In honor of foster care month coming up in May, the Iowa Foster and Adoptive Care Association is holding its 4th annual “Stride for Foster Care.” This fundraiser is a 3.2 mile walk that will benefit the 5000 children in Iowa foster care. Money raised from the Stride for Foster Care Walk will provide funds for children in foster care to get those special “extras” in life which they otherwise would not receive, such as musical instruments, senior pictures, sports participation, summer camp, etc. Funds raised will also help with developing new trainings for Iowa’s foster, adoptive and kinship parents.

If you are interested in this event, you can find more information on their website, IFAPA.

Can’t make it to West Des Moines? You can participate in their Virtual Walk, walk in your own community and still fundraise for your chance to earn great prizes!

We here at Adoption World Publishing, applaud the IFAPA for their great work.

Navigating through life is a challenge for all teenagers. Obstacles are everywhere. A teenager in the foster/adoption system encounters extra obstacles. A life book is a wonderful tool that can be used to assist youth in dealing with the issues they face.

In our 17th year of business, Adoption World Publishing continues to be a player in the lifebook market. Our  title, The Real Me teen life book was the company’s top seller in 2010.

Introduced in 2002, the chapter topics- Who I am Today, Where I Came From and What My Future Holds – remain as relevant today as they were when the book was written. Authored by the mother/daughter team of Theresa McCoy and Donna Barnes, their years of experience working with youth in the foster and adoption system contribute to the creditability of the book.

The Real Me teen life book is currently being used by agencies, families and organizations in at least 24 states and Canada. It is sold exclusively by Adoption World Publishing at 319-365-3454 or www.adoptionworld.net.

In September of 2010, HHS awarded $39 million to 38 states and Puerto Rico for increasing adoptions from foster care.

“All children deserve loving, safe and permanent homes,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “It is gratifying that most states continue to excel in promoting the adoption of children from foster care. I sincerely thank every adoptive family that has welcomed a child into their home.”

States received $4,000 for every child adopted beyond their best year’s total, plus a payment of $8,000 for every child age 9 and older and $4,000 for every special needs child adopted above the respective baselines. The year 2007 is the baseline.

“America’s communities benefit when children grow up in stable families,” said David A. Hansell, HHS acting assistant secretary for children and families. “We’re very pleased that the adoption incentives program is helping states improve their programs and place more children into homes that are theirs forever.”

The states will be using the funds from this adoption incentive award to improve their child welfare programs. Many of the states mandate life books for their children and will be able to use this money to purchase these much needed items.

We applaud Secretary Sebelius and the 38 states and Puerto Rico. With the economy still recovering, these federal awards could not come at a better time. Many adoption agencies have been trying to make do with “piece-meal” lifebooks, or no books at all. With this money, children will be able to get quality books in their hands.

Congratulations

The Secret Ingredient in Life Books

If you haven’t already visited our informational articles page, please do so soon!  One article is called “The Secret Ingredient in Life Books”.  It is written to the foster or adoptive parent by Donna Barnes.  Below are some excerpts from her article.

No one talked about “life books” back in the 70’s. That’s when my husband and I began our adoption journey. Armed only with resolve and love, we walked the whole nine yards through four challenging adoptions without a single life book. Our best attempt was a photo album for one of our daughters. It included the only two photos that we were given when she arrived at the tender age of six months and we added many more as she grew up. By age four, she enjoyed “reading” her photo album . . .

Did our kids survive without life books? Of course!
Would life books have been helpful? Absolutely!

Today, “LIFEBOOK” is the buzzword among professionals and parents alike. And rightly so, because an adoption life book should provide a child with a key ingredient – - the TRUTH (as much as is known) – - about his/her “life story.” It should contain the WHO, WHAT, WHERE AND WHY information that kids need to answer their questions and unscramble their lives. In short, it is . . .

more than a photo album, although photos are vitally important.
more than a “baby book,” although the “baby information is also vital to include if available.
more than a scrapbook of achievements.
more than a book that chronicles all the happy, fun times.

Adopted kids, and those who grow up in foster care, have difficulty building self-esteem without uncovering and processing the truth about their lives . . . And now, we have the secret ingredient, p-r-o-c-e-s-s-i-n-g through a life memory book! In addition to providing statistical information, life books are a means for kids to find out that they were not responsible for the problems in the family. This puts a different slant on everything.

A life book should help kids process their feelings!

To facilitate “processing” the child’s feelings, the child needs to be involved in its creation. After all, there is no therapeutic value to the older child if you do it for him/her. As the adult, part of your task is to discover what the child thinks is the truth about his/her life. If the child has a distorted view of events that shaped his/her life or fantasies that stick in his/her mind as the truth, gently, but honestly, bring truth into the picture. The information that you provide should be age-appropriate and will need to be retold as the child gets older and has more in-depth questions. You will then need to help the child process his/her feelings about their true “life story.” In the end, there is a very positive and accomplished feeling the child gains, two-fold: through writing and drawing their memories they gain an understanding about themselves and their life history, and in doing so the child gets to know you better by talking about their life story with their foster or adoptive family.