The Indiana Adoption Program Blog
Summer Camp, Here We Come
It's not even Spring, and yet, here we are, already thinking about Summer! Well...thinking mostly about summer camps, which are open for registration now, and as any parent knows -- they fill up FAST! Sometimes, finding a summer camp option feels easy, especially if...
The Depth of Their Fear
Children who have trauma histories are victims of their intense fears. Traumatic fear can only be resolved by consistently repeated positive experiences which serve to balance the brain and give hope of safety.
Adopting Alone: Thoughts on Adopting as a Single Parent
Embarking on an adoption journey is daunting, especially as a single parent. You may wonder, “Can I do this on my own?” “Will I be able to handle a child’s schedule and needs on my own?” “Who will help support me?” The good news is that, of course, you are not alone – lots of people adopt as single parents! There are plenty of resources and supports available for single parents – it may just take a little bit of time to find them. (But they’re out there, we promise!)
Permanency is a Process: Transitioning a Child From Your Home
We previously wrote about things to consider when you’re transitioning a child to your home as a pre-adoptive placement. But, there’s also another perspective on transitions – when you’re transitioning a child from your home into what will be their adoptive family. That process can bring with it as many questions as if you’re bringing a child into your family, but sometimes, the families who have been fostering the child don’t get as much attention or support because they’re “just” foster parents.
Trailblazing the Transition of Going Back to School
The transition from summer to school isn’t easy for most kids (who really wants to say goodbye to summer?!), but for children who have experienced trauma, this transition can be especially fraught. As a parent, you’ve probably got some anxieties about your child’s ability to transition back into a school setting. We’d like to offer some tools to navigate this transition and advocate for adoption sensitivity.
Just a Different Kind of Rollercoaster
When Jacqueline and Jake Cline first considered adopting, they explored all the options – international, private, independent, and public. After a lot of research, they decided on private adoption for their first child. Fast-forward 5 years, and the Clines decided that they were ready to add to their family again. This time, they decided to become licensed foster parents, with the intention of eventually adopting an older child. After fostering several children, they learned of Renesmee, the girl with the sunshine smile.
Bricks and Bridges: Supporting Reunification
National Reunification Month may not seem like a perfect fit for a program that’s designed to find adoptive families for children who can’t be reunified with their birth parents. But foster care, adoption, kinship care, reunification…they all have the same end goal: to ensure that children grow up in safe, loving, stable families. The specifics of how we reach that end goal might vary a little, but we’re all heading in the same direction.
You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover, Or A Child By Their Child Summary
Reading child summaries can be daunting: they outline every difficult thing that has happened to a foster child, and sometimes it can feel as though the child’s challenges and needs outweigh the strengths and positives. While the summary does include the child’s strengths, likes and dislikes, what they hope for in a family, and so on, reading those words isn’t the same as experiencing the child in person. After all, humans are too complex to be summed up by words on a page.