Relationships Are Decisions (RAD!) Program
The Relationships are Decisions (RAD!) Program is an adoption and relationship readiness program for the most difficult to place, and to keep placed, children in the foster care system:
- Children who have a psychiatric diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and/or other diagnoses
- Children who have experienced a return to their families only to re-enter foster care
- Children who have endured the dissolution of previous adoption finalizations
- Children who have been moved frequently across a spectrum of settings (foster homes, group homes, residential facilities, psychiatric centers)
- Children for whom planning has become complex and vexing for the people responsible for their safety and care
- Children whose trust and hope in the world and themselves has become hard to find
We Don’t Walk Away
Without the vital relationships that a family provides, our kids are stuck without a bridge between where they are now and a successful future.
We know from Dr. Bruce Perry, among other experts on childhood trauma, that the bridge must be in the form of a long-term, non-blaming, consistent, reliable, and predictable relationship for the child. Due to the transient nature of the foster care system, such relationships are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. Therefore, a new role is called for.
Enter: The Future Worker.
The Future Worker offers that bridging relationship. The RAD! Program pairs each child – known as a Young Decision Maker (YDM) – with their own Future Worker. This Future Worker follows the YDM no matter where their placement may take them – even if they go out of state – until the YDM’s future is settled.
We don’t walk away.
WHY is this program important?
It is the nature of the foster care system that relationships are not long-lasting, consistent, and reliable – especially from the kids’ point of view. Family Focus developed this empowerment program to model for them what it means to decide on and maintain relationships, and by extension, make decisions about many other aspects of their lives. Through meaningful connection, the RAD! Program gives hope to children who feel powerless in a system where everything is under someone else’s control.
HOW does the RAD! Program work?
Once a child is enrolled in the program by their county, the child is empowered to make decisions right from the start. With the child’s permission, we meet with them to ask whether they want to be in the program, and if they agree, they get to hire their own Future Worker. The role of the Future Worker is to work together with the child – now known as a Young Decision Maker (YDM) – on their future.
The Future Worker meets with the YDM twice a month, for up to two hours each meeting, to collaborate on “Future Work.” The YDM chooses their “office” in the community, like McDonalds or a park. Family Focus has a relationship-first curriculum that Future Workers can use during their meetings, with topics that we have identified as applicable to the YDM’s daily life, relationships, and future.
After each meeting, the Future Worker writes a report, which is emailed directly to the child’s county worker. This Future Work continues until the YDM’s future is settled, whether that is through adoption, aging out into independent adulthood, or another plan. Beyond this, the relationship between the YDM and their Future Worker often remains a lasting connection and available source of support for the YDM, even after they have left the program.
For more information:
For our booklet with more details about the Relationships Are Decisions (RAD!) Program, download it here.
To discuss enrolling a child in the RAD! Program, call (518) 932-5328 or email the program director Liam Irwin at liam@ffas.info.