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Grantee Projects NY Council on Adoptable Children

New York Council on Adoptable Children (title was abbreviated)

Realizing Open Adoption Dreams / El Camino Hacia Un Futuro Mejor (May 2008)

PRIMARY TARGET POPULATION
96 youth aged 12 years and older, who are in the New York City (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, and Manhattan) foster care system without a permanent family identified. The teenagers are under the auspices of the Administration for Children’s Services.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
1. Objectives
  - Empower and support 68 youths to achieve permanent placements.
  - Convey information on open adoption as an option to youth in a way they can accept it.
  - Develop strategies that engender and sustain hope in youth and become an active participant in locating a permanent family.
  - Support foster care agency caseworkers.
2. Methods
  COAC’s (a 35- year old adoption specialty organization) the Realizing Open Adoption Dreams/El Camino Hacia un Futuro Mejor (The ROAD/El Camino) continues to use strong cross-foster care agency collaborations, designed to overcome the barriers to open adoption and improve the permanency outcomes of teenagers in foster care. The ROAD/EL Camino uses the following methods to serve the teens and recruit families.
  1. One-on-one Counseling with teens – We meet with our participants on a bi-monthly basis.
  2. Presentations to staff of foster care agencies service providers – Discussing the adoptability of teenagers.
  3. Orientation – We continue to hold monthly adoption orientation meetings in both Spanish and English, to develop families for the children of the ROAD/El Camino.
  4. Pre- certification Training for Adoptive Families – We continue to conduct Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting/Group Preparation and Selection (MAPP/GPSII).
  5. Casework Dialogue Meetings – We host monthly matching meetings, inviting the adoption staff from foster care agencies to present their waiting children.
  6. Circle of Support – Project staff regularly attend a community advocacy support group for foster and adoptive parents, to recruit families for the children assigned to the ROAD.
3. Project Statistical information

Current Status	Project Goal
Placements: 47	Placements: 68
Youth Served: 108	Youth Served: 96

Description of Curriculum Used by the ROAD/El Camino

Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting – Group Preparation and Selection II (MAPP/GPSII) is the New York State approved pre-certification for prospective foster and adoptive families. MAPP’s curriculum was developed and is copyrighted by Child Welfare Institute, (Duluth, Georgia, 2003) www.gocwi.org. The Center for Development of Human Services Research Foundation of SUNY Buffalo State College (www.bsc.cdhs.org) has a contract to train-the-trainers in New York State.

There are ten 10 meetings that make up the 30 hours of the total training. While the ninth meeting is conducted for the prospective foster/adoptive parents, their biological/adopted children attend a separate meeting, conducted simultaneously. The meeting for the children of the prospective families “focuses the children of prospective foster and adoptive parents on what it means to be part of a foster or adoptive family. …the children should be able to talk with their parents about being a foster/adoptive family, thus it will help parents make an informed decision based upon their entire family’s abilities and willingness to assure safety, well-being, and permanence for children in foster care.” This curriculum further develops prospective families by training the children of the prospective families. “MAPP for Children” will be conducted, by a MAPP/GPSII leader of the group.

For more information, please contact:
Mark Fairclough
Project Director
The New York Council on Adoptable Children
589 Eight Avenue, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212.475.0222, ext. 207

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