Assessing prospective adoptive parents, foster carers, kinship carers and special guardians is an extremely complex task, and one that happens within a pressurized time frame.Currently, assessments draw substantially on interviews, which can generate a lot of information but little analysis to enable professionals to establish a meaningful understanding of parenting capacity. Children with histories of trauma, loss and hurt need to join families in which parents exhibit the ability...

A New York Times Notable Book that "casts a searing eye on the labyrinth that is the American foster care system" (NPR's On Point).Who are the children of foster care? What, as a country, do we owe them? Cris Beam, a foster mother herself, spent five years immersed in the world of foster care looking into these questions and tracing firsthand stories. The result is To the End of June, an unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives o...

A child is coming â?? whether you approve or not it's time to get with the program! If someone you care about â?? a family member, co-worker, or close friend â?? has recently announced that their family will be growing through adoption, you may have questions. After all, unless you have personally experienced adoption, you may know very little about how adoption works and what it means. Are you worried that your loved one may face disappointment? Do you find yourself wondering exactly what...

"This volume is especially useful in demonstrating the effects of placing social discourses at the center of therapy. It gores many sacred cows of the larger modernist therapeutic community, but in doing so it offers new ideas for mental health professionals attempting to help their clients with common and serious life problems." —PSYCRITIQUES"This compilation is an insightful read for practitioners who have not taken the opportunity to use narrative t...

One Step of Obedience Led to ThousandsIrene and Domingo Garcia began their married lives at sixteen, already expecting a baby. Their first ten years together included Domingo’s alcoholism and abuse, and Irene’s desperate prayers for answers. Then a miracle happened: Domingo pleaded for forgiveness. As God healed their marriage, Irene and Domingo adopted a little girl. And a new season began for an imperfect couple who were willing to say yes to each other ...

Around three quarters of people who turn to adoption do so because of infertility and those working in this field need information, guidance and support to assist them in the process of adoption to support the adopters and to deal with any issues that may result from infertility.Adopting after Infertility is an accessible and informative interdisciplinary book that addresses the issues that professionals working with adopters and the adopters themselves face when going through the ...

This practical resource is a follow-on from the hugely successful Counselling with Reality Therapy. The second edition provides a jargon-free and practical explanation of a theory and method of counselling which can be used in any therapeutic relationship. It presents a comprehensive, succinct and practical overview of Reality Therapy and also contains ideas which can be used by parents, spouses, partners, children, family and anyone wishing for more satisfying relationships. This book for...

THE guidebook for creating a perfect family in a non-perfect world—from budgeting and caregiving issues to managing the emotional highs and lows.Creating a family in the twenty-first century presents certain challenges: career couples are waiting longer and discovering infertility issues, and gay and lesbian couples are becoming parents through various methods. The authors share their five-year story, struggles, and success of creating a family. This book is design...

Kinship care is one of the most prevalent forms of placement used for maltreated children and youths. This book is the first to provide a systematic and theory-informed approach to preparing caregivers for the vital role they play in the lives of abused and neglected children. It presents a relationship-building framework that can be used to better achieve the three major child welfare goals: (1) protection*,* (2) permanency, and (3) well-being. Child welfare students and practitioners wil...

Life story work is an approach designed to enable traumatized children to explore, question and understand the past events of their lives. It aims to secure their future by strengthening attachment with their carers and providing the opportunity to develop a healthy sense of self and a feeling of wellbeing.This new edited volume documents innovative ways in which life story work has been developed. It draws on the work of nine life story centres based around the world and provides ...

With essays by well-known adoption practitioners and researchers who source empirical research and practical knowledge, this volume addresses key developmental, cultural, health, and behavioral issues in the transracial and international adoption process and provides recommendations for avoiding fraud and techniques for navigating domestic and foreign adoption laws. The text details the history, policy, and service requirements relating to white, African American, Asian American, Latino an...

This new book from life work expert Joy Rees explains the value of effective and meaningful life work with children who are fostered and adopted, and how best to carry this out.This book will help social work professionals, foster carers and adopters to understand the many aspects of life work and to consider the important contributions they can all make to this task. Life work is about helping children to know and to understand their personal stories and the life experiences that ...