New Jersey Adoption Resource Clearing House

Join Us For This FREE Workshop! 

Bullying is a harmful action towards another student or any act that infringes on a student’s rights at school.  It is important to know ways to prevent and respond to bullying in school.  This presentation will discuss what schools are required to do under the law including creating a positive environment for ALL students.  Come join the conversation regarding what students, families, educators, and communities can do to help in providing a safe and welcoming environment for all.

(In celebration of Black History Month)

A Conversation with Michael Funk
Moderated by Antoinette Cockerham, Chief Operating Officer, Spence-Chapin

Join Us For This FREE Workshop! 

Bullying is a harmful action towards another student or any act that infringes on a student’s rights at school.  It is important to know ways to prevent and respond to bullying in school.  This presentation will discuss what schools are required to do under the law including creating a positive environment for ALL students.  Come join the conversation regarding what students, families, educators, and communities can do to help in providing a safe and welcoming environment for all.

Palmetto Association for Children and Families (PAFCAF)  Annual Conference is the premier educational and networking meeting for South Carolina’s child welfare/ well-being sector each year. Those attending can network with colleagues, learn about best practices, innovations, skills and technologies, as well learn about transformation in the field of child and family services in order to enhance service provision to recipients.

Prospective adoptive parents and those already parenting can join Spence-Chapin for a FREE webinar to learn how trauma can impact adopted children and their families. During this interactive session, you will learn how trauma affects child development and relationships. You’ll also hear about strategies and resources to cope.

Our Office in Fair Lawn, NJ is offering a one-hour tour to meet staff, see our office, and hear stories of God’s work happening in the lives of our clients! We hope you will join us, so we may share our mission and passion with you.

RSVPs are required. Please call 201-703-4371 to sign up.

Join Jessica Luciere, international adoptee and Program Facilitator of Spence-Chapin’s Mentorship Program, for a night of conversation and connection! Voices of Adoption is a safe and open space for adoptees to share stories and have an open discussion about adoption.
Adoptee Only Event (Ages 18+)
FREE ADMISSION
Advance registration is required

According to a new report from the Office of Inspector General of the US Department of Health and Human Services, migrant children fleeing violence in their native countries have experienced severe psychological trauma before and after entering the country when we separated them from their families and placed them in detention facilities pursuant to the Trump Administration’s so-called ‘zero tolerance’ policy. In another report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, investigators found prolonged detention and serious overcrowding in these facilities. In three of the five facilities, for example, government investigators found children had no access to showers and limited access to change of clothes. In two detention centers, children also had no access to hot meals. Additionally, public reporting revealed that some children were molested and/or emotionally and physically abused while in federally-funded-custody. Moreover, while the administration claimed that it would reunite families separated at the border, some government officials conceded that they lacked requisite information to reconnect children with their parents. Join us for a conversation about this crisis.

Speakers: Ryan Vogel, Professor and Director of National Security Studies, Utah Valley University – Felipe González Morales, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants – Lee Gelernt, Deputy Director, Immigrant Rights Project, ACLU – Engy Abdelkader(Moderator), Chair, Rights of Immigrants Committee, Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice, ABA

SHARING IDEAS THAT STRENGTHEN FAMILIES
AND ENGAGE COMMUNITIES TO PROMOTE CHILD WELL-BEING

All proposals are due no later than Friday, August 2, 2019.

We look forward to receiving proposals that share the best ideas and proven strategies from around the world that focus on strengthening families and engaging communities to promote child well-being. We want proposals that describe endeavors at program and systems levels, including how they are planned and developed. We also encourage sharing strategies for policy and organizational change as well as funding.  Outcomes are valued, especially the research and evaluation designs.

The California Adoption Conference is a two-day event featuring talks and workshops for adoptive and foster families, adult adoptees and foster alums, birth parents, and adoption professionals.  Each day the conference begins with a morning keynote presentation followed by lunch. In the afternoon, participants choose from a variety of workshops to delve deeper into topics such as open adoption, transracial adoption, attachment, and searching for first/birth family along with panels featuring birth/first parents and adopted adults. There are sessions specifically for prospective adoptive parents, first/birth parents as well as adoption professionals, educators and extended family members.

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 adoption 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 Latinx adopted adults, born both domestically and internationally, will be featured. They will address issues including language, gendered narratives about Latinx cultures, the importance of ethnic-specific connections, culture-specific approaches to adoption and search (both transnational and domestic).

“Charting a Course for the Future of Adoption”

This year’s conference topic will focus on the lifespan of adoptees with special consideration given to adult adoptees and their many connections across generations. The 2020 conference be marked with the many exciting signs of progress both with our program and within the world of adoption studies. We are pleased to announce the creation of a new position for the conference planning committee. Dr. Hollee McGinnis, assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the school of social work will serve in the inaugural role of Program Chair. Hollee’s work is based on her interest in adoption, children’s mental health and well-being, child welfare and alternative care systems. Her research broadly examines the social and cultural determinants of children’s mental health and well-being, with a specific focus on improving outcomes across the lifespan for children with histories of early childhood adversity.

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.

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.