Foster parents are often people of great strength, caring and sacrifice who understand the need for temporary havens while permanent homes are being found. Perhaps you know a child or two in the foster system. These kids can't seem to catch a break, but sometimes the right foster situation just clicks. This is certainly the case when talking about kids but we're not talking children here, we are talking dogs, cats and other household pets. Every year thousands of animals are rescued from abusive homes, freed from lives of terror and starvation, disease and neglect. The effects of such horrors are evident and deep, but not necessarily permanent, thanks to the "now" mindset of most animals or the inability to worry about the future or dwell in the past.
These animals often receive treatment for their physical ailments and find comfort in the patience and great care administered to their damaged psyches, but most shelters cannot contain the sheer number of animals rescued; the costs are too high and the amount of space needed for proper housing is insurmountable. A foster home helps to defray those costs by individuals and families simply offering a warm bed and healing love to an animal that may have never known a kind human touch or long since forgotten it.
While some shelters can help with rehabilitation of mind and body, many foster homes will also take up that challenge, work to socialize an animal that has been isolated by displaying kindness and, most of all, love, perhaps never before shown to an abused creature. Without foster homes, many more of these unfortunate animals would have to be put down for lack of physical space. Fostering rescued animals is a genuine way to give back to the community and gain a sense of accomplishment.
A Foster 'Parent's' Responsibility
The number of foster homes is directly correlated to the number of animals that can be saved and many shelters will even offer health management, guidance and supplies. They truly need just a place for the animals to live until homes can be found. Animal rescues will often match foster dogs and cats to families in the foster system, working as closely with that family as possible to give them exactly what works best. Some foster parents take only a single puppy or an entire litter, while others may desire only grown dogs or just cats, or any mix between. Also asked of foster families is the flexibility to allow potential adopters to see the animal or make the animal available for viewing. Sometimes good descriptions for web sites will be asked for, in order to make the eventual adoption process run more smoothly.
Foster families may need to transport the rescued animal to the vet when medical care or shots are needed, to let the shelter know if there are any behavioral problems that need to be addressed, and in the case of dogs, some light training may be requested. More often than not, foster parents are asked to show the rescued animal a little extra attention, a lot of patience and heaps of healing love. As a foster family, you provide a wonderful 'in-home' rather alternative to 'in-shelter' transition between life then and life after adoption. You provide time for an animal to be placed with a forever home and you provide an invaluable service to your animal shelter and to the animal itself.
And what happens if you fall in love with your foster 'child'? Usually the foster family is afforded first choice of adoption and it happens. This mutual love between foster parent and dog forges a bond that ends up with foster home turning into forever home. While dogs and cats comprise the vast majority of needy creatures, there may be call for housing rabbits and birds, too.
The amount of poor stewardship, abuse and neglect that occurs annually in this country concerning often harmless animals is staggering. You are indispensable in the battle for humane treatment of this planet's furry citizens; they need you to take action for them. Make a difference in your life, the life of a rescued animal and even the life of the family who adopts sweet Rover: consider becoming a foster family for animals and shelters in need.
Rabu, 11 Oktober 2017
Rabu, 27 September 2017
Pet Fostering and Adoption - What a Great Way to Help the Many Pets in Need
Many people love animals and would like to do more to help them. Here's a way in which you may consider to do this. Pet fostering isn't a new concept, but it is growing. Pets who are in shelters for whatever reason, may not always be ready for adoption when they first arrive. They are in need of some medical care and recovery time. They may need help in becoming social again.
The rise of animal abuse is heart clenching and to think of an abused animal being put down do to some ignorant act is sad. If however, these little survivors were given a chance to recover before adoption, wouldn't that be a great way to show they still have a chance to be loved!!
An animal that has been abused may have to undergo several treatments on their road to recovery. While they recover though, being in a cage where no one can give them all the loving they need only limits their ability to fight and recover, giving them a place with loving people to care for them however, does incredible things for them.
These little fighters learn that they can be loved, that it's safe to love, and this gives them the desire to live. A three legged dog in a shelter recovering may simply not want to relearn how to walk or even care to play. Putting this same dog into a loving home for his recovery will allow him or her to see what love is, and gives him a chance to learn how to walk and play all over again. The gratitude he shares is more repayment than you could even hope for.
Prime Minister Steven Harper and his wife currently foster cats and have found it fulfilling. You don't have to be a political icon or celebrity though to offer your home as a fostering home.
There are a number of programs set up for pet adoption. You will need to learn some of the skills involved in caring for specific needs, but the greatest skill you can offer is love and patience. These animals don't deserve the reasons they are in the shelter, but they do deserve every chance of getting that second chance for love.
When the pets are ready they are placed for adoption. This is a great reward when you think about it. A pet who may have succumbed to her injuries survives because a foster family believed in her, now recovered she can go to a new home where she will live the rest of her days loving and being loved.
Fostering and adoption is something to consider if you love animals, there is a huge need for animals in this situation, why not consider fostering as a way of letting these little fighters know, they are worth it!! The reward of seeing them win, is all the reward you will ever need!
The rise of animal abuse is heart clenching and to think of an abused animal being put down do to some ignorant act is sad. If however, these little survivors were given a chance to recover before adoption, wouldn't that be a great way to show they still have a chance to be loved!!
An animal that has been abused may have to undergo several treatments on their road to recovery. While they recover though, being in a cage where no one can give them all the loving they need only limits their ability to fight and recover, giving them a place with loving people to care for them however, does incredible things for them.
These little fighters learn that they can be loved, that it's safe to love, and this gives them the desire to live. A three legged dog in a shelter recovering may simply not want to relearn how to walk or even care to play. Putting this same dog into a loving home for his recovery will allow him or her to see what love is, and gives him a chance to learn how to walk and play all over again. The gratitude he shares is more repayment than you could even hope for.
Prime Minister Steven Harper and his wife currently foster cats and have found it fulfilling. You don't have to be a political icon or celebrity though to offer your home as a fostering home.
There are a number of programs set up for pet adoption. You will need to learn some of the skills involved in caring for specific needs, but the greatest skill you can offer is love and patience. These animals don't deserve the reasons they are in the shelter, but they do deserve every chance of getting that second chance for love.
When the pets are ready they are placed for adoption. This is a great reward when you think about it. A pet who may have succumbed to her injuries survives because a foster family believed in her, now recovered she can go to a new home where she will live the rest of her days loving and being loved.
Fostering and adoption is something to consider if you love animals, there is a huge need for animals in this situation, why not consider fostering as a way of letting these little fighters know, they are worth it!! The reward of seeing them win, is all the reward you will ever need!
Selasa, 12 September 2017
Special Needs Adoption - Select A Genuine and Authentic Agency
Special needs adoption will not only be less expensive, but you may even get incentives from the government to take care of the child. These incentives are in the form of social security income, subsidies and tax deduction as well. The age limit of special needs children vary from state to state, but usually it is 3 to 6 years. Even if the child has special needs which can be physical, mental or emotional, he is not said to be under the special needs term. This is the reason why even if you are adopting a special needs child, this does not mean that the child has some mental, physical or emotional problem.
Some states consider special needs children who have some mental, physical or emotional problem while in some states children of minority or ethnic group who are not easy to get adjusted in normal families, are considered as special needs children. Special needs adoption when carried on through state foster care takes longer time as compared to that through private domestic adoptions. However, the authenticity of the agency is very important here and you need to be assured of the authenticity of all legal formalities.
Many people live with some misconceptions prevailing in their minds. One of these is that special needs adoption through state foster care centers is expensive. However, the reverse is most often true. Ethiopian adoption agency has the list of children of almost all ages. If you are interested in Ethiopian adoption you must keep on mind that not all of the international adoption agencies are principled. You have to be bit careful and select an honest agency so that you do not have to face any kind of legal problem in future.
The international adoption agency that you choose for adopting a child must be authorized and must be a member of Joint Council on International Children Services or is Hague accredited. If the Ethiopian adoption agency you are dealing with fulfills this criterion, you can be assured and move ahead with the formalities of the adoption process. Check out the online information on different agencies also.
Some states consider special needs children who have some mental, physical or emotional problem while in some states children of minority or ethnic group who are not easy to get adjusted in normal families, are considered as special needs children. Special needs adoption when carried on through state foster care takes longer time as compared to that through private domestic adoptions. However, the authenticity of the agency is very important here and you need to be assured of the authenticity of all legal formalities.
Many people live with some misconceptions prevailing in their minds. One of these is that special needs adoption through state foster care centers is expensive. However, the reverse is most often true. Ethiopian adoption agency has the list of children of almost all ages. If you are interested in Ethiopian adoption you must keep on mind that not all of the international adoption agencies are principled. You have to be bit careful and select an honest agency so that you do not have to face any kind of legal problem in future.
The international adoption agency that you choose for adopting a child must be authorized and must be a member of Joint Council on International Children Services or is Hague accredited. If the Ethiopian adoption agency you are dealing with fulfills this criterion, you can be assured and move ahead with the formalities of the adoption process. Check out the online information on different agencies also.
Kamis, 24 Agustus 2017
Real Happy Endings - Adoption Myths and Media Distortions
Whether exploring the decision to adopt a child as an infant through domestic or international adoption or to adopt an older child through the child welfare and foster care system, it is understandable prospective adoptive singles and couples would wonder about the possible outcomes of the effects of adoption on children. Virtually everyone has heard 2nd or even 3rd hand of an adoption story with a painful or horrible ending for both the child and family. The media grabs onto these rare occurrences and shamelessly focuses on the pain and heartache of all involved.
By the end of coming to the decision to welcome a child into their home to love and nurture, adoptive parents will have heard countless tales of caution from friends and family of things that can and have gone terribly awry with other adopted children. Stories from the mainstream media often paint a picture of adopted children as at odds with their adoptive family, emotionally disturbed or even bitter anti-social drug addicts. Less shocking, newsworthy, and far more prevalent though are the majority of adoption stories that go on to have real life happy endings for both the child and parents. In reality, the majority of prospective adoptive parents can safely suppose their adopted child will most likely mature into a normal psychologically healthy adult and go on to marry, raise biological &/or adopted children and lead a happy productive live.
In "Growing Up Adopted," a study released in 1994 and often cited by Adoption professionals and advocates, results strongly indicated the majority of adopted teens in their study were strongly attached to their adoptive families and psychologically healthy. Previous research on adoption consistently combined all youths adopted as infants with youths who had survived neglectful and abusive situations, often for years, before adopted. Additionally, being transferred through several foster home placements before being adopted into a permanent home has an enormous impact on a child's emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships that was not accounted for as a variable.
Researchers did not make a distinction between difficulties children had that may have been related to adoption versus difficulties related to non-adoption issues. Recent research findings continue to be encouraging and challenge the results of some older studies on adoption, which indicated adopted people had a higher rate of emotional and behavioral problems than non-adopted people. Research more useful and valuable to prospective adoptive parents recognizes the variations between the different situations and backgrounds of adopted children.
In recent times, adoption advocates have also noted an overall negative bias of mainstream media against adoption they believe grossly distorts the reality of adoption and fuels many false myths. Dr. George Gerbner, a researcher at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, found evidence in 1988 of a detrimental bias against adopted children in many TV shows and movies. He reportedly found many highly familiar and popular programs often regularly depicted adopted children as "problem children"--drug addicts, victims, and so on far more than depicting adopted children as resilient, productive, and hard-working. Regrettably, many people continue to gather their ideas and impressions about adoption and adoptive families from such shows and news stories.
The reality is most adopted people are not more sociopathic, nor more violent, than non-adopted people are. When discussing millions of people who were adopted, from those who are infants to those who are elderly, it is impractical to generalize to any valid conclusion about the future of children adopted into loving and caring families. Just as with most non-adopted people of the world, some children are very talented or brilliant and some are less capable and have more factors pre-disposing them to potential difficulties. Most adopted people fall within the normal range.
Much of the misinformation and fears people have regarding adoption--that adopted children do not blossom, that adopted families are dissatisfied--can usually be linked back to unsound research or unsupported oversimplification. Adoption is most definitely not a one size fit all solution for every family in every situation. Nevertheless, millions of singles, couples and families have used adoption to produce joyful, flourishing and caring families. Moreover, at no other time in history have there been more resources and support available to prospective adoptive parents to gain useful and needed information to prepare them for the challenges and joys parenting and adoption will bring to their lives.
By the end of coming to the decision to welcome a child into their home to love and nurture, adoptive parents will have heard countless tales of caution from friends and family of things that can and have gone terribly awry with other adopted children. Stories from the mainstream media often paint a picture of adopted children as at odds with their adoptive family, emotionally disturbed or even bitter anti-social drug addicts. Less shocking, newsworthy, and far more prevalent though are the majority of adoption stories that go on to have real life happy endings for both the child and parents. In reality, the majority of prospective adoptive parents can safely suppose their adopted child will most likely mature into a normal psychologically healthy adult and go on to marry, raise biological &/or adopted children and lead a happy productive live.
In "Growing Up Adopted," a study released in 1994 and often cited by Adoption professionals and advocates, results strongly indicated the majority of adopted teens in their study were strongly attached to their adoptive families and psychologically healthy. Previous research on adoption consistently combined all youths adopted as infants with youths who had survived neglectful and abusive situations, often for years, before adopted. Additionally, being transferred through several foster home placements before being adopted into a permanent home has an enormous impact on a child's emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships that was not accounted for as a variable.
Researchers did not make a distinction between difficulties children had that may have been related to adoption versus difficulties related to non-adoption issues. Recent research findings continue to be encouraging and challenge the results of some older studies on adoption, which indicated adopted people had a higher rate of emotional and behavioral problems than non-adopted people. Research more useful and valuable to prospective adoptive parents recognizes the variations between the different situations and backgrounds of adopted children.
In recent times, adoption advocates have also noted an overall negative bias of mainstream media against adoption they believe grossly distorts the reality of adoption and fuels many false myths. Dr. George Gerbner, a researcher at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Pennsylvania, found evidence in 1988 of a detrimental bias against adopted children in many TV shows and movies. He reportedly found many highly familiar and popular programs often regularly depicted adopted children as "problem children"--drug addicts, victims, and so on far more than depicting adopted children as resilient, productive, and hard-working. Regrettably, many people continue to gather their ideas and impressions about adoption and adoptive families from such shows and news stories.
The reality is most adopted people are not more sociopathic, nor more violent, than non-adopted people are. When discussing millions of people who were adopted, from those who are infants to those who are elderly, it is impractical to generalize to any valid conclusion about the future of children adopted into loving and caring families. Just as with most non-adopted people of the world, some children are very talented or brilliant and some are less capable and have more factors pre-disposing them to potential difficulties. Most adopted people fall within the normal range.
Much of the misinformation and fears people have regarding adoption--that adopted children do not blossom, that adopted families are dissatisfied--can usually be linked back to unsound research or unsupported oversimplification. Adoption is most definitely not a one size fit all solution for every family in every situation. Nevertheless, millions of singles, couples and families have used adoption to produce joyful, flourishing and caring families. Moreover, at no other time in history have there been more resources and support available to prospective adoptive parents to gain useful and needed information to prepare them for the challenges and joys parenting and adoption will bring to their lives.
Senin, 07 Agustus 2017
Foster Care Adoption - How Do I Know If I Should Accept a Placement
Foster care adoption is a growing need in a society more and more able to adopt from oversees. There are many children waiting to be adopted in the U.S but there are even more who are just coming into the system. If you are already in the process of becoming licensed to foster children and are wondering who your first placement may be, it can be very intimidating.
New children to the system don't come with a label to help you know how to help them. Often though, if you know what questions to ask, case workers can give you information about the child that will help you decide if this child will fit into your family. Remember that taking in a child out of pity because you want to help, and not considering what you have to offer that child, can be more damaging than saying no to the placement. Foster kids don't just need foster parents, they need parents. Prepare yourself to be 100% committed to these children even if they leave you to go back to their families.
Case workers and agencies have an obligation to find homes for children who are in danger. Because of this, they will often only tell you a fraction of the story. Most will not out right lie to you but their caseloads are often large and overwhelming and they just need to get kids placed in safe homes. Be prepared to ask questions to get a full picture of what you are committing to.
We were only interested in long term placements and wanted to adopt so it was very important to us that we started off on the right foot. Early on in the process, we wrote down some questions that we kept by the phone so that we wouldn't get caught up in the excitement of bringing a new child into our home without knowing what kind of baggage this child would bring with him. We wanted to be the best parents we could be and needed as much information as possible. Here is a list we came up with to help us with our decision.
Questions to Ask When Case Worker Calls
1. How many foster homes have they been in?
2. What type of abuse have they been through?
3. Have they been neglected?
4. Can I have the number of their last foster home?
5. Why are they being moved?
6. Do they have special educational needs?
7. Are there siblings to keep in contact with?
8. If they have siblings, why were they separated and can we get them back together?
9. Are the parents still in the picture or are their rights being terminated?
10. How frequent are visits with family?
11. Who is expected to transport them and how far away are the visits?
12. When is their next court date?
13. Do they have any aggression issues toward young children or animals?
14. Have they been sexually abused?
15. How long do we have to decide?
16. Is this a long term placement?
100% commitment is the goal no matter what the child's situation. These questions will help you make an informed decision and hopefully help you avoid a failed placement.
New children to the system don't come with a label to help you know how to help them. Often though, if you know what questions to ask, case workers can give you information about the child that will help you decide if this child will fit into your family. Remember that taking in a child out of pity because you want to help, and not considering what you have to offer that child, can be more damaging than saying no to the placement. Foster kids don't just need foster parents, they need parents. Prepare yourself to be 100% committed to these children even if they leave you to go back to their families.
Case workers and agencies have an obligation to find homes for children who are in danger. Because of this, they will often only tell you a fraction of the story. Most will not out right lie to you but their caseloads are often large and overwhelming and they just need to get kids placed in safe homes. Be prepared to ask questions to get a full picture of what you are committing to.
We were only interested in long term placements and wanted to adopt so it was very important to us that we started off on the right foot. Early on in the process, we wrote down some questions that we kept by the phone so that we wouldn't get caught up in the excitement of bringing a new child into our home without knowing what kind of baggage this child would bring with him. We wanted to be the best parents we could be and needed as much information as possible. Here is a list we came up with to help us with our decision.
Questions to Ask When Case Worker Calls
1. How many foster homes have they been in?
2. What type of abuse have they been through?
3. Have they been neglected?
4. Can I have the number of their last foster home?
5. Why are they being moved?
6. Do they have special educational needs?
7. Are there siblings to keep in contact with?
8. If they have siblings, why were they separated and can we get them back together?
9. Are the parents still in the picture or are their rights being terminated?
10. How frequent are visits with family?
11. Who is expected to transport them and how far away are the visits?
12. When is their next court date?
13. Do they have any aggression issues toward young children or animals?
14. Have they been sexually abused?
15. How long do we have to decide?
16. Is this a long term placement?
100% commitment is the goal no matter what the child's situation. These questions will help you make an informed decision and hopefully help you avoid a failed placement.
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