What People Are Saying

It is uncommon for one book to provide both robust theory along with practical applications on any subject matter, but this is one of those uncommon books. The authors manage to provide the theoretical underpinnings of a child’s need for attachment while providing practical guidance to courts, social workers, agencies and families on how to achieve it. Bravo! (Mark Bontrager, Executive Director, Aldea Children and Family Services, Napa, CA)

No one is more knowledgeable or experienced in the child welfare arena than Jim Kenny and Lori Groves who clearly epitomize how the courts and law makers can most effectively prevent trauma to children facing the loss of their bonded families. Bonding and the Case for Permanence should be a mandatory read for decision makers and attorneys appointed to be the voice of children. (Debbie Grabarkiewicz, Child Advocacy Specialist, A Child’s Best Interest, Ann Arbor, MI)

This book is clearly written by an "insider" to the system, albeit an insider with a degree in psychology whose ear is most finely attuned to the needs of foster children. Bonding and the Case for Permanence is that "wise mentor" for true child advocates in the foster care system. Good work / God's work. (Marguerite Rebesco, PhD, Clinical Psychologist)

It is the rare piece of work that gives equal weight to the importance of bonding and permanence at both ends of our foster care system. Bonding and a Case for Permanence is one of the best guides out there for all the stakeholders in our field including foster parents. The authors not only make an effective case for the importance of bonding and permanence for all children entering foster care but they make an equally extraordinary case for permanence for all youth and young adults exiting foster care as well. Excellent Job! (Pat O’Brien, Executive Director, You Gotta Believe! New York, N)

The authors have done their homework sifting through the literature. The result is a clear and practical mandate for action to ensure that a child’s right to safety, security and permanency are seen as a crisis of need as serious as any hospitalization in intensive care once he enters the system. (Cynthia Peck, author, editor, foster and adoptive parent)

Bonding is critical to the well-being of a child and there is ample evidence that shows the negative consequences that can occur when bonding is disrupted. Every child deserves a stable, permanent home. This book describes the importance of achieving this goal within a reasonable period of time. The reader will be enlightened, and those working in the child welfare, foster care, and adoption arenas will find the book especially valuable. (Michael Patchner, Dean, IU School of Social Work)

Kenny and Groves fill a gaping hole in understanding and dealing with a most serious consequence of trauma. This book should be required reading for ANYONE who works with youth, and especially those youth in foster care – similar to the ethical equivalent of the oath “Do No Harm.” (Christina Morrison, Executive Director, Indiana Foster Care and Adoption Association, Inc.)

As the editor of Fostering Families Today, I know that reprints of the authors' articles on bonding have been requested more than any others. As foster parents prepare to battle in court to adopt the children they have come to love and cherish, there is no better support than the authors' definition of bonding and the listing of court battles won on the concept of bonding trumping biology. Now, those parents will have all of the authors' wisdom in one place, the new book, Bonding and the Case for Permanence. (Kim Phagan-Hansel, Editor of Fostering Families Today)