New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

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.

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.

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.

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 for a special evening of Broadway performances celebrating family and community.

All proceeds from the event go to support the work of Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children who, for more than 115 years, has helped grow families of all shapes and sizes through adoption, and provided them with lifelong support and connection to community.

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.

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

Fee: $75.00

Adoptive parents and their children aged 6-11 years old are invited to join us for an afternoon of creativity, introspection, and structured exploration of their adoption story. Through this community-building event, adoptive parents and their children will also have the unique opportunity to meet other families and create new friendships. Parents will be asked to bring special items that represent their child’s story and where they were born including photos (copies are fine). All other creative materials will be provided by Spence-Chapin.

This event takes place at the Spence-Chapin Manhattan office. Snacks and refreshments will be served.

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.

Join Pact’s Executive Director and fellow adoptive parent, Beth Hall, to find community and talk about transracial adoption, race and identity issues that may be coming up for you or members of your family. The focus for these calls is transracial adoption.

These free calls are open only to current members of Pact. If you have not purchased a Pact membership (or your membership is not current) you can join at pactadopt.org.

This is a free event open to adults of color who were adopted or are former foster youth. Space will be provided for participants to explore and share experiences around international adoption, foster care, transracial/interracial adoption, search and reunion, birth/first family and other topics of interest to the group.

Voices of Adoption (V.O.A.) is a virtual space for adopted people 18+ world-wide to join in conversation, meet peers and talk about the topics that are important to them. Hosted by Jessica M. Luciere, transracial adoptee born in Bogota, Colombia, and Manager of Community Engagement at Spence-Chapin, V.O.A. welcomes adopted people of all backgrounds to experience community amongst other adoptees.

This class will offer an overview on what the BP fund is, how it serves our community and ways that families can donate. We are hoping to include some stories from birthparents who can share how their lives were positively impacted by the AFTH Birthparent Support Fund. Additionally, we are hoping to offer an overview of ways that AFTH can provide on-going support for birthparents, post-placement.

Free, monthly virtual support calls provide a safe space for BIPOC adoptive, foster and kinship parents of BIPOC teens and young adults.

Join Raquel Vivanco, Director of the Adoptive Parents of Color Collaborative (APCC) and fellow adoptive parent, to find community and talk about parenting adopted and foster teens and young adults of color, including challenges, and helpful strategies. We will discuss how relationships shift as our young ones grow in their journey and how we can support ourselves and our loved ones.

This call is for people of color who are parenting adopted/foster teens and young adults of color.  Please be respectful of their space.

Teen Voices of Adoption (V.O.A.) is a virtual community where adopted teens ages 13–17 from around the world can connect, meet peers, and have real conversations about the topics that matter most 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.

Do you live in Arizona and are considering adopting an infant? Learn about Spence-Chapin’s Domestic Adoption Program for Arizona families! This free webinar is the first step for families interested in applying to Spence-Chapin as all webinar attendees will receive a Domestic Adoption Program application. Our team will share details the application process, open adoption, demographics of the children in need of adoption, the matching process, options counseling for birth parents, and more!

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

Spence-Chapin’s Domestic Adoption Program is open to residents of Arizona, New York, and New Jersey. Please register for a webinar event that corresponds with the state where you live by visiting our Events Calendar.

If you are unable to register for this webinar, please contact us to learn about other upcoming event opportunities or discuss additional pathways to grow your family through domestic infant adoption.

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.

Fee: $30.00

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.