for FREE! As a proud sponsor of Creating A Family website, our client families are provided FREE access to their vast library of radio podcasts. The library covers a vast range of adoption related topics that you will not find anywhere else. As a bonus, you can opt to receive educational credit hours and a certificate with a password issued to each of our clients - again, free to Hopscotch client families.

To access the adoption learning center on the Creating a Family website:

Hopscotch clients can access the adoption education courses by going to the learning center at http://www.creatingafamily.org/learning-center.html

Each individual will need to create an account with a username and password (see the blue link in the upper right hand corner of the webpage for creating a new account)

Once you have logged in with you individual username and password you'll have access to listen to all the courses - for FREE!

As a sponsoring agency, our clients have access to the quiz/certificate option for each course.   You'll just need to click on the quiz icon next to a particular course listing.  You'll then be prompted for a course password that is unique to Hopscotch clients. You'll need to contact Megan for your password to receive your certificate after completion of each podcast and quiz. Be sure to print your certificate after each podcast quiz.

Here's a podcast sample:

Latest Research on the Mental Health of Adopted Children

What does the latest research show on the emotional and mental health of adopted children? How do adoptees fare later in life? Our guest is Dr. Kathleen Whitten, a developmental psychologist and adoptive mother who researches the mental health of adopted children. She has been a lecturer in psychology at Georgia State University and at the University of Virginia, where she was also a research faculty member at the Child-Parent Attachment Clinic, Department of Psychiatric Medicine. She was named a Distinguished Fellow in Developmental Psychology by the National Council for Adoption in Washington, D.C. She is also the author of Labor of the Heart: A Parent’s Guide to the Decisions and Emotions in Adoption. Highlights from this show.

Adopted Children & Discipline

Source: Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12 (Copyright © 2004 American Academy of Pediatrics)

Some parents are hesitant to discipline the child they have adopted. They may set fewer limits than they would for a birth child. They might react less strongly to misbehavior.

Learning to Discipine: A Parent's Responsibility
What are the reasons for these patterns of parental inaction? Some adoptive parents are afraid their youngster might stop loving them if they disciplined her. Or they may doubt their own right or ability to parent this child fully.

If that is your attitude, you are not fulfilling some of your parenting responsibilities. One of your tasks is to help your child grow and mature by disciplining her and helping her adjust to the limits you set. You need to look at the obstacles that may be preventing you from assuming this parental role, such as being fearful of losing her affection to a birth parent who is in close proximity.

Things to Keep in Mind
Keep in mind that even though you did not give birth to this boy or girl, he or she is your child. That means you have the right and the obligation to say, "It's time to go to bed now," or "No, you can't have your brother's toy right now." Your child's well-being depends on your willingness and ability to function as a full parent.

If your child ever says to you, "I don't have to mind you; you're not my real parents," respond with a statement like "We are your real parents. We just aren't your biological parents." A parent is someone who parents and who loves his or her child, and that is what you have been doing for years.

Click here to listen.

Adopting A Child (Audio)

Source: A Minute for Kids

Parents looking to adopt can choose from domestic adoption (either open or closed) or international adoption (which is almost always closed). Studies show that adopted children are more likely to grow up well-adjusted and confident if they have been given age-appropriate information about their birth parents.

Click here to listen.

Creating A Family Radio Show Presents: Sexual Development of Adopted Children

While Sexual development follows much the same pattern for all children, there are some special issues that adopted children might face, including precocious puberty, questions about how the birds and bees applies to them, childhood sexual abuse, etc. Our guest to discuss these issues are Dr. Bradley Miller, Pediatric Endocrinologist at the University of Minnesota and Joyce Maguire Pavao, a therapist specializing in adoption and an adjunct faculty member in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

You can listen/download the show at the Radio page.