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
www.formedfamiliesforward.org
What is the big deal?
• Many children who are joined to their families
through adoption and foster care are happy, welladjusted 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 703-539-2904
www.formedfamiliesforward.org
info@formedfamiliesforward.org
Dr. Kelly Henderson, Executive Director