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NOAS social worker strives for ... Matchmaking with permanency
WARREN
Adopting a child or becoming a foster parent is a huge step that requires careful and extensive forethought.
For those considering the process, Northeast Ohio Adoption Services of Warren offers free preplacement education classes to aid and enlighten them.
Melanie Jones, a licensed social worker since 1987, is one of four social workers at the agency who will lead the next series of classes, which begins Friday at the NOAS office at 5000 E. Market St., Suite 26.
She also is one of the more than 640,000 social workers who are recognized this month by the National Association of Social Workers during National Professional Social Work Month.
Jones, who lives in Warren, has a bachelor’s in law enforcement from Youngstown State University with a minor in sociology. She turned to social work after becoming frustrated with her inability to find a job in law enforcement, and said she found her calling as a permanency planning specialist with NOAS.
“I tell war stories, but they almost all become ‘love stories’ because the real satisfaction of helping change a child’s life — even without their instant gratitude — is so inspiring and powerful,” she said.
Jones has hands-on experience in foster care after raising her niece, Sparkle, for more than 20 years. “She came to me at around age 7 and has been with me ever since,” Jones said.
Led by Jones, Cary Sanders, Kim Stewart and Cindy Wallis, the classes are part of a state requirement of 36 hours of preservice training. Classes include: orientation; a team-building segment; an informative session on child abuse and neglect; a session on attachment, separation and placement; a session on managing behaviors; and a segment on preventing and de-escalating crises.
Jones said some people may rule themselves in or out of foster care or adoption after just one class.
“We like to be real,” Jones said. “We walk the walk and talk the talk. We don’t believe in setting people up with unrealistic ideas. We try to show the kind of path families and kids can experience — a path with lots of ups and downs.”
“I don’t want to sound negative, but we tell lots of war stories,” Jones said. “Not everyone is cut out for foster care or adoption, and it’s OK to realize you’re not cut out for it.”
Jones said it’s easy to daydream about foster care or adoption without really considering the effects both can have on the family. She cautions families who are trying to replace a deceased child or who have struggled with fertility issues.
“You have to come into this because you are bringing something, not because you want to get something,” Jones said, adding matter-of-factly, “Many people think they will adopt because they can’t have a baby of their own, but our babies cuss, run away and get in your face.”
That is not to say Jones is not empathetic to those willing to embrace adoption or foster parenting.
“We understand people have gone through a lot of doors being closed, and we try to screen people in and not out. We don’t judge people and are open,” she said, adding, “but there are circumstances where we do recommend a family not continue because we are very realistic. We know the kids we have.”
The children NOAS receives range from newborns to 18-year-olds whom county agencies are not able to place.
“A lot of other agencies provide specialized foster care that’s not going to be permanent,” Jones explained. “NOAS focuses on permanency.”
NOAS also focuses on special-needs children and children with behavior disabilities.
Most of the kids at NOAS are age 12 and up, and Jones said she strives to get people to consider adopting or fostering older children.
“Younger is not always better,” Jones said. “The older kids have gone through all the counseling and just need someone to be there for them. These kids can be a good match. They need people — need somewhere to go for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. Many teens become homeless teens once they are out of the system.”
Jones calls herself a risk- taker and said she is not looking for perfection in the placement process.
“The best feeling is when there is a match, and I am confident a child is not going to come back into the system, but you don’t really know what you have until you give the child to the family and see how things go,” she said.
Jones said once a child is placed in a home, she emphasizes to parents that a child needs to keep their history.
“Some people want to just start over and erase the past and have a new life with the child, but you can’t do that,” she said. “You can’t move a child’s biological family out of their life.”
Interested people — single or married — who are 21 or older, either own or rent a home or apartment and have a stable income can call John Hostetler at 800-686-6627, ext. 123, for details regarding future classes.
NOAS is a private, nonprofit agency serving families within 90 minutes of the offices in Warren and Chagrin Falls. Since it was founded in 1978, NOAS has developed committed families for more than 1,200 children.