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What a wonderful time Camela and I had signing books. Lots of family and plenty of friends came out to support us.
We want to share our signing with you:-)
Monday, June 28, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Check out this wonderful blog
Here is a wonderful blog to check out, Black Oasis. Ola is a transracial adoptee and writes books for children to help with self esteem. Her books are her story... pure, truthful and honest.
Here is what she says... "A lot of children are being raised in communities around the world who feel like they don't fit in, sometimes even at home within their own family. My goal is... to provide all children with reading material that deals with topics they are either too afraid to comment on, or don't know how to."
Here is what she says... "A lot of children are being raised in communities around the world who feel like they don't fit in, sometimes even at home within their own family. My goal is... to provide all children with reading material that deals with topics they are either too afraid to comment on, or don't know how to."
1st Book Giveaway - Deadline June 30th
It is our pleasure to offer our 1st book giveaway. Two lucky winners will receive autographed copies of 'Life sure feels different living in a separate house from my brother.' Click on this link ' to be directed to our website. Fill in the Contact us form and remember to click "send" when you are finished. The winners will be selected at random. One entry per person and No email address will be shared.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Camela's teachers on a mission to purchase her book
Camela was outside riding her bike when two of her preschool teachers drive up. I'm sitting on the computer creating my blog post when Camela pops her head in the door yelling, "mommie, mommie my teachers are here." I lift my body from the chair and make my way to the front door rather puzzled, I don't remember scheduling a summer meeting, I thought. I kept my smile as I was truly ready and eager to greet them.
Hello Ladies, I welcomed.
"Do you have books for sale, and if so, can we get two with your famous autograph signatures?" they cut right to the chase.
"Of course we do, and we would be more than honored to sign them," I assured .
We talk briefly about the book, Camela and I sign and off the ladies go.
Now I'm thinking rats, I let them go without taking photos. I will do better next time as I would love for my blogging community to see all the wonderful people that go out of their way and even pop up at our door unannouced to get a copy of Camela's book or shall I say her story.
Hello Ladies, I welcomed.
"Do you have books for sale, and if so, can we get two with your famous autograph signatures?" they cut right to the chase.
"Of course we do, and we would be more than honored to sign them," I assured .
We talk briefly about the book, Camela and I sign and off the ladies go.
Now I'm thinking rats, I let them go without taking photos. I will do better next time as I would love for my blogging community to see all the wonderful people that go out of their way and even pop up at our door unannouced to get a copy of Camela's book or shall I say her story.
Follow us on our mission
When Camela and I first wrote the book "Life sure feels different living in a house separate from my brother," we didn't realize how much this would affect our hearts socially. We have come to realize that there are so many children in the same situation, separated from their sibling(s).
So now we are on a mission to create MissingPieces Books, connecting siblings one book at a time(see; www.missingpiecesbooks.com for our mission). We will post video's, pictures, personal stories, our goals as projects arise, and also show you how our vision intertwines with Social Service.
With that said, come back as often as you like to follow us on our future mission to connect siblings one book at a time.
So now we are on a mission to create MissingPieces Books, connecting siblings one book at a time(see; www.missingpiecesbooks.com for our mission). We will post video's, pictures, personal stories, our goals as projects arise, and also show you how our vision intertwines with Social Service.
With that said, come back as often as you like to follow us on our future mission to connect siblings one book at a time.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Our Passion is now our Mission
Camela and I have become rather passionate about connecting siblings who have been separated. We are well aware that she is not the only one in her situation. We have been trying to come up with everything from using some of the proceeds from our book sale to selling cookies, lemonade stands and so on. We are eager to get the neccessary bucks to send at least one sibling group this year on a fun exciting, what we call adventure together.
The statistics are staggering: 85% of the youth in out-of-home care have one or more sibling, and of these, 75% are separated and placed in separate foster, kin or adoptive homes.
The reasons children are separated from their siblings may include:
• Being part of a large sibling group. Large sibling groups are more likely to be split up because
of rules regarding the number of children allowed in a foster home
• Siblings that have a big age spread might lead to separation (some homes only take infants or
younger children and do not/can not foster older youth and teens)
• The needs of the children may require different placements
• Relatives and kin may take the kids they are biologically related to but not half-siblings or
step-siblings
• Behavioral issues, for example if one sibling is abusive to the other siblings
For children entering care, their relationship and bond with siblings can be a protective buffer to the hardships that led to their placement in out-of-home care. Research has shown that sibling relationships increase a child’s well-being and ability to attach in future adult relationships, and may also lessen the impact from the loss of their bio parent(s).
If you have ideas you want to share with us please do so @ pamela@missingpiecesbooks.com
The statistics are staggering: 85% of the youth in out-of-home care have one or more sibling, and of these, 75% are separated and placed in separate foster, kin or adoptive homes.
The reasons children are separated from their siblings may include:
• Being part of a large sibling group. Large sibling groups are more likely to be split up because
of rules regarding the number of children allowed in a foster home
• Siblings that have a big age spread might lead to separation (some homes only take infants or
younger children and do not/can not foster older youth and teens)
• The needs of the children may require different placements
• Relatives and kin may take the kids they are biologically related to but not half-siblings or
step-siblings
• Behavioral issues, for example if one sibling is abusive to the other siblings
For children entering care, their relationship and bond with siblings can be a protective buffer to the hardships that led to their placement in out-of-home care. Research has shown that sibling relationships increase a child’s well-being and ability to attach in future adult relationships, and may also lessen the impact from the loss of their bio parent(s).
If you have ideas you want to share with us please do so @ pamela@missingpiecesbooks.com
Saturday, June 12, 2010
My darling Camela
Camela is a very smart five year old little girl who sat next to me one morning before school and said, “Life sure feels different living without my brother, and if I had my brother one more day I would be nicer to him.”
This touched me and I didn’t know what to say, so after a short pause I asked her if she wanted to write a story about how she feels about her brother. She Jumped at the idea and immediately took charge, sharing all her personal memories of her brother, and the book was born… Life sure feels different living in a separate house from my brother.
This book has helped Camela tremendously. She is ever so happy with her story and hope to share it every chance she gets with other children throughout the Social Service System.
This book has helped Camela tremendously. She is ever so happy with her story and hope to share it every chance she gets with other children throughout the Social Service System.
My first Book Review
My book is getting such wonderful feedback and I wanted to share with you my very first review... by Beth Kozan, she wrote:
Review: Life Sure Feels Different Living in a Separate House from my BrotherShare. Yesterday at 5:53pm
There are few topics in adoption that haven’t been written about. Newly published authors Pamela and Camela Rollins have found one. Life Sure Feels Different Living in a Separate House From My Brother (Halo Publishing Company, 2010) highlights a unique situation: siblings separated through the foster care system. In the book, five year old Camela remembers the special times she shared with her brother, when they lived together. Now, her brother lives with his biological father and Camela and her baby sister have been adopted by a family that values ongoing contact between siblings. Illustrations by Kim Sponaugle capture the special closeness of siblings in a whimsical way.
This book could be used to help prospective foster parents understand the bond that exists between siblings, and to help them understand the advantage of keeping the connections alive between siblings. It would also help a child growing up in foster care to realize that longing for sibling contact is acceptable; it must be: someone wrote a book about it!!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Three Siblings Face Deportation
Three Siblings Face Deportation – Help Stop Perez Families Separation!
Submitted by Mohammad on April 12, 2010
CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION AND HELP
On April 6, 2010, Laura Perez, and her two siblings, Camilo Perez and Natalia Perez. ICE came to her door asking for her parents, but they were not there. Then, ICE proceeded to ask for Laura, Camilo, and Natalia. After the children identified themselves, ICE detained them. The Perez family came to the U. S. in 2000, escaping violence from a guerrilla group in Colombia. Laura was 15; Natalia was 13; and Camilo was 11. On April 13th, 2010, Laura will be turning 25 in detention.
The Perez family regularly received death threats in Colombia from a guerrilla group. In their threatening phone calls, guerrilla terrorists regularly described what the Perez family was wearing and where they lived.
After having grown up in the United States, these three DREAM Act students are awaiting deportation in Broward Transition Center. Laura was a pre-med student at Broward Community College; Camilo was studying engineering on a full scholarship at Florida Atlantic University; and Natalia was studying interior-design at Broward Community College. But for her detention, Natalia would have graduated with her bachelor’s this May.
Submitted by Mohammad on April 12, 2010
CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION AND HELP
On April 6, 2010, Laura Perez, and her two siblings, Camilo Perez and Natalia Perez. ICE came to her door asking for her parents, but they were not there. Then, ICE proceeded to ask for Laura, Camilo, and Natalia. After the children identified themselves, ICE detained them. The Perez family came to the U. S. in 2000, escaping violence from a guerrilla group in Colombia. Laura was 15; Natalia was 13; and Camilo was 11. On April 13th, 2010, Laura will be turning 25 in detention.
The Perez family regularly received death threats in Colombia from a guerrilla group. In their threatening phone calls, guerrilla terrorists regularly described what the Perez family was wearing and where they lived.
After having grown up in the United States, these three DREAM Act students are awaiting deportation in Broward Transition Center. Laura was a pre-med student at Broward Community College; Camilo was studying engineering on a full scholarship at Florida Atlantic University; and Natalia was studying interior-design at Broward Community College. But for her detention, Natalia would have graduated with her bachelor’s this May.
An Analysis of Sibling Visitation Rights
Posted on January 18, 2008
Filed Under Research Abstracts |
Studies show that approximately fifty-six to eighty-five percent of children placed in foster care have at least one sibling also in foster care.� These siblings are frequently separated due to the difficulty of finding foster care families willing to take multiple children.� Some studies show that up to seventy-five percent of siblings are separated when they are placed in the foster care system.� For most of these children, the separation from a brother or sister is devastating.� Children in foster care have reported that their relationship with their siblings is important and that separation from them is the most painful aspect of their foster care experience.� Such separation from siblings is perhaps the end of the only significant bond they have ever known.�
What options do children have when they are separated from their siblings due to foster care?� Does the Constitution afford rights to siblings when they are separated?� Does the state have a responsibility to protect sibling visitation rights?� Would a federal statute better establish uniform rights concerning sibling visitation?� These questions must be addressed if we want siblings to maintain relationships with each other after being placed in foster care.
Many professionals in the area of child development have noted that aside from the parent-child relationship, the sibling bond is the most vital relationship in a child’s development.� These experts have stated that the sibling relationship allows a child to form healthy social skills, develop proper personality traits and understand suitable gender roles.� Courts have also echoed the significance of the sibling relationship:� “A sibling relationship can be an independent emotionally supportive factor for children in ways quite distinctive from other relationships, and there are benefits and experiences that a child reaps from a relationship with his or her brother(s) or sister(s) which truly cannot be derived from any other.� Those of us who have been fortunate enough to experience a sibling relationship are aware of these basic human truths.” L. v. G., 497 A.2d 215, 221 (Ch. Div. 1985).� Since thousands of siblings are separated into different foster homes each year, it is imperative that courts and agencies understand the importance of the sibling relationship to a child’s development and emotional well-being.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that siblings have an unwavering constitutional right to visit one another when separated because of foster care.� In 1999, the Court was given the opportunity to settle this question in Hugo P. v. George P., but they rejected to hear the case. Hugo P. v. George P., 526 U.S. 1034 (1999).� In that case, Hugo, a minor child in foster care, had lived with his sister, Gloria, and his sister’s adopted mother, Enid, for two years.� Enid was Hugo’s foster mother, and when he was placed for adoption, she asked for the opportunity to adopt him so that he could maintain a relationship with his sister.� However, an aunt who lived in another state and had no involvement in Hugo’s life stepped forward and declared her intention to adopt him.� Rejecting Enid’s arguments that Hugo had already developed an emotional bond with his sister and that by separating them he would be harmed, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ordered that Hugo be placed with the aunt instead of with Enid.� Since the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal, it remains unclear whether siblings have a constitutional right to maintain their relationship when separated by foster care.
There is also considerable variation among individual states as to the rights of siblings when placed in foster care.� Although the tendency has been to recognize the significance of sibling relationships, court opinions have not been consistent in their holdings.� State sibling visitation statutes can vary widely from state-to-state.� For instance, some states spell out the time of sibling visits—monthly, bi-weekly or weekly—while others simply state that visits should be common-place.
With the inconsistency found in state statutes and with children’s lives at stake, it is time to enact a specific federal statute that would establish uniform sibling visitation rights.� After analyzing each individual state with a sibling visitation statute, here are the main suggestions for consideration:
·� � � � � � � Expand the classification of sibling visitation beyond the minimum contact requirements.
·� � � � � � � Improve the training of foster care parents concerning the significance of sibling visitation.�
·� � � � � � � Incorporate children in the process of arranging and planning visitation with siblings.
·� � � � � � � Improve training for administrators and caseworkers on sibling visitation rights.
·� � � � � � � Assist with sibling visitation for those children who are not in foster care.
·� � � � � � � Increase the opportunities for younger siblings to visit older siblings.
·� � � � � � � Facilitate visitation with step-siblings, half-siblings and adopted siblings.
There are many more factors that must be considered; however, the ones listed above should be the foundation upon which a federal statute is enacted.� In addition, one thing should be clear:� siblings in foster care do have a fundamental right to visitation and a uniform law would protect such a right.� � � � �
Filed Under Research Abstracts |
Studies show that approximately fifty-six to eighty-five percent of children placed in foster care have at least one sibling also in foster care.� These siblings are frequently separated due to the difficulty of finding foster care families willing to take multiple children.� Some studies show that up to seventy-five percent of siblings are separated when they are placed in the foster care system.� For most of these children, the separation from a brother or sister is devastating.� Children in foster care have reported that their relationship with their siblings is important and that separation from them is the most painful aspect of their foster care experience.� Such separation from siblings is perhaps the end of the only significant bond they have ever known.�
What options do children have when they are separated from their siblings due to foster care?� Does the Constitution afford rights to siblings when they are separated?� Does the state have a responsibility to protect sibling visitation rights?� Would a federal statute better establish uniform rights concerning sibling visitation?� These questions must be addressed if we want siblings to maintain relationships with each other after being placed in foster care.
Many professionals in the area of child development have noted that aside from the parent-child relationship, the sibling bond is the most vital relationship in a child’s development.� These experts have stated that the sibling relationship allows a child to form healthy social skills, develop proper personality traits and understand suitable gender roles.� Courts have also echoed the significance of the sibling relationship:� “A sibling relationship can be an independent emotionally supportive factor for children in ways quite distinctive from other relationships, and there are benefits and experiences that a child reaps from a relationship with his or her brother(s) or sister(s) which truly cannot be derived from any other.� Those of us who have been fortunate enough to experience a sibling relationship are aware of these basic human truths.” L. v. G., 497 A.2d 215, 221 (Ch. Div. 1985).� Since thousands of siblings are separated into different foster homes each year, it is imperative that courts and agencies understand the importance of the sibling relationship to a child’s development and emotional well-being.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled that siblings have an unwavering constitutional right to visit one another when separated because of foster care.� In 1999, the Court was given the opportunity to settle this question in Hugo P. v. George P., but they rejected to hear the case. Hugo P. v. George P., 526 U.S. 1034 (1999).� In that case, Hugo, a minor child in foster care, had lived with his sister, Gloria, and his sister’s adopted mother, Enid, for two years.� Enid was Hugo’s foster mother, and when he was placed for adoption, she asked for the opportunity to adopt him so that he could maintain a relationship with his sister.� However, an aunt who lived in another state and had no involvement in Hugo’s life stepped forward and declared her intention to adopt him.� Rejecting Enid’s arguments that Hugo had already developed an emotional bond with his sister and that by separating them he would be harmed, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ordered that Hugo be placed with the aunt instead of with Enid.� Since the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal, it remains unclear whether siblings have a constitutional right to maintain their relationship when separated by foster care.
There is also considerable variation among individual states as to the rights of siblings when placed in foster care.� Although the tendency has been to recognize the significance of sibling relationships, court opinions have not been consistent in their holdings.� State sibling visitation statutes can vary widely from state-to-state.� For instance, some states spell out the time of sibling visits—monthly, bi-weekly or weekly—while others simply state that visits should be common-place.
With the inconsistency found in state statutes and with children’s lives at stake, it is time to enact a specific federal statute that would establish uniform sibling visitation rights.� After analyzing each individual state with a sibling visitation statute, here are the main suggestions for consideration:
·� � � � � � � Expand the classification of sibling visitation beyond the minimum contact requirements.
·� � � � � � � Improve the training of foster care parents concerning the significance of sibling visitation.�
·� � � � � � � Incorporate children in the process of arranging and planning visitation with siblings.
·� � � � � � � Improve training for administrators and caseworkers on sibling visitation rights.
·� � � � � � � Assist with sibling visitation for those children who are not in foster care.
·� � � � � � � Increase the opportunities for younger siblings to visit older siblings.
·� � � � � � � Facilitate visitation with step-siblings, half-siblings and adopted siblings.
There are many more factors that must be considered; however, the ones listed above should be the foundation upon which a federal statute is enacted.� In addition, one thing should be clear:� siblings in foster care do have a fundamental right to visitation and a uniform law would protect such a right.� � � � �
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
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