The training will be offered to families who have or are planning to adopt a child with special needs and to professionals who work with such families. It will focus on enhancing understanding and awareness of attachment issues and of the developmental stages that children experience during and after adoption.
"Problems with attachment are among the major causes of adoption disruptions," said Judy Moore, project director. "The goal of this training is to promote knowledge of these issues and to give these families the skills and support they need to weather the challenges they may face." Moore is the Director of the Banyan Family Center in the Institute's Department of Child and Family Studies.
The program will consist of three days of training; each targeted toward a different audience and objective, with the overall goal of promoting successful adoptions. Day one will be a community forum for adoption professionals who will address ways in which the community is serving the needs of adoptive families and identify strategies to improve those services. Day two will provide training for therapists and other service providers on issues such as attachment, developmental stages of adoption, and normal crises in adoptive families. The third day will be for adoptive or pre-adoptive families and will focus on strategies for developing healthy family relationships and promoting long term adoption success.
The training, to be conducted this summer, will take place at eight locations across the state. They include Navarre/Pensacola, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Orlando, Miami/Dade, Lakeland, and West Palm Beach/Fort Lauderdale.
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