New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

FREE!

The virtual group will be held the 3rd Monday of the month from April 21, 2025 – March 16, 2026.

Meeting Dates: 5/19/2025, 6/16/2025, 7/21/2025, 8/18/2025, 9/15/2025, 10/20/2025, 11/17/2025, 12/15/2025, 1/19/2026, 2/16/2026, 3/16/2026

The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) is excited to launch the Lunch Break – Parent Support Group for adoptive, foster, and kinship parents and caregivers! *

Topics covered include relationship building, grief and loss, birth family relationships, coping skills and self-care, and so much more.

In this monthly group we will engage in thought provoking, honest conversations, receive support and guidance, and leave better equipped with expanded knowledge, skills, and confidence – knowing you are not alone. We look forward to seeing you there!

This is a drop-in group and participation at every session is not required. *

Priority Lottery Registration Deadline Dec. 8th, 2025

The mission of Pact Family Camp is to provide a safe, honest, child-centered, anti-racist space where adopted children and youth of color can connect with peers and mentors who share their identities and experiences, and where their parents can dig deeply into not only the joys but also the challenges of adoption, race, and family.

Through a week-long immersive program, we set in motion a transformative experience that continues to impact families long after camp is over. Children and parents come away with a deeper understanding of the complexities of adoption, new language they can use to talk about it, and the knowledge that they are not alone on the lifelong journey of adoption.

Camp is in high demand. Although we would love to admit every family who applies, capacity is limited. Therefore, we use a lottery to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to attend. We hold 30% of our available slots for new families (first time at Pact Family Camp), and 30% of our available slots for families led by adoptive parents of color.

Lottery admittance will be announced Jan. 7th, 2026

Scholarships Available

Adolescence is a tumultuous time and being adopted adds another layer of complexity. The Northern Post-Adoption Consortium (NPAC) is pleased to offer a FREE in-person workshop for middle school-aged tweens and teens who were adopted or are in kinGAP or state-funded kinship subsidy families.

Teens will focus on connecting with other youth in similar families, promoting identification as an adoptee or child in a kinship family, providing a safe space to share feelings and thoughts about their life stories and experiences and supporting their exploration of identity.

Come ready to share experiences and eat some snacks with new friends!

Registration is limited and will close Monday, 11/24/25, at 11:59 pm.

A 6-Week *Virtual Group beginning:

Saturday, December 6th at 10:00 AM

Fee: $50 per session

*Virtual link for this group will be provided upon registration.

The International Conference on Public Health and Health Care System (ICPHHCS2025), organized by Conplus Meetings, will be held from December 08-10, 2025 in Paris, France. This prestigious conference provides a premier platform for public health professionals, policymakers, researchers and healthcare practitioners to engage in discussions on the latest advancements, share critical insights and explore collaborative approaches to addressing complex health challenges.

ICPHHCS-2025 will bring together a distinguished group of global experts in public health, health policy and healthcare systems. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in thought-provoking keynote sessions, dynamic panel discussions and hands-on workshops, all designed to foster collaboration, stimulate innovative thinking and promote actionable solutions. The conference will address a wide range of critical topics, including disease prevention, health promotion, epidemiology, environmental health and global health policy.

This event offers a unique opportunity for professionals in the field to discuss cutting-edge developments, exchange ideas and contribute to shaping a more sustainable, equitable and healthier future for communities around the world.

We look forward to welcoming you to Paris for this impactful event. Together, we can work toward solutions that will positively influence public health and healthcare systems globally.

FREE!

Of all substances of abuse, alcohol causes the most serious long-term effects in a fetus, resulting in permanent brain damage. Many children with FASDs often go undiagnosed and suffer lifelong social challenges, serious mental health problems, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. Proper identification and intervention can help prevent many of these challenges. This webinar will help attendees identify red flags and signs that may indicate a child has brain-based behaviors as a result of prenatal alcohol exposure. Additionally, it will also help shift one’s perspective, viewing social/emotional problems, difficult behaviors, and learning challenges of these individuals as a symptom of brain dysfunction and not willful defiance and opposition.

Learning Objectives include:

• Learn what FASD is and how it is often misdiagnosed.
• Learn how FASD impacts brain development and behaviors.
• Learn to identify FASD red flags.
• Gain a shift in perspective about those with social/emotional problems, difficult behaviors, or learning challenges.

Free, monthly virtual support calls provide a safe space for BIPOC adoptive, foster and kinship parents of BIPOC teens and young adults.

Join Raquel Vivanco, Director of the Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative (APCC) and fellow adoptive parent, to find community and talk about parenting adopted and foster teens and young adults of color, including challenges, and helpful strategies. We will discuss how relationships shift as our young ones grow in their journey and how we can support ourselves and our loved ones.

This call is for people of color who are parenting adopted/foster teens and young adults of color.  Please be respectful of their space.

Spence-Chapin is recruiting for Interim Care Providers across New York state. Join us for our Become an Interim Care Provider Info Session to learn how you can provide temporary, nurturing care for newborns.

Spence-Chapin staff will share what the role involves, the supports available, and how Interim Care Providers play a vital part in giving families time to make important decisions about parenting or adoption.

This free virtual workshop will help parents:

A Train-the-Trainer Workshop for Adoption Professionals

In the fast-paced hospital setting, adoption knowledge gaps are not just an inconvenience—they pose real risks of unintentional coercion, unnecessary patient distress, and inadvertent legal exposure. Join us to learn more about the national Adoption-Sensitive Clinical Care (ASCC) initiative, a free training program designed to mitigate these information gaps and empower healthcare professionals. Webinar attendees will explore how ASCC equips medical staff to provide confident, compassionate, and ethically sound support to expectant parents considering adoption or implementing an adoption plan—and how adoption professionals can play a vital role in strengthening this continuum of care.

This FREE live webinar will provide 1.5 CE credits for social workers. For social workers licensed in the state of New York, it will provide 1.5 contact hours.

For more information on this webinar and continuing education credits please follow the links below. CE credits: https://adoption.talentlms.com/catalog/info/id:345

NY contact hours: https://adoption.talentlms.com/catalog/info/id:346

Live Webinar*

Learn how children at this age use their developing conceptual skills to figure out how and why adoption happened to them. Having differences in family structure and/or racial identification pointed out can make school kids feel uncomfortable. Practical advice about how to navigate new peer relationships and school challenges will be addressed.

Lead Speaker: Beth Hall

*Live Webinar:  Attend a live real-time presentation, followed by a brief Q&A chat. You receive a recording of the webinar after the live event, whether or not you are able to attend.

$30.80 per person for current Pact members; $38.50 per person for non-members. Join Pact HERE.

Join Spence-Chapin staff to learn about the current landscape of international and domestic adoption and the needs of children waiting for adoptive families. We’ll discuss the scope of all Spence-Chapin adoption programs including international adoption (South Africa, Colombia, Jamaica and the Eastern Caribbean), and domestic adoption, as well as Spence-Chapins’ adoption services.

Bring your questions! This meeting will include ample opportunity to have your questions answered.

Join us for an informative session learning about adoption & foster care options in Pennsylvania.

The information session can help you decide whether you are comfortable taking the next steps to become a licensed Diakon foster family. Sessions are offered without obligation; participants are not required to proceed following the presentation.

Pre-registration is required so that the ZOOM link can be shared.

A safe space for Birth Families, Adoptees, and those who support us.

First/Birth Parent and Adoptee Led Volunteer Facilitators.

A safe space for Adoptees and First Parents to step out of isolation, and join others no matter where they are on their adoption journey. We also include spouses, siblings, children, and others who support the Adoptee or Birth/First Parent in their life. This is a space to check in and share experiences and learn from one another.

Our International Team is excited to host this webinar and to share information about adopting from South Africa. Spence-Chapin is proud to have the longest history of any US-based agency of facilitating adoption from South Africa and we work with adoptive families living across the entire United States. The South Africa program welcomes adoptive applicants regardless of marital status or sexual orientation. In this webinar we will discuss common medical and developmental needs of children who are currently living in South Africa and waiting for their forever families. We will provide an overview the adoption process. We look forward to answering any questions you may have about adoption in general and specific questions about adoption from South Africa.

Join us for an informative session learning about adoption & foster care options in Pennsylvania.

The information session can help you decide whether you are comfortable taking the next steps to become a licensed Diakon foster family. Sessions are offered without obligation; participants are not required to proceed following the presentation.

Pre-registration is required so that the ZOOM link can be shared.

Free monthly virtual support calls provide a safe space for adoptive parents of color to connect and share their experiences.

This is a group intended to meet the needs of people of color who have built their families through domestic adoption, kinship adoption, international adoption, foster care, same race and transracial/interracial adoption.

This programming is for adoptive parents of color.  Please be respectful of their space.

Please join us to learn more about contemporary domestic infant open adoption and the work we do here at Open Arms! This free 90-minute information session is where the entire domestic adoption process is discussed at length. We cover the most commonly asked questions, including wait time, fees, laws, statistics regarding race/ethnicity of babies, substance exposures, mental health risk factors, etc. and any additional questions not covered can also be answered at this time. Open Arms is a non-profit adoption program licensed in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Join us to learn about our Colombia Adoption Program. Our Colombia Adoption Program is open to singles, married couples, unmarried couples, and welcomes LGBTQ+ parents. In this webinar, we will detail the pathways to adopt from Colombia, including pathways available to individuals without Colombian Heritage as well as pathways available to individuals who hold a Colombian Cedula. We will share information about the system of child protection in Colombia and will share photos of some of the children’s homes where children reside while in protective care. We will discuss common medical and special needs of children who are awaiting adoption in Colombia. We will speak about eligibility factors for prospective adoptive parents in Colombia. Bring your questions – we’ll save time for Q&A.

Learn about Spence-Chapin’s innovative host-to-adopt program that prioritizes adoption for children from Colombia, ages 10-13 years old. For families who are open to older child adoption, this pathway provides both you and the child an opportunity to get to know each other and commence the bonding process during a five-week hosting period in your home. Hosting will occur during the summer of 2026 and host families need to complete a home study with Spence-Chapin prior to being matched with a child for hosting, so now is the right time to learn more and get underway with your home study!

This program is open exclusively to families residing in New York, New Jersey and Arizona so that our local social work team can fully support you and the child during the hosting period.

7:00-8:00pm EST | 5:00-6:00 AZ