“Youth on the move”means so many things.In the world of childwelfare, it can meanyouth “aging out of thesystem” or moving on.Where do they moveto? Each year,approximately 20,000teens age out of thenational foster caresystem. These youngpeople have increasedodds for earlypregnancy,homelessness,unemployment, mentalhealth needs andcriminal activities.

In 2005, with more than 900 adolescentsaging out of the system without apermanent family connection,Pennsylvania said, “That’s too much!”Under the leadership of the Departmentof Public Welfare’s Statewide Adoptionand Permanency Network andIndependent Living Services effortsbegan to minimize youth moving on tono one. This renewed focus on olderyouth is designed to help them developand maintain adult connections—special people in their lives, shouldersto lean on, someone to borrow moneyfrom when financial resources are low,and someone to spend the holidays with.

The theme of the 2006 annualPennsylvania Permanency Conference,Lifetime Connections: DesigningBlueprints for Success, demonstratedthis commitment. The programs andworkshops presented focused on

permanent connectionsfor youth. A crosssection of workshopshighlighted theindependent livingprogram, recruitingresource families,making successfultransitions, familygroup decision making,collaborative workingrelationships,successful practices forworking with a varietyof behavioral issues,legal supports, faithand educationalprograms, post

permanency services for families andstate of the art training formats.Participants responded to the passions ofRuth Amerson, a national advocate forcreative recruitment techniques, and tothe soulfulness of Jaiya John, an adultadoptee who spoke eloquently to theculture and spirit of our children in care.

While 2,065 children in Pennsylvaniafound permanent adoptive homes in2005, we still have much work to dobefore our waiting children journey outinto that big world. Will they do italone? Will we do all that we can do tofind older youth a “connection” toanother who will provide that safehaven in the storms of life, who willhave them to Thanksgiving dinner andwho will be a shoulder to cry on whenthe journey is rough and lonely? Let usall recommit to assuring that our youthare “on the move” to lovingconnections.

network news

nneettwwoorrkk nneewwssis published quarterly by the Statewide Adoption andPermanency Network andIndependent Living Program

Pennsylvania Departmentof Public WelfareOffice of Children, Youth & FamiliesP.O. Box 2675Harrisburg, PA 17105-2675

Summer/Fall 2006

in this issue:Helping YouthFind Connections

TheImportanceof PermanencyPlanning forAdolescents

�page 5 Youth TransitionConferences: A Move ina New Direction

�page 6 Adoption Night atWilliams GroveSpeedway is a HugeSuccess

The Voice of the Network

YOUTH ON THE MOVEby Darla Henry Family Design Resources, Inc., Co-director and SWAN Specialist: Best Practice, Training and Policy

4page

8page

1-800-585-7927 (SWAN)www.independentlivingpa.org www.adoptpakids.org

Valerie Pritchett, abc27 news anchor, ismistress of ceremonies at the 2006Recognition Banquet.

2

Throughout 2004, in an effort toincrease the adoptions of olderchildren in foster care and tobetter prepare those youth indanger of aging out of the systemwithout a permanency resource,the Pennsylvania Department ofPublic Welfare (DPW) began anambitious collaboration betweentwo of our programs, theStatewide Adoption andPermanency Network (SWAN)and Independent Living Services(IL).

In Pennsylvania, adoption workersbelieve that all children areadoptable. But the hard truth isthat the older a child is; the moredifficult it is to find an adoptiveresource. Every year,approximately 900 youth age outof foster care in Pennsylvaniawithout a significant adultrelationship, permanency resourceor adoptive family. Such youthoften end up going back into thesame situation that caused them tobe placed into foster care in thefirst place, and they often comeback into the adult social servicesystem as a result. In 2003,despite our belief that all childrenare adoptable and the expansion ofthe population served by SWAN,only 546 youth over the age of 9were adopted from foster care inPennsylvania. It was time to dosomething different. And thusbegan the partnership betweenSWAN and IL Services.

But we had our work cut out forus in developing this newpartnership. Within each county,workers are often divided by thetype of work they do, and as such,adoption workers were givinglittle thought to IL services for theyouth they served, and IL workerswere not considering adoption

services for the youth they served.Yet all of the youth served were inthe custody of the county agency;technically, each type of worker isworking with the same type ofkids. Even so, if an older youthhad a court-ordered goal ofadoption, workers did not feel ILServices were needed as theyoften felt confident that theywould find the youth an adoptiveresource. Likewise, IL workers,who work primarily with youthage 16 and over, felt that adoptionwas not a viable option for theseolder youth and often did notpursue a permanent connection forthis very vulnerable populationbecause they believed that olderyouth did not want to be adopted.

To begin to change this mindset,in June 2004, DPW invitedDorothy Ansell, assistant directorwith the National Resource Centerfor Youth Services and a long timeadvocate of adolescents in out ofhome care, to address bothadoption workers and IL workersat the SWAN Summer StatewideMeeting. She addressed theimportance of permanencyplanning for adolescents andexplained to both populations ofworkers the importance of lifetimeconnections, and provided someideas on how to find those lifetimeconnections. Additionally, webegan training on what we call the“Permanency Continuum” whichis outlined as the hierarchy ofcourt-ordered permanency goalsas stated in the Adoption and SafeFamilies Act (ASFA) andsupported by the PennsylvaniaJuvenile Act.

The hierarchy for permanencygoal options, or the PermanencyContinuum, is the same for youthof all ages: return to parents,

place for adoption, place with apermanent legal custodian, placepermanently with a fit and willingrelative, or place in another livingarrangement intended to bepermanent in nature.

Since that meeting, SWAN and ILhave partnered in all of ourtrainings, including four quarterlytrainings per year and an annualconference. We have alsocombined our quarterlynewsletters and now publish ajoint newsletter, the SWAN/ILNetwork News. Articles in thenewsletter are written by bothadoption and IL workers andalways address not only the needfor permanency for thispopulation, but also the need forIL skills so that every youth,whether they are adopted or not, isable to provide for themselves ifneeded. Additionally, in eachissue, we highlight the successfuladoption of an older child and thesuccess of a youth who isreceiving IL Services.

Since the beginning of ourpartnership, SWAN has beenencouraging referrals for childprofiles, child preparation andchild specific recruitment for olderyouth in care who may not have agoal of adoption and may be indanger of aging out of the systemwithout a permanency resource.All three of these services canhelp to identify potentialpermanency resources for youth incare, regardless of their court-ordered permanency goal. Forinstance, an older youth without agoal of adoption who wasreceiving IL Services, was referredfor SWAN child preparation. Oneof the activities the worker didwith the youth was to take him to

From theDepartment of Public Welfare by Lorrie Deck, Director,Statewide Adoption andPermanencyNetwork

statewidestraighttalk

(continued on page 3)

visit his former elementary andmiddle schools. While there, hewas shocked to learn that hisformer teachers, guidancecounselors and coaches not onlyremembered him, but were glad tosee him and ultimately, one ofthem stepped forward as anadoptive resource for this youngman.

Success stories such as this havelead to an increase in SWANservices for this population ofchildren, and the increase inSWAN services correlates to anincrease in the number of olderyouth adopted from thePennsylvania foster care system.In federal fiscal year (FFY) 2003,546 children over the age of 9were adopted from thePennsylvania foster care system.In FFY 2004, the year theSWAN/IL partnership began, thenumber of adoptions of childrenover age 9 increased to 684. InFFY 2005, 705 children over theage of 9 were adopted whichrepresents an 18.5% increase inthe number of adoptions ofchildren over age 9 in the first18 months of this partnership.

In addition to increasing thenumber of adoptions, we have alsoseen an increase in the number of

SWAN services being provided toIL youth and as a result, anincrease in the number of youthdischarged from foster care toother types of permanent families,such as permanent legalcustodianship families.

In Pennsylvania, 280 youth age 16and over have a goal of adoption.However, in FFY 2005, SWANprovided services to 423 youthover the age of 16. Althoughsome of the older youth receivingIL Services may not find anadoptive family through SWANservices, they may find the nextbest thing as defined in thePermanency Continuum, apermanent legal custodian. Thechild profile, child preparation andchild specific recruitment units ofservice help children to reconnectwith their past and identifypotential permanency resourcesthat may have been unexploredand helps them to identify newpermanency resources that theymay not have known existed.Even so, once located, somepotential resources are not willingto adopt the child in question. Agreat many however, are willing tobecome legal custodians of theyouth.

As a result of our efforts, in

addition to the number ofadoptions increasing, we haveseen a significant increase in thenumber of older youth dischargedfrom our system to permanentlegal custodianship. In FFY 2003,74 children over the age of 9 weredischarged to the care of apermanent legal custodian. InFFY 2005, the number ofpermanent legal custodianshipsof children over age 9 increasedto 136, which represents an 84percent increase in the numberof children over age 9discharged from foster care topermanent legal custodians inthe first 18 months of thispartnership.

If we are not able to locate a newadoptive family for youth in fostercare who cannot be returned totheir biological family, then it isour duty as a system to find themthe next best thing, a supportiverelationship with an adult whowill continue to provide them withguidance, support, advice and aplace to spend the holidays oncethey leave our care.

(continued from page 2)

2006 Permanent Family Award Recipients, Tim and Nancy Shorterand their family.

2006 Permanent Teamwork Award Recipients, Janae Sauder, LorettaRussell and Karen Knodel pose with Nancy Hardy, Deputy Secretaryof OCYF.

3

Youth living in the child welfaresystem often have lost contact withpersons in their lives whom theyhave valued and who have valuedthem. The Pennsylvania StatewideAdoption and Permanency Network(SWAN) and the Independent LivingProgram have a variety of activitiesthat help youth seek formerrelationships and re-establish thoserelationships for life longconnections.

Child preparation activities involvelooking at the attachments forchildren and youth –“Where am Igoing?”– with whom they have hadrelationships throughout their lives.They look at the nature of theserelationships and connections. Theprocess of reacquainting youth withthese relationships frequently tapsinto important people in a child’s lifewho are interested and may bewilling to remain a connection forthat child.

Life books and/or boxes providetools to help youth seek informationand maintain information about

relationship roles others have playedfor them. They can also keepimportant papers or documents (e.g.birth certificates) in an accessiblelocation.

Recently, one of our youth, havingspent almost all of her life in fostercare, during which she experiencedtwo failed adoptions and residentialcare, made a video about her lifewith her child preparation worker.One of the highlights of the video isher reconnection to her grandfatherwho is living in another state. Shewas able to visit him on his birthdayand documented this important eventin her life with pictures. For her, theopportunity to be with hergrandfather again provided apowerful link to her biologicalfamily—her identity and sense ofbelonging. She has also reconnectedwith her first adoptive family and ismaintaining relationships with themas she reconciles the death of hermother.

Recently, while playing with my golfleague, a woman, upon finding out

that I worked with SWAN, sharedthat she felt she had been able toreconnect with a child that she placedfor adoption 33 years ago. She putinformation on the PennsylvaniaAdoption Exchange’s AdoptionMedical History Registry andconnected with the child’s birthfather with whom she had notmaintained contact and who livesacross the country. She wasreassured of being able to provide aconnection for her child, now anadult.

With a renewed emphasis on findingfamily relationships for youth, ouraffiliates and agencies havedeveloped many activities designedto locate and enhance life longconnections.

HELPING YOUTH FINDCONNECTIONSby Darla Henry, Family Design Resources, Inc., Co-director and SWAN Specialist: Best Practice, Training and Policy

PrimeFocus

Valerie Pritchett (left), abc27 News, presentsRobin Bassler thePermanent Family Award,who accepted on behalf ofthe Schoell family.

Valerie Pritchett (right), abc27 News, presentsPermanent Family Awardto Kathleen Swain whoaccepted on behalf ofRachel Theissen andStephanie Merrian.

4

Adams County Children and YouthServices, in partnership with It Takes aVillage, have taken Family GroupDecision Making to a new level.Family Group Decision Making is apractice that offers families theopportunity to develop and implementa plan to address concerns that childrenand youth or another referring agencyhas regarding the family. The meetingemphasizes the families’ strengths,which are the driving force inremedying the concerns that areidentified by both the family and theinvolved agencies. The key to thispractice is that it is solely the familythat develops the plan. Serviceproviders and agency workers have tobe invited to the conference by thefamily and are asked to leave the roomwhile the family develops their planduring “private family time.”

Youth Transition Conferences are nowbeing offered as a similar practice toFamily Group Decision MakingConferences and are utilized by youthwho are transitioning to independence.Youth ages 16-21, who are or havebeen in out of home placement, or whoare planning for their independence,are candidates for this practice. Manyof the youth who will be referred for a

Youth Transition Conference havebeen victims of abuse, witnesseddomestic violence, have parents whosuffer from mental illness or addictionand have had very little emphasisplaced on planning for their future.

Youth are asked to invite family,friends, service providers and anyoneelse who has a vested interest in theirwell being to the conference to assistthem in this process. The transitionconference assists youth with theirtransition to becoming independent,and focuses on areas includinghousing, employment, education, lifeskills and prevention. It is hoped thattransition conferences will identify acircle of support that will assist theyouth with pursuing specific goals andwill make the youth’s transition toindependence a successful one.

Adams County Children and YouthServices and the Independent LivingProgram believe that Youth TransitionConferences provide youth anotheropportunity to have input into theirdischarge planning and their future.The Youth Transition Conference’spurpose is to celebrate the youth’sjourney in becoming an adult and toprepare for a successful transition to

independence. Other goals of theconference are to identify resources todevelop a circle of support forpermanent connections, encourageyouth to explore their personalinterests, increase the youth’sconfidence in pursuing and obtaininggoals and create a youth driven plan,developed by the youth, which willincrease the chances of follow throughwith their plan.

It is hoped that Youth TransitionConferences will ultimately allowyouth to begin their journey toadulthood with obtainable goals and asafety net in place to assist themshould they need the help. It may alsoallow some youth to realize that theyare not quite ready for all theresponsibilities that come with thedesired freedom they have longed for!

Heather King and Teresa Polvinalehave presented Youth TransitionConferencing at the AmericanHumane’s 2006 Conference on FamilyGroup Decision Making in SanAntonio, Texas, and the 14th AnnualPennsylvania Permanency Conferencein Harrisburg.

Youth Transition Conferences: A Move in a New Directionby Heather King and Teresa Polvinale, IL County Caseworkers, Adams County Children and Youth Services

IndependentLiving Services

2006 Permanent Family Award Recipient, Maryann Hall poses with her children.

2006 Permanent Family Award Recipient, Rachel Theissen andStephanie Merrian poses with their children.

5

On June 30, 2006, as part of theMitch Smith Memorial Speed Weekrace, Williams Grove Speedwayobserved adoption night to raiseawareness of the need for the morethan 1,300 Pennsylvania childrensearching for a family to call theirown. Twenty-nine sprint carsdisplayed photographs and contactinformation of children searching forfamilies. Adoption night wassponsored by Diakon Adoption andFoster Care Services.

Jeff Shepard, driver of the #4J,winner of the race, was joined inVictory Lane by the thrilled childappearing on his vehicle, Tiffany.Elisa Esh, director of ResourceFamily Recruitment, DiakonAdoption and Foster Care Services,also joined them to thank CentralPennsylvania sprint car fans for theirsupport of the event as well as theadoption cause.

Diakon, who partnered with Berks,Dauphin and York County Childrenand Youth Agencies, Bethanna,Children’s Home of York and

Concern, considered the event a hugesuccess.

“The response to this event by thesprint car community wasastounding,” said Esh. “Our adoptionfair was crowded throughout theevening and it is our hope thatconnections were made betweenfamilies ready to adopt and theavailable children. Perhaps mostimportantly, we spread the wordabout adoption and the high numberof children in need of a home.”

Most of the youths whose photoswere featured on the race carsattended the race and enjoyed specialtreats including photographs andautographs with drivers, racing teamsouvenirs and other prizes. Specialgifts including bikes, video gameplayers, DVD players and/or giftcards were presented by volunteers.In addition, the children enjoyedcarnival games, magic shows,temporary tattoos and more. SandyKline and Mike Zortman, sprint carphotographers, took photos ofchildren with their respective driversand presented them to the youths as asouvenir.

“Not only was this an event designedto get people thinking about adoption

and learn about the need for families,the kids were given so much attentionand they felt special. For some ofthem, this doesn’t happen very oftenand it was very moving to see thegenuine joy in their faces,” said Esh.“It is my hope that we can once againwitness the joy in their faces whenthey find a family to call their own.”

Victory lane sponsors for the event,Miller Brothers Chevrolet, The KevinGobrecht Memorial Foundation,C&S Lawn and Landscaping, Inc.and American Eagle Outfitters, madepossible the vinyl photos of thechildren which appeared on the sprintcars. Sweeney Signs and DigitalEffects designed and installed thephotos onto the vehicles.

Participating teams and sponsorsdonated more than 200 pieces ofracing apparel and novelty itemswhich were distributed to theevening’s eager crowd. Entertainmentwas provided by Red 102.3 FM.Adoption night at Williams GroveSpeedway would not be possiblewithout the help of many sponsors.

If you are interested in participatingin or serving as a sponsor for nextyear’s Adoption Night event, pleasecontact Elisa Esh at 800-723-7038.

Adoption Night atWilliams Grove Speedwayis a Huge Successby Elisa Esh, Director, Resource FamilyRecruitment, Diakon Adoption and FosterCare Services

6

Ashley is interviewed by Valerie Pritchettfor abc27 News, Val’s Kids.

Ned stands in front of Stevie Smith’s sprintcar.

Older youth experience manybarriers to adoption. For youth whohave reached 18, however, the legalprocess should not be among them.Over the past year, the LegalServices Initiative (LSI) Warmlinehas responded to several inquiriesabout adopting a youth who is 18 orover. The callers have wonderedwhether it is still necessary toterminate parental rights, if that hasnot occurred.

Pennsylvania’s Adoption Act doesnot require termination of parentalrights in order to finalize theadoption of a youth who hasreached age 18. Here’s the analysis:

Section 2711(a) of the Adoption Actlists the consents necessary to anadoption, as follows:

(1) The adoptee, if over 12 yearsof age.

(2) The spouse of the adoptingparent, unless they join in theadoption petition.

(3) The parents or survivingparent of an adoptee whohas not reached the age of18 years.

(4) The guardian of anincapacitated adoptee.

(5) The guardian of the personof an adoptee under the ageof 18 years, if any there be,or of the person or personshaving custody of theadoptee, if any such personcan be found, whenever theadoptee has no parent whoseconsent is required.

Item #1 tells us that an 18 year-oldmust consent to his/her ownadoption, because the 18 year-oldis “over 12 years of age.”

Item #3 tells us that the birthparents of a child must consent tothe child’s adoption. Of course, ifthe parents’ rights have alreadybeen terminated, then their consentis no longer necessary (Section2714 of the Adoption Act providesthat “consent of a parent toadoption shall not be required if adecree of termination ... has beenentered.”). Note that this consentrequirement only applies while thechild is still a minor (i.e., under18). Logically, if the court doesnot need the birth parents’ consentto adoption of an 18 year-old, thenthe court should not need toterminate whatever “rights” a birthparent may be considered to haveregarding their adult child.

If you are working towardsadoption of a youth who hasturned 18 or is soon to reach age18 and would like to discuss thisissue further, please contact theLSI Warmline, atlsiwarmline@diakon-swan.org or888-793-2512, ext. 5376.

Legal

Dwindel Toliver and Kim Pearson accept theFaith Based Recruitment and Retention Award forRejoice Expressions.

Lisa Colautti, Permanency Professional AwardRecipient, poses with Nancy Hardy, DeputySecretary, OCYF.

Lisa Bendezu and co-worker accept thePhilanthropy Award for the Academy of NaturalSciences.

Notesfrom theLegalServicesInitiativeWarmlineby Eleanor L. Bush, Esq., Legal Services Training Specialist

7

The Importance of PermanencyPlanning for Adolescentsby David P. Kelly, Esq., Staff Attorney and Anne Marie Lancour, Esq., Director of State Projects, American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law Permanency Barriers Project

Legal

The American Bar Association(ABA) Center on Children and theLaw’s, Pennsylvania PermanencyBarriers Project, works to promotesafety and permanency for childrenin care at all stages of involvementwith the public child welfaresystem. While all youth requirespecial attention and have uniquechallenges, teens and olderadolescents in care can beparticularly difficult to serveeffectively.

Accordingly, work to improvepermanency planning and outcomesfor adolescents in foster care featureprominently in the Pennsylvaniacounties that participate in the ABAPermanency Barriers Project. Useof Another Planned PermanentLiving Arrangement (APPLA) as apermanency option for adolescentsin care has been a prime focus ofthis work because APPLA is theleast preferred permanency optionunder Adoption Safe Families Act.The second aim of the project’swork with APPLA is to ensure thatall planning for the goal includesmore than just a plan for where theyoung person will live. To satisfystatutory requirements, APPLApermanency goals must include acomprehensive array of supportservices individually tailored to theyouth’s strengths and needs. Chiefamong these supports areindependent living programs.

We hope our concentrated effortswill reduce the number of APPLAorders in favor of more permanentoptions. Where the APPLA ordersare made, the orders should be tiedto plans that are substantive andsustainable. Project work hasincluded extensive training efforts

with advisory boards, judges,attorneys, children and youthworkers and supervisors and theservice provider community. Theseefforts help increase awareness andfuel the interests of those alreadyworking on the issues.

Some Current Efforts to AdvanceAdolescent Permanency in ABAProject Counties

Venango County: Although thePermanency Barriers Project isdesigned to last for two years inmost counties, the ABA may extendproject work longer where countieshave demonstrated a need andcommitment. Concern aboutadolescent permanency planningwas one of the primary reasons anextension was granted to continuework in Venango County.

Efforts to address the issue ofadolescent permanency began inVenango County with a presentationto the advisory board aboutpermanency planning, independentliving services and APPLA as apermanency option for older teensin care. In response, an adolescentsubcommittee to the advisory boardwas formed in the spring of 2006.The ABA project manager inVenango County is working closelywith the children and youth services(CYS) Independent Livingcoordinator to strengthen the currentprogram and identify additionalresources. CYS has expressed aninterest in starting life skillsinstruction for foster youth as youngas 14 and would like to explore thepossibility of offering life skillsinstruction and independent livingservices to youth under agencysupervision as well.

With the current level ofcommitment, Venango County hasthe potential to become a model ofadolescent permanency planningand service provision. Judicialcommitment and support, coupledwith a dedicated and capable agencystaff, have created a positiveenvironment for innovation andgrowth. In addition, the ABAproject manager is now workingwith a community member whohopes to create a transitional livingfacility for adolescent foster youthin the area.

Berks County: Berks Countyformed a subcommittee onadolescent issues in January 2006 toexplore ways of improvingpermanency planning for olderadolescents in care. Inspired bysuccess with the concept ofbenchmark permanency hearings inChicago and the District ofColumbia, the committee developeda pilot program specifically tailoredto Berks County’s adolescentpopulation.

The Benchmark PermanencyConference Pilot Program allowsolder adolescents the opportunity toparticipate more fully in planningfor their futures. Implementation ofthe project began this summer.Benchmark conferences are heldweekly before the HonorableElizabeth Ehrlich. Each child willparticipate in a scheduled one hourconference. At the hearing, theongoing caseworker, agency worker,child’s attorney and other adultsassist the child in creating a plan toaccomplish his/her educational,career and/or personal goals. Aconference agreement will be signed

8(continued on page 9)

by all of the participants at the endof the conference and copiesprovided as a guide to anyoutstanding objectives.

Progress of the pilot project will bereviewed. This innovative andproactive initiative reflects the hardwork and commitment present inBerks County.

York County: The July advisoryboard meeting in York Countyincluded an overview of adolescentpermanency and a presentation bythe York County CYS IndependentLiving staff on services currentlyavailable in the county. The countyis developing a permanency hearingchecklist to be used in case planningfor all youth over age 16 and is alsodesigning a discharge checklist forall youth who age out of the systemand achieve permanency.Preliminary work toward creating acounty-wide resource directory ofservices specifically available foradolescents was also completed.

Philadelphia: Philadelphia’sadvisory board focused onadolescent permanency inSeptember 2006. The meetingincluded presentations by localservice providers and introduced theadvisory board members to ongoinginitiatives, including: the TeenDiversion Program and theAchieving Independence Center.Protocols for adolescentpermanency hearings are slated fordiscussion and the specificpermanency options of PermanentLegal Custodianship (PLC) andAPPLA will be examined andexplored as particularly relevant forolder youth in care.

Results and Trends in Achieving

Adolescent Permanency inCompleted ABA Project Counties

Encouragingly, counties that havecompleted the project are showingpositive trends about youth whosepermanency plan is APPLA, thelength of time taken to achieveAPPLA as a permanency goal andthe average number of months fromremoval to court orderedpermanency placement. Changes inpolicy and procedure, affectedthrough project work, ensure thatbest practice for adolescentpermanency will continue.

In Luzerne, Cumberland andNorthumberland counties, whereproject work has ended, progresswas made in each pilot county.Prior to project implementation in2003, approximately 27 percent ofyouth in care in Cumberland Countyhad a permanency goal of APPLA.This percentage was reduced to 4percent when the project ended in2006. Percentages of youth withAPPLA as a permanency goaldropped from 12 percent to 5percent in Luzerne County. InNorthumberland County, thepercentage remained at 9 percentdespite an increase in the number ofyouth in care. The reductions inpercentages of youth with APPLApermanency goals is a powerfulindicator that more preferredpermanency options are beingpursued and achieved.

The average length of time betweenremoval and court ordered APPLAgoals also declined in each county.In Luzerne County, the average timebetween removal and the ultimateAPPLA order was 50 months in2003. That average was reduced to23 months at project completion.

Northumberland and Cumberlandcounties saw reductions of averagetime between removal and courtordered APPLA goals of 17 and 20months, respectively. The gains inexpediency suggest more aggressivecase planning may lead topermanency sooner.

Improvement in counties is due tomany factors, none more so than thededication of those in the field andtheir openness to change. With theadded direction and focus of theABA project, county stakeholderscan collaboratively identify andsystematically address factors thatcause or contribute to delays inpermanency.

Would you like to learn more abouthow your county can be a part ofthe ABA’s Permanency BarriersProject?

The ABA Pennsylvania PermanencyBarriers Project is a free systemsand practice improvement projectaccessible to any countyexperiencing challenges inachieving permanency for childrenin care. Although the project cannot serve all counties at once, asmall number of openings for newcounties will soon be available. Ifyou believe your county may benefitfrom working with the ABA andwould like to learn more about theABA Pennsylvania PermanencyBarriers Project, please contact:

Anne Marie LancourDirector of State ProjectsABA Center on Children and the Law740 15th Street, NWWashington, DC 20005(202) 662-1756lancoura@staff.abanet.org

Lorrie Deck, Director of SWAN, Phyllis Stevens,Executive Director of TAP, Jessica Delgado,Permanency Advocate Award Recipient pose withNancy Hardy, Deputy Secretary, OCYF.

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(continued from page 8)

Most adoption caseworkers look forsuccessful stories to tell other kidsand families. Most of the time wefind a great story but sometimes weare not so lucky. Success is definedin many ways by caseworkers, but italways means there is some form ofpermanence for one of our waitingchildren. I am one of those fortunateworkers who has a great successstory. This story is about Sheldonand his family. When I first metSheldon he was seventeen years old.He had been in the foster care systemmost of his life and was looking for apermanent family. A few otherworkers in our office had workedwith Sheldon over the years and allof us were impressed by his attitude.He wanted to be adopted and nevergave up hope. As caseworkers, weknow how rare it is for a seventeenyear old to truly believe that a familywill be found for him.

While doing child specificrecruitment (CSR) with Sheldon, hegave me a list of things he waslooking for in a family. I started all

my usual CSR activities: registeringhim with PAE, creating a flier,having Sheldon create a PowerPointpresentation and preparing for theSWAN matching dessert held at the2005 North American Council onAdoptable Children Conference(NACAC). I spoke with hiscaseworker, Miranda Sisolak ofLehigh County Children and YouthServices, who stated that a familywas interested in learning more aboutSheldon and could I please follow upwith that family. I spoke with thefamily’s caseworker and gave themmore information on Sheldon and thefamily wanted to continue with thepossible match. The family traveledfrom Philadelphia to Pittsburgh forthe NACAC conference andspecifically the matching dessert. Ispoke with the family there and theytalked to me about his PowerPointpresentation that he had completedwith me. They stated that hispresentation is what really drew themin because it was Sheldon talkingabout what he wanted.

After the NACAC conference,movement happened very quickly.We exchanged profiles and set up aninterview. Immediately after theinterview, we knew this was thefamily for Sheldon. We set up a visitbetween the family and Sheldon andthe rest is pretty much history. Theyhad a few visits and they all felt itwas right from the beginning.Sheldon moved in with Lloyd andDoug in October of 2005 and thefamily really adjusted to one anotherand got comfortable. Sheldon wasadopted on May 26, 2006, twomonths before his eighteenthbirthday. This story has truly beenremarkable and it was wonderful tobe a part of the team that made itpossible. When it works out so well,it gives you a renewed drive tocontinue the work we do so that allof Pennsylvania’s waiting childrenwill have a success story likeSheldon’s.

SHELDON’S STORYby Sheila Hill, Child Specific Recruitment Specialist,Three Rivers Adoption Council

SuccessStory

Shorter family accepts their award and pose with Valerie Pritchett,abc27 news anchor.

Shorter family enjoys their meal at the Permanency ConferenceRecognition Banquet.

10

The Pennsylvania State Foster ParentAssociation (PSFPA) has moved and isnow located at Diakon/FDR. We arevery excited to be in our new locationand to be working with a positive andsupportive group of people. We are allhere to help better the lives of thechildren and families in theCommonwealth and I can’t think of abetter way to create “LifetimeConnections” for these children thanthrough teamwork.

Recently, PSFPA held our 30th AnnualConference, on Oct. 19th - 21st at theHoliday Inn in Grantville. This year’stheme was “There’s No Place Like

Home” and the opening keynotespeaker was Lee Marshall. Ms.Marshall is from Alabama where she isthe founder of Kids to Love. The Kidsto Love Foundation is a non-profitcharitable organization that raisesmoney for foster children in Alabama.Ms. Marshall is also an Emmynominated journalist who also has apassion for music. Ms. Marshall haswritten several songs dealing with fostercare and adoption. For moreinformation about Ms. Marshall, hermusic or Kids to Love visit her Websites at www.kidstolove.org andwww.leemarshallmusic.com.

During this year’s award dinner, held on the evening of Oct. 20th, the followingwere recognized and received awards:

Foster Parent of the YearJoe and Nancy Mulraney

Agency of the YearClinton County Children and Youth Services

Foster Parent Association of the YearLancaster County Foster Parent Association

Caseworker of the YearMary Jo Cline Szewczyk, Erie County Children and Youth Services

Community PartnershipLamar Station, Pennsylvania State Police

Executive’s Director’s AwardShelly Brown, Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries in partnership with FamilyDesign Resources

President’s AwardsSandy Lancaster, for 7 years of service as PSFPA board member and a fosterand adoptive parent.

Charles and Pat Feaster, for more than 30 years of service as a foster andadoptive family and to PSFPA.

Barbara Holtan brought the conference to a close. Ms. Holtan has workedprofessionally in the adoption field since 1980 and is currently the executivedirector of AdoptUSKids. Mrs. Holtan has appeared on Nightline with TedKoppel, Good Morning America and 48 hours.

Pennsylvania StateFoster ParentAssociation Updatesby Kathy Ramper, Executive Director, PSFPA

PSFPA

Jorge is a bright, happy, young manwith a great sense of humor. Heenjoys swimming, boating, playingbasketball, video games and beingoutdoors. He likes living in thecountry and hopes to find his dreamfamily living in a rural setting.Jorge loves riding dirt bikes andwould like to own one some day.He is currently taking karate lessonsand loves them. Jorge is hoping tofind a family who will be open tohim having contact with his oldersister who was already adopted.

All families will be considered forJorge. He is legally free foradoption. Families who areinterested in making Jorge part oftheir family may contact thePennsylvania Adoption Exchange at1-800-227-0225. When contactingthe Exchange, please refer toJorge’s PAE identification number,8695.

Pennsylvania’s

Waiting Childrenby Denise Maxwell, Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange Coordinator, Diakon/FDR

Meet Jorge!

theideaexchange

11

The Statewide Adoption andPermanency Network (SWAN)and Independent Living (IL)Summer Statewide Meeting washeld on Tuesday, July 11th, andWednesday, July 12th, 2006 at theHoliday Inn East in Harrisburg.During the two day meeting, morethan 400 participants were able tonetwork with colleagues andattend some dynamic sessions.

Tuesday afternoon, Jane Johnston,Pennsylvania Adoption Exchangedivision manager, Diakon/FDR,moderated a session, “FindingPermanent Connections forAdolescents in Foster Care.”Helping youth develop and sustainpermanent connections is animportant component for anychild, but particularly for thosewho are currently in IL programsor any who will age out ofsubstitute care, to help themprepare for adult life. Speakingon the program were AlysheaSantos, a youth intern at thePennsylvania Child WelfareTraining Program; Justin Lee,Independent Living Specialist atthe CWTP; Pam Wagner fromSWAN; Annissa Cameron fromthe Legal Services Initiative inDelaware County; and TheresaPolvinale from Adams CountyChildren and Youth Services.

Other highlights were Wednesdaypresentations from AngeloSantore, the IL State GrantAdministrator at the Office ofChildren, Youth and Families(OCYF). Angelo spoke about thedraft IL Services Bulletin; thedraft IL Practice Standardsguidelines and otherchanges/updates at OCYF.

Todd Lloyd, Steve Eidson andJustin Lee provided training andupdates for workers who weregoing to attend the PennsylvaniaIL Youth Retreat at Penn StateMont Alto on Aug. 7th-11th. Thisyear’s theme was “Eye of theStorm” and highlights includedJohn Foppe as the banquetspeaker, trip to the GettysburgBattlefield and “An Aging Out”panel from former youth insubstitute care in Pennsylvania.

The IL/SWAN Summer Statewidemeeting concluded with apresentation from Dr. ClaudiaMincemoyer and Dr. Natalie Ferryfrom the Pennsylvania StateUniversity 4-H state officesregarding the “Get in the Act:Workforce Skills Curriculum forYouth” and “Teens as VolunteerLeaders” programs, which are twoof the many initiatives that 4-Hand Cooperative Extension offer.Other resources and curriculainclude: Moving Ahead, a trainingprogram for youth workers; MyLeadership Portfolio; Say Yes toYouth Engagement Strategies; andGet Ready! Get Set! Get a Job!Dr. Mincemoyer stated that 4-Hand Cooperative Extension arelooking for ways to reach moreyouth and are interested inworking with youth in care. 4-Hresources are available for ILprograms and to other after-schoolservices at a nominal cost of$20.00 per year. For informationon resources and downloadablematerials, you should viewwww.4Hccs.org orwww.4Hafterschool.org.

by Steve Eidson, Independent Living Specialist, University of Pittsburgh, School of Social Work, The Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program

22000066SWAN/ILSummer Statewide

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Lifetime Connectionsby Karen Oldham, Director, SWAN Helpline 1-800-585-7926 (SWAN)

helpline

Do you have a favorite type of tootsie pop? Perhaps itis grape, or orange or cherry. When you pick yourcolor from the bag you can close your eyes andanticipate that full wonderful taste of your favoriteflavor. But, just imagine, if the wrappers wereswitched and beneath your beloved cherry wrapperwas the disgusting grape you loathe. Would you feeldoubly cheated? After all you had not only committedyour taste buds to cherry but now had to also settle forgrape. Change and settling are two states that are notmanaged well by the human condition.

Permanency is one of those words that lead newresource families down the “switched tootsie popwrapper” road. Permanency in itself sounds so strong,grounded and traditional. The word permanencyconjures up visions of traditional values, picket fences,holiday photos, high school proms and familymoments. Permanency in traditional families is oftenthat. Permanency for hurt children is rarely any ofthose. The anticipated wonders of permanency areoften incongruent with the reality of the experience.When the “wrapper” is peeled away, permanencyarrangements are often jeopardized. They may survivebut are hindered from thriving. Likewise, the childrenin them survive but rarely thrive. We must clearlyprepare families for the true flavor of permanencyarrangements and clarify the images that permanencymay hold.

Clarification begins with setting realistic goals forresource families. Making a connection is the family’s

goal. That connection may take years. It may beincomplete. It may only happen on holidays. It may bebroken for no reason and then repot itself in the middleof nowhere. It is not predictable but it is essential. Theability to connect, on whatever level for however long,is a lifetime skill. Permanency does not build thatconnection. It simply takes the chaos out of theplaying field.

Resource families build the connection one experienceat a time. The blueprint to prepare each resourcefamily needs to include a strong education in how tobuild connections with children who, for whateverreason, avoid them. The blueprint should includestrategies for building community connections tosupport the family in integrating the child into schools,activities and churches that will expand the plethora ofavailable connecting points for the child. If one childcan connect for one moment just one time, he may beable to repeat it again and again. He may be able tobuild a lifetime of connections but we must realize itmay happen three decades from now!

With strong blueprints, honest expectations, realisticgoals and committed resource families, connectionswill happen for each child. When, where and howmust be left to the powers bigger than all of us. Weshould seek permanency but never loose sight of thegreater power of the connection between human spiritsto heal and support for a lifetime of happiness.

At the Sept. 7, 2006 meeting, SWAN Advisory Members elected Jackie

Wilson, Executive Director of Three Rivers Adoption Council, as

Chairperson and Helen Blair-Shuler of Montgomery County Orphan’s Court

Services, as Vice-Chairperson. Both Jackie and Helen will serve in these

positions for the next two years. Congratulations Jackie and Helen!

SWAN Advisory

Committee

13

The Pennsylvania AdoptionExchange (PAE) and theAdoptUSKids Initiative work withfamilies and agencies who want toadopt - from the first phone callexpressing interest after watchingan AdoptUSKids advertisementthrough the placement of a child inthe home. PAE receives applicationsfrom families and sends suggestedmatches of children to the familiesand their agencies. PAE alsoresponds directly to questions aboutthe status of matches and will oftenreassure families about the processof adopting a child.

The following scenario is fictionalbut represents typical incidents andis intended to help readersunderstand how PAE and theAdoptUSKids Initiative guidefamilies to achieve lifetimeconnections.

Raymond is a father sitting in thetherapist’s office, thinking andtalking about the progress his familyhas made. He remembers the firsttime he saw the televisionadvertisement, “You Don’t Have tobe Perfect to be a Foster orAdoptive Parent.” Now that histeenage son, Maurice, has beenwith him for 10 months, he realizeshow true the advertisement was. Heand Maurice have both struggledand grown significantly during theirtime together.

Ray remembers making that firstcall after seeing the advertisement,being both excited and anxious –what questions should he ask?Would he be hounded by the agencyuntil he agreed to adopt? Could hedo this? Did he make enoughmoney? What about being single?He smiled as he remembered howsilly those concerns proved to be.His first contact was with a veryknowledgeable woman who gavehim all the information he neededand mailed him a packet ofinformation. She was availablewhenever he had a question. Theytalked after he came home fromwork and sometimes on theweekends. She helped him find anagency to do his home study.Because Ray is of Hispanicethnicity, it was important to himthat his agency understood him andhis culture.

Ray, a single Hispanic man, knewthat creating a family in a non-traditional format would not be asimple task. He holds manytraditional beliefs and values. Thetraining to be an adoptive parentwas very helpful, but he still neededsomeone to talk with about thethings that he was learning. Hefound himself calling the woman hefirst spoke with about the adoption.She listened and reassured himabout the process and theinformation he was receiving. Thiswas so new and different to him andhaving a sounding board made thedifference for him betweencontinuing the process and givingup.

In retrospect, Ray could see whyothers told him the hardest part wasthe waiting. The first look at theWeb site www.adoptpakids.orgrevealed so many kids who neededfamilies. He wanted to take them allhome. He was sure he would findhis son immediately but began torealize quickly that there was muchmore to the process than justwanting to be a father and havingan instant family.

Filling out the PAE registrationform was definitely part of hislearning experience. It made himthink about his strengths and aboutwhich challenges he could handleand which he could not. It resultedin some good discussions with hisworker about the children who needfamilies.

Ray remembered the letters fromPAE and how they caused mixedemotions. Ray called the PAEcoordinators who encouraged himto follow up and advocate forhimself as an adoptive parent.Calling the workers, heremembered, gave him a sense thathe had some control of the process.

Looking back, the best advice Raywould give is to take advantage ofall of the potential resources offeredthrough the network. Don’t beafraid to ask questions. Don’t beafraid to advocate for yourself. Goto every matching event and talk tothe county staff who attend. Theseare the people you need to really getto know, because they make thefinal decisions about a child’splacement. He remembered thatmatching events left a strongimpression on him. The thoughts ofthose days flooded back, and heremembered talking to childworkers and seeing the posters ofthe kids who needed families. Hisstrongest memory was of the facesof all those children. Everywherehe looked he saw children who werewaiting. And then he smiled as heremembered one of the pictures –Maurice. He was older than hethought his son would be but therewas something about him.

by Jane Johnston, PAE Division Manager, Diakon/FDR and Sue Zola, NurtureFamily Coordinator, Diakon/FDR

Lifetime Connections Through thePennsylvania Adoption Exchange andPennsylvania’s AdoptUSKids Initiative

theideaexchange

(continued on page 15)

14

Elizabeth is an active young lady whois always on the go. Whether dancing,cheerleading or swimming, she is abundle of energy. Elizabeth alsoenjoys football, basketball, track andfield and working out. When it comesto leisure activities, she lovestraveling and watching movies.

Elizabeth's active lifestyle iscomplemented by healthy eatinghabits. Though she dislikesmushrooms, peas and cooked carrots,Elizabeth enjoys green apples andItalian dishes.

Elizabeth is doing well in school andlikes gym class and writing,

especially stories and poetry. Shedislikes her science and ecologyclasses.

An outgoing girl with a great sense ofhumor, Elizabeth loves making peoplelaugh and revels in being the center ofattention. Her favorite colors arepurple, pink and green. Her counseloraffectionately describes her as “cute.”

This young lady has great aspirationsfor her future. Her plan is to pursue adegree in criminal justice. Elizabeththen hopes to go back to school toachieve her ultimate goal of becominga lawyer. She dreams of somedayhelping other children in the childwelfare system.

Elizabeth would love a family who isinvolved in activities in thecommunity like going to parks,sporting events and the movies. Shewould also like to have pets, but nocats! Elizabeth would thrive with afamily who showers her with love andattention while offering support,structure and caring for her needs.

All families will be considered forElizabeth. She is legally free foradoption. Her PAE ID number is10348. For more information onElizabeth, contact the PennsylvaniaAdoption Exchange at 800-227-0225.

Pennsylvania’s Waiting Childrenby Denise Maxwell, Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange Coordinator, Diakon/FDR

Meet Elizabeth!

theideaexchange

He and Maurice talked with thetherapist about the waiting. Mauricewas frightened, afraid of beingrejected but knowing that he wanteda family. He said he thought no onewould want him, really want him.They talked with the therapist aboutall the homes he had been in and left.The moves convinced Maurice heshould avoid getting connected toothers. He said he believed 15 wasthe right age to give up hope.

Then he heard about a man who hadasked about him at a matching event.Both Maurice and Ray talked aboutthe challenges of becoming a family.The process was difficult, but thegood times got them through thetough times – and the support theygot from the professionals and otheradoptive families helped them to

continue to have hope. The therapisthelped them to see that they bothwanted and needed each other andthat sticking with it was important.Ray shivered as he thought about thefinalization hearing scheduled forthis week.

Ray chuckled to himself when heremembered that first advertisement.No, you don’t have to be perfect, butyou do have to be flexible andcommitted - and a sense of humordoesn’t hurt.

• In federal fiscal year 2005 (Oct. 1,2004 through Sept. 30, 2005),2,065 adoptions occurred inPennsylvania’s child welfaresystem.

• Of these finalizations, 349 werechildren registered with PAE.

• 14 children were placed in homesthat began with a call throughPennsylvania’s AdoptUSKidsinitiative.

• 69 families are in the process ofcompleting family profiles afterseeing the advertisement forAdoptUSKids.

• Nearly 350 families continue to benurtured by the AdoptUSKidsinitiative as they begin thisadoption process.

(continued from page 14)

15

Pennsylvania’s Statewide Adoption and

Permanency Network (SWAN) and

Pennsylvania Independent Living (IL)

Services accepted two National Awards

on November 28th in Washington D.C.

in celebration of National Adoption

Month. SWAN and IL were nominated

and selected to receive a 2006 Adoption

Excellence Award in the category

Increased Adoptions of Older Children.

SWAN was also nominated and selected

to receive an award in the category

Support for Adoptive Families. These

awards are presented by the United

States Department of Health and Human

Services (HHS) and were established to

recognize outstanding accomplishments

in achieving permanency for America’s

children waiting in foster care.

Pennsylvania received TWO National Adoption Excellence Awards!

The Independent Living (IL) Project is pleased toannounce that Justin Lee, formerly the interimexecutive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters inMontgomery County, has joined the staff at the ChildWelfare Training Program. Justin worked at BigBrothers Big Sisters for five years and was the ILcoordinator, supportive housing director and directorof development during his tenure. He’s been active inthe development of the Youth Advisory Board processin the state and has been a member of the steeringcommittee for the Pennsylvania IL Youth Retreat.

Please welcome Justin in his new role at theUniversity of Pittsburgh and the IL Project!

Justin Lee JoinsIndependent Living Project Staff

compiled by Carrie Keiser, Program Specialist, SWAN/OCYF

aroundthestate

Congratulations to Pennsylvania on receiving anAdoption Incentive Award for increasing the numberof adoptions for fiscal year 2005 above your target.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) recognized Pennsylvania for achieving arecord number of finalizations, 2,065, in 2005. TheDepartment of Public Welfare, Office of Children,Youth and Families will be adding these funds to themedia contract to purchase additional air time for ournew recruitment commercials targeting foster andadoptive families.

Adoption Bonus Incentive

Phyllis Stevens, Executive Director of Together AsAdoption Parents, Inc., represented Pennsylvania when she accepted a Voice for Adoption award onNovember 14th in Washington D.C. She is therecipient of the Drenda Lakin Continuing Service toAdoptive Families award. This award is given eachyear to honor a state, nonprofit organization, orindividual whose programs provide valuable adoptivefamily support after adoptions are finalized. She wasnominated by SWAN for this award.

Congratulations Phyllis Stevens!

The 15th Annual Pennsylvania PermanencyConference, “United we Stand,” will be held July 11 – 13, 2007, at the Eisenhower ConferenceCenter in Gettysburg, Pa. The conference serves asa forum to educate, train and support participants toprepare children, older youth and families to movethrough the child welfare system towardspermanency. This conference is designed forresource families, kinship care providers, permanentlegal custodians, independent living workers, legalprofessionals, permanency professionals, childwelfare workers and others with a vested interest inproviding permanency services for children andadolescents. We look forward to seeing all of youand the families you serve there!

2007 PermanencyConference

16

Attention workers in the Northeast! WBRE, Channel28, a Wilkes-Barre NBC affiliate, has agreed to partnerwith SWAN for a waiting child segment. The segmentwill be called “A Little Love” and will air Mondaysduring the 5 p.m. newscast. SWAN is very excitedabout adding WBRE as one of our televisionrecruitment partners. To schedule your waitingchildren for a news segment, contact Desiree Weisser at717-772-7011.

Waiting Child Segmentcomes to theNortheast!!

Together as Adoptive Parents (TAP) Inc. hosted a“Blue Balloon” Day in front of a local Wal-Mart. Inorder to bring attention to the more than 1,300 childrenand youth who are in the foster care system inPennsylvania and do not have an identified family,TAP’s goal was to pass out 1,300 blue balloons and atthe end of the day, TAP had passed out more than1,000 balloons.

Together As AdoptiveParents

aroundthestate

The United States Department ofHealth and Human ServicesAdministration for Children andFamilies (ACF) is proposing to addregulations that will create theChafee National Youth in TransitionDatabase (NYTD) that will requirestates to collect and report data toACF on youth who are receivingindependent living services and theoutcomes of certain youth who arein foster care or who age out offoster care. This proposed ruleimplements the data collectionrequirements of the Foster CareIndependence Act of 1999 (PublicLaw 106–169) as incorporated intothe Social Security Act.

DPW/OCYF, as well as many otherstates and national agencies, havecommented on the proposed NYTDregulations. To view a draft of theregulations, please visit:http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-6005.pdf.

National Youth in TransitionDatabase

Radio Disney and Simon Mallsjoined together to present amom-friendly, family-targeted,mall-based event focused onhealth, wellness and safetyissues during the back to schooltime frame (July 29 – Sept 16,2006). The AdoptUSKids'adoption campaign was selectedas one of the featured issues, aswell as two other Ad Councilcampaigns. This unique,interactive experience offered anentertaining approach to healthand wellness discovery. RadioDisney created fun learningexperiences for families throughvarious skits performed by theDisney team in “The Ad CouncilTheater” at more than 80 mallsacross the country. The tourbegan on July 29th. RadioDisney has also made acommitment to support theAdoptUSKids PSA campaignwith donated airtime for ads.

Radio Disney andAdoptUSKids Wonderful news! Families have

been identified for 22 of the 52children featured in thePennsylvania Statewide HeartGallery. The Heart Gallerycontinues to travel throughoutPennsylvania to bring attentionto these amazing children andmotivate prospective parents toadopt.

When the exhibit is in your area,please invite your families tocome and see these incredibleportraits. The exhibit has alreadytraveled to Altoona, Pittsburgh,Harrisburg, Erie, Wilkes-Barreand Philadelphia. For a currentschedule of the exhibit, visitwww.adoptpakids.org.

Pennsylvania Heart Gallery

17

aroundthestate

November National Adoption Month

Check out some of the National Adoption Month Celebrations

� November 1st, Lehigh County celebrated by honoring one family, one child and two professionals by presenting them with

awards during a National Adoption Day ceremony.

� November 14th, Westmoreland County held a matching dessert, which was a collaborative effort between public and private

agencies, and on November 17th, there were 15 finalization ceremonies with an adoption celebration afterwards.

� Three Rivers Adoption Council, located in Pittsburgh, celebrated National Adoption Month in the following ways:

� The Art Installation Shoe Project

The shoe project used children’s shoes to represent waiting children in Allegheny County. Throughout the month of

November you could visit the Children’s Museum, The Discovery Pavilion at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium,

and Oxford Center to see this beautiful piece. ACBA produced a video that will show alongside this art project at each

venue. The video highlighted Dr. Sturdivant, Judge Clark, Dr. Baker of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium and Jane

Warner of the Children’s Museum as they discussed the need for families for waiting children in Allegheny County.

� Which shoe fits you? Education Symposium

In conjunction with the Shoe Project, the Children’s Museum hosted informal talks and information sessions Thursday

afternoons in November. On November 2, 9, & 16, from 2:00-3:30 pm, individuals talked with representatives from

various organizations about the many options for getting involved in a child’s life.

� Heart Gallery

The Heart Gallery returned to the Allegheny Courthouse Rotunda. Throughout November these fabulous photographs of

waiting children were on display along with the video production illuminating the great need for families in Allegheny

County.

� Art Instillation

The Court House also displayed a large installation of artwork made by the children who come through its doors.

� National Adoption Day – November 18

As always National Adoption Day was the highlight of the month. Nearly 100 families had their adoptions finalized.

The bookmobile was on hand at the courthouse, and each child received extra special gifts. Each adopted child received

a large gift bag filled with new, age appropriate toys, books and educational materials. This year the Courts Services for

Children held the first National Adoption Day Gift Drive during the months of September, October and November in an

effort to fill those gift bags to the brim.

SWAN produced a new media campaign designed to recruitadoptive and foster families. Three new televisioncommercials and one new radio commercial were developed.The first television commercial debuted during“A Home forthe Holidays,” sponsored by the Dave Thomas Foundation forAdoption on December 22 at 8:00 p.m. on CBS.

New AdvertisementCampaign for SWAN

18

SavethedateSWAN/IL Winter Statewide Meeting

January 24-25, 2007Penn Stater, State College, Pa.

2007 15th Annual Permanency Conference, “United We Stand”July 11-13, 2007

Eisenhower Conference Center, Gettysburg, Pa.

The Rendell Administration is committed to creating a first-rate public education system, protecting our most

vulnerable citizens and continuing economic investment to support our communities and businesses. To find out more

about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter, visit his Web site at:

www.governor.state.pa.us.

Governor Newsletter

19