Gladney University… my personal FAVORITE educational opportunity we provide at Gladney, but maybe I am biased. 😊

I get the privilege of speaking with expert presenters from around the world who speak on various topics within the child welfare spectrum.

This weekend another human trafficking story played out on the news. More than three dozen children were rescued across the state of Georgia during a human trafficking bust that involved state and federal agents. The team dubbed the case “Operation Not Forgotten”.

During the last few months, the Gladney Team has been challenged to find new ways to continue to provide premier adoption education and training to our clients and community. One of these trainings includes Pathways.  This is a two-day training program offered in person at Gladney's Fort Worth campus. This training is facilitated by our clinical Post Adoption team and is designed to prepare and empower adoptive parents with new insights and research-based treatment models on how to engage children from hard places.

But what about the children?

Tonight after laying my little ones down for bed I scrolled Facebook and found the news story that I’ve been anticipating. Child Abuse Numbers are Skyrocketing.

I don’t know about you but I am parenting a “feeler”. What I mean by this is that he is keenly aware of any change in routine, behavior, and feeds off it. Meaning it is my job to be his internal regulator by calming my own chaos. Through our families' decision to practice social distancing and being aware about COVID-19, I have had to practice my own internal regulation in order to be able to guide my child through this time. When he asks big questions like “why can’t I go to school, play at the park, or see grandpa”. I have found pause with how to answer him.

What a whirlwind of a week! Last Friday seems like a lifetime ago—so much has changed, and the amount of uncertainty and uneasiness is amplified times a thousand.  On Monday, Gladney made the decision to close its campus to outside visitors for the immediate future due to the COVID-19 virus.  Outside events on our campus were cancelled or postponed, and only essential personnel or vendors are currently allowed on campus to ensure the safety of our community.  If able, employees are to work from home.  Our CEO, Mark Melson, shared a video encouraging us that although things will look very different for the time being, business as usual will try to continue as much as possible.

Yesterday, Gladney University participants had the pleasure of hearing from Lauren Labeth, LCSW, about Theraplay® and how she uses this in her practice with families.  Lauren gave a quick overview of Theraplay® and why this mode of treatment is beneficial for all families looking to build a deeper connection with their children.  Along with building a connection with others, we learned that play is used to promote the creation of new neural connections, learn social skills, and test situations in a safe environment.  For children that have experienced trauma or diagnosed with a developmental delay, play is crucial for  brain development and relationship building. 

As Gladney’s staff reviews a case file for a child who has been in the Foster Care System we see that the average child in foster care has moved on average about 8 times before they find permanency through adoption.

Many hopeful parents pick up the phone each day and call Gladney to begin their adoption journey. On the list of pre-planned questions they likely jot down prior to the call comes the question “what about drugs and alcohol exposure?”. This is a hard, honest and vulnerable question for almost every parent who is interested in adopting.

Last week, the AdoptED team gave a presentation for a Gladney University event to inform parents, teachers, administrators, and other professionals about our AdoptED School Program. The presentation was packed with information and gave attendees a chance to see how the team is informing high schoolers about adoption.