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Bakersfield, CA 93309 661.323.1233
Aspiranet REACH Kern County
Website Resources
Looking for more information? Click any of these links to find more online resources.
A collection of free lifebook pages to help your child begin their lifebook journey.
This publishing company has numerous foster care and adoption books for children, parents and professionals.
Pact an Adoption Alliance’s Online Store
A multicultural adoption book source with highly reviewed book options categorized by books on parenting, race, transracial adopting, and age groups.
Top Adoption Books and Resources: A Not-To-Be-Missed List of Recommendations
This is an excellent resource for books and DVD’s about adoption, permanency and foster care.
ADOPTION RESOURCES
Helpful resources for individuals throughout the adoption journey; families seeking to adopt, resources for birth parents, parenting adopted children, and resources for adoptees.
Adoption Tax Credit Information
Useful information from the IRS website regarding the Adoption Tax Credit and Adoption Assistance Programs.
Adoption Today and Fostering Families Today Magazine
Excellent magazines that are resources for domestic and international adoptions as well as foster care adoptions.
A magazine written through storytelling – “Storytelling is the world’s oldest and best learning experience. Our storytellers and experts will make you laugh, cry, nod in perfect agreement or howl in protest. They weave provocative experiences into a fabric of diverse adoption perspectives, opinions and advice.”
A comprehensive adoption resource that includes helpful adoption guides, family and parent profiles, photo-listings for foster kids and international orphans waiting and available for adoption, and adoption forums.
The award-winning national adoption magazine, is an adoption information source for families before, during, and after adoption.
The American Adoption Congress (AAC) is an International organization devoted to family connections by providing education for all members of the adoption constellation as well as professionals.
Center for Adoption Support and Education
C.A.S.E. is the national leader in adoption-competent support with foster and adopted children and adults, their families and the network of professionals who assist them. C.A.S.E. also offers monthly webinars to help strengthen families.
Families Stories from AdoptUsKids.org
Families share their personal experience about adoption.
Jayne Schooler’s Blog, The Journeys of Adoption
Adoption author, trainer, and adoptive parent, Jayne Schooler, offers excellent resources for adoptive parents and parents contemplating adoption.
National Center on Adoption and Permanency
A unique “one-stop” organization that provides a broad range of information, resources and multidisciplinary services relating to adoption, foster care and child welfare.
North American Council on Adopted Children
NACAC helps to reform systems, alter viewpoints, and change lives through advocacy, education, adoption support, and leadership development.
The Child Welfare Information Gateway
Provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.
The Donaldson Adoption Institute
A research institute that focuses on improving the lives of families and children touched by adoption.
VFA develops and advocates for improved adoption policies. Recognized as a national leader in special needs adoption, VFA works closely with federal and state legislators to make a difference in the lives of the families who adopt chidlren from foster care.
ATTACHMENT-RELATED SITES
Support for Parents of Attachment Challenged Children
A parenting blog focused on attachment.
Information about Theraplay – a child and family therapy for building and enhancing attachment, self-esteem, trust in others, and joyful engagement.
Trust Based Relational Intervention
TCU Institute of Child Development has developed a program called TBRI® which is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. Visit this website to order DVDs and learn more about the program.
Video – No Anger Zone: Maintaining a Peaceful Emotional Climate in Adoptive Families
Video from the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio which emphasizes fostering connections between adopted children and their parents. This video explores how past trauma can cause adopted children to become angry and how the anger can spread to the rest of the family.
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS
Attachment and Trauma Network, Inc.
ATN is a group that seeks to improve the lives of children impacted by early childhood trauma, abuse and neglect, and prenatal exposures through trauma-informed, attachment-focused therapy and teaching parents therapeutic parenting strategies.
The Child Trauma Academy, a not-for-profit organization based in Houston, Texas, is a unique collaborative of individuals and organizations working to improve the lives of high-risk children through direct service, research and education.
David Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pages
An extensive compilation of articles regarding various types of trauma.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
The mission of the NCTSN is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States.
The International Society For Traumatic Stress Studies
The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies is dedicated to sharing information about the effects of trauma and the discovery and dissemination of knowledge about policy, program and service initiatives that seek to reduce traumatic stressors and their immediate and long-term consequences.
SENSORY PROCESSING RESOURCES
Salt of The Earth Weighted Gear
Specializes in hand-crafted custom weighted blankets, vests, lap pads, shoulder wraps and weighted plush toys.
Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation
The SPD Foundation is a leader in research, education, and awareness for Sensory Processing Disorder.
Sensory Processing Disorder Parent Support
A website developed by the parent of two children diagnosed with SPD that includes helpful resources such as checklists, activities, and book recommendations.
Sensory Stories are a method to allow children with sensory modulation issues – sensory integration disorder, sensory integration dysfunction – to cope with everyday experiences.
Sensory World has a large collection of sensory related books, CDs, and DVDs available for purchase.
A website that accompanies the book, Raising a Sensory Smart Child, by Lindsey Biel. The book is a bestselling book on sensory processing challenges and is filled with practical information and real-life solutions.
A website dedicated to the book, The Out-Of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping With Sensory Processing Disorder, by Carol Kranowitz. The Out-Of-Sync Child was a ground-breaking book that introduced Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) to parents, teachers, and other non-specialists.
Trust Based Relational Intervention
TCU Institute of Child Development has developed a program called TBRI® which is an attachment-based, trauma-informed intervention designed to meet the complex needs of vulnerable children. Visit this website to order DVDs and learn more about the program.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
ADD/ADHD Information Library – 504 Plan vs. IEP
Useful information that explains the differences between a 504 Plan and an IEP.
IEP Frequently Asked Questions
Information to help parents prepare for an IEP meeting.
Understanding Special Education – A Guide for Parents
An excellent guide available for download that helps parents advocate for their children’s special needs.
Aspiranet is a California 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN #94-2442954. "Hope Forward" is a registered trademark.
