There is a great need for prospective and current parents to become unconditionally committed to the children that they care for, particularly teenagers, in order to prevent disruptions in permanent family homes. The emphasis here is that every child in foster care needs one placement and one placement only, and the challenges to unconditional commitment are explored and addressed.
This workshop will discuss the following issues:
- The reasons that adoptive parents unintentionally end up re-hurting, re-abandoning, re-rejecting, re-traumatizing, re-victimizing, re-abusing, and re-neglecting the children all over again by putting them out of their homes when the child engages in an unacceptable behavior.
- Skills needed to deal with children who make adults so angry that they would think about doing the unthinkable: actually hurting a child they originally came forward to help by rejecting the child and putting that child out of their household.
- How an individual’s spirituality can be an inspirational source of strength during difficult times with children that will allow the adult parent to maintain their commitment during hard times.
- What agencies can do to help assure that far less foster and adoptive parents give back their children during times of crisis and stress.
- Helping parents to find the strength from within to deal with even the most difficult of children.
- Helping people understand it is their commitment and their commitment only that is the true source of healing for any child that crosses their path.