After church tonight, and dinner provided by Boston Market, I started sifting through the paper to look at all the flyers for those last-minute gift ideas. Instead, I was immediately drawn to the front page of the Kansas City Star. The top headline shouted the disturbing news of a man who said he was “tired of being picked on” and “fixed” his problem by shooting his long-time girlfriend and 4 of their kids. One child is in grave condition—the others died. Right below that headline was the second big story, Mending... more

Taking a bit of a break from working my way through the article in Fostering Families magazine, I wanted to share about a woman I read about in Reader’s Digest. (I love that magazine… I can read different things in small bytes which is about all the time I seem to have!)

The article is titled Breaking the Silence, and it is about Wafa Sultan. The subtitle of the article states: One woman is risking her life to speak the truth about radical Islam. The article describes how Wafa, a physician... more

As if the good foster and adoptive parents on the planet don’t have enough to deal with in terms of parenting traumatized children, and as a foster parent, doing it handcuffed… articles like this one really help our cause. It is the story of a foster parent accused of attempting to smother her 6-week-old foster child while he was hospitalized. This article is doubly interesting because this gal was not only a foster parent, but a social worker.

Now, if all... more

Cross posted from Sibling blog

I didn’t sleep well last night… it took awhile to get to sleep, and then I awoke early. I can’t believe I am struggling with this school district again.

My first conversation occurred mid-morning with one guy at district office. He was very pleasant to me… it was refreshing. However, he thought I needed to deal with someone else, so I connected with that guy mid-afternoon. He was decidedly not pleasant. He and the principal and some other person at district office had already... more

OK folks, now I’m really ticked. I have tried to dance the dance… but…

I blogged on the Sibling Adoption blog about my experiences with my daughter’s school. Please see the story here…

I spoke to my daughter’s class last Friday. As the principal blew by me after my speech, she said, “Great presentation.” I said, “Schedule me for the other two classes.”

I called Monday, and again twenty four hours later to set up a time for me to speak to the other two.... more

One of the many e-newsletters I receive is the National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning weekly update.

One item and website link mentioned recently is titled:

Caring for Their Children's Children: Assessing the Mental Health Needs and Service Experiences of Grandparent Caregiver Families

This report from Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago... more

This morning I spoke with a mom who has a three year old from China. This little girl exhibits some signs of anxious attachment. General family dynamics are tough right now as the marriage is dissolving, and this little girl is not the only child. Mom has her hands full but she is doing a wonderful job of advocating for her little girl and keeping the family ship afloat.

One of the problems is that in addition to assessing and addressing her daughter’s attachment issues (plus the losses she and her other children are experiencing), this... more

I spent nearly an hour on the phone this afternoon with a man looking for a reasonable answer to a totally unreasonable situation. No good answers are available for this articulate, compassionate and overwhelmed man and his family.

For the better part of ten years they have struggled to integrate a young man whose prognosis is considered to be “poor” according to many professionals… including Dan Hughes and other very knowledgeable folks. This child was a domestic placement and he had a diagnosis of RAD by the... more

I received a response to my letter to the residential treatment facility. The Executive Director himself called me, and we had a long, good talk. I was impressed! This gentleman acquired this job only three months ago and has apparently implemented some much-needed changes in the facility. He echoed many of my views regarding the role of residential facilities in treating emotionally disturbed children while concurrently supporting the family unit. His training was... more

My dad is a dedicated letter writer, and I guess I am carrying on the family tradition. My dad writes letters when someone needs a swat on the rear OR a pat on the back! So, I try to write the "Atta boy" letters as often as I write the "You messed up" letters.

Today I wrote a "You REALLY messed up" letter to a residential treatment facility, and I thought I would share it with you. All the names are changed to protect the innocent and the not-so-innocent...

I am writing on behalf of Lucy, mother... more