Supporting Children & Families Beyond Permanency (ft. DeJuana Jernigan, Arms Wide Adoption Services)
“Their healing begins with your hope.”
Our guest ended our time together on this phrase, but we wanted to start with it. This is at the heart of what individuals, churches, nonprofits, and agency workers do all across Houston, and hopefully, it’s why you are here, now, listening to this conversation.
Foster care is not an isolated issue. There are many factors at play, both upstream (before a family is impacted by the foster care system) and downstream (after a child or young adult has been impacted by the foster care system).
DeJuana Jernigan serves as the President and CEO of Arms Wide Adoption Services, an organization devoted to supporting families through the life-long process of permanency. With a 30-year professional journey rooted in advocacy, leadership, and service, she’s deeply committed to helping children in foster care find safe, nurturing families. DeJuana has been a long-time friend of The Riverside Project, and we are thrilled to have her here for this conversation.
In this episode, you’ll hear how foster care has shifted over the last 30 years, some of the underlying circumstances that cause children to enter foster care, the importance of post-permanency support, what you can do now to help improve outcomes for children and families involved in the child welfare system, and much more.
You can also find this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
Key Takeaways
Many families lack the resources to keep their children out of the child welfare system. As DeJuana explored the underlying issues that lead to children entering the child welfare system, she found that poverty, lack of resources, and limited access to support were often key contributing factors. These struggles and more are what we hope to address through upstream efforts along The River. By tackling these challenges early, we can help prevent many children from ever entering foster care. These efforts include supporting biological families in at-risk communities, offering classes to teach families vital skills, and ensuring that parents know how to access available resources.
The need for support doesn’t end at permanency. Whether permanency is achieved through reunification or adoption, the need for support doesn’t stop after the gavel rings out. In order to see long-term success and sustain thriving families, support needs to be a lifelong endeavor. Many children involved in the child welfare system have experienced trauma, abuse, behavioral issues, and more. These struggles can’t be resolved overnight. It takes patience and a network of support to work towards true healing.
Equip yourself for the journey. One of the most important things you can do to make a meaningful impact on vulnerable families and children is to prepare yourself well. This includes taking trauma-informed training, building a supportive community to lean on, and identifying trauma-competent professionals. If you are not called to be a foster or adoptive parent, you can still assist biological, foster, and adoptive families by taking a Babysitter Certification Training, which will equip you to provide vital, qualified childcare for parents in need. There are countless ways you can help, both in upstream and downstream efforts, by finding your place along The River.
Resources
- Connect with DeJuana on her Instagram or Facebook
- Arms Wide Adoption Services
- Thanks for listening! Use code “TBRIpodcast” to get $5 off when you sign up for an Introduction to TBRI session. If you work personally or professionally with children who have experienced adversity, learn more about TBRI on our Trauma Training page.
Meet the Guest
DeJuana Jernigan is the President and CEO of Arms Wide Adoption Services. She has a master’s degree in social work with a concentration in political social work. With a 30-year professional journey rooted in advocacy, leadership, and service, DeJuana is deeply committed to helping children in foster care find safe, nurturing families. Her roles in the child welfare space have been vast, and she has made a lasting impact wherever she has served. DeJuana and her wife, Sharri, have reared two young ladies together. In her spare time, DeJuana enjoys playing the drums, listening to live music, and doing small home improvement projects—some of which she actually completes.
