Two Training Activities to Help You Share
An Expanded Definition Of Permanency
Written on Our Hearts:
Instructions:
1.
Share the following three different ways that foster care youth defined permanency when asked by the
Urban Institute and California Youth Connection (referenced earlier in this article). While reading the third
definition, hold up a permanent marker and a piece of paper.
“Permanency is place to stay until you age out.”
“No, permanency is more than a place to live. It’s a feeling of connection.”
“Permanency is like a permanent marker. If you draw on the paper, that mark ain’t going
nowhere. The paper may go somewhere or it could be picked up, but the mark ain’t going
nowhere.”
2.
Write the first letter of your name on the piece of paper, crumple it up and throw it to a workshop
participant, after offering a verbal cue. Guide the actions of participants as follows: "I could throw this to
Joe. He could throw this to Jane. She could hand it to Jeremy. But, when Jeremy opens up that piece of
paper, that permanent mark is still there."
3.
Clarify the purpose of this activity: "Think back to the people who have written a permanent mark on your
life. Not all of them were connected to you by birth. They might not have shared the same traditions or
religion but, they are written on your heart in indelible ink, regardless."
Youth-Centered Permanency:
Instructions:
1.
Invite participants to make two lists. One would indicate people from their past who were important to
them, including teachers, coaches and neighbors. Another would indicate people from their past,
including members of their family with whom they might prefer limited or no contact. Participants can
choose to share certain items from their list with the group-at-large.
2.
Have participants consider records that might exist from their childhood – school, medical, summer
camps, etc. Would any of these records be able to identify the people on either list? Ask them to consider
how they would feel if you forced them to meet with someone on their “limited/no contact” list.
3.
Clarify the purpose of this activity: When social workers begin to track down people of importance in a
young person's life, in the pursuit of permanency, youth voice is central to this process. Youth can tell you
who they felt connected to in the past, often providing valuable insights that are absent from the case file.
The young person can also identify peers, relatives or adults in their life with whom they do not wish to
renew contact. These insights should be taken under advisement and not minimized.
Note: Activities developed by Lisa Dickson, Communications Chair, Ohio Chapter, Foster Care Alumni of America [email protected]