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Vol. 2, No. 4
July 1997

Separation and Attachment

The painful effects of separation and loss are experienced by children and their families, social workers, foster parents, adoptive parents--everyone touched by child welfare social work.

In this issue of Practice Notes, we look at these powerful forces. Our lead article defines separation and attachment, presents ways to help a child deal with separation, and outlines the grief process that separation so often initiates.

Later, we look at the dynamic between maternal substance abuse and infant attachment. Finally, we explore the influence grief has on foster parent retention. Why do some foster parents grieve the end of a placement so much that they stop fostering? What can you do to help them?

Contents

Effects of Separation and Attachment
Helping a Child Through a Permanent Separation
Reactions to the Five Stages of Grief (Chart)
Maternal Drug Abuse and Attachment
Implications for Separation and Placement of Infants
Separation, Loss, and Foster Parent Retention
Support at the End of Placement
Why Separate Siblings?
Guidelines for Separating Siblings
Click here to read or print the entire issue as a pdf file.

 

 
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