Every child in foster care has experienced trauma on one level or another. We can make all the difference for the children in our homes by learning as much as we can about helping children heal from trauma and by taking good care of ourselves. There is a lot of information available to help guide us on this journey. A good place to start is the work of Dr. Bruce Perry. Click here for to download a 2-page article with valuable tips. Click on the following titles to see two of his books, “The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog” or “Born to Love” .
Another important factor in bringing good outcomes for our children and youth is education. According to the National Working Group on Foster Care and Education’s October 2011 report, “Success in school can be a positive counterweight to the abuse, neglect, separation and impermanence experienced by children and youth in foster care. Education has the potential to markedly improve their life chances and their ability to contribute to society as productive adults.” Click here for the entire report.
Thank you for everything you have done and continue to do to help create bright futures for Hawaii’s children and youth. You are true HEROS!
It Takes An `Ohana (ITAO) became a part of Family Programs Hawaii’s (FPH) array of programs in 2010. The alignment of FPH’s mission, to strengthen youth and families in the child welfare system, and ITAO’s mission, to offer resources and information to those in the community concerned with protecting the interests of children and youth in out-of-home care while providing responsible advocacy, will allow ITAO to renew our concentration on our core mission with greater support and resources.
Follow this link to see the latest information available regarding child welfare laws and policy in Hawai`i. There you will find the handouts from the 2011 Annual Child Welfare Law Update Conference that was held on August 12, 2011.
Kapiolani Mentoring program, lead by Dr. Steven Choy, offers Hawai`i foster youth on Oahu support, stability, and enriched social experiences to help them overcome their past traumas, take control of their lives, and prevent the cycle of abuse and neglect. This program pairs off foster youth mentors with mentees and has openings for mentees!
One in 8 adolescents in America suffers from depression which can lead to school failure, substance abuse and suicide. Hawaii Public Radio broadcast a report on the workshop “Understanding Adolescent Stress and Depression” with Mary Jadwisiak from Washington state and Dr. Evie Yanagida, clinical program manager for The Sex Abuse Treatment Center, a program of [...]
Ginny Wright, a former resource caregiver (formerly referred to as a foster parent) for the Hawai`i Department of Human Services, was awarded, “Parent of the Year” at the 2011 SPIN Conference. Ginny is a mother of five adopted children, two of whom have a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Ginny has been a pioneer in [...]
We’ve assembled a list of some of the best books ever written about parenting, foster care and adoption and given you an easy way to read about them and purchase them online by clicking through from this website. When you do, ITAL receives a portion of the proceeds from that sale and from everything else you purchase on Amazon in that session! It’s a great way to support our work with foster and adoptive families.
Tips to make homework a more productive time.
This article describes the typical progession a child makes through a state welfare system.
The University of Hawaii-Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine, Hawaii Initiative for Childhood Obesity Research and Education, and several local health care organizations have launched a campaign called the “Hawaii 5-2-1-0 Let’s Go Initiative” to tackle childhood obesity.
H.E.A.R.T. works with children and adolescents in small, supportive groups where members learn how to identify their feelings, come to understand that they are not alone in their struggles, and develop skills in supporting one another. To help facilitate this process, H.E.A.R.T. utilizes mediums that children can easily relate to such as art, yoga, horseback [...]
