Dear Director,
We just had our adoption day for our 2 children, siblings, ages 6 and 9. We are so delighted and have no real concerns. Our Resource Family Coordinator suggested that we sign up for Post Perm services now that the adoptions are finalized. But we are tired of people in our home, juggling our calendars to find time for the prep worker or the CYS worker, etc. On the other hand, we want to offer our kids the best life moving forward. Is it OK to wait for problems to arise before we seek out these Post Perm services?
Signed, New Adoptive Parents
Dear New Adoptive Parents,
Congratulations on building your family through adoption! I hope that you feel trained, supported, and attached so that the rest of parenthood, until you are old and gray, will breeze by without any bumps or bruises. I do hope that, but we know that it will not be true. Whether you give birth to them, bring them home from the hospital through birth parent, adoption, or adopt from the foster care system, some day there will be a blimp in your happy home life. It is as predictable as sunrise and sunset, but I trust not as frequent!
Of course, the best way to manage those issues that do arrive is through being prepared for them so that they don’t catch you off guard, and by catching things as early as possible, so that intervention can come while things are still going as well as they can. This is why there are three different services available through SWAN Post Permanency services. See, these three services are meant to help you prevent issues through support and training, and to catch them quickly and get back on track as fast as possible. You should have heard about these services from the agency worker who completed your Family Profile for adoption, but here is a quick review, just in case it was too overwhelming at that time to catch everything .
The number one service requested by foster and adoptive families, and the best way to stay connected and on top of issues is through participation in a Support Group. This is also the most informal. A good support group connects you to other adoptive and foster families-people who understand your situation and hopefully your children’s issues, should they arise. They have been where you are now. They have advice, they have a listening ear, and they may be the best way to build an informal support and respite community. Many agencies host both in-person and virtual support group and training opportunities, so talk to your Post-Permanency Coordinator about this. With SWAN, you don’t even have to go through an assessment to take part in a group.
The second service, also low-impact-high-reward, is Respite. This service provides funding for both activities to help your children build strong social and self-regulation skills, but also can be used to give the parents a break when needed. There are many wonderful opportunities, again, depending on your Post Permanency agency. You can connect with funding for your children to stay with another family-even one you know-if you need a break or are going through a tough time, or moving to a new house-doesn’t have to be a crisis situation. Or your Post Permanency worker can help you to identify the goals for your children and how to utilize respite funding for activities to meet their goals. You can even access funding to attend the annual PA Permanency Conference each summer. Let’s go Kalahari!
The third service, Case Advocacy, is where you go if you need lots of assistance. This service will walk by your side through any issue that comes up with your children-how to get into mental health services, arranging an IEP, visits with birth siblings or family in a safe way, walking through out-of-placement with a child with real challenges. They can also help your child if they need to again talk about why they were in foster care and why they were adopted, or to learn more about their birth family in a healthy and safe way. This service is very adaptable, and will help you meet your needs, even if it is just someone to talk things through with on a regular basis.
When is the best time to access Post Permanency services? Of course, before you need them. We will work with you in a crisis, but if you feel any things are bubbling up, just reach out to SWAN, or to your adoptive home study agency, and ask for guidance to come on into this amazing program.
