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. *

FREE!

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.

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.

Dates: 6/5/25, 7/3/25, 8/7/25, 9/4/25, 10/2/25, 11/6/25, 12/4/25.

This evidence-based, trauma-informed workshop helps parents recognize the signs and symptoms of prenatal substance exposure and trains them on techniques that work best with kids exposed prenatally to alcohol and drugs. Each 90 minute session is held on Zoom and includes facilitated discussion with other caregivers working with these children. We are able to offer this workshop free through the support of the Jockey Being Family®Foundation.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn to recognize the primary symptoms and secondary impacts of prenatal substance exposure.
2. Understand and learn the process and available resources for diagnosis.
3. Understand the five keys to support family success.
4. Learn a 3-step approach with strategies to support your child.
5. Apply knowledge of symptoms and strategies to address issues in children of various age levels.

Workshop Dates:
All Sessions begin at 7 pm Eastern Time Zone. 

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.

Are you a member of the LGBTQ+ community and looking to grow your family through adoption? At Spence-Chapin, we proudly support and affirm all families throughout the adoption journey. Please join us for this free webinar to learn about pathways to adoption for LGBTQ+ families through Spence-Chapin. Bring your questions – there will be plenty of time for Q&A!

Every child and family involved in the child welfare system has a unique story, and many face significant mental health challenges as a result. The National Center, in partnership with the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI), is dedicated to supporting the child welfare and behavioral health workforce in addressing these complex needs. Through web-based training, coaching, and ongoing supervision, NTI equips professionals with the skills and knowledge to deliver adoption competent services, ensuring that learning translates into everyday practice. The National Center also collaborates directly with States, Tribes, and territories to strengthen cross-system partnerships, advance adoption competency, and expand access to trained providers.

Join this session to explore practical strategies for building a skilled workforce and creating systems that better support children, families, and positive outcomes.

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.

Wonderfully You written by Tom Tracy and beautifully illustrated by Beatriz Mello is a love note to children who’ve been adopted in this heartfelt story that showcases family creation through the experience of transracial adoption. The reader is invited to experience the adoption journey through melodic rhyming narrative, which is complemented by beautiful, hand-drawn illustrations. Personal connection to adoption isn’t necessary to feel the warmth and love that is the central message of this book. It is a perfect read along for kids, grandkids, classrooms, those touched by adoption, and individuals looking for books that portray diverse families.

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 Spence-Chapin for Stories of Adoption: Voices & Belonging, a special event in honor of National Adoption Awareness Month. We will hear from a panel of three adoptees who will share their personal experiences, exploring themes of belonging, identity, and more. We hope this evening will be an opportunity for everyone in our community and beyond to come together and learn something new.

Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage with the panelists. There will also be a book signing for Twice Blessed, written by one of our panelists, Stefanie Marcado Altman, alongside her adoptive parents, Claire and Stan Altman.

This event is open to everyone in the adoption community and welcomes those who are just beginning their adoption journeys, as well as professionals in health care, social work, and related fields.

Light refreshments will be served.

Given the format of this event, we encourage attendees to be 16 and up.

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.

Join Pact’s Executive Director and fellow adoptive parent, Beth Hall, to find community and talk about parenting adopted and foster teens and young adults of color, including challenges, helpful strategies and how to support yourself and your loved ones.

This call is free and open to current Pact members only. If you have not purchased a Pact membership (or your membership is not current) you can join at pactadopt.org.

Foster Care Webinar

There are many children in need of a nurturing family.  Do you have questions about becoming a foster parent and want to learn more from the comfort of your home?

We are hosting webinars and Q&A sessions for prospective foster parents on Zoom. Please call Sylvia, our Family Engagement and Community Outreach Specialist at 201-414-1076 for more information.

FREE!

The FIRST YEARS™ Framework is built on one truth: the earliest relationships shape everything that follows. When adults learn how to connect, co-regulate, and create emotional safety, children’s brains grow in ways that protect them for life!

This webinar will provide: – An overview of the 10-step FIRST YEARS framework for preventing and healing childhood trauma – Next steps for implementation within your child-serving organization – A 10-minute question and answer discussion with Beth Tyson –

An opportunity to win children’s books, A Grandfamily for Sullivan, and Sullivan Goes to See Mama We look forward to seeing you LIVE on 11/20!

These free support groups provide safe space where LGBTQ+ adoptive and foster parents of children of color can find community and talk about their parenting joys and challenges, intersections with our own queer identities and helpful strategies.

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.

1:00-2:00pm EST | 11:00-12:00 AZ

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.

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.

There is no cost to attend.

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.