New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

2020 – 2021 Monthly Strengthening Your Family
live stream webinar series

For Parents and Professionals

The first 600 registrations are FREE each month

**Este grupo se reúne cada martes hasta el año 2021. Por favor visite el sitio web para más información.

Join Pact’s Adoption Social Worker, Katie Wynen, for a FREE orientation to learn about the adoption process and placement program with Pact. Pact supports expectant/birth parents who are specifically seeking adoptive parents of color to adopt their baby. These are no-obligation opportunities to gather information about the adoption process with Pact. Participants will learn about Pact’s ethical and child-centered approach to adoption placement. We will review the home study process and what will be required, the timeline and costs of domestic infant adoption with Pact, and other services and programs that Pact offers in addition to placement. This webinar is particularly focused on the experience of pre-adoptive parents of color interested in adoption, but parents considering transracial adoption are also welcome to attend.

PST Time, CA

Start: Apr 21, 2021 11:00 AM
End: Apr 21, 2021 12:30 PM

Thinking about adopting as an LGBTQ parent? Join us for a FREE webinar that will shed light on adopting, including an overview of the home study process, state regulations for second parent adoption, and how to select an affirming adoption service provider. Bring your questions – there will be plenty of time for Q&A!

FREE

Let’s face it, it’s hard being a parent right now and we can all use a bit of grace. In this interactive workshop Dr. Briscoe-Smith will share information about racial stress, how to have hard conversations and resilience. The focus will be on developing and refining our ability to cultivate joy and resilience in our families.

PST Time, CA

Start: Apr 22, 2021 5:00 PM
End: Apr 22, 2021 6:30 PM

We will cover the concepts that lead to secure relationships, how to address attachment challenges inherent in adoption, and how to support your child in developing healthy connections that form the foundation for how they view themselves and others. We acknowledge that adoption involves loss for all members of the adoption triad (adoptees, birthparents and adoptive parents) and will discuss ways to support your child in their grief throughout their life.  

This training will take place virtually through Zoom. 

Dr. Melissa Goldstein, a pediatrician specializing in international adoption, will discuss common diagnoses and medical needs of children who are adopted internationally. Dr. Goldstein has spent over 15 years working with adoptive families, providing medical counseling during the home study phase, reviewing referrals and practicing adoption medicine post-adoption. During her career she has also worked abroad, performing pre-adoption evaluations in Russia. Dr. Goldstein practices in New York City and is available virtually to families throughout the United States. 

This training will take place virtually through Zoom. 

Often, when kids are in the elementary school-age years more questions may arise surrounding their adoption story, and sometimes parents feel stuck on when and how to start talking about it.

This webinar will provide parents of school-aged children with best-practices and perspectives on how to talk about adoption in support of a child’s development of adoptive identity. Not available April 27? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the recorded version. The registration fee for this event is $35.00 per family.

For many parents, knowing the importance of talking openly with their child about adoption is the easy part and knowing what to say and how to say it can be more challenging. It can be hard to come up with the words in the moment – what if I say the wrong thing? This training will cover how to talk with your child about their adoption story and birth family as they grow and how to respond to questions and comments from others.  

Participants are asked to watch the documentary You Follow prior to the training although this is not required. 

This training will take place virtually through Zoom. 

We look forward to exploring the numerous service enhancements and innovations that have been developed by child welfare and other allied fields in response to COVID-19, discussing the successful strategies and approaches that can be integrated into our service work moving forward, and identifying the practice, policy, and funding changes that may be required to help organizations implement and adapt.

Register today to reserve your seat! Attendees also will have access to recordings of the virtual conference presentations. Contact us at CWLA2021@cwla.org for assistance.

**Sessions start every day at 12:00 PM and end at 5:00 PM ET

Join us for a virtual event on May 4th as we hear from leading pediatric health professionals and social workers on the developmental and emotional impact the pandemic has had on children around the world, and learn how the Spence-Chapin Granny Program is addressing those challenges in orphanages right now.

All funds raised through this event will go to directly support children in orphanages by pairing them with a loving “Granny” caregiver–a volunteer from the local community who receives training in child development, and who provides consistent one-on-one attention and love to a child who is without the support of family.

First/birth parents are the truest expert on their own experience. In this webinar, participants will hear from a panel of first/birth parents as they discuss the many complexities of adoption.  This diverse and interactive panel will address topics such as pregnancy and childbirth, interactions with professionals, relationships with their child/ren and relationships with their child/ren’s adoptive parents. Through first-person stories and videos, we’ll offer perspectives that represent a spectrum of placements including different types of adoption and reasons for adoption and foster-adoption. There is no single first/birth parent story, so be prepared to have your assumptions challenged and your perspective broadened.

PST Time, CA

Start: May 5, 2021 11:00 AM
End: May 5, 2021 12:30 PM

Community Health Law Project (CHLP) offers a wide range of workshops for consumers and professionals. With the support of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, it presents one to two Law & Disability Issues conferences a year at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick. Subjects include general civil rights cases, fair housing rights, health care issues and new laws affecting people in institutional settings. CHLP’s branch offices also present trainings to consumers and professionals in their local service areas.

Topics for this conference: Supportive Housing, Special Needs Trusts, Medicaid Eligibility, Transition from Children’s to Adult System of Care

Identity is an important, individualized, and complex process among adoptees. Through a discussion facilitated by a clinical social worker and an adult adoptee, we will explore the crucial role parents play in helping their children develop a healthy self-concept that incorporates all aspects of who they are. We will also talk about themes that arise in transracial/transcultural families.  

Considering adopting? Want to learn about adoption programs at Spence-Chapin?

Join Spence-Chapin staff to learn about the current landscape of international and domestic adoption and the needs of the children waiting for adoptive families. We’ll discuss the scope of all Spence-Chapin adoption programs including international adoption (South Africa, Colombia, and Bulgaria) and domestic adoption, as well as Spence-Chapin’s adoption services.

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

Parenting a child with a trauma history can feel like you’re following a different set of rules. Join us to learn tips and techniques for addressing common behavioral challenges including tantrums, lying, food hoarding and sleep issues. This interactive virtual training will cover principles from Karyn Purvis’ Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) and Dan Hughes’ Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP).  

Participants will learn how to start and continue developmentally appropriate conversations about adoption, first families and loss. Topics will include understanding how children experience adoption; why the words we use matter, strategies that match children’s developmental stages, why beginning with a child’s birth makes sense; how to talk about first/birth parents; and how to answer and anticipate children’s questions whether they ask them or not. We will also discuss how to coordinate these conversations when birth parents are available to be part of them and when they are not. Appropriate for pre-adoptive parents, expectant parents considering an adoption plan and both birth and adoptive parents.

Call-In Instructions Will Be Emailed After Registration

$36 per person non-member. Special price Pact members receive 25% discount.

PST Time, CA

Start: May 19, 2021 11:00 AM
End: May 19, 2021 12:30 PM

Considering adopting? Want to learn about adoption programs at Spence-Chapin? Join Spence-Chapin to learn more about adoption pathways for prospective adoptive parents in their 40s and 50s. We will provide an overview of our programs and opportunities available for parents in this age range. Bring your questions, there will be plenty of time for Q&A.

LIVE MONTHLY WEBINAR SERIES

For Parents and Professionals

• CEUs for Professionals
• Certificates of Attendance
• Knowledge for All

The first 600 registrations are FREE each month!

$36 per person non-member. Special price Pact members receive 25% discount.

Preschoolers are very concrete thinkers. They are just beginning to learn about things like “same and different” and are beginning to apply their new ideas and understandings to everything, including friends and family. For this age group, the idea of “difference” doesn’t bring with it the uncomfortable feelings that it can evoke in parents. When a child learns that another child was adopted, they usually process it as just another piece of information. When they notice racial features and differences, they are simply categorizing as they are learning to do with shapes and colors. Parents and adults have a wonderful opportunity to introduce preschoolers to the full range of family structures and racial/ethnic diversity in a fun and constructive way. Being careful to use respectful adoption, race and identity language can set the stage for these kids to view their own identity – or their classmate’s – in a positive way.

 PST Time, CA

Start: June 2, 2021 11:00 AM
End: June 2, 2021 12:30 PM