A Day in the Life of a Gladney Intern

This week I had the chance to take part in a variety of the aspects that makes Gladney a wonderful and successful agency. On Tuesday I got to attend a court hearing with Heidi Bruegel Cox . The hearing concerned a family who was doing a  CPS adoption through Gladney of 5 year-old and 7 year-old brothers. Three months after the boys had been placed in their home, the parents felt that the aggressive nature of the older child posed a threat to the younger child and felt that for the safety of both children, it would be best to adopt only the younger child at this time. CPS removed the children from the home once the request for separation was made. The court hearing was petitioning the adoption of just the younger child at this point. The case has not yet concluded and will continue next month, but I already learned so much from attending the hearing. Both sides of the case do believe they are protecting the best interests of the children and everyone’s hearts are in the right...

This week I went to Austin with Heidi Bruegel Cox for a two-day meeting of the Adoption Review Committee , which was appointed by the governor. The Committee is charged with identifying barriers to adopting out of foster care and creating legislative proposals to overcome those obstacles so that children in the foster care system can find permanency more quickly. On Wednesday the Committee heard testimony from individuals and families who had fostered or sought to adopt children from CPS ( Child Protective Services ) but felt that CPS created barriers to the adoption that was damaging to their family and to the children. A common theme throughout their testimonies was that the current foster care reimbursement system disincentivizes adoption. Parents who had been fostering medically fragile children – some of whom suffered from degenerative conditions that weaken and deteriorate their bodies and who required treatment from multiple specialists – find themselves financially unable to a...

I have LOVED getting to work at Gladney ! Heidi Bruegel Cox (whom I work with in Legal) is good about making this a two-way experience in which I learn from and about Gladney as much as I work for Gladney. I've had the chance to go with Heidi to a local hospital and listen to her present to the current resident class of OB-GYNs about the adoption services Gladney could offer their clients. The best part of my experience thus far was attending Adoptive Parent Orientation. It was amazing! Couples came to learn about the next steps in the adoption process and have all their questions answered. It was wonderful to hear from three birth-moms about their journeys - they are all so sweet, bright and thoughtful. My big project for the summer is researching the cost associated with state adoptions and with children leaving the foster care system. I have spent the first half of this week looking into the costs associated with future homelessness of youth who age out of foster care - i...