Since the beginning of September 2006 a lot of agencies requested a free evaluation of our new course
JSBG2 - Adopting older children internationally: making a decision and coping with post-adoption difficulties. We received positive responses and questions, which are very important in light of upcoming ratification of Hague regulations that will govern the entire adoptive process. We believe it can benefit every prospective parent to familiarize with Hague requirements for their pre-adoption training; the article will also give definitive answers about the BGCenter Online School course to the agencies that are looking for the providers of such training.
The questions are: "Which parts of the Hague regulations for adoptive parents' training are covered in the course and how much time approximately you allocate in our curriculum for these parts?"
Below is the text of the regulations (Sec. 96.48) with my comments right in the text, printed in blue. In general, we tried to cover all psycho-educational aspects of preparation (that's where our expertise is) and did not address the logistics of inter-country adoption process, as well as the details of any individual child's circumstances as being more suitable for the specific adoption agency's coverage.
Sec. 96.48 Preparation and training of prospective adoptive parent(s) in incoming cases
(a) The agency or person provides prospective adoptive parent(s) with
at least ten hours (independent of the home study) of preparation and training, as described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, designed to promote a successful inter-country adoption. The agency or person provides such training before the prospective adoptive parent(s) travel to adopt the child or the child is placed with the prospective adoptive parent(s) for adoption.
Our online training classes are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any Internet-based computer.
Parents can take the course JSBG2 at any time before the adoption process begins. This course alone provides material for about 20 hours of international adoption related studies.
(b) The training provided by the agency or person addresses the following topics:
(1) The inter-country adoption process, the general characteristics and needs of children awaiting adoption, and the in-country conditions that affect children in the Convention country from which the prospective adoptive parent(s) plan to adopt;
The course JSBG2 provides (across the entire curriculum) the description of general characteristics as well as a detailed psycho-educational profile of an internationally adopted institutionalized older child (ages 4 and up). In addition, we devote a separate unit of study to this subject: Unit 1 - Older internationally adopted children as a group. It includes the description of
• Life before institution: the impact of neglect, deprivation, and trauma
• Life in institution: survival skills and behavior
• The consequences: developmental delays in cognitive, language, and academic domains
• The consequences: behavioral issues
• The consequences: emotional and attachment issues
We believe that every aspect of development of an adopted child can be affected by early trauma of abandonment or neglect that most internationally adopted children live through in their early formative years. Thus, every topic of discussion, from parent’s review of personal resources and abilities to cope with adoption issues to the details of everyday life of an adopted child, is based on the specifics of this adopted child’s needs.
Approximate allocated time – 4 hours.
(2) The effects on children of malnutrition, relevant environmental toxins, maternal substance abuse, and of any other known genetic, health, emotional, and developmental risk factors associated with children from the expected country of origin;
This topic is also discussed in Unit 1. (See: Life before institution: the impact of neglect, deprivation, and trauma).
(3) Information about the impact on a child of leaving familiar ties and surroundings, as appropriate to the expected age of the child;
(4) Data on institutionalized children and the impact of institutionalization on children, including the effect on children of the length of time spent in an institution and of the type of care provided in the expected country of origin;
In addition to references of the specifics of institutionalized children found across the entire curriculum, this topic is discussed in detail in Unit 3 - Building the family together and resolving emotional issues, Unit 4 - Managing behavior and building new skills, and Unit 5 - Addressing educational issues, where we look closely at the impact of institutionalization on children’s emotions, behavior and potential educational difficulties and the ways to address them while building the family.
It is shown also that the length of institutionalization has a lesser negative impact on overall child’s adjustment and school readiness as it was previously assumed. The quality of institutional care is more important than the length of institutionalization. It is shown also that most trauma and deprivation may occur in dysfunctional families before institutionalization rather than orphanages with somewhat improved conditions for children.
Approximate allocated time – 10 hours.
(5) Information on attachment disorders and other emotional problems that institutionalized or traumatized children and children with a history of multiple caregivers may experience, before and after their adoption;
A profound role of attachment and the consequences of not having a single trusted caregiver in the early years are explained in the Introduction - How it all begins for a child.
Approximate allocated time – 1 hour.
(6) Information on the laws and adoption processes of the expected country of origin, including foreseeable delays and impediments to finalization of an adoption;
This topic is not covered in our class.
(7) Information on the long-term implications for a family that has become multicultural through inter-country adoption;
This topic is covered mostly in Unit 2 - Making a decision to adopt internationally and Unit 6 - Parental survival skills, though references to it are made across the entire curriculum.
Approximate allocated time – 4 hour.
(8) An explanation of any reporting requirements associated with Convention adoptions, including any post-placement or post-adoption reports required by the expected country of origin.
This topic is not covered in our class.
(c) The agency or person also provides the prospective adoptive parent(s) with training that allows them to be as fully prepared as possible for the adoption of a particular child.
This topic is not covered in our class.
This includes counseling on:
(1) The child's history and cultural, racial, religious, ethnic, and linguistic background;
(2) The known health risks in the specific region or country where the child resides;
(3) Any other medical, social, background, birth history, educational data, developmental history, or any other data known about the particular child.
(d) The agency or person provides such training through appropriate methods, including:
(1) Collaboration among agencies or persons to share resources to meet the training needs of prospective adoptive parents;
(2) Group seminars offered by the agency or person or other agencies or training entities;
(3) Individual counseling sessions;
(4) Video, computer-assisted, or distance learning methods using standardized curricula;
(5) In cases where training cannot otherwise be provided, an extended home study process, with a system for evaluating the thoroughness with which the topics have been covered.
The comment refers to all 5 points of item (d):
• The JSBG2 is an online (computer-based) interactive course developed by the adoption professionals providing both research-based, clinical and hands-on experience: a psychologist - Boris Gindis, Ph.D. and a social worker - Jody Sciortino, LCSW.
• The students can exchange questions and comments between themselves and with the instructors as needed, using email and course discussion board.
• Group seminars are available at the Center for Cognitive-Developmental Assessment and Remediation (Nanuet, New York) for pre-adoption counseling and post-adoption support of internationally adopting parents.
(e) The agency or person provides additional in-person, individualized counseling and preparation, as needed, to meet the needs of the prospective adoptive parent(s) in light of the particular child to be adopted and his or her special needs, and any other training or counseling needed in light of the child background study or the home study.
Individual consultations are available at the Center for Cognitive-Developmental Assessment and Remediation (Nanuet, New York) for pre-adoption counseling and post-adoption support of internationally adopting parents.
(f) The agency or person provides the prospective adoptive parent(s) with information about print, internet, and other resources available for continuing to acquire information about common behavioral, medical, and other issues; connecting with parent support groups, adoption clinics and experts; and seeking appropriate help when needed.
The course JSBG2 provides a separate unit of study on this subject: Unit 7- Professional medical and psychological help for your child, as well as lots of references for further study and support in every discussed topic of the curriculum.
Approximate allocated time – 1 hour.
(g) The agency or person exempts prospective adoptive parent(s) from all or part of the training and preparation that would normally be required for a specific adoption only when the agency or person determines that the prospective adoptive parent(s) have received adequate prior training or have prior experience as parent(s) of children adopted from abroad.
This topic is not covered in our class.
(h) The agency or person records the nature and extent of the training and preparation provided to the prospective adoptive parent(s) in the adoption record.
The course JSBG2 provides a detailed record of the curriculum and the tests taken by a student. The certificate of completion with the recorded school, instructor and participant’s data is awarded and can be printed out by the student on passing the final test.
