New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

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.

FEE: Family – $100

AFTH wants families to make informed decisions when completing their profile keys. Dr. Erin Meyer is an internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist who works in the neonatal intensive care unit. She is also an adoptive mom and can speak from both professional and personal angles. She will be discussing the effects of drug and alcohol use on the newborn during pregnancy, as well as withdrawal symptoms and short- and long-term effects of exposure.

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.

AFTH wants families to make informed decisions when completing their profile keys. Dr. Erin Meyer is
an internal medicine and pediatric hospitalist who works in the neonatal intensive care unit. She is also
an adoptive mom and can speak from both professional and personal angles. She will be discussing the
effects of drug and alcohol use on the newborn during pregnancy, as well as withdrawal symptoms and
short and long-term effects of exposure. Questions are welcomed.

• 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm Eastern Time
•  5:00 pm – 6:00 pm AZ Time

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 multi-week hosting period in your home. Two different hosting periods are available – a five-week opportunity over the summer, or a three-week opportunity in December. 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, Arizona, and Florida, so that our local social work team can fully support you and the child during the hosting period.

** 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. **

This class offers the opportunity to hear from placed adoptive parents. We will explore how people’s lives/daily
routines have changed in becoming parents through open adoption, the realities of parenting and how families have continued to lean on Adoptions from the Heart to support their adoption triad.

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.

Fee: $20.00

Part 2: Adoption Perspective

on Father’s Day

Holidays are often a time of joy and celebration for adoptive families. However, for adoptees, these same occasions can also bring a mix of emotions, including reminders of the losses they’ve experienced.

In this four-part series, Tony Hynes, Ph.D., who joined his family through adoption, will explore the unique emotional landscape holidays can create for adopted individuals.

Teens and tweens are experiencing massive changes in their brain and bodies. This creates pressure to manage a world that is complicated for both youth and parents. Challenging behaviors can manifest as defiance, aggression, withdrawal, or impulsivity; understanding the potential causes and developing effective coping strategies are crucial for supporting teenagers as they navigate this complex phase.

Join Sean Sparks, LMFT for honest talk about how to remain connected while setting appropriate boundaries and helping your foster or adopted children towards a successful life path.

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

In this free support call first/birth parents will be able to connect, listen and share their experiences of adoption, both private and through the child welfare system. Space will also be provided for participants to explore and share experiences around open adoptions, closed adoptions, recent reunions, same-race adoption, transracial adoption, termination of parental rights, and other topics as decided by the group.
Please remember that this group is for birth/first parents who are related by birth to a child placed in adoption or foster care.

Join us to learn about our new Costa Rica Adoption Program. Our Costa Rica Adoption Program is open to singles, married couples, and welcomes gay and lesbian parents. In this webinar, we will detail the pathways to adopt from Costa Rica. We will share information about the system of child protection in Costa Rica. We will discuss common medical and special needs of children who are awaiting adoption in Costa Rica. We will speak about eligibility factors for prospective adoptive parents in Costa Rica. 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. **

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.

Registration for the NAA National Conference is now open!

For more information on our upcoming National Conference please visit our website.

We look forward to seeing you in Boston!

Spence-Chapin is thrilled to partner with the experts at Your Adoption Finance Coach to provide our families with free access to experts, tools and content that can take the worry out of financing your adoption. In this webinar, we will hear from Kelly Ellison, adoptive mother and Founder and CEO of Your Adoption Finance Coach. Kelly will provide an overview of financial resources available to families adopting. This will be a great introduction to the many resources that can offset the costs of an adoption process. Families who move forward in an adoption program at Spence-Chapin will have access to Your Adoption Finance Coach’s full breadth of individualized services at no cost.

The information that will be shared in this webinar is valuable for both domestic and international adoption pathways. This webinar welcomes prospective adoptive families, as well as families who are currently in-process of adopting.

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.

FREE!

The need for coordinated, responsive and family-centered support is critical as adoptive, guardianship and kinship families navigate the complexities of life post-permanency.  This Center Chat explores how integrating a centralized case management hub into post-permanency services can transform fragmented systems into cohesive networks of care-ensuring families receive timely, tailored support when they need it most.

FREE!

The need for coordinated, responsive and family-centered support is critical as adoptive, guardianship and kinship families navigate the complexities of life post-permanency.  This Center Chat explores how integrating a centralized case management hub into post-permanency services can transform fragmented systems into cohesive networks of care-ensuring families receive timely, tailored support when they need it most.

Our Conference Chairs are so excited to welcome you to beautiful Santa Fe! With the perfect balance of education and social time, this will be a conference you won’t want to miss. 

The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) is an organization of nearly 500 highly vetted attorneys dedicated to the competent and ethical practice of adoption and assisted reproduction law.