Anonymous submission 12

3.2

1. PROVIDE/FUND/ARRANGE SUPPORT GROUPS, either virtual or face-to-face for parents of children adopted at older ages and/or who have suffered trauma. The parenting challenges raised are significantly different and very tough. AT the moment, apart from finding another family somehow with similar circumstances, it is impossible to (a) learn ideas, (b) provide emotional support and (c) learn evidence-based practices which optimise parenting strategies and responses.

2. PROVIDE/ARRANGE/FUND adolescent or older child adoption groups – as an example, my children and I have been to a NSW Domestic Adoption Annual weekend over the past few years and a few years ago, this was a wonderful environment to meet similar families and for my daughters to feel OK that having non-bio parents could actually be “the norm” in this group. However it is not designed for OLDER families nor for the adolescents directly so some kind of group could be helpful for them.

3. ASSIST INTERFACES WITH KEY AGENCIES SUCH AS SCHOOLS Schools have no idea how to deal with children with trauma backgrounds. Some assembling of resources/Tip Sheets would be excellent.

3.3

My daughters have not reached the stage/desire to want to do this. If they do, I think they would value BOTH types of support. One without the other doesn’t seem much help.

3.5

B) FACILITATED WEEKENDS OR DAYS

C) Set up /maintain web portal assembling resources

3.6

outcomes: more secure children with less liklihood of turning to drugs, alchohol or crime as way of relieving anxiety
more skilled parents, able to support their children using best practice and tried and tested parenting techniques