NRC for Diligent Recruitment at AdoptUSKids: E-Notes Newsletter - October 2013

Strategies to Recruit and Retain Families

Working with Tribes
As a member of the Children’s Bureau’s Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Network, the NRCDR provides assistance to Tribes as well as to other child welfare jurisdictions. This month we highlight some of our key partners and collaborators in this work as well as some resources for culturally competent practice for working with Tribes.

• Children’s Bureau Spotlight Video: Working with American Indian Tribes A new Children’s Bureau video features Bureau staff describing the importance of collaborating with American Indian Tribes to help improve outcomes for children and to support families. The video is one of seven Spotlight Videos featuring Children’s Bureau leadership and staff discussing their support of States, Tribes, grantees, and community organizations, and sharing insights into critical aspects of their work.
• National Resource Center for Tribes The National Child Welfare Resource Center for Tribes (NRC4Tribes) is one of the newer resource centers within the Children’s Bureau’s T/TA Network. The NRC for Tribes is the focal point within the T/TA Network for coordinated and culturally competent child welfare T/TA for Tribes. The NRC works collaboratively with other T/TA Network members to assist Tribes in the enhancement of child welfare services and the promotion of safety, permanency, and well-being for American Indian/Alaska Native children and families. The NR4Tribes’ website provides information on culturally based practice and a variety of practice resources.
•  National Indian Child Welfare Association The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) is a private, non-profit, membership organization that assists Tribes and other service providers to implement services that are culturally competent, community-based, and focused on the strengths and assets of families. NICWA addresses the issues of child abuse and neglect through training, research, public policy, and grassroots community development. NICWA also works to support compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), which seeks to keep American Indian children with American Indian families.

Cultural Adaptations of Trauma Treatments
The Winter 2013 edition of the CW 360: A Comprehensive Look at a Prevalent Child Welfare Issue (PDF – 1.5 MB), focused on trauma-informed child welfare practice, includes an article on the integration of traditional Native culture activities into evidence-based trauma treatments at the National Native Children's Trauma Center in Montana. Look on page 25 for the article, “Cultural Adaptations of Trauma Treatments in Indian Country”, by Wynette Whitegoat, AB, and Richard van den Pohl, PhD.
 
Moving Towards Cultural Competence
Our publication, Moving Toward Cultural Competence: Key Considerations to Explore (PDF – 227 KB), provides information to assist child welfare staff in building their capacity for effective, culturally competent recruitment and retention efforts with diverse communities. These suggestions can be helpful in preparing for work with Tribal members.

Tools to Help You

2013 National Adoption Month Resources
Our newest National Adoption Month publications are now available. This year we are highlighting strategies to improve permanency by building partnerships inside your agency and leveraging the resource available from the National Adoption Recruit­ment Campaign and Response Initiative.

• Partnering for Permanency: Promoting Adoption through Effective Communication Efforts  (PDF - 508 KB) highlights the value of increasing the reach and impact of the National Adoption Recruit­ment Campaign and Response Initiative as a way to support agencies’ efforts to raise awareness about the need for adoptive families for youth in foster care.
• Partnering for Permanency: How Public Information Officers Can Partner to Promote Adoption from Foster Care  (PDF - 479 KB), a publication for public information officers or communications directors in child welfare agencies with ideas on how they can help raise awareness about the need for adoptive families. 
• Media Toolkit for Child Welfare Leaders  (PDF - 565 KB) provides tips and strategies child wel­fare leaders can use to work effectively with the media and to increase the impact and reach of the National Adoption Recruitment Campaign and Response Initiative, as a way to help raise awareness about adoption both during National Adoption Month and throughout the rest of the year. 
• Partnering for Permanency: Working with Your Public Information Officer (PDF - 246 KB) helps child welfare program leaders understand the role of public information officers, and devel­op effective strategies for partnering with them to raise awareness about adoption. 

For additional information to support your National Adoption Month efforts, see the 2013 National Adoption Month website.
 
Adoption Competence for Mental Health Professionals
The Evan B. Donaldson Institute has released a research-based report recommending that mental health professionals should receive more and better training on adoption-related issues. A Need To Know: Enhancing Adoption Competence Among Mental Health Professionals addresses the background and rationale for competent services; current barriers; a discussion of the components of clinical competence; and a series of recommendations, including:

• Develop certification for adoption clinical competence.
• Expand training programs nationwide.
• Develop outreach efforts to inform mental health providers about the need for adoption competency, the opportunities for enhancing their knowledge, and the benefits of doing so
• Educate insurance providers and advocate for expanded coverage.
• Encourage graduate training programs and post-graduate clinical training centers to include more information about adoption and foster care in their curricula.

 
Extreme Recruitment Toolbox
The Extreme Recruitment program, one of the Children’s Bureau’s 2008 Diligent Recruitment grantees, has developed a Toolbox of resources on its Extreme Recruitment approach to finding a permanent home for a child in a fraction of the time it would normally take. The toolbox includes a timeline to guide family identification activities, and many examples of forms, templates, and materials that the program uses to implement its approach.
 
Using Social Media for Adoption Recruitment and Support
A recent issue of Common Ground (PDF – 4.6 MB), the newspaper of the New England Association of Child Welfare Commissioners and Directors, includes a feature on the creative ways in which Adoption Rhode Island uses social media and other forms of technology to connect with inquiring families, introduce children to prospective adoptive parents and help siblings stay in touch. Additional uses for electronic media are also highlighted including as a tool in therapeutic groups; to reach teens that have run away; and to promote community awareness. (See page 12 of the newspaper to find the article on Adoption Rhode Island.)
 
NRCPFC Publication on Permanency for Older Youth and Young Adults
The current issue of Permanency Planning Today (PDF – 3.1 MB) focuses on approaches and resources to support permanency planning work with older youth and young adults. The newsletter of the National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections includes an overview of youth permanency, discussion of ways to help youth consider and explore the options of lifetime connections, a feature on Oklahoma’s approach to reinstating parental rights, information on facilitating adoptions for young adults, and resources targeted to help supervisors support permanence for older youth and young adults.