building relationships with parent-led-attachment Strategies
I began my professional career in adoption almost thirty years ago with Child Protective Services. I have served as a senior administrator in the field of adoption since 2001. I have had the fortunate opportunity to focus my professional development on helping children that could not get back to their family, leave foster care via adoption. As a social worker in adoption or as an administrator I have helped over 2000 children achieve permanency in adoption.
Al is the founder and CEO of the Adoption Training Academy. Established in 2006, the Adoption Training Academy has trained over 800 social workers to conduct Special Needs Adoptions in Texas. The two day (16 hour) seminar is described as a Trauma-Informed and Trust-Based-Parenting approach of ensuring sound practices in Child Welfare adoptions. It was developed to meet the training requirements for Case Managers, Supervisors, and Administrators providing adoption services to children in DFPS conservatorship.
The curriculum reviews the content and process for matching, case file review by staff and adoptive parents. It includes activities to promote parent-led-attachment, identifying unmet needs driving emotional dysregulation, forecasting behavior challenges, and preferred responses by the adoptive parent. The content and process work to support sound, well planned, and properly supported adoptive placements.
In 2014 the official Forecast was upgraded to include Trauma-Informed and Trust-Based-Parenting strategies with each parent identifying their specific attachment activities for the child. We identified this as Parent-Led-Attachment. We also implement the parent's self-identified preferred response to problematic behaviors.