Thoughts From The Rocking Chair

During the month of January, we received notice regarding President Clinton's challenge to the nation through his Presidential Directive on Adoption. The goal of this directive is, by the year 2002, to at least double the number of children in foster care who are adopted or permanently placed each year. This is a major undertaking. We believe that children and families need resources and support if parents are to be successful at integrating these children into their families. Our response to the issues raised in this directive is as follows:

Many individuals, including therapists and adoption professionals, believe that maltreated children will be okay if placed in a loving, stable family. Over the past 25 years, 90% of the clientele at the Attachment Center at Evergreen have been loving and stable families who have adopted children from the US and around the world. These parents have discovered that "love and security", as well as traditional psychotherapy, are not enough to erase the hurt these children have experienced, nor to help these children move beyond their fear, anger and distrust. Children who do not trust frequently grow up to fill our prisons, and to give birth to a whole new generation of children with attachment disorder.

ACE is internationally recognized for its treatment and training in the areas of foster care, adoption and attachment disorder. Based upon our work in this field we would like to make the following comments and suggestions:

1) Doubling the number of children adopted or permanently placed by 2002 Care should be taken when offering incentives to Departments of Social Services (DSS) for adoptive placements to ensure that these incentives are paired with a mandate to share information about a child with prospective adoptive parents. FULL DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS SHOULD BE MANDATORY.

Care should be taken that the Government does not shift the financial burden of caring for these severely damaged special needs children to the parents who are willing to open their homes and hearts to these children. ADOPTION SUBSIDIES FOR THESE CHILDREN SHOULD BE MANDATORY SO THAT FAMILIES HAVE THE RESOURCES TO MEET THE SIGNIFICANT NEEDS OF THESE CHILDREN. SUBSIDIES MUST INCLUDE PROVISIONS FOR APPROPRIATE PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR THESE CHILDREN.

2) Moving children more rapidly from foster care to permanent homes. We support clarification of the "reasonable effort" requirement. Birth parents of maltreated children are frequently victims of maltreatment themselves. They should be committed from the day their child enters DSS care to addressing their own maltreatment issues, with no tolerance on the part of DSS for diversion tactics on the part of the birth parents. This is the only way the cycle of abuse can be broken. CHILDHOOD WILL NOT WAIT!!

Children in the foster care system should be assessed and appropriately placed from day one. Every bad move for a child cannot be undone. MULTIPLE MOVES IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM ARE AS DAMAGING TO A CHILD AS SEVERE MALTREATMENT, AND ARE A SIGNIFICANT BARRIER TO SUCCESSFUL PERMANENT PLACEMENT.

3) Increasing public awareness. We support increasing public awareness, not just of the need for adoption, but also of the presence of attachment disorder, its diagnosis and treatment issues. WE MUST PROVIDE ADOPTIVE PARENTS WITH THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO SUCCEED WITH THESE CHILDREN.

Early detection of attachment problems is essential so that appropriate treatment and training can be provided to families, thus avoiding years of pain and suffering for the entire family.

Increased awareness among the therapeutic community as to the special and unique needs of these children and their families is essential if we are to be successful in our efforts to find a loving, secure home for every child.

Credits: Mary G. Freeman, M.S.W.