Vol. 3, No. 2 • Spring 1999

Permanence for Teens:
The Ultimate Challenge
by Nancy Carter

For anyone working with teens, living with teens, or
otherwise involved with a teenager, the idea of permanence or stability is misleading. Adolescence is by definition a time of change and growth. Developmentally, adolescents are struggling to identify who they are in the midst of a changing society. Throw in a few foster care or residential placements, and the result is a youth struggling more intensely with the developmental challenges of adolescence and their personal need for control.

No one can argue with the idea that all children deserve a legal, permanent family to call their own. It makes sense. It feels right. However, attempting to find permanence for an adolescent is often in direct conflict with an adolescent�s tasks. Developmentally, adolescents are separating from adults and trying to determine their own identities, their own values, make their own decisions, and ultimately create separation from their families. As teens struggle through this separation, they are scared. The fear is masked in a rebelliousness that is often viewed negatively by adults. The rebellion usually is a rejection of anything adults view as valuable. This is part of the challenge of working with any teenager.

As social workers, foster parents, teachers, policy makers, mentors, etc., who are concerned about the current and future lives of teens, we understand that permanent families can offer youths stability and security. However, helping foster teens (who are experiencing the above challenges) understand the value of permanence is difficult at best.

Last spring a panel of youth addressed the idea of permanence. A foster youth commented on why she should be not adopted, �I already feel like a member of my (foster) family. I�m treated just like their son. To me, I�m their daughter. I don�t need adoption.�

Adolescents are concrete beings and permanence is an abstract idea. How they feel about their current situation will influence their decisions. For many foster youth, previous experiences tell them families are not permanent. Permanency goals usually are adult, agency, or court goals, not teen goals.

How can adults satisfy these goals and at the same time help youth? Several methods can provide assistance in helping youth:

Help teens understand their identity in a concrete way. Life is a puzzle to youth. Life books, scrapbooks, etc., are perfect examples of concrete methods for putting their lives together. Youths benefit by learning how to 1) access information from their past, 2) obtain documents for applications, 3) locate school records, 4) take pictures of people and places from previous placements, 5) visit and reconnect with members of their biological families, etc. Adolescents have complicated questions about their past. For this reason it is crucial to provide them with honest concrete information in a caring manner.

Help youth identify unresolved issues of separation and loss. Those issues impede the process of normal development. Permanence is difficult to achieve when youth have painful historical �baggage.�

Establish a support group for youths exploring adoption. Youths will experience struggles with loyalties and loss. Meeting other youths facing similar issues will help �normalize� their feelings.

Listen to youth. The previously mentioned youth panel consistently told an audience of social workers that goal plans reflected adult plans. Youths need to be actively involved in the process of making decisions and setting goals in relation to their lives. Understanding their idea of permanence is crucial to planning. Youths and adults may want the same thing but understand the situation from different perspectives. Youth will only speak if they trust adults will listen.

Support adolescent issues. Youths can be valuable problem solving assets when they believe adults respect their input.

Even if teens understand the value of permanence and agree to adoption, finding an adoptive home becomes another challenge. Usually adoptive families seek younger children, and adopting an adolescent is a foreign idea. Interventions can assist the process of helping both youth and potential adoptive families:

� Educate families on adolescent development. Many families fight adolescent struggles instead of guiding youths through the maze. Understanding adolescent development can help everyone appreciate and value youths as resources.

� Enlist the support of families who have successfully adopted older youth. They can recruit, educate, and lead support groups.

� Promote and encourage frequent pre-adoptive visits. Youths must be an equal part in the adoptive decision or they will sabotage all interventions.

� Encourage youths to maintain connections to their Independent Living group or other foster care support group after adoption. Losses of any kind will make transitions more difficult.

� Establish a support group of adoptive youth in the area. Teens learn from sharing experiences with peers. Peer support groups can offer youths benefits beyond the intervention of caring adults.

� Support financial incentives to help educate adopted teens.

Even if everything has been done to promote an optimal adolescent adoption, the results may be disappointing. Continued support for the youth and the adoptive family is critical for adoption to succeed.

Implementing reasonable interventions to ensure permanence is important. However, it is not always realistic. Permanency policies written for foster children can be a challenge when applied to older foster youth. Developing new policies that support agency efforts to achieve stability for older, difficult-to-adopt foster teens may be helpful.

The goal of permanence was created so foster youths would not be �forgotten� in the child welfare system. Unfortunately many youths have grown old in the system and, psychosocially, legal permanence is not a realistic alternative. Youths need stability to appropriately tackle developmental tasks. For some the answer is legal permanence. For others, caring adults can provide the stability to help them make the transition to independent living. Taking reasonable steps to secure permanence is critical to ensure youths find stability without becoming lost in the system.

Nancy Carter is a consultant with Durham-based Independent Living Resources. For more information, contact her by phone (800/820-0001) or by e-mail ([email protected]).

Copyright � 2000 Jordan Institute for Families