Gladney Blog

As we shared in the 2019 Gladney Annual Report, Gladney transitioned the purpose of our residential home to be the Gladney Home for foster youth, serving girls between the ages of 11 and 17 who are seeking permanency through adoption. Our current referral partners are Child Protective Services, Our Community Our Kids (CPS Foster Care Region 3B - North Texas), Family Tapestry (CPS Region 8 - Bexar County), and 2INgage (CPS Region 2 - Northwest Texas).

Topics: Texas Foster Children, Gladney Home, Development, Annual Report

As you may know, the Gladney Home is housing teenage girls currently in foster care. Like most, we are now on an extended spring break and practicing social distancing. This can be challenging, not only with little kids at home, but older kids as well. To avoid the lure of constant Netflix, iPhones, and screen time, here are some things that we have been doing to break up the day and keep everyone entertained.

Topics: Texas Foster Children, Mindful Parenting, Gladney Home, Social Distancing

When Gladney announced the exciting news about The Gladney Home last year, we knew we wanted to provide our live-in clients with a homelike family feel. Having a living place for 15 teenage girls can seem chaotic and overwhelming in the best of times so we were thrilled when The Container Store and The Organized Nest stepped in to help.

Topics: Texas Foster Children, Community Partner, Gladney Home

Have you heard the wonderful news?! The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services announced that "new state figures show more children are leaving foster care for safe, permanent homes than are entering the child welfare system, as adoptions surged past 6,000 for the first time."

Topics: Texas Foster Children, Foster Care System

Sometimes life is out of our control. When you are a child in Foster Care, that "sometimes" is most of the time. If you came into foster care with a suitcase or bag, it's gone after your first home. The majority of the time, the substitute is black garbage bags to carry your belongings in when you are moved to another home. Close your eyes and visualize your meager belongings stuffed into trash bags.

Topics: Texas Foster Children, Foster Adoption, Foster Care System

A Gladney Adoption Story

“One morning, my caseworker was on the phone telling me there was a family who wanted to adopt me. I remember crying and feeling shocked and excited at the same time. I was surprised a family wanted a seventeen-year-old as a daughter. How is that possible?

After meeting my new parents, I opened up a little to them and talked about some of my past, which was sorta shocking because I rarely ever tell anyone about it. Something in my heart told me I could trust them. As part of one of our visits, we went to see the movie Tomb Raider, and that’s how I came up with my new name: Lara. That was the name of the main character in the movie; and she was strong, incredibly brave, and also very adventurous.

Topics: Texas Foster Children, Foster Adoption, New Beginnings, Adoption Stories, Success Stories

If you are thinking about becoming a foster family or adopting a child from the Texas State Foster System, you will need to attend an information meeting in your area where you can discuss the scope and requirements of being a foster or adoptive parent.

Topics: Texas Foster Children, Foster Adoption

Families or individuals interested in learning more about the process to foster or adopt from the Texas State Foster Care System are invited to a Free Adoption Expo on April 7, 2018. The Expo will be held from 1 p.m. til 4 p.m.

Topics: Adoption, Texas Foster Children, Foster Adoption, New Beginnings

As Gladney continues to focus on the Texas foster children, I believe others might benefit from reading the article by Brandon Logan, J.D., CWLS, entitled “The Community-Based Solution for Texas Foster Children”.  The article provides helpful information to anyone trying to better understand it.

If you are interested in learning more about how to adopt a child in Texas Foster care, please check out Gladney's New Beginnings Program.

Topics: Suggested Reading, Texas Foster Children, Foster Adoption, New Beginnings