I am looking to see if there is a training program for children who will
soon leave a residential facility into foster care or adoption to help
them make the transition into a family.  My wife and I are fostering two
brothers [16 and 15] and having a great experience but feel that the boys
were traumatized by being dumped into our house the night before each of
them began their high school freshman year in two separate high schools.
We would like to help such children avoid this kind of experience in the
future [even though we had known one of the two boys for some eight
months before they joined our household.

I have worked professionally and academically for some 30 years in
maternal and child development and have worked with a couple of
residential facilities for substance abusing pregnant and post partum
women and their children.  I had directed an inner city outreach program
for similar women with the workers coming from the community.  By the
way, we also have a 35 year old and a 32 year old son [what spacing!].

Bill Ward