New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

Understanding Cannabis Today

Lessons learned from Science and Legalization:

Implications for Health, Mental Health, and Prevention

Conference also includes a panel discussion and afternoon breakout sessions!

Continuing Education:  5 CE Hours

Early Bird Rate:  $99.00

The agencies and organizations involved in the Network include more than 130 public/non-profit State, community and private sector agencies engaged in or promoting culturally & linguistically competent service delivery, education, policies and practices.

Our Mission: To facilitate access to equitable and quality services for individuals, families, and communities through culturally and linguistically appropriate service delivery.

Early bird $55 until March 10th, after that the cost of $65 until April 17th.

CRC (Rehabilitation Counseling) continuing education credits will be provided by the NJ Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services

Hear from adopted adults about their adoption journey including the role their first/birth parents/families have had in their lives and understanding of their own identity. Too often in the child welfare field, the adoptee perspective is subordinated to that of the adoptive parent. Pact believes that adults with first-hand experience are the truest experts on that experience. The voices of Asian adopted adults, born both domestically and internationally, will be featured. They will address issues such as being the ‘model’ minority, gendered narratives about female adoptees value in Asian cultures, exotified identities for Asian women and invisible masculinity for Asian men. Culture-specific approaches to adoption and search (both transnational and domestic) will also be addressed.

$36 per person non-member

Special pricing Pact member receive 25% discount.

Conference Canceled.  Visit website for more information.

Growing Together in Adoption

The “Let’s Talk Adoption” conference is a dynamic and educational event coordinated entirely by CPFA volunteers in conjunction with the Rutgers School of Social Work and the New Jersey Interagency Adoption Council.  The goal is to educate and support those involved in the adoption constellation.  This non-profit conference has received accolades throughout its 35-year history by both parents and professionals.

Over 25 workshops for pre-/-adoptive parents, foster parents, child welfare professionals, adoptees, and kinship guardians.

Registration begins in late February!

Early Registration Fee:  $60 per person ($100/couple)

Walk-in /Registration Fee:  $85 per person ($150/couple)

Student Fee: $30

Racial identity for adopted and fostered people of color, especially when they are transracially adopted, is complex, as they navigate the multiple intersections of race in a racialized world. For those who either look racially ambiguous and/or embody multiple racial identities this complexity is further magnified. Drawing on racial identity development theories, this discussion will explore ambiguous, biracial and multiracial identity in the context of families, and include suggestions for parents and adults who are looking to support children in their exploration and journey of feeling comfortable in their own skin, and allow them to embrace one or all of their racial identities.

$36 per person non-member

Special pricing Pact member receive 25% discount.

2020 Vision

Through the Eyes of Our Children

For over three decades, the Coalition’s annual statewide conference has provided an opportunity for foster/kinship care/adoptive parents be inspired, network and learn about the latest in the field.

Aimed at parents and professionals alike, the conference brings leaders in the child welfare field to New York and offers a variety of topical workshops designed to deepen the knowledge of attendees, help to form connections with other parents and professionals and give attendees tools they can bring home and share in their community.  Nationally-known plenary speakers and workshop presenters share their knowledge and expertise to help participants gain perspective, increase skills, and learn to appreciate the positives.

Racial identity for adopted and fostered people of color, especially when they are transracially adopted, is complex, as they navigate the multiple intersections of race in a racialized world. For those who either look racially ambiguous and/or embody multiple racial identities this complexity is further magnified. Drawing on racial identity development theories, this discussion will explore ambiguous, biracial and multiracial identity in the context of families, and include suggestions for parents and adults who are looking to support children in their exploration and journey of feeling comfortable in their own skin, and allow them to embrace one or all of their racial identities.

$36 per person non-member

Special pricing Pact member receive 25% discount.

The National Adoption Conference brings together professionals, resource organizations, and advocates from around the country who serve in a variety of fields, and all share a common commitment to helping children thrive in nurturing, permanent families. The 2020 conference will feature speakers from across the adoption community – birth parents, adoptees, adoptive parents, agency staff and attorneys, and professionals in the public and private sector who serve children and families.

As the landscape of adoption providers continues to be heavily dominated by for profit entities and “do-it-yourself” online matching services, solid ethics in voluntary infant placement and adoption become all the more critical. This workshop will raise questions about current practices in voluntary placements, especially as they impact interactions with expectant parents and pre-adoptive parents. We will identify specific questions that pre-adoptive and expectant parents considering domestic infant placements can ask to determine practices that are ethical, non-coercive and child-centered and encourage adoption professionals to hold themselves to high ethical standards. This webinar is appropriate for professionals, expectant parents and pre-adoptive families.

$45 per person non-member

Special pricing Pact member receive 15% discount.

Join more than 700 child welfare professionals at the only international conference on family focused treatment services. Workshops are designed for advanced-level professionals who implement treatment family care models and interventions in family settings, including treatment foster, kinship, bio or adoptive families.

The composition of the self is multifaceted and holistic. We all have pieces and aspects of self that we nurture, celebrate, and shine out into the world. And equally, we have pieces and aspects of self that we suppress, hide, and relegate to our innermost corners. In the tradition of Jungian psychology, or depth psychology, we recognize this as the manifestation of our inner shadow. For the adult adoptee, shadow pieces are seeded and cultivated over many years via the messages of familial and relational patterns, the introjection of cultural messages, and a felt sense of being different, or other than. Using a depth psychological approach to working with the inner shadow, the adult adoptee can learn to integrate and reclaim those pieces of self which have been carefully hidden away. Through shared material and collective dialog, we will discuss common shadow aspects for the adult adoptee, contemplate the need for a keenly developed inner shadow witness, and explore ways of integrating shadow through awareness of personal narratives, patterns, and relational habits. This webinar is appropriate forthe adult adoptee, for loved ones who wish to better understand their experiences, and for helping professionals who support adult adoptees.

$36 per person non-member

Special pricing Pact member receive 25% discount

Internationally recognized, the Crimes Against Children Conference is the premier conference of its kind providing practical and interactive instruction to those fighting crimes against children and helping children heal.

The conference is presented annually by the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. The conference is conducted to provide training to those employed by government or nonprofit agencies in the fields of law enforcement, child protective services, social work, children’s advocacy, therapy, and medicine who work directly with child victims of crime.

Although people of color have a long history of informal care of communitythe national discussion of adoption often leaves out conversations about the experiences of adoptive families headed by people of color. Too often child welfare professionals have approached families of color from a place of judgement and power, apparently unable to see some the strengths and values embodied in communities that are often also facing racial, financial and social oppressions. This webinar will be an honest conversation about the strengths and challenges of talking about adoption and foster care in communities of color. From recruitment of families to ongoing support for parents, we will explore some of the pieces that child welfare professionals too often overlook which in turn results in undermining the effective support and engagement of people of color they are trying to accomplish. Participants will learn strategies for supporting adoptive parents of color throughout the adoption journey. This webinar is appropriate for professionals working with communities of color.

$45 per person non-member

Special pricing Pact member receive 15% discount.

Save the Date!

If you have been touched by adoption or foster care, this is the conference you will want to attend!

Join us August 27–29, 2020 (pre-conference session August 26) in Toronto, Ontario for this four-day educational event that covers a wide variety of foster care and adoption topics—to meet the diverse needs and levels of experience of adoptive and foster parents, child welfare professionals, and people who were adopted or in foster care.

We will offer about 80 workshops from expert speakers covering a range of topics

The biennial Together for Families Conference is a unique event that connects various stakeholders from across the U.S. and Canada in the Family Support and Strengthening Field to focus on quality practice. This conference, co-hosted by key national organizations in the field, weaves together content related to the field of Family Support, the Strengthening Families Approach, Advancing Equity, and the Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support.