These webpages identify external resources on specific topics of interest to foster, kinship and adoptive families.
Broadcast live on March 18, 2021, this webinar from FFF covered the topics of referral, evaluation and eligibility for special education.
Webinar recording
Getting through the Gate slides
From the Regional Educational Lab (REL) Appalachia Cross-State Collaborative, several resources from Spring 2020 on Addressing Student and Educator Trauma.
Menu of Trauma Informed Programs for Schools
Common Trauma Symptoms and Strategies for Educators
Resources on Addressing Student and Educator Trauma from REL Appalachia
From PEATC, several booklet guides from the Transition to Adulthood Series.
Is Guardianship My Only Option? – This short 16-page guide reviews guardianship arrangements for adults with disabilities and presents options for supported decision making.
Supported Decision-Making in Special Education Programs – This guide reviews options for supported decision making in schools, related to special education planning and services.
Is Guardianship My Only Option?
Supported Decision Making in Special Education
From the US Administration for Community Living and the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Advisory Group, a compilation of resources for kinship care families.
From the Family Engagement Network, convened by Virginia Department of Education. FFF participates in the Family Engagement Network.
Broadcast live on December 7, 2020, this webinar from FFF’s Beth Spivack and Kelly Henderson, offers suggestions for managing holiday stressors in foster, adoptive and kinship families.
Webinar recording
Presentation slides handout
From Generations United, updated in 2021.
This chart is designed to help kinship foster parents compare adoption and transfer of legal custody as two options that kin caregivers and the children in their care can pursue to exit foster care and create permanent families. In Virginia, children can exit foster care with their kin caregiver through adoption or transfer of legal custody.
Presented live on November 18, 2020 by Wendy Wegman from Tourette Association of America. This 6th webinar in Formed Families Forward’s Facing Fall series covered prevalence and characteristics of Tourette Syndrome and other tic disorders. She shared information about co-occurring disorders including ADHD, OCD and other mental health conditions. Ms. Wegman also covered strategies for accommodating special needs during virtual learning.
Webinar recording
Session handout
Webinar presentation slides
This white paper explores current barriers, evidence for the benefits of kinship care, historical information on the foster care system, best practices and principles, and highlights the kinship work currently being done at UMFS. It addresses Virginia-specific barriers to kinship care.
From July 2020, this report examines (1) what is known about the numbers of grandparents and other kin serving as primary caregivers for children, and the reasons for that care; (2) challenges kin caregivers face and how officials report addressing them in selected communities; and (3) the extent to which HHS has supported states’ efforts to use relevant federal programs and initiatives.
GAO analyzed U.S. Census Bureau survey and HHS administrative data; reviewed relevant literature, federal laws, regulations, guidance, and other documents; and interviewed officials from HHS, national organizations, and in four states (Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, and Ohio) and communities, selected for their relatively large numbers of grandparent caregivers and to reflect geographic and demographic diversity.
GAO Report
This fillable Word document can be used to create and customize a written agreement between student, parent/caregiver, and school staff. Customize areas and actions and clarify recognitions and rewards.
This brief explains questions asked on the US Census American Community Survey about grandparents as caregivers. Data from 2018 is shared.
From JFS Connecting Hearts, this 25 minute video reviews the basics of kinship care in Virginia, including Family First Act implementation.
Video link
This one pager from the Northern Virginia Family Network offers suggestions to families who collaborate with team members from agencies, schools and other organizations.
Fact Sheet
This episode addresses positive behavioral supports at home, and how they can be used during virtual learning.
Onward podcast: Positive Behavioral Supports at Home
The 2nd episode of Onward: The FFF Podcast is focused on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, featuring father Joe Daum and FFF director Kelly Henderson.
Podcast, Episode 2
Find the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission’s December 4, 2020 report on K-12 Special Education HERE.
Find the December 14, 2020 presentation to the Commission HERE.
Find State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Virginia Department of Education response, December 14, 2020 HERE.
Background:
In 2018, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) directed its staff to review Virginia’s K–12 special education system. Staff were directed to review school divisions’ identification and eligibility determination processes; the processes used to determine where students with disabilities will receive their education; student outcomes; the adequacy of training and expertise in special education across school divisions; the effectiveness of the Virginia Department of Education’s (VDOE) monitoring, guidance, and support; and spending trends in special education. (See Appendix A for the study resolution.)
To address the mandate, JLARC staff analyzed student- and state-level data on the enrollment, placements, discipline, and outcomes of students receiving special education, data on state and local spending on special education services, and data related to VDOE’s monitoring efforts. Staff interviewed school division special education directors, special education teachers, VDOE staff, parents, advocates, staff from education agencies in other states, and other stakeholders, including special education experts at Virginia’s special education Training and Technical Assistance Centers. JLARC staff also surveyed school division special education directors and parents of students receiving special education services and reviewed research literature on topics related to special education.
Slides from a presentation by therapist Melanie Kantor, hosted by Formed Families Forward October 3, 2019.
From the Virginia Department of Education
This publication was developed to help parents understand their rights and responsibilities, their child’s rights and the school’s responsibilities to meet the special needs of their child. The guide includes a description of the special education process and what is required of you and the school during each step of that process. Important timelines are highlighted in each section.
Parent's Guide in English, PDF
Parent's Guide in Spanish, PDF
Parent's Guide in ePUB version for mobile
A column from Heidi Redlich Epstein, director of Kinship Policy and director of State Projects at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law.
Legal Issues column