New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

Do you want to be at the forefront of increasing youth engagement, especially related to permanency efforts? Join this webinar to learn about the Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) and how your state, county, tribal nation, or territory can partner with the QIC-EY to advance effective youth engagement practices in child welfare and make systemic changes related to how children and youth are authentically engaged.

Launched in October 2021 and funded by the United States Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families, Children’s Bureau, the QIC-EY is working to advance child welfare programs and practice to ensure that child welfare agencies are authentically engaging and empowering youth in foster care throughout the U.S., especially in relation to permanency decisions.

This webinar will focus on the following:
• Goals of the QIC-EY
• The expectations and benefits for pilot sites
• The selection process for pilot sites

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 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.

Parenting an adopted child is both the same as, and incredibly different than parenting a child born to you. We will address specific parenting theories and their applicability to adoptive family life, with a focus on positive and effective discipline methods. When children exhibit challenging behaviors, parents can often become confused as they wonder whether the behavior has deeper meaning in the context of adoption. How do we balance teaching children appropriate behavior both at home and in public, while also giving them a voice to express their feelings about adoption, race and family? Join us for an exploration of research-based insights and practical guidance for adoptive parents. This webinar is for all members of the adoption constellation and adoption professionals.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

Considering adopting? Want to learn about adoption programs at Spence-Chapin? Join Spence-Chapin staff to learn about the current landscape of international and domestic adoption and the needs of the children waiting for adoptive families. We’ll discuss the scope of all Spence-Chapin adoption programs including international adoption (South Africa, Colombia, and Bulgaria) and domestic adoption, as well as Spence-Chapin’s adoption services.

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

In this session, you will learn the basics of adoption assistance for children adopted from foster care, including eligibility, benefits, taxes, and more. The workshop is designed for both prospective parents seeking to learn more about the support available for the children they adopt and parents who are seeking an adjustment due to a change in their child’s needs or circumstances.

No fee

Participants will learn the steps they need to take to file for the U.S. federal adoption tax credit. The focus will be on filing for 2021, but will also cover applying for the credit for adoptions as far back as 2018. Presenter Josh Kroll will explain what parents need to do to take advantage of the credit. Key points include that the credit is not a refundable credit for 2021 and that parents who adopt children who receive adoption assistance/adoption subsidy benefits do not need to have adoption-related expenses to claim the credit. The session will focus on families who adopted children with special needs from foster care but will be applicable to all adoptive families as well. PLEASE CHECK YOUR TIME ZONE CAREFULLY.

No fee

• The first 600 registrations are FREE each month thanks to Jockey Being Family and Jockey International.
• Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter and be one of the first to receive our next free code!
• 30 days of extended access is included in your registration.
• Certificates of Attendance and Continuing Education Credits are available.

Parenting teens is something many of us fear as parents, and it’s no wonder: Being a teen is complex, and this phase of development often starts before the age of 13! Learn how to understand the many changes taking place in the brains, bodies and emotional centers of tweens and teens so you can better help your adopted child navigate these changes and their intersection with their experiences of adoption, foster care and/or trauma. Often, a parent’s most difficult task is to create a delicate balance of loving and letting go as their children work toward creating their own individual identity. How can parents be firm in deliberately conveying their needs, requests and expectations, while maintaining a positive connection to their child? We will offer some practical parenting suggestions and strategies to support ongoing connection while addressing necessary boundaries and expectations. This webinar is for all members of the adoption constellation and adoption professionals.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

Learn how to advocate for adoption assistance programs in your state or province.

In these tight financial times, legislators sometimes seek to cut adoption assistance programs and advocates need to be ready to respond. Even if your state’s adoption assistance program is not under threat, proactive advocacy can help maintain and even enhance these important benefits for children adopted from foster care.

(Please note this session covers how to advocate for the system, if you are interested in advocating for adoption assistance specifically for your family you will want to attend the Adoption Assistance Benefits and Eligibility webinar.)

No fee

• The first 600 registrations are FREE each month thanks to Jockey Being Family and Jockey International.
• Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter and be one of the first to receive our next free code!
• 30 days of extended access is included in your registration.
• Certificates of Attendance and Continuing Education Credits are available.

First/birth parents are the truest expert on their own experience. In this webinar, participants will hear from a panel of first/birth parents as they discuss the many complexities of adoption. This diverse and interactive panel will address topics such as pregnancy and childbirth, interactions with professionals, relationships with their child/ren and relationships with their child/ren’s adoptive parents. Through first-person stories and videos, we’ll offer perspectives that represent a spectrum of placements including different types of adoption and reasons for adoption and foster-adoption. There is no single first/birth parent story, so be prepared to have your assumptions challenged and your perspective broadened. This webinar is for all members of the adoption constellation and adoption professionals.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

The Evolution of Adoption Practice: Activist and Community Perspectives

Thank you to all who have submitted proposals already and we have kept them on file. The submissions portal is now open. New due dates are below. In the meantime, we wish for you the strength to endure. In particular, to our Asian community members, increased racism and violence continues to escalate, as times become more desperate. Let us stand together.

Pact believes that adopted people are the truest experts of their own experience. Yet, the adoptee perspective is too often subordinated to that of the adoptive parent. In this webinar, participants will hear from adopted adults of color as they share parts of their adoption journey. They will include discussion of the role their first/birth parents and families have had in their lives and in understanding their own identity as well as what they believe is important for adoptive parents to know. They will address issues including open adoption, talking about adoption, first/birth family, challenges of adoption and more. Featured speakers were adopted domestically and internationally, into both transracial and same-race placements. This webinar is for all members of the adoption constellation and adoption professionals.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

• The first 600 registrations are FREE each month thanks to Jockey Being Family and Jockey International.
• Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter and be one of the first to receive our next free code!
• 30 days of extended access is included in your registration.
• Certificates of Attendance and Continuing Education Credits are available.

This webinar provides the lived experience of adoptive parents as well as some things we wished our younger selves had known and understood earlier. Topics will include:  handling your own fears; understanding how children understand and experience adoption; why the words we use matter; answering questions about our child’s birth and first/birth parents; responding to difficult behaviors in children (and ourselves); anticipating children’s questions whether they ask them or not; and re-working our parenting expectations. Experiences will include same race adoption, transracial adoption, foster adoption, infant adoption, closed adoption and open adoption. Expect an honest conversation about the challenges and the joys of parenting while remembering that hindsight is often 20/20. This webinar is appropriate for pre-adoptive and adoptive parents as well as professionals.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

Adopted youth who grow up in blended families are sometimes at risk for feeling somehow less connected than their non-adopted siblings. Join a conversation with an adoptive parent, a non-adopted sibling and an adoptee who have lived experience in blended families that include children born to and others adopted into the family. Hear from each as they offer insight into and feedback about strategies and approaches to living as a blended family, including both those that have worked and others that have not. This conversation will push you to think more deeply about how to support adopted youth in these families.  This webinar is appropriate for members of blended families built by adoption as well as professionals who work with them.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

• The first 600 registrations are FREE each month thanks to Jockey Being Family and Jockey International.
• Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter and be one of the first to receive our next free code!
• 30 days of extended access is included in your registration.
• Certificates of Attendance and Continuing Education Credits are available.

Adoption researchers need to study and respond to adoption trends in order to best help serve children and families. With this in mind, graduate students and recent Ph.D.s with a strong interest in a career involving adoption research are invited to participate in the 2022 Rudd Summer Adoption Research Institute, May 22 – 27, 2022. The week is kicked off with a Welcome Dinner on the evening of Sunday, May 22, and concludes after a group lunch on Friday, May 27.

Registration information: A large portion of the costs will be underwritten by the Rudd Adoption Research Program at UMass Amherst. We are pleased to be able to offer this Institute for $595, which includes 4 1/2 days of sessions, materials, daily lunches, two dinners, and coffee breaks. Applicants will be responsible for their own travel to Amherst and housing. On-campus dorm-style and hotel options will be available.

• The first 600 registrations are FREE each month thanks to Jockey Being Family and Jockey International.
• Sign up for our monthly e-newsletter and be one of the first to receive our next free code!
• 30 days of extended access is included in your registration.
• Certificates of Attendance and Continuing Education Credits are available.