New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

Third Wednesday of the month beginning April 17th from 7:00-8:30 PM EST

COST: One-time fee of $25 provides lifetime access to the support group

This support group will provide a space where interracial adoptive parents of children (and adults) of all ages can share their experiences about parenting children of a different race, while fostering a sense of community. Without the support of their parents, interracial adoptees are at a disadvantage. However, sometimes, it can be hard for parents to know what is going on with their children and when to step up, step back, or take a different route entirely. This support group offers a free-flowing environment where participants can share anything relevant to the discussion surrounding their families.

Open to single waiting and placed families working with any office. Join AFTH social work staff and other single waiting and placed families for a time to connect and process the different aspects of your adoption journey as single adoptive parents. One credit hour will be given for waiting families for attendance. This is a virtual event, after you RSVP, a link will be sent to you for the meeting.

You can choose to attend one or more of the following sessions:

Jul 9, 2024, 07:00 PM, Sep 10, 2024, 07:00 PM, Nov 12, 2024, 07:00 PM

Free!

In honor of National Adoption Month, C.A.S.E. is excited to launch the Adult Adoptee Support Group, a support group for adult adoptees over 18. In this monthly group facilitated by adult adoptees Tony Hynes and Rachel Shifaraw, adoptees will share, build community, and learn from other adoptees as they explore their experiences. In acknowledging the lifelong journey of adoption, the Adult Adoptee Support Group fosters an environment where participants will be able to voice some of the challenges, triumphs, and identity work unique to adult adoptees. We look forward to seeing you there!

The virtual group will be held the 1st Thursday of every month. This is a drop-in group and participation at every session is not required.

Adoption is often times a difficult journey for all of those involved. As adoptees ourselves, we understand the hardships that come while navigating life as an adoptee. Although our journeys may look different, many of our feelings and ideas are similar. Here is an open group to hear the stories of others and share your own in a safe environment that promotes adoptees finding their own voice.

Monthly Meeting Dates:

 July 16, 2024, Aug 20, 2024, Sep 17, 2024, Oct 15, 2024, Nov 19, 2024, Dec 17, 2024.

The Transracial Adoption Support Group is group to connect adoptive parents who have also adopted transracially. This is a safe space to discuss thoughts and concerns.

This is a Virtual Event, after you RSVP you will be send the Zoom Link for the meeting.

You can choose to attend one or more of the following sessions:

Jul 30, 2024, Sep 24, 2024, Nov 26, 2024.

To tap into the full potential of adopted and fostered children of color, educators must not only confront their racial biases, they must become adoption-literate and trauma-informed. Academic ability and learning differences are often misinterpreted by both parents and educators. This conversation will include the voices of the foremost experts on the experience of being adopted: adoptees of color, ages 10 to 17, speaking about their experiences to give us a deeper understanding of how schools work and how schools understand/misunderstand our children. A specific focus will be on how schools can be pushed to best serve all children and particularly adopted children of color. Target audience: Teachers, school administrators, parents.

Webinar Time: 11:00 am-12:30 pm Pacific time.

Cost and Registration: $38.50, with a 20% discount for Pact members. Become a Pact member today for $75 per year.

Online – from the comfort of your home or office.

Legal advocacy for children, youth, parents, and kin is a specialized area of law which demands ongoing interdisciplinary training, education, and skill-building. NACC’s annual National Child Welfare Law Conference is designed to meet these demands. Our conference is a premier continuing legal education and community-building event for practitioners and policy advocates in child welfare, juvenile justice, and family law.

FREE!

Are you considering growing your family through adoption? Discover the right adoption pathway for you at our special evening event.  Learn more about 4 different ways to adopt:

• International Adoption with Spence-Chapin

• Domestic Adoption with Spence-Chapinx

• Private Domestic Adoption with an attorney

• Adoption From Foster Care

Families interested in applying to Spence-Chapin’s Domestic Adoption Program can obtain the Domestic Adoption Program Application by attending this event!

MHB is returning with our comprehensive conference format offering everything you need to know and everyone you need to meet to start your parenting journey!

Known for its unbiased, comprehensive conferences for gay men, the nonprofit Men Having Babies (MHB) returns to New York for its annual Surrogacy Conference & Gay Parenting Expo. If you are considering becoming a father, or are already in process, we invite you to come interact and consult with gay dads, experts, and over 50 reputable gay-friendly agencies, clinics, law firms, and other surrogacy providers.

While the event is organized by gay parenting organizations, non-gay prospective parents are welcome, and will no doubt highly benefit from it as well.

An overview of the impact fostering or adopting can have on family dynamics including the impact on marital relationships, biological children, foster or adoptive children already living in the home, and extended family members. It helps parents who are fostering or adopting gain insight and increased understanding of how their family may need to adjust, as well as strategies that they can use to support healthy family dynamics.

NYC Teen Mentorship welcomes adoptees ages 13-18 years old in a group mentoring program that meets once monthly from September to June.

Fee: $25.00

Join us as we hear from families who were placed with AFTH after 1.5 6 years of waiting to be chosen. They will share what they wish they knew then and their experiences with waiting, placement, and beyond.

We look forward to you joining us for this online discussion group. This is a space for individuals with histories of infertility who are interested in adoption. We’re here to answer your questions and give you a space to connect with others like you!

This free online discussion group is sponsored by ARC Fertility. This session does not offer social work CEs.

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.

** We have chosen the Go to Webinar Platform to respect that during the exploration phase, some families are not yet ready to share their hopes to adopt with others and in Go to Webinar, your names and faces will not be visible to other participants. But we are always happy to support families in building an adoption community! If you do feel ready to connect with other pre-adoptive or adoptive parents, please let us know and we can facilitate introductions for those who wish to be connected to other families.**

Fee: $15.00

This webinar will explore how being separated from birth parents affect adoptees at different stages of their lives. The facilitator will discuss how this early trauma manifests in various ways as adoptees grow from infants to adults, including forming relationships and understanding their identity. Through expert insights and personal stories, this webinar will reveal the long-term effects of early family separation and how adoptees cope with these complex experiences over time.

Led by an experienced professional in adoption this webinar will provide practical advice and support strategies for parents and professionals at every stage of an adoptee’s life. Helpful techniques to promote resilience and healing will also be offered. This webinar will offer valuable knowledge and tools to better understand and support adoptees who have experienced the trauma of family separation. This webinar is for adoptive parents, adoptees, mental health professionals and other members of the adoption constellation.

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.

Junior Mentorship welcomes adoptees ages 10-12 years old in this group mentoring program that meets once monthly from September to June.

Spence-Chapin’s Birth Parent Support Group is a virtual meet-up for individuals who made an adoption plan (with Spence-Chapin or elsewhere) and are in any stage in their placement journey. This group is a safe place to get support and know that you are not alone. Topics will include coping with feelings of grief and loss, sharing challenges and successes with open and closed adoption, and improving communication with friends and family around your adoption plan.

Spence-Chapin’s Birth Parent Support Group meets on the last Tuesday of every month at 7pm EST.

There is no cost to attend. All attendees will receive a Zoom link to their confirmation email after registration.

FREE!

Teen Voices of Adoption (V.O.A.) is a virtual space for adopted teens 13-17 world-wide to join in conversation, meet peers and talk about the topics that are important to them. Hosted by Rebecca Fiore, transracial adoptee born in Paraguay, and Adoptee Advocate. V.O.A. welcomes adopted people of all backgrounds to experience community amongst other adoptees.

The webinar is a great way to learn more about Adoptions From The Hearts Open Adoption Program which places infants directly from the hospital. IMPORTANT NOTE: Adoptions From The Heart is ONLY accepting applicants who are open to adopting children of all racial backgrounds and heritages. In addition, because we are an open adoption agency and are seeing an increase in the requested number of yearly visits, all prospective adoptive parents must also be open to a minimum of 2 visits a year with the childs birth parents. And while it is not a requirement, AFTH encourages open relationships through direct communication with birth parents, via text/phone and email post placement. We look forward to connecting with you.