Formed Families Forward's mission is to improve developmental, educational, social, emotional and post-secondary outcomes for children and youth with disabilities and other special needs through provision of information, training and support to adoptive and foster parents, and kinship caregivers.

Who we are… We provide training and direct support to foster, adoptive and kinship families in northern Virginia who are raising children and youth with special educational needs. We do this through: In-person trainings (we sponsor and we come to you!) Webinars Fact sheets and other resources (ex., Mental Health Needs in Formed Families fact sheet under Resources tab) Direct support- calls and meetings Connecting families to resources

What is the big deal? Many children who are joined to their families through adoption and foster care are happy, well- adjusted and achieve well. But many (a high proportion) have significant needs that impact their development and school success. Hard to get a full picture, but generally children in foster, adoptive and kinship homes are identified with disabilities or other special needs at three to four times the rate of others.

Some examples: One study found that while 1-2% of the student population was adopted, about 6% identified with learning disabilities were adopted and 7.2% with emotional disorders were adopted (Brodzinsky & Steiger, 2001). 12% of children age 5-17 who were adopted had at least one disability; 5% of biological children (US Census, Kreider, Oct 2003) 30-40% of foster children and youth have IEPs, likely an underestimate of all those with disabilities eligible for services (Geenen & Powers, 2006)

More examples: Children who were involved with child protective services who were in out-of-home care are disproportionately more likely to be identified with an “emotional disorder” classification in school than students for whom there were no substantiated reports of maltreatment (Smithgall et al, 2004). Foster youth are 2.5 to 3.5 times as likely than their non-foster peers to receive special education services (National Working Group on Foster Care and Education, 2014)

Upcoming Trainings and Events February 19, next meeting of Stronger Together youth & young adult support group (caregivers meet same time); 2 x month, in Fairfax March 7, Session on trauma and formed families at the Fairfax County Public Schools Special Education Conference, Hayfield Secondary School March 10, Dude Where’s My Transition Plan? Workshop for youth and caregivers, FFF offices, Fairfax March 21, exhibit at Prince William Co Schools Transition Fair, Manassas April 11 Spring Forward Family Fun day, James Lee Community Center, Falls Church, co-sponsored with FACES of Va Families

Formed Families Forward Contact us at Dr. Kelly Henderson, Executive Director