POST-ADOPTION SERVICES & SUPPORTS
Delaware offers a wide array of free post-permanency services for families impacted by adoption and permanent guardianship. Children & Families First is proud to be one of the three agencies contracted by the State of Delaware to provide these services. Some of the services available include:
Contact us today to learn more about beginning these transformative services for your family. Kim Sabanayagam, LCSW, can be reached directly via email or 302-319-0207. You can access our Post-Permanency Services brochure here.
We look forward to offering our assistance and support!
Certified Adoption/Post-Permanency Therapy
Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP)
Effective Treatment for Complex Trauma and Attachment Challenges
Children who have experienced neglect, abuse, and multiple caregivers often struggle with dyadic (reciprocal) interaction between a child and parent, which is necessary for overall development. For these children, specialized parenting and treatment is often required.
The goals for children and youth participating in DDP are to develop a more secure pattern of attachment, resolve trauma symptoms, and secure a more permanent connection and relationship with their committed caregiver. The goals for caregivers participating in this intervention are to increase attunement with their child, develop reflective function, use attachment-facilitating parenting approaches, and increase sensitivity.
DDP has proven to be effective with trauma-related challenges often expressed behaviorally such as difficulty trusting adults, impaired affect and behavioral regulation, difficulty with peer relationships, as well as developmental delays in socialization, daily living skills, and communication.
Kim Sabanayagam, LCSW with Children & Families First, is the only active DDP-certified practitioner in Delaware and has over 25 years of professional experience in adoption and working with families in post-permanency including permanent guardianship. More details can be found here.
Case Management
Children & Families First offers comprehensive case management to families including the development of a family plan to ensure accurate identification of immediate needs, connection to appropriate support and resources, and ongoing monitoring to ensure overall family goals are met.
MY LIFE (My Young Life in Foster Care Explained)
The MY LIFE service is implemented using the Darla Henry 3-5-7 Model. Children are affected by the experiences of separation and loss from their birth families, and this loss must be acknowledged and grieved before permanency can be successful. The Model is underscored by the three core values of separation and loss, resilience, and attachment. It is a directional model – always moving towards the decision of relationships in permanence, relying on the belief that a child or youth must do their own work to know their own story. The 3-5-7 Model® is both an approach and a framework. A caseworker will be assigned to guide your youth through the grieving process, heal relationships, and build trust and permanent relationships. The Model recognizes that permanency is a relationship, not a place. A specially trained MY LIFE worker will offer professional support to young people and families to make those decisions themselves through meetings, tools, and activities. The worker will provide caregivers with sensory tools and activities to guide work around issues of separation and loss, identity formation, and relational trauma. This evidence-based home-based practice supports the work of children, youth, and their families in grieving their losses and rebuilding their relationships toward the goals of well-being, safety, and permanency.
Monthly ZOOM Networking and Training Opportunities
Join us on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 6 to 8 PM EST via Zoom.
https://cffde-org.zoom.us/j/98189965172?pwd=RnNyRFY4aXNQVHp4ZEV6ZUExbk9rZz09
Meeting ID: 981 8996 5172
Passcode: 956283
In addition to opportunities to network with families who share similar experiences to yours, you will have the opportunity to hear from national experts who embrace and share solutions to many of the challenges our families face.
Referrals for Functional Family Therapy (FFT)
Functional Family Therapy is an intensive, short-term intervention/prevention program offering in-home family counseling designed specifically to address challenges from a relational/family-based perspective.an intensive, short-term intervention/prevention program offering in-home family counseling designed specifically to address challenges from a relational/family-based perspective.