 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
Posts Tagged ‘
family ’
"There is not a day that goes by that PTSD does not play some part in that day".
Trudi, Spouse of Vietnam Combat Veteran
The Journal of the American Medical Association in March, 2006, reported that 35 percent of Iraq war veterans sought treatment for mental health issues within a year of coming home. The Department of Defense now estimates that between 15 percent and 29 percent of veterans from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The caseload for mental health counselors in the Veterans Administration is six times higher than anticipated. By 2008 more than 400,000 troops could need mental health treatment if this trend continues. Who will help the spouses and families of these combat veterans?
Stepping up to help are eleven women with vast experience dealing with combat veterans returning home from war. They are married to vets who have significant PTSD disabilities from previous wars, and the Iraq war, and they have jointly written this article as a way of offering support, encouragement and hope to the spouses and families of Iraq vets. They offer the following thoughts while recognizing that each war is unique and some of these suggestions may not be appropriate for the Iraq war experience. (We use he/him to refer to the vet for convenience only.)
War is a bad thing and terrible things happen. That doesn't make your vet bad. Listen if he talks about the war. Don't judge, and don't try to stop or smooth over his emotions. When he tells you trauma stories, you might tell him he did the best he could under the circumstances, and wars are horrible. If the stories overwhelm you, it's ok to say you need to take a break and you are working on listening. If he doesn't talk about the war after a few months at home, you may want to suggest he see a counselor if he is showing symptoms of PTSD. If he does talk about the war, it's not a good idea to ask for details because this may bring on a flashback. It's not helpful to tell him you understand what he went through because you don't and can't. It's probably not helpful to tell him he is a war hero as there may be things he did in the war that disturb him. Rather you can say he is your hero by making it home. If he cries, let him cry with you or alone, and don't try to interrupt or stop this. It's probably a sign of healing. Make sure you have someone safe to debrief with as well.
Make an effort to learn who his favorite comrades were during the war. Keeping in contact with these comrades can sometimes be helpful with reentry, and staying in touch with them may last forever, and help with coming to grips with the reality of the war they fought.
Know what to look for. Educate yourself about PTSD as much as you can. Here are a few of the symptoms:
- emotional/social isolation
- numbing
- sexual dysfunction
- sleep disturbance
- intrusive thoughts and memories (flashbacks)
- heightened anxiety and startle reaction
- inability to concentrate
- depression
- nightmares
- survivor guilt
- spacing out
- night sweats
- sudden anger (or repressed anger)
- inability to feel anything but anger
Symptoms may not surface for years. Tracy said "I remember when he talked Vietnamese in his sleep, and had terrible nightmares. Sometimes he still does". Betsy said "he didn't start having flashbacks until many years later when the Iraq war began". If he has flashbacks, ask him what you can do that helps or if he does better handling them alone.
Be willing to accept help even if he doesn't. You can call 1-800-562-2308 in Washington State or go to www.nmfa.org/ to find resources. Or use your health insurance to see a professional of your own choosing. Some employers offer short term confidential counseling as an employee benefit. If your vet is willing, encourage him/her to get a good evaluation from someone experienced in PTSD treatment. Remember though that experts don't agree on what really helps. Trust that what you observe is valid.
Encourage him to set limits on what kinds of questions people ask him. Thoughtless questions can cause soldiers to relive trauma. It's ok to say "that's not an appropriate question".
Criticism of the war should not be taken personally, and vets should be supported in leaving situations where military personnel are criticized for serving in the war. Most people support the troops even if they don't support the war.
You may need to remind your vet that he is not the center of the universe, and he no longer needs to worry about his own survival. He is now part of a family where concern for other family members and their feelings and needs is important.
Get in a support group. It's a relief to be with other people who understand. "It has saved my marriage and maybe my life…". Trudi. Our support group is funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs. In Washington State a unique program is offered where veterans and their significant others can receive counseling at no charge. In Wenatchee the contracted provider of these services is Wayne Ball, LICSW, who started support groups. 509-667-8828.
Children are affected by a parent's PTSD. Symptoms can be passed from one generation to the next which is called intergenerational transmission of trauma. The ages of your children affects how this occurs. For instance small children may experience the numbness of PTSD as disinterest or not caring, while older children may act out. Sometimes children will take on some of the symptoms of PTSD. You can get information on how to help your children from the PTSD Information Line at 802-296-6300 or go to www.ncptsd.org. Your children need to know in an age appropriate and calming way that these symptoms are not their fault.
You cannot fix the PTSD symptoms. Those are his symptoms that he has to learn to manage or not. Make your own goals and keep them in your focus. These goals might be improving your own health with good nutrition, exercise, and rest, or spending time with friends, or doing special things for yourself.
- Always be truthful with your vet. This builds trust. Tell him calmly when his behavior is not normal. If you don't know if it's normal, ask others, and observe others. Don't walk on eggshells.
- He probably will not ever be totally the same. He is in many ways a different person now. Grieve for what is lost and move on. This is your life now even though it‘s not fair.
- Stay on top of medications. Try to notice the changes with new medications or when he stops taking meds and report this calmly to your vet. Suggest he call his medication prescriber if the side effects are problematic. Running out of meds can trigger depression and other problems.
- Anticipate drug and alcohol problems. Learn about resources for you, your kids and for your vet. Find out what to do. Discourage him from isolating and drinking or doing drugs.
- If he isolates himself, point this out and encourage involvement with family, sources of help. Don't go with isolation for long periods of time. Short periods of withdrawal to help control anger make sense, but withdrawing from life into a "bunker" is not helpful.
- When you have conflict which is normal and to be expected, focus on the issue at hand and resist bringing up issues from the past. Stay focused on the issue, not the person and seek solutions, not who is to blame. If possible, set a time limit for hot topics of a few minutes, and take a time out with an agreement to discuss this issue later. Be sure to again discuss later.
- If you feel concerned about violence in your home, bring others into the situation: your minister, a trusted friend, a counseling professional and talk about your concerns calmly when things are not escalated. Don't keep this concern secret. If necessary to protect yourself and your children, call the police.
- Sometimes war experiences cause a spiritual crisis, a loss of faith. If your vet's not finding help with this you might encourage him to keep looking. There are spiritual advisors who understand combat and PTSD.
- Physical exercise helps everyone release anxiety and tension. Stay active and encourage your vet to do the same. Regular meals, good nutrition, plenty of rest and time for play help everyone cope with stress.
- Take care of yourself in many different ways. You matter just as much as your vet Handling traumatic stress in a loved one is very stressful for most partners. Learn and use stress reduction techniques.
Enjoy the good times. When bad times come, hang on! Good times will come again.
This is an article in progress. We are learning that many of the Iraq vets have traumatic brain injury as well as PTSD which brings new challenges, and often requires a spouse to remember things for their vet. We are learning that it is hard to tell how much someone can recover from a traumatic brain injury. We believe that drawing together in a community of support and encouragement is still the best way to face these unknowns, and we are grateful for the good company of one another.
###
Bibliography
Tags: family, help, husband, listen, military, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, social worker, spouses, veterans
Posted in
Issues And Answers |
3 Comments »
Introduction
Anorexia Nervosa, a type of eating disorder is defined by eating miniscule amounts that do not maintain body weight, or not eating at all for an extended period of time, or using methods to induce eliminating the consumed food by either excessive exercise, laxatives, and/or self-induced vomiting. Bulimia, another type of eating disorder can involve any or all of the above behaviors plus he or she binges on food and then compulsively eliminates it.
The anorexic patient can have an irregular heartbeat and excessive body hair; major body organs can begin to shut down, and for women menstrual periods can cease. The stomach acid from vomiting can cause hemorrhaging of the esophagus and the eroding of tooth enamel for the bulimic person. This patient can also have electrolyte imbalance (the water in individual cells) from the purging. All these signs of the seriousness of the progression of an eating disorder can happen without the therapist’s awareness or training to detect such occurrences.
Treating eating disorders is complicated because it involves psychological as well as physical factors. If the trained social worker determines his or her client needs hospitalization and the insurance is managed care, the situation can become not only frustrating, but also life-threatening. In order for the client to enter an in-patient treatment facility authorization (approval) must be obtained prior to admittance. This process can take time and certain criteria must be met. Often insurance cards have a number printed on them that one can call to get answers to questions about the conditions are covered and how approval is determined.
If a client is admitted to the hospital, she will learn that there are two components to the insurance coverage. One is the mental health, or behavioral component. The other is the medical component. Different divisions of managed healthcare handle these two components. Often the two do not have communication or coordination with one another.
On the hospital unit the Utilization Review staff person arranges for approval for treatment, including physical examinations, psychological examinations, lab work, nutritional counseling, etc. Often this person gets the one component authorized, but fails to arrange for the other. Unfortunately, the patient or the patient’s family can end up owing the hospital money for services that were not preauthorized.
What Family Members Can Do To Help
There are steps families can take to help insure their loved-one is getting the best care.
- They should ask the therapist (i.e., a social worker) if he or she is trained to detect signs of serious complications. Knowing these signs can help prevent delays in the patient getting needed medical attention.
- They should make sure the therapist works closely with a physician who regularly treats eating disorders.
- They should also find out what their insurance covers and how long the process takes, if hospitalization becomes necessary. If hospitalization happens, ask to speak with the Utilization Review person to make sure they have both identification numbers for the medical and behavioral components.
- They should Insist on signing releases so one component can coordinate treatment with the other. Call and verify that both components will be treated to insure preauthorization has been obtained.
- If the family receives a bill that they do not believe they should be responsible for, they should talk to the billing department of the hospital, and/or appeal to your insurance carrier.
- Finally, families should not delay seeking a second opinion if they believe the therapist, doctor, or other healthcare professional is not treating the eating disorder seriously and as the life-threatening situation it is.
###The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of the National Association of Social Workers or its members.
Related Articles:
Tags: anorexia nervosa, articles, family, managed care, Melanie Barton, options, treatment
Posted in
Eating Disorders, Your Options |
No Comments »
American Academy of Pediatrics Car Safety Seats Transportation Safety Web Site
Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for children and adolescents ages 1 to 21. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has information on topics ranging from care safety seats to school buses to teen driving.
www.aap.org/healthtopics/carseatsafety.cfm
The American Red Cross
Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation’s premier emergency response organization. As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguished itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters. Over the years, the organization has expanded its services, always with the aim of preventing and relieving suffering.
www.redcross.org
CDC Guide to Community Preventive Services
Every day, children witness, hear about, or directly experience traumatic events. These can be single or repeated events, on an individual or a mass scale (e.g., a homicide versus a plane crash); they can be natural or manmade (e.g., a tsunami versus a bombing); and they can be intentional or unintentional (e.g., rape versus severe illness). The CDC has conducted a systematic review of seven common interventions to reduce harm among children and adolescents exposed to trauma. Before this review was conducted, many professionals who work with youth who have been exposed to trauma did not know whether the therapies they used were effective.
www.thecommunityguide.org
Child Welfare League of America
The Child Welfare League of America is the nation’s oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization. It is committed to engaging people everywhere in promoting the well-being of children, youth and their families; and protecting every child from harm.
www.cwla.org
Choose Respect
Choose Respect is an initiative sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control to help adolescents form healthy relationships to prevent dating abuse before it starts. This national effort is designed to motivate adolescents to challenge harmful beliefs about dating abuse and take steps to form respectful relationships.
www.chooserespect.org
Domestic Abuse Intervention Services
Domestic Abuse Intervention Services, located in Madison, Wisconsin, offers a 24-hour crisis line, a 25-bed safe house for women and their children, legal advocacy, support groups, information and referrals. DAIS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
www.abuseintervention.org
Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide: Emergencies and First Aid
The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide Web site offers information on basic lifesaving techniques including mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, cardiopulmary resuscitation (CPR), medical identification tags, what families should have in a first-aid kit and more.
www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/firstaid/firstaid.shtml
Homelessness Resource Center
The Homelessness Resource Center is an interactive community of providers, consumers, policymakers, researchers, and public agencies at federal, state, and local levels. We share state-of-the art knowledge and promising practices to prevent and end homelessness through:
training and technical assistance, publications and materials, on-line learning opportunities and networking and collaboration.
http://www.homeless.samhsa.gov/Default.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Lambda GLBT Community Services
LAMBDA is a non-profit, gay / lesbian / bisexual / transgender agency dedicated to reducing homophobia, inequality, hate crimes, and discrimination by encouraging self-acceptance, cooperation and non-profit, gay / lesbian / bisexual / transgender agency dedicated to reducing homophobia, inequality, hate crimes, and discrimination by encouraging self-acceptance, cooperation, and non-violence.
www.lambda.org
National Crime Prevention Council
The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) is a private, nonprofit tax-exempt organization whose primary mission is to enable people to create safer and more caring communities by addressing the causes of crime and violence and reducing the opportunities for crime to occur. NCPC publishes books, kits of camera-ready program materials, posters, and informational and policy reports on a variety of crime prevention and community-building subjects. NCPC manages the McGruff “Take A Bite Out of Crime” public service advertising campaign.
www.ncpc.org
National Latino Alliance
The mission of the National Latino Alliance is to promote understanding, sustain dialogue, and generate solutions that move toward the elimination of domestic violence affecting Latino communities, with an understanding of the sacredness of all relations and communities.
www.dvalianza.org
National Tribal Justice Resource Center
The National Tribal Justice Resource Center is the largest and most comprehensive site dedicated to tribal justice systems, personnel and tribal law. The Resource Center is the central national clearinghouse of information for Native American and Alaska Native tribal courts, providing both technical assistance and resources for the development and enhancement of tribal justice system personnel. Programs and services developed by the Resource Center are offered to all tribal justice system personnel — whether working with formalized tribal courts or with tradition-based tribal dispute resolution forums.
www.tribalresourcecenter.org
National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center
This organization provides resources for professionals, parents and youth working to prevent violence committed by and against young people.
http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/index.asp
Office on Women's Health, Violence Against Women
The Office on Women’s Health (OWH) was established in 1991 within the US Department of Health and Human Services. OWH coordinates the efforts of all the HHS agencies and office involved in women’s health. OWH works to improve the health and well-being of women and girls in the United States through its innovative programs, educating health professionals, and motivating behavior change in consumers through the dissemination of health information.
http://www.4woman.gov/violence/index.cfm
Parents Anonymous ®
Parents Anonymous ® Inc. is the the nation’s oldest child abuse prevention organization, dedicated to strengthening families and building caring communities that support safe and nurturing homes for all children. Parents Anonymous leads a dynamic international network of 267 accredited organizations and local affiliates that implement quality Parents Anonymous Programs for adults and children. Parents Anonymous provides training and technical assistance, develops publications and conducts research on meaningful Parent and Shared Leadership, systems reform and effective community-based strategies to strengthen families.
Parents Anonymous ® Inc. operates the National Parent Helpline ®. This toll-free service (1-855-4A PARENT/ 1-855-427-2736) and website (www.nationalparenthelpline.org) seeks to strengthen families by helping parents and building protective factors. Helpline Advocates are available Monday-Friday from 10 AM -7 PM Pacific Standard Time, providing emotional support and referrals in English and Spanish to parents, caregivers and organizations. Visit us on the web at www.nationalparenthelpline.org for online parenting resources and a bulletin board to share parenting experiences, create caring communities and help others. You can also find us on Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/NationalParentHelpline; Twitter- http://twitter.com/parenthelpline, & YouTube- http://www.youtube.com/parenthelpline. Please help us spread the word! Contact: Jodi Doane, jdoane@parentsanonymous.org for more information.
Safety House
The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center designed the Safety House Web site to assist parents, grandparents, and young children in recognizing the hazards that can occur within the home. The majority of poisonings and other unintentional injuries can be prevent by following a few simple steps to make the child’s surroundings safe for them at each level of development.
www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/safety-house/
StopAlcoholAbuse.Gov
StopAlcoholAbuse.Gov is a comprehensive portal of Federal resources for information on underage drinking and ideas for combating this issue. People interested in underage drinking prevention — including parents, educators, community-based organizations, and youth-will find a wealth of valuable information here.
www.stopalcoholabuse.gov
Tags: abuse, family, glbt, organizations, parents, programs, resources, safety, websites, youth
Posted in
Family Safety |
No Comments »
Child Protection Social Workers
By Megan Malugani
Monster Contributing Writer
The workday can be both heartbreaking and heartwarming for social workers who investigate and intervene in cases of child maltreatment. Such child-protection social workers face the wrenching realities of abuse and neglect firsthand, but they are also instrumental in preventing further harm and aiding families struggling with mental illness or substance abuse.
“This work is certainly not for the faint of heart,” says Allison Blake, MSW, incoming president of the New Jersey chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), who worked in child welfare for 20 years. “It’s very difficult participating in child-abuse investigations, but what could be more rewarding than keeping kids safe and strengthening existing families?”
Safety First
Mariadonna Litwak, MSW, LSW, a family-services specialist for New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services, is a “first responder” who initiates child-abuse investigations when her agency receives reports of suspected abuse or neglect. “I often go into crisis situations that need immediate de-escalation,” Litwak says.
Litwak meets with everyone in the family, starting with the alleged victim. “We’re trying to find out what happened, why and how,” she says. “Our primary responsibility is to ensure safety.” She looks for signs of substance abuse, domestic violence, and mental or physical illness, all of which may factor into the alleged abuse. She also tries to determine whether weapons are in the house. When Litwak knows she’ll be entering an extremely volatile environment, a police escort from the state’s human-services agency accompanies her.
Litwak must gather information from parents who may be resistant or hostile to questioning. Gathering neutral family facts like birthdays is often a good place to start the conversation before asking directly about the alleged maltreatment. “You have to get the best information you can in a very short time frame,” Litwak says.
If Litwak assesses that a child is safe, he is left in the home while the investigation continues. If the child appears to be in imminent danger, Litwak contacts a supervisor to determine the next step, which could be requesting the alleged perpetrator of the abuse leave the home or asking relatives to take the child or children in. Litwak’s active involvement in a case lasts 45 to 60 days, after which a determination about the child’s long-term living situation is made.
“You have to be very determined and committed to succeed in this type of work,” she says. Child-protection social workers must understand family dynamics and have the skills to judge whether a child is on target developmentally, Litwak says. They must also be flexible. Litwak sometimes must initiate investigations at night and on weekends or make prescheduled visits to families outside of regular working hours.
Public Misconceptions
Since the media often lambaste them when a death or crisis occurs, child-protection social workers also need a thick skin. Although “social workers” are blamed for such tragedies, child-protection caseworkers without social work degrees are ill-prepared to interview families or perform appropriate interventions, Blake says.
Another public misconception is that child-welfare workers involved in tragic cases are uncaring or willfully negligent. “In reality, caseloads are too high, or the staff hasn’t received the training necessary to do their jobs well,” Blake says.
For social workers who want to further their knowledge and training, the NASW Credentialing Center offers voluntary specialty certifications for BSWs and MSWs.
Widespread Need
Sadly, demand is high for child-protection workers, who earn about $32,000 to start, says an NASW survey. Every day, an average of 2,400 children are abused, and three die as a result of abuse or neglect, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Nationwide, agencies dedicated to child-protective services receive more than 50,000 calls per week regarding suspected or known instances of child abuse; more than two-thirds are deemed appropriate for investigation.
Child protection is just one component of the child-welfare system, a continuum of services that includes family preservation, family foster care, group homes, residential facilities and adoption services.
Working within this system is often frustrating for even the most dedicated social worker. Litwak’s commitment to children is what keeps her going. “It’s a great feeling to make a difference in the life of a child, even for five minutes,” she says.
Copyright 2005 — Monster Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. You may not copy, reproduce or distribute this article without the prior written permission of Monster Worldwide. This article first appeared on Monster, the leading online global network for careers. To see other career-related articles visit http://content.monster.com.
Related Articles:
Tags: child, family, New Jersey, protection, safe, social workers, specialist
Posted in
Family Safety, How Social Workers Help |
1 Comment »
Early Victimization Leaves Long Lasting EffectsSusan Knoedel, a social worker at Veterans Hospital, helps people who have been doubly damaged by abuse.
Victims of both child abuse at home and of sexual assault as adults in the military, Knoedel’s clients – women ranging from their early 20s to their 70s – need to find better ways to cope with their pain. Learning to live well with bad memories is the goal, but it is a slow, difficult process because of the multiple traumas they typically have endured.
“We see people who have had more than their share of traumatic, upsetting things happening in their life,” Knoedel said. “Some of the women, what they’ve lived through in the military is just so horrendous that nobody would come out of it unscathed.”
But it’s the earlier victimization – the histories of childhood sexual and/or physical abuse – that appears to do the most lasting damage, compounding any later crimes, Knoedel and other local clinicians and researchers said.
“Earlier trauma is harder to cope with, because you don’t have the ability to make sense of it,” Knoedel said. “If you’re 12, your brain is not developed enough to process it in the way that you need to. And nevermind if you’re 6 or 7.”
In that respect, Knoedel’s work parallels ongoing research at UW-Madison about the lifelong health effects of childhood physical abuse.
It’s no surprise that child abuse hurts children; what is startling, the researchers are discovering, is how much it can still hurt people as adults, they said.
Graduate student Kristen Springer is leading the work, using a tool known as the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which has periodically polled members of the same large group of state residents about their personal lives, interests and habits since they were high school seniors in 1957.
“(The survey) shows that childhood physical abuse continues to cause mental and physical health problems well into adulthood,” said Springer, who holds master’s degrees in public health and sociology. “The critical intervention needed is to prevent child abuse altogether.”
Springer’s Work
Springer began studying WLS data on childhood abuse in 2001 with Dr. Molly Carnes, a physician at UW Hospital.
Their research makes it clear that respondents who suffered abuse growing up had poorer health as adults than nonabused study subjects, with increased risk of both physical and mental problems. They were twice as likely to have greater levels of anger, for example, and nearly twice as likely to suffer depression and anxiety, even after accounting for differences in sex, age and family background.
The abused respondents also had increased chances of developing physical problems, such as obesity, ulcers and bronchitis or emphysema. In many cases, the physical problems could be linked to certain behaviors or unhealthy habits.
Childhood Abuse and Adult Risky Behaviors
“People who were abused as children were more likely to engage in risky health behaviors such as smoking, and they were more likely to be obese,” Springer said. “They may cope with their abuse by overeating, not exercising or smoking.”
The research also showed poor mental health can cause physical problems, even without adding bad habits.
Clinical depression, for example, can produce increased chances of heart disease and heart attacks. Depressed people may find it more difficult to visit a doctor or comply with treatment, Springer said, and depression and other mental illnesses can result in higher levels of stress hormones that tax the heart and increase cardiac problems.
Overall, Springer said, the research shows just how wide a net of lingering problems that child abuse can cast.
“The effects are so varied,” she said.
Springer said she hopes her research also prompts physicians to be more curious about a patient’s childhood history when treating physical ailments. That might require doctors to ask better questions during appointments, she said, or just be more aware of the role past abuse can play.
“It really seems that physicians still aren’t getting the fact that child abuse can continue to cause some of these problems in adulthood,” she said.
Springer and Carnes began presenting their findings at conferences in November 2001, and Springer won a national award last year for best paper by a graduate student from the Society for the Study of Social Problems. The paper now is undergoing required peer review for publication in a journal of internal medicine.
Explaining her interest in the topic, Springer said she’s always been drawn to research on aging, especially involving factors that can affect whether people age in a healthy way. And she wanted her work to have practical applications – to really help people.
“I like to do research that has a policy implication, where you can do an intervention to help alleviate distress,” she said. “I really like that this is (research) that could help children and middle-aged adults at the same time.”
Knoedel’s Work
On the clinical end, Knoedel’s work provides a template for treating abuse survivors. Counseling, support groups and medication are options.
“I think you encourage them to take little steps, but you don’t push it,” she said. “They already had control taken away from them in a big way at least once, so they need to be able to pace it themselves.”
Knoedel said she teaches coping skills aimed at helping clients manage their problems through good health behaviors and positive thinking.
At no point, though, does she promise to make the hurt – or the memories – disappear.
“It doesn’t ever go away,” Knoedel said. “You won’t ever no longer remember this. It just becomes more manageable with time.”
Reprinted with permission from the Wisconsin State Journal
Tags: abuse, at home, child abuse, childhood, family, real life story, safety, sexual, sexual assault, trauma, victimization
Posted in
Family Safety, Real Life Stories |
No Comments »
Introduction
Transferring children from birth parents to foster families and adoptive individuals or families is a complex process, involving social services, the legal system, and state mandates. Foster and adoptive parents will need to rely on professionals for advice and guidance. Social workers are invaluable in helping them navigate this process, thereby giving children a second chance at a happy life.
Couples and individuals who decide to adopt an infant or child have several options to choose from. Although private agency and relative adoptions were once the most common means to adopt a child, today public agency and inter-country adoptions account for more than half of the 127,000 children adopted in the United States each year. More than 40 percent of adoptions were arranged through publicly funded child welfare agencies in 2001, according to the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, National Adoption Information Clearinghouse (NAIC).
When deciding where to adopt a child, prospective parents must consider their ideal age of the child, the amount of contact they want with the birth parents, the nationality, race, and other characteristics of the child, adoption fees, and the waiting period prior to adoption. NAIC offers useful guidelines for prospective adoptive parents.
- Adoption subsidies are available to help offset the high costs of adoption and child rearing. Depending on state mandates, they may include:
- Federal and state adoption tax credits
- Federal and state adoption subsidies for children with special needs
- Reimbursement for adoption expenses for foster children adopted from the public child welfare system
- Employer benefits for adoption expenses
- Adoption loans and grants from various agencies. The National Adoption Foundation offers information on adoption grants and loans.
Other services available to adoptive parents include parenting classes, adoption support groups, and respite care. Social workers can assist by working with families to identify needs and find community resources. Adoptive parents of children with special needs will greatly benefit by contacting a social worker for emotional support, parenting education, and information about the many programs and supports available in their community.
When parents are no longer capable of caring for their own children, the child welfare system steps in. The children may be removed from their home and temporarily placed in foster care. Foster care is designed to provide a stable, safe, and nurturing environment for children of families in crisis.
Children are placed in foster care when it is proven that they have been abandoned, abused, or neglected, due to parental problems such as alcohol or drug abuse, incarceration, or physical or mental illness. Youth in foster care often have special emotional, developmental, and health needs as a result of their abuse or neglect.
Foster parents open their home to children and commit to providing protection, guidance, and nurturing for children who have entered the foster care system but who are not in their custody. The process of becoming foster parents typically occurs after foster parents complete a home assessment process and attend training. They must demonstrate that they are responsible and financially and emotionally stable.
Foster parents receive a monthly reimbursement that varies in amount by state to help offset the costs of food, clothing, and other necessities. Medical care and counseling services are provided for children at no charge to foster parents.
There are many highly trained social workers are available to help prospective adoptive and foster care parents through the complicated process of adoption.
###
Related Articles:
Tags: adopt, adoption, assistance, birth parents, children, family, federal, foster care, foster parenting, National Alliance for Caregiving, parenting, state
Posted in
About |
No Comments »
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
| |
| | |
