New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

FREE!

Parents who have adopted transracially or who are thinking about adopting transracially are invited to attend this webinar / support group combo!

Parenting Transracial/Interracial Adoptees will be held via Zoom on Wednesday (Jul. 27th, Aug. 3rd, Aug. 10th, Aug. 17th, Aug. 24th, Aug. 31st) from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EST. The series will lead off with a webinar and then subsequent parent support group meetings.

This support group/webinar combo will provide a space where interracial adoptive parents can share their questions, experiences and concerns about parenting children who are of a different race from their own.

Many of us may be familiar with the acronym, “LGBTQ+”, but which communities are represented by the “+”? This webinar will explore some of the diverse identities that are included in the “+” like the spectrums of asexuality, two-spirit identities within Indigenous cultures, and the intersex community.

The Economic Mobility and Well-Being conference brings together three affinity groups of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) – American Association of SNAP Directors (AASD), National Association for Program Information and Performance Measurement (NAPIPM), and National Association of TANF Administrators (NASTA).

A practical, developmentally grounded discussion for both parents and professionals working to support foster and adoptive parents who are parenting children of color. In this webinar, we will help you learn how to talk with children of color about their personal adoption stories, adoptism, racism and racial pride in the context of the white supremacy that permeates their world and ours. We will explore how to introduce and expand conversations in a manner reflective of developmental stages. Participants will be presented with examples of how families, educators and scholars think and strategize for balancing race-based pride with discussing the realities of oppression. This webinar is for all members of the adoption constellation and adoption professionals.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

Are you considering adoption and want to know more about the home study process?

Join us for this FREE webinar to learn more about the home study process, including the purpose of the home study, what a home study entails, and how to make the most of your home study experience. We’ll save plenty of time for Q&A so bring your questions or feel free to submit questions in advance to Sophia Gardner at sgardner@spence-chapin.org.

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.

“Bridging Theory to Practice: Learning & Unlearning to Drive Effective Advocacy”

The annual conference is an opportunity for us to bring together professionals from child welfare and other intersecting fields and further the goals in NACC’s strategic plan through the exchange of ideas, information, and collective efforts. Most conference attendees are attorneys (representing children, parents, and agencies) and judges who work in child welfare court systems.

This webinar will provide an overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), discussion about the differences in ASD presentation, and practical resources and parenting strategies for families. Attention will be given to adoptees with autism, as well as how a diagnosis may impact relationships with siblings, birth families, and adoptive parents.

This FREE live webinar is sponsored by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and will provide 1 CE credit for social workers. For social workers licensed in the state of New York, it will provide 1 contact hour.

Registration is open until the webinar begins. To participate in this webinar, attendees must have the Zoom application downloaded to their device.

Free!

This supportive group for first/birth parents will take place as a Zoom call.

Group members 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.  This group is not for adoptive parents.

Join us to meet our International team and to learn more about adoption pathways! The team is excited to meet you virtually and to share about the children awaiting adoption in Colombia and South Africa. The team will discuss our backgrounds, what brought us to the field of adoption, examples of our day-to-day work, and some of our favorite moments of working as adoption professionals with families like yours!

Our evening will follow the following agenda – feel free to join us for all or part of the evening!

6:00pm – 6:10pm (Eastern): Staff Introduction
6:10pm – 6:30pm (Eastern): Overview of the Intercountry Adoption Process
6:30pm – 6:50pm (Eastern): South Africa Adoption Overview
6:50pm – 7:10pm (Eastern): Colombia Adoption Overview
7:10pm – 7:30pm (Eastern): Q&A

Our international adoption programs are open to families nationwide and we have pathways available for applicants in their 20s-50s, applicants of all marital statuses, and LGBTQ+ applicants. We look forward to meeting you and sharing about these special programs.

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.

Are you planning a transracial adoption (either domestic or international),
or are you already parenting across racial lines? In order to successfully meet your child’s needs, you must be prepared to think about, learn about and talk about race and racism as well as understand white privilege and how to honestly interrogate your own whiteness. We will explore how these issues impact you and your child throughout their developmental stages. We will review some race facts in America, talk about why race matters in transracial adoption and offer a developmental approach to talking about race with children. Participants will hear directly from a transracial adoptee and a transracial adoptive parent about the challenges and strengths of transracial adoption. This webinar will not support a colorblind but rather a “color-affirming” approach. Other topics will include how to handle questions/comments about your “visible” family and the importance of building a diverse community for your multiracial family. This webinar is designed for transracial adoptive parents as well as professionals working with these families.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

FREE!

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. Space is limited.

This is a free event open to adults of color who were adopted or are former foster youth.

Inspired by our commitment to deconstruct white privilege and address the issues of racism that permeate the child maltreatment field, APSAC Commission for Racial Justice launched a Reading Club in 2021. Led by a diverse group of professionals in the field, topics such as racism in psychotherapy, recognizing micro-aggressions in child maltreatment work, examining corporal punishment in the African American community and addressing white supremacy culture.

Given the continued emergence of an interconnected society, an ever-evolving pandemic, calls for racial and social justice along with heightened polarization across many fronts, building organizational capacity for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion is more critical than ever. The need for leaders across sectors, and especially within the social sector, to understand and engage the current environment is essential in building an equitable society for all.

During this three-part virtual workshop presented by Social Current, participants will explore their relationships with equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in a safe environment and make progress on developing an EDI action plan for their organizations.

This event will open for registration on Wednesday, September 7th at 1PM EST.

Considering adopting an infant? Learn about Spence-Chapin’s full-service Domestic Adoption Program during this free webinar!

This 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 about the adoption program, including 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.

Please note that there are limited spaces available within this webinar and within our Domestic Adoption Program. Given the number of infants placed through our program each year, we welcome a limited number of families into the program each year; this is done to prevent longer wait times for families. If you are unable to register for this webinar, please contact us to schedule a call to discuss additional pathways to grow your family through domestic infant adoption.

There are so many considerations when choosing your pathway to adoption. When considering international adoption, prospective adoptive parents often wonder, “What are the steps in an international adoption?”, “Will I be eligible for the country program I’m considering?”, and “Are there differences in the common characteristics of children placed for adoption in different countries?”

We’ll explore these questions and more. We’ll provide an overview of the adoption process and talk about the home study experience and about the reasons that one family may work with two agencies to complete an international adoption – one agency to complete the home study and another to manage the placement processes. We’ll talk about eligibility and the characteristics of children placed in Spence-Chapin’s South Africa and Colombia programs, then talk about how Spence-Chapin can support your family if you choose to adopt from a different country.

Bring your questions! We’ll save time for Q&A.

Given the continued emergence of an interconnected society, an ever-evolving pandemic, calls for racial and social justice along with heightened polarization across many fronts, building organizational capacity for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion is more critical than ever. The need for leaders across sectors, and especially within the social sector, to understand and engage the current environment is essential in building an equitable society for all.

During this three-part virtual workshop presented by Social Current, participants will explore their relationships with equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in a safe environment and make progress on developing an EDI action plan for their organizations.

Given the continued emergence of an interconnected society, an ever-evolving pandemic, calls for racial and social justice along with heightened polarization across many fronts, building organizational capacity for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion is more critical than ever. The need for leaders across sectors, and especially within the social sector, to understand and engage the current environment is essential in building an equitable society for all.

During this three-part virtual workshop presented by Social Current, participants will explore their relationships with equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in a safe environment and make progress on developing an EDI action plan for their organizations.

The biennial Together for Families Conference is a unique virtual event that connects various stakeholders from across the U.S. and Canada in the Family Support and Strengthening Field to focus on best and promising practice for supporting families’ advancement.