ADOPTION MYTHS AND REALITIES

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” Adoption Myths and Realities Myth Foster care adoption may cost less than private infant or international adoption, but it's still expensive. Reality The truth is that foster care adoption is not expensive, and there is financial support available for parents. Myth A biological parent can come to take an adopted child back. Reality This is a fear for two-thirds of the people considering adoption. However, biological parents have no way to gain back custody of the child or children once their parental rights are terminated. Myth 45% of Americans believe children in foster care have entered the system because of juvenile delinquency. Reality Children enter U.S. foster care through no fault of their own. Usually, they are victims of neglect, abandonment, or abuse. Children waiting to be adopted may be older but they are no less deserving of permanent families. Myth A single parent can't provide a healthy environment for an adopted child. Reality In fact, as the number of two-parent families decline, an increasing number of children live in single-parent homes. Recently, the number of single parents adopting jumped up to 31%. (Source: Adoptive Families magazine). Myth Same-sex parents are not capable of providing a healthy environment for an adoptive child. Reality Practically every valid study to date concludes children of same-sex parents adjust well and grow up in positive environments compared with heterosexual families. Myth No person over 55 can provide a healthy and loving environment for an adopted child. Reality This belief is held by 63% of Americans. In truth, almost one in four adopted children lives happily with an adoptive parent 55 years or older. Myth In order to adopt, you must be a “perfect” candidate and make a lot of money. Reality Children living in the foster care system are not in good conditions. An honest, loving family that can support them is better than the current situation of these children. Forever families come in all shapes and sizes. Statistics are from the National Foster Care Adoption Attitudes Survey, commissioned by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and conducted by Harris Interactive, November 2007 RESOURCES Adopt US Kids – Adoption Myths If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me any time! Linzy Munger A Family For Every Child Associate Director (541)343-2856 www.afamilyforeverychild.org

ONE CHILD'S PATH THROUGH FOSTER CARE

If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me any time! Linzy Munger A Family For Every Child Associate Director (541)343-2856 www.afamilyforeverychild.org

COMMON ADOPTION TERMS

When beginning the adoption process, it may help to understand some of the terminology that is frequently used. The following list includes definitions for many common words and phrases related to adoption. Common Adoptive Terms Abuse: Any action that creates a substantial injury or a risk of injury to a child. Abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional. Physical abuse happens when a child is hurt through beating, shaking, kicking, burning or other types of bodily harm. A child can end up suffering from bruises, fractured or broken bones, internal injuries or even death. When children are denied the basic necessities they need to thrive, it is also considered physical abuse. Infants born addicted to drugs are physically abused, as well. Approved Families: Families that have completed training, the home study process and have been licensed to adopt. Birth or Biological Family: Biological mother or father (those who conceived the child) and their extended family; “blood” relatives. Children of Color: Children of color are all non-Caucasian children, including biracial children. Child Welfare System: All agencies that operate to ensure the safety and well being of children. Areas of child welfare include adoption, child protection, and foster care. Closed Adoption: An adoption that involves total confidentiality and no contact with birth family. The birth family and the adoptive family do not share any identifying information about themselves, and do not communicate with each other, either before or after the placement of the child. Contracted Agencies: Those agencies that have a contract with the DSS (public adoption agency) to provide adoption services to DSS clients. Developmental Delays: Delays in motor skills, speech and/or learning. Department of Social Services : The Oregon State Child Welfare Agency. The agency focuses on the safety, permanency and well being of children who have been abused and neglected in family settings or by caretakers. Domestic Infant Adoption: The adoption of infants born in the United States and generally refers to children who are voluntarily relinquished by their birth parent/s. Emotional Disabilities: A disturbance of mood not due to any physical or mental disorder. Children with emotional disabilities may exhibit lack of respect for authority, behavior problems in school, inability to cope with change and difficulty getting along with other children. They might also have trouble sleeping, have mood swings, be impulsive and appear to be unaware or unconcerned about the consequences of their actions. Children with emotional disabilities may need therapy or counseling. Emotional Injury: Also referred to as emotional abuse, hurts a child's emotional development. It occurs when attitudes or actions repeatedly happen in a family that negatively affect the way a child feels about him/herself. This can impair a youngster's behavior and ability to function. Emotional abuse happens in all kinds of ways. A lack of love and support can be devastating. This can take the form of emotional detachment or a severe lack of affection. Extremely harsh, critical treatment of a child can cause emotional injury, too. This can include severe punishment, rejection and verbal assaults that may include belittling, or scape-goating. Foster Care: Foster Care is the substitute family and care that children receive when they have been removed from a situation where either abuse and/or neglect has occurred and neither biological parents nor other extended family members can meet a child's needs. The State agency has placement and care responsibility during this time. Foster Care Adoption: Foster care adoption, also referred to as special needs adoption, is the adoption of children from state care. These children are typically harder to place based on their race, ethnicity, age, disability, or part of a sibling group. Home study: The home study is a process as well as a final written document. After the family’s completion of Foster/adopt training, the family’s social worker conducts visits to the home in order to become acquainted with the household and the community to ensure they can provide a safe environment for a child. It also allows the social worker to gain a better understanding of how the family functions within the home. The write-up at the end of the process is the family’s home study, which is either approved or denied by the agency. International Adoption: The adoption of a child who is a citizen of a different country than the adoptive parents. Learning Disabilities: Children with learning disabilities may have average intelligence, but they have difficulty sorting and storing information. They may have visual or auditory perception problems that make it difficult for them to learn by reading directions or by listening. They learn best by seeing and doing. More than 40 percent of special needs children have learning disabilities. Special classes can help the child with school and learning. Loss Issues: When children lose loved ones through separation, divorce or death, some feel immediate grief but others may deny their loss. Long-term denial or avoidance of grief can result in severe problems. Signs that indicate professional help might be needed include extended depression, loss of interest in daily activities, inability to sleep, loss of appetite, a drop in school performance, hyperactivity, aggression and inability to concentrate. Legally Free: Legally free children are those whose birth parents have voluntarily surrendered their parental rights, or have had them terminated through a court process. These birth parents have no legal recourse or claim to the involved children. Legal Risk: Children at legal risk are those for whom the process to terminate birth parents’ rights has not yet concluded. DSS has determined that adoption is in the child’s best interest and does not want to delay recruitment of a family while the court pursues termination of the birth parents’ rights. The court case can last as long as two years or more until the final decision is made. In some cases, the birth parents retain the right to visit their child during the time the case is technically in foster care status. The majority of legal risk placements result in the foster child being adopted by the pre-adoptive family. A Family For Every Child (AFFEC): A private, non-profit organization that works in collaboration with the child welfare system, specifically adoption agencies, to find adoptive families for children in foster care. Foster/Adoption (different name in each state, MAPP, PRIDE, Foundations, etc…): A training course required of all prospective adoptive families and foster families. The trainings usually are in groups of 8-20 individuals, for 3 hours one day a week for 8 weeks. Its purpose is to help families prepare for adoption or foster care through understanding the losses that waiting children have suffered and the birth family issues that can exist. Neglect: Situation that occurs when a child's basic needs are not provided for. Every youngster needs food, shelter, medical care, supervision, emotional stability and a chance to grow. When a caregiver withholds these things, a child is neglected. This may happen deliberately, through negligence or due to an inability to parent. The environmental circumstances that some parents may face, such as disability, homelessness or inadequate financial resources, are not seen as sources of neglect. Open Adoption: An adoption that involves ongoing contact between birth and adoptive families, sometimes including visits. Each adoption varies in terms of who remains involved and visitations. Open adoption does not mean shared parenting. Physical Abuse: Characterized by the infliction of physical injury as a result of punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, shaking or otherwise harming a child. The parent or caretaker may not have intended to hurt the child; rather, the injury may have resulted from over-discipline or physical punishment. Prospective Adoptive Family: A family that is interested in adoption and is either in the midst of the adoption process and/or waiting for a match with a child. Public Adoption Agency: The public adoption agency is usually the state child welfare agency. For Oregon, this is the Department of Social Services. Within the state child 27 of the adoption of all the children who have a goal of adoption. Services are free of charge through public adoption agencies. Sexual Abuse: Occurs when a child has any sexual contact with an adult. This can happen through intercourse, which is considered rape under Oregon law. It includes any oral, genital or anal penetration. Sexual exploitation and molestation are also considered abuse. They are defined as contacts or interactions with a child that are used to satisfy an adult's sexual needs and desires. This includes any verbally enticing language as well as fondling, masturbating or exposure of sexual organs by the adult. Sex between an adult and child is never consensual. School-Aged Children: Children age 6 and older, and are generally at an age when they are enrolled in school. Sibling Groups: Children with one or more biological brother or sister. Special Needs Adoption: Special needs adoption, also referred to as adoption through foster care, is the adoption of children who are in state care. These children are typically harder to place based on their race, ethnicity, age, disability, or being part of a sibling group. Waiting Child(ren): A child who is waiting to be adopted. Waiting Family: A family who has completed Foster/adoption training and the home study process, has been approved to adopt and is waiting for an appropriate match to be found. If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me any time! Linzy Munger A Family For Every Child Associate Director (541)343-2856 www.afamilyforeverychild.org

MENTOR PROGRAM-SUCCESS -- AMBER

A Family For Every Child would like to thank you for believing that every child deserves a family. Your support has enabled A Family For Every Child to make a difference in the lives of our children in foster care. Because of your support, all of our programs have been busy serving children in foster care and families going through the adoption process. As we like to do from time to time, we hope by sharing current situation/stories of children in foster care, or those that have grown up and out, we might shed some light on why your involvement and support is so important. Amber is a teenage girl in the foster care system who has been living in a drug and alcohol treatment center. Through A Family for Every Child's Mentor Program, she met Alena, one of AFFEC's adult mentors who helps to fill a critical need in the lives of foster kids. By spending approximately 10 hours a month with a foster child, mentors can be the caring, stable, and supportive adult that these children might not have otherwise. These relationships can give children a sense of security, confidence, and connection with a grownup who can help them through the difficult transitions in their lives. At the time of this story, Alena was considering becoming Amber's foster parent. Here is Alena's story about their relationship so far: "We invited Amber to our home for an early Christmas dinner where she met my parents and nieces. The girls really hit it off. They played Wii games and took pictures posing by the pretty white tree. They danced, and just had a really good time. Amber quoted a Scripture passage prior to saying grace. That touched everyone's hearts! She gave my husband and me Christmas presents, too. It was darling. A few days later I took Amber to the mall. We shopped for new MAC makeup and some clothes that fit her. She felt spoiled! Since that time Amber has had some trouble at the treatment center and is not allowed to leave, so my husband and I went to visit her. We talked and played Uno, and my husband drew her a Nike sneaker with her name and favorite things on it -- she really liked that! In the time we've spent together, Amber has opened up to me about her past. Specifically, she's talked with me about her drug use and her desire to never do those things again. She's shared with me some of the everyday struggles of being trapped in the treatment center. We've talked a little about what our expectations will be if and when she comes to stay with us. I want to trust her, but I worry she may just be saying what she thinks I want to hear. But I feel a true connection to Amber. It's strange how someone can have that effect on another. She is truly special and I cannot wait to welcome her into my home and give her a life she has never had. I only hope she will trust us enough to receive it." The sweet 16 birthday party that Amber's Mentor threw for her. We want to wish all of our mentors a special "Thank you!" for all of your help and support. From all of us at A Family For Every Child, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It is only through the generosity and support of community members like you that we are able to make a real difference in the lives of our children in foster care. Together we can find a family for every child.

Youth Summit to Focus on Native Americans in Foster Care Public News Service - OR | June 2013 |

Haley and Royce are two of the youth facilitators participating in this week's foster youth summit in Grande Ronde. Courtesy of Oregon Foster Youth Connection. June 19, 2013GRANDE RONDE, Ore. - A "Bill of Rights" for Oregon youths in foster care is on a path to becoming state law, and this summer, some of the young people who advocated for it are celebrating their success and looking ahead. The first in a series of foster youth summits takes place Thursday in Grande Ronde. Its focus will be on Native American young people, who are disproportionately represented in foster care in Oregon. Dana Ainam, supervisor of the Children and Family Service Program for the Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde, said the skills taught at the summits should come naturally to Indian youth. "I think one of the important things about coming from an Indian community, is that the role of leadership and advocacy in our communities is really high, or of value, at all different kinds of levels," she said. "To be able to see the type of change that young people can effect, I think that's really an important connection that we're going to try to make." About 13,000 children are in foster care in Oregon. The most recent governor's task force report said the rate of Native American and Alaska Native children cared for by people other than relatives is five times the rate of white children. Lydia Bradley, who manages the Oregon Foster Youth Connection, said the aim of the foster youth summits is to help youths develop confidence and leadership skills. She said they learn that they can take tough life experiences and turn them into momentum for change, in their own lives and to help others in the foster care system. "Foster youth experience many, many placements, and so they often don't have the experience of bonding with their peers because they're moving so much," she said. "So, bringing youth together to kind of connect around a shared experience really is a unique opportunity for them - and a special one." Other foster youth summits will be held in July in Lane and Marion counties and the Portland metro area. Thursday's summit will be held at the Plank House on Southwest Hevoe Road in Fort Yamhill and at Grande Ronde Community Center, 9615 Grande Ronde Road. The Spirit Mountain Community Fund is helping with expenses for the youth summits.

Chris Thomas, Public News Service - OR -

June 2013

Confessions of a Mom with Attachment Disorder by Dawn Choate Parental Attachment Disorder Maybe I should have left my name off this one. Perhaps I could have been one of the anonymous writers who change their name to protect their identity. I will probably open my inbox to find I've been booted off a Yahoo adoption group or two after this confession. I'm sure I won't be invited to the next LifeBook creation group or called up by the Discovery Channel to cover my next adoption. But, I'm not really confessing this to win any popularity contests anyway. The truth is, I am quite certain that what I am about to confess is a dark, deeply held secret of other adoptive parents out there and I am just the one with the big enough mouth to say it. Okay, here I go. I have attachment issues. Yes, me. Not my daughter (our second adoption), although she has her own set of attachment issues, too. But I am talking about me. After a year and a half, my heart still struggles to latch on firmly, to feel free and open with her, to feel the wonderful bonded feeling of being completely attached in heart and spirit to another person. I still catch myself looking blankly at her, wondering if I even know her yet. I am still more easily frustrated by her, less patient, slower to forgive and recover after she misbehaves. I still have to fight feelings of wanting to pay more attention to the children with whom it is easier to feel close. And sometimes I am the one who can go without contact with her and not feel like I even miss her absence. Before you lynch me, before you throw me to the Yahoo group trash bin, before you black list my name to every agency on planet earth and turn me in to Dr. Phil and his evil message boards. Let me leave you with some thoughts just in case this strange phenomenon ever lurks its way into your adoption fantasy and threatens to turn it into a nightmare. Why Adoptive Parents Face Difficulties in Bonding There are many reasons an adoptive parent may experience difficulty in bonding with their new child. Post-adoption depression is actually a term used now by many therapists and experts in the field. Below are some possible reasons a parent might struggle with bonding: Unresolved grief over a previous child-related issue (such as miscarriages, inability to conceive, previous adoptions that fell through or previous difficulties with an adoption) Previous experiences with attachment issues with an adopted child Adopting an older child who no longer exhibits the natural baby/toddler development stages that promote bonding with a parent Adopting out of birth order (this can make navigating the baby of the family developmental stage tricky) Attachment issues in the child that cause the parent to feel rejected Inability to communicate adequately with the child (language difficulties, speech issues, special needs issues) This is, of course, only a partial list of the myriad of possible reasons a parent may feel that block that prevents the free-flow of emotion from parent to child. It is a list that we could mark off multiple items that relate to our experience. When we adopted our daughter, she was 3.5 years old. While she still had much of the baby look to her rounded cheeks and pixie face, her behaviors were not in any way like a baby. When I tried to follow the advice of re-parenting her (treating the new child like a baby in certain ways), it only became a source of frustration for us both. She would bite the bottles or pacifiers until she chewed them off, she would regress and wet her pants since she thought that was what I wanted her to do (behave like her little sister), and all the effort didn't produce any real feelings of change in either one of us because she seemed to grasp that she was really not a baby and didn't particularly want to be treated like one. Another issue we faced was that it was an out-of-birth-order adoption. Although there are many successful cases of this type of adoption and we do not regret having done it ourselves, it certainly presented us with challenges. Our younger daughter still needed to be babied in some ways, and it was tough to make sure that our new daughter was receiving the amount of attention she needed. In addition, you really can't trick your mind into seeing a child who is not the baby as a baby. We were learning firsthand how those critical baby years form that soft foundation of bonding before you have to face the more difficult toddler years with a child. Yet we had missed all of that with her and were thrown head-first into the tougher toddler years. Communication was also a great hurdle for us as our daughter came to us not only as an older child who had learned over 3 years of Mandarin, but as a child with cleft lip and palate that severely impaired her ability to speak at all. Once again, I was startled to realize something we take for granted in parenting other children that is such a vital key to successful bonding was missing in our relationship with her. Even now, if you ask her why she is crying, she can rarely answer you. All you get is, Um..um..I'm crying! Language and communication are the cornerstones of relationships and it is very tough to find alternate ways of communicating with a child who is impaired in a way that truly brings understanding and the ability to form bonds and attachments. Perhaps the most critical key to understanding my struggle to bond to my daughter, however, is to understand the struggle we had to get our first daughter to attach to us and how that struggle impacted and scarred my parental psyche. Over time, I have learned and recognized that the awesome weight I bore in the journey to help our first daughter through her struggles left me far more emotionally exhausted and wounded than I had realized at the time we completed our second adoption. After all, Hannah was doing great by the time we adopted again and was getting better everyday. The battle was over (for the most part) and now our new daughter was quiet, gentle and much easier to care for than Hannah had been. How could I not be okay and bond instantly with her? Yet when the first crying jags started, even though they were not nearly as wild and uncontrollable as had been Hannah's, I found myself holding my new daughter up by her shoulders as she wailed and shrieked, looking her straight in the eyes, and pleading with her, I'M NOT GOING TO DO THIS AGAIN!!! I CAN'T DO THIS AGAIN!!! Red flags should go off at that point. Someone with a megaphone might as well have been screaming at me, SECONDARY POST-TRAUMATIC SYNDROME!!! Of course, I had no idea what that even was at the time. It took a few late nights of internet searching before I recognized it several months after it began to surface. My heart had been greatly wounded before, and now my emotions and spirit were struggling to bear up under another child's journey through grief. Strategies for Navigating the Journey to Attach with Your Child After months of agonizing over the lack of attachment I felt towards my daughter, we slowly began to piece together some strategies that we hoped would eventually build the necessary bonds between us. Over time, we noticed small changes that eventually led to even more significant changes. Though the process is slow, the effort and energy we have expended has always eventually paid off. Here are some of the strategies we used that have contributed to the growing bonds between us: If your child is out of birth order, separate time out specifically for that child away from the children who are younger. Find an activity that suits the new child's age and personality and make it a special event between you. For example, my daughter is very domestic (unlike her wild, Harley-riding sister). So, when I bake an apple pie (okay, this is a rare activity), I bring her alongside of me to help instead of Hannah (distracting Hannah by telling her she can go swing from the trees with her brothers, an activity she would prefer anyway). Do not feel like you have to follow all of the tips of re-parenting if you adopt an older child. When we tried many of the suggestions (giving a bottle, pacifier, etc.), we found it just frustrated us and did not build any connections with her. Those methods may work well with some children, but our daughter did not respond to them, so we had to move on and treat her like the age that she is instead of trying to regress her. She was happier when we did and we found connections with her easier when we did not try to treat her like something she wasn't. Work hard to find skills, personality traits, and talents unique to your new child. We tried many things until we discovered what a great swimmer our new daughter was. So we spent extra time developing that in her, praising her for that skill, and used the time in the water as a way to attach to her. Some of my best interactions with her and most affectionate times are in the water. Give yourself permission to not have to feel all gushy about your new child. It is okay if it is not a fairytale. It does not make you a bad parent or evil. It is what it is. Many days I told myself that I was just going to be a good babysitter that day and gave myself permission to not have to force myself to feel anything else. Work through any unresolved emotional issues you may have that are blocking your ability to bond. If you have issues of grief, resentment of previous failed adoptions or attempts to bond, or secondary post-traumatic issues, it can really impede your ability to connect with a new child. Get help if necessary. Find at least one person other than your spouse that you can be completely honest with about your struggles . You might need to air some feelings that can cause some to judge you. But if you don't have at least one safe, outside place to vent, the pressure can build and cause further damage to your relationship with your child. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, no matter how you feel, no matter what your emotions tell you, after all is said and done and you have done everything you can to change your feelings.just keep moving forward anyway. This may sound simple, trite or ignorant of your needs. I certainly stress the need for you to have time away, time for yourself and time to vent to others. But in the midst of all that, there are many days you have to just realize that you made a choice to bring this child in and whatever you do or do not feel towards that child, love is a choice. Choosing to love your child mentally even when you do not feel it emotionally is a powerful step in the journey to bonding with your child. The rewards for that choice may not surface immediately. The process may be very slow and lacking in immediate gratification. But every day that my daughter laughs a full belly laugh instead of a weak giggle, every time she spontaneously comes to me with arms open for a kiss and says, I love you, Mommy, every time she comes running to see me when I return home with a giant yell, MOMMY'S HOOOOME!!!, I realize that though the journey is long, we will get there. Though I have doubted at times, I know it is true. What you reap, you will sow and one day I know there will be a bountiful harvest in my relationship with my daughter. This is not an adoption that was microwavable. I could not create insta-attachment for her or for me. No, this is a relationship that is in a long, long simmer. Every once in awhile I get a whiff of what it will eventually be. I cannot wait to taste it fully, but until then, I will keep kissing her good-night, brushing her long, beautiful hair, biting my tongue when I'm frustrated, and hugging her just as fully as I do my other children. She's worth the wait. I hope she thinks I am, too. Source Register for our June 5th Matching Event! Our next Matching Event is TODAY, June 5th at 1PM PST! You can read the biographies of the children who will be featured in the event here, and you may sign up for the event here. If you have a current home study that approves you to adopt from foster care, sign up for our Child Matching Events! These events are free, and are a great way to connect with caseworkers that have children on their caseload that are looking for their forever families. As the family, you will be presented with a child's biography by their worker, and will be able to ask the worker questions. At the end of the event, you may choose to have your home study submitted for any of the children presented. To learn more about our upcoming Matching Events and sign up, please visit http://www.afamilyforeverychild.org/Adoption/MatchingEvent/General2.php

HOW THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM WORKS

“Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Inside the Child Welfare System A Family For Every Child would like to thank you for believing that every child deserves a family. Your support has enabled A Family For Every Child to make a difference in the lives of our children in foster care. Because of your support, all of our programs have been busy serving children in foster care and families going through the adoption process. We hope you will find the following information helpful in understanding why we all need to work together. How the Child Welfare System Works The child welfare system is a group of services designed to promote the well-being of children by ensuring safety, achieving permanency, and strengthening families to care for their children successfully. While the primary responsibility for child welfare services rests with the States, the Federal Government plays a major role in supporting States in the delivery of services What Happens:• When possible abuse or neglect is reported• After a report is screened in” • In substantiated (founded) cases• To people who abuse or neglect children• To children who enter foster care What Happens When Possible Abuse or Neglect Is Reported Any concerned person can report suspicions of child abuse or neglect. Most reports are made by mandatory reporters; people who are required by State law to report suspicions of child abuse and neglect. What Happens After a Report Is “Screened In” CPS caseworkers, often called investigators, respond within a particular time period, which may be anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on the type of maltreatment alleged, the potential severity of the situation, and requirements under State law. They may speak with the parents and other people in contact with the child, such as doctors, teachers, or child care providers. They also may speak with the child, alone or in the presence of caregivers, depending on the child’s age and level of risk. Children who are believed to be in immediate danger may be moved to a shelter, a foster home, or a relative’s home during the investigation and while court proceedings are pending. An investigator’s primary purpose is to determine whether the child is safe, whether abuse or neglect has occurred, and whether there is a risk of it occurring again. What Happens to Children Who Enter Foster Care Most children in foster care are placed with relatives or foster families, but some may be placed in group homes. While a child is in foster care, he or she attends school and should receive medical care and other services as needed. The child’s family also receives services to support their efforts to reduce the risk of future maltreatment and to help them, in most cases, be reunited with their child. Visits between parents and their children and between siblings are encouraged and supported, following a visitation plan. Every child in foster care should have a permanency plan. Families typically participate in developing a permanency plan for the child and a service plan for the family, and these plans guide the agency’s work. Reunification with parents, except in unusual and extreme circumstances, is the permanency plan for most children. In some cases, when prospects for reunification. In FFY 2010, 128,913 children leaving foster care (51 percent) were returned to their parents or primary caregivers. 50% of Them will return to care at least once. The median length of stay in foster care for these children was 33 months. Thousands "Age out" each year, at 18, alone and unprepared for life. From all of us at A Family For Every Child, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It is only through the generosity and support of community foundations like you that we are able to make a real difference in the lives of our children in foster care. Together we can find a family for every child. If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me any time! Linzy Munger A Family For Every Child Associate Director (541)343-2856 www.afamilyforeverychild.org