Frankie is 14 years old and lives with his sister, brothers, and moms. He and his sister were adopted when they were 2 years old and 4 years old, respectively. He loves spending time with his aunts, uncles, and cousins and loves being part of a big family.

Learn about negotiating boundaries, communication, support, and normalcy from a young person formally in foster care and her adoptive parents.

Explore additional resources for engaging individuals with lived experience as advisors for groups, committees, boards, and more.

Explore strategies to engage individuals with lived experience as advisors for groups, committees, boards, and more. 

Explore additional resources to learn how to accurately and safely collecting data on LGBTQIA2S+ youth and young adults.

Learn strategies for accurately and safely collecting data on LGBTQIA2S+ youth and young adults.

Use this discussion guide with the CWVE 2022 videos to view a description of each topic, access individual reflection questions to facilitate personal, on-demand learning, and explore conversation starters and team activities with child welfare staff and collaborative partners.   

This video is a part of the Empowering Caregivers, Strengthening Families Video Series. It demonstrates key aspects of agency support to caregivers, including the importance of quality personal contact, training, and resources to empower caregivers through the process of moving from foster parenting to adoption.

Learn about quality contacts, why they are important, and how an agency can successfully implement them.

Find family engagement strategies for survivors, children, and perpetrators of domestic violence.

Highlights the beneficial role of agency support and encouragement to caregivers in ensuring effective foster parenting and successful reunification measures. In this video, a foster parent discusses the importance of communication and trust between caregivers and biological family members, along with agency training and resources, for successful reunification.

Learn to facilitate a normalcy conversation and to promote normal and developmentally appropriate experiences for youth in foster care.

Learn about how Jamall reunified with family members and enjoyed family cookouts and holidays with the help of Jennifer and the Family Finder program through Kinnect Ohio.

Exhibits the effect of committed caregivers throughout the process of foster parenting to adoption and demonstrates the power of strong families in promoting positive outcomes and permanency for children. In this video, an adoptive parent shares her reflections on her relationship with her daughter on the day of her adoption.

Highlights some of the factors that motivate caregivers to work through challenges and to provide permanency to children in foster care. In this video, a foster parent discusses lessons learned from fostering over 50 children in her home.