Losses and Gains in Adoption: This module helps participants recognize the losses and gains in adoption for the biological family, adoptive family, and for children. It also helps participants recognize the importance of recognizing children’s reaction to loss and grief so that they can help children heal.
A Child’s Journey through Children’s Services: This module helps participants understand why children come into care and what their journey through Children’s Services may look like. Participants are better equipped to understand and deal with the unique challenges of children who come into care and with Children’s Services.
Understanding Children’s Special Needs: This module is an exploration of what the term “special needs” means, and the most common special needs of children in care.
Cross Cultural Families: An exploration of the importance of understanding cultural needs of children and implications of adopting children from other cultures, including Aboriginal.
Maintaining Connections in Adoption: This module discusses the importance of maintaining connections with significant people in a child’s life such as extended family, siblings, and foster parents. Discussion also addresses ways of maintaining contact and situations where the court has determined there is to be no contact with birthparents.
Talking to Children about Adoption: This module addresses basic child development stages, and typical issues that may occur for adopted children at each stage. This section also provides parents with some basic ideas on how to talk to children about adoption depending on their age and developmental level.
Where do we go from here: An exploration of the adoption process, requirements, and next steps as well as suggestions as to what participants can do while waiting to adopt as well as learning about supports available after adoption.
The following Saturday is a presentation on Attachment and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
Attachment is discussed as it relates to experiences of children in care, why it is important, how the brain is impacted by attachment experiences, what to look for, and ways of encouraging attachment.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder is explained including effects of prenatal alcohol exposure, misconceptions, behavioral issues that may be displayed, and some intervention strategies.
For more information on adopting a child through Children and Youth Services in Alberta, check out www.child.alberta.ca
The course topics include:
Adoption: A unique lifelong Journey: This section focuses on why adoption is the best option for children and helps participants understand the difference between adoption, kinship, and foster care and looks at adoption as a lifelong process.
A Child’s Journey through Children’s Services: This section helps participants understand why children come into care and what their journey through Children’s Services may look like. Participants are better equipped to understand and deal with the unique challenges of children who come into care and with Children’s Services. The various roles of workers involved are explained.
Losses and Gains in Adoption: This section helps participants recognize the losses and gains in adoption for the biological family, adoptive family, and for children. It also focuses on the importance of recognizing children’s reaction to loss and grief so that they can help children heal.
Maintaining Healthy Connections in Adoptions: This section is a discussion about the importance, benefits, and challenges of maintaining connections with birth family, significant others, and maintaining connections with culture.
Parenting Children with Special Needs: This section is an exploration of what the term “special needs” means, the most common special needs of children in care, and adoption implications.
Particular focus is given to the three most common challenges of children in care: Understanding prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol, childhood trauma, and attachment challenges.
Taking Care of Yourself: This section focuses on the importance of self-care and identifying support systems so important with the challenges of parenting.
Your Adoption Journey: This section outlines the adoption process and requirements, the home study process, things to consider, Supports for Permanency, advocacy and resources.
For more information about adoption through Child and Family Services or requirements for registering for these courses, please contact the Adoption intake line at 403-297-6038.
For more information on adopting a child through Children and Youth Services in Alberta, check out www.child.alberta.ca
Adoption By Choice has developed and provides Adoptive Parent Training to individuals and couples applying to adopt children through Calgary and Area Child and Family Services. The purpose of the training is to help individuals decide if adoption of children in care is right for their family. The training provides opportunities to develop knowledge and awareness of adoption related issues and assess one’s commitment and readiness to proceed with adoption. In addition to the information and insight gained through the training experience, participants begin to develop an informal support network with other prospective adoptive parents. The courses lay a foundation of knowledge that participants continue to build on as they welcome children into their lives through adoption.
The training takes place in the evenings and weekends and covers the following:
Adoption: A unique lifelong Journey: This module focuses on why adoption is the best option for children and helps participants understand that adoption is a lifelong process.
Preparing For Adoption – For Foster Parents and Kinship Caregivers
Adoption By Choice is contracted to develop and provide Preparation for Adoption Training to kinship and foster parents applying to adopt specific children through Calgary and Area Child and Family Services. This is in addition to the kinship training offered through Kinnections workers. The purpose of the training is to help kinship and foster families prepare for the changes that adoption will bring to their family and assess one’s commitment and readiness to proceed with adoption.
The training provides opportunities to develop knowledge and awareness of adoption related issues and how adoption is different from kinship care or fostering. In addition to the information and insight gained through the training experience, participants have the opportunity to develop an informal support network with other prospective kinship and foster parents. The course lays a foundation of knowledge that participants continue to build on as they welcome children into their lives through adoption.The training takes place over a weekend (Saturday and Sunday).