Project Wait No Longer

Project Wait No Longer is an Older Child Adoption Program of The Barker Foundation, a licensed non-profit adoption agency serving Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia for more than 65 years. Project Wait No Longer aims to find loving and permanent adoptive families for older youth that are currently in the US foster care system. It is our belief that these children deserve the joy, love and stability that comes from a “forever family”. The Barker Foundation, in partnering with public service agencies to combine our resources, is dedicating itself to making a difference in the lives of waiting children. There are thousands of children in our country who are currently awaiting adoption, many, over the age of 10. It is our goal to seek, train and most importantly support the families that are willing to take our waiting children into their hearts and homes forever. We hope that this blog will provide you with general adoption information as well as special insight into the experience of Older Child Adoption. This blog is managed by PWNL's Outreach Coordinator, Surina Amin, MSW. We welcome your questions, comments and resources! To share - please contact Surina at [email protected].

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Barker Has a New Website!

We are very happy to announce that we have just launched Barker’s new website (www.barkeradoptionfoundation.org). The website is designed to provide easy access to information about older child adoption from the foster care system, infant adoption, international adoption, pregnancy counseling and post adoption services. The site also features personal testimonies from birth parents, families, and staff.

With the addition of our new site, PWNL will be now be blogging through Barker’s website. You can follow updated information at http://www.barkeradoptionfoundation.org/blog?field_category_tid=7. We look forward to sharing more information with you about older child adoption.

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The Barker Adoption Foundation is proud to announce that we will be exhibiting at the upcoming Foster Family Treatment Association's Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado. This is a wonderful opportunity for families and professionals to learn more about best practices in the world of foster care & older child adoption. If you plan on attending the conference, please stop by our booth! We look forward to seeing you!

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The Barker Adoption Foundation - Updates

We are excited to announce the launching of The Barker Adoption Foundations new website! The website is expected to launch next week with updated information about the adoption process through the various programs here at Barker. 

We are also excited to announce that the new website will include Project Wait No Longer’s blog! Make sure to follow us at www.barkeradoptionfoundation.org. 

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April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption shares facts about child abuse and the impact it has on children in foster care. To learn more visit: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/

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Did you attend The Barker Adoption Foundation’s 70th Annual Conference? PWNL was proud to host an excellent workshop “Keys to Successful Older Child Adoption” by guest speakers, Christian Shepherd & Lisa Highfield, co-authors of the book The Promise. 

If you were unable to attend the conference, we highly suggests reading “The Promise: The Story of an Adoptive Mother and a Support Worker.” The book helps to prepare families to meet the challenges of raising children of adoption who have been traumatized. 

For more information visit: http://thepromisebook.webs.com/ 

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We are just a few day’s away from The Barker Foundation’s 70th Annual Conference: The Commitment of a Lifetime! Project Wait No Longer is excited to announce a very special breakout session “Keys to Successful Older Child Adoption: The Story of An Adoptive Mother and Support Worker”.

This workshop prepares families to meet the challenges of raising children of adoption who have been traumatized. A key component of this workshop is the concept that parents are the key to a successful adoption, not the children. Parents will be given tools to support and love their children in the process of healing, rather than trying to “fix” them. By presenters: Lisa Highfield and Christen Shepherd. 

Lisa High Field and Christen Shepherd are also authors of the book “The Promise” which is available here: www.thepromisebook.ca. 

To register for the conference please visit the following link: https://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/eventReg?oeidk=a07eacgxisof5960346&oseq=&c=&ch=. 

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Register for this FREE Expert Q&A Webinar: Sound Sleep Strategies for Adoptive Families

Register for this free resource provided by Adoptive Families Magazine -  Expert Q&A Webinar: Sound Sleep Strategies for Adoptive Families. It will be held on March 24th from 1pm to 2pm EDT.

This webinar is designed to explain strategies and answer questions about bedtime routines, night-wakings, co-sleeping and other sleep set-ups, and how to encourage a baby or older child to sleep through the night.

Register by visiting the following link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1403069560905457922 

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From Foster Care To Freshman Year

This story was covered by NPR in early January. It sat at the back of my mind for a few weeks as I thought about my role as an adoption professional. The fact that 20,000 children are aging out of foster care each year continues to fuel my passion to recruit, license and train more pre-adoptive families who are committed to adopting older youth from the foster care system.

You may wonder why is this so important and this story helps to explain the answer to that question.  The outcomes for youth who age out of the foster care system are disturbing.  According to current statistics about 1 in 5 of these youth will become homeless, only 58% will graduate high school, 1 in 4 will be involved negatively with justice system and fewer than 3 percent will earn a college degree by age 25. Despite the fact that there are college resources and various programs for foster children who age out – nothing can replace the support of a permanent, loving family. 

While the number of children adopted from the foster care system continues to rise, finding families open to children ages 10 and up still remains a challenge. These are the children who are at the highest risk for aging out and facing the realities of life after foster care alone. For more information on adopting an older child from the foster care system, please contact me at [email protected]. 

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Family's holiday card goes viral for all the right reasons

Cara and Eric Taylor are dreaming of the perfect fit for their family. The couple began the process of adopting a child from the state...

A friend shared this amazing story with me. The caption of their holiday card "Whichever one fits" really resonated with me because the process of adopting an older child from foster care should not be about age, race, or gender; it should be about finding a child that is a good fit for your family. Our team wishes this family the best of luck as they pursue their dream of building their family through adoption!  

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Our first PRIDE session of 2015 is filling up quickly! If you are considering adopting an older child from the foster care system, register for PRIDE with The Barker Adoption Foundation today! If you have additional questions please contact us at 301-664-9664. 

Register Here: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=6cymg5cab&oeidk=a07ea3jf870e3c1eda7 

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Of course one of the movies I am so excited to see this holiday season is the new ANNIE. I have spoken to several families who have adopted through our program who are also interested in bringing their kids to see the movie.

Some families expressed hesitation of what this could mean for their kids. Would this bring up some heavy issues about the past...foster care, birth family, abandonment? My director sent me over a review of the movie from a blog called "Rage Against The Mini Van" which shared the perspective of an adoptive family who brought their children to see the movie. Take a look the link and share your thoughts!

http://www.rageagainsttheminivan.com/2014/12/what-adoptive-parents-will-want-to-know.html#ixzz3MI800UwC

Have a Happy Holiday from the PWNL Team!

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Is your child struggling with household chores? Listen to this short video for advice about getting your kids to do household chores! Holiday season can be a great time to reinforce the importance of children being more involved in household activities.

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‘I’ve always wanted a place to call home’

Last year PWNL worked tirelessly to recruit a  family for a  teen mother in the DC foster care system. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a good match for this amazing young woman but we all celebrated this week when we learned that she was being adopted! Congratulations to Jamie, her son and their new family!

Please take a look at the article & if you are interested in learning more about adopting older children from the foster care system please contact me at [email protected]. Have a great day! 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/ive-always-wanted-a-place-to-call-home/2014/11/21/29d86f94-70bc-11e4-ad12-3734c461eab6_story.html 

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I had such a great time speaking about Older Child Adoption on The Marty and Katina Show. Check it out by listening on Brite Radio Itunes Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brite-radios-podcast/id937783879?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4. 

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Listen to Project Wait No Longer on BRITE Radio's Podcast - The Marty and Katina Show

A very special THANK YOU to The Marty and Katina show for featuring Project Wait No Longer to discuss older child adoption from the US foster care system for National Adoption Month. 

You can listen to the podcast on Itunes by visiting the link above or by clicking here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/brite-radios-podcast/id937783879?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4.