Adoption is More than an Event: Supporting Adoptees Throughout their Lives

CE ELIGIBLE

JaeRan Kim and Susan Branco

Adoption is seen as an intervention for children, but what happens when the adoptee becomes an adult and embarks on a process of personal reflection and identity development? Many adoptees describe the process of becoming more aware of the complexities of adoption as “coming out of the fog.” In this keynote, Drs. Susan Branco and JaeRan Kim will discuss adoption-related issues and concerns many adoptees have as adults. Their framework, the Adoptee Consciousness Model, advocates for a long-term lens on adoption and presents adoptee-centric considerations for those working with, or connected to, adoptees.

Intercultural Development and Humility for Adoptive Parents

CE ELIGIBLE

Kirstin Nelson

This session will introduce the Intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI), an assessment tool of intercultural competence – the capability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities in our personal and professional lives. The assessment places an individual on the Intercultural Development Continuum, which measures a set of knowledge, attitude and skill sets toward cultural difference and commonality. Most people overestimate their cultural competence level, and an accurate measure is essential to understand what additional growth is needed. This session will examine the IDI orientations (denial, polarization, minimization, acceptance, adaption) and what that can mean in both the workplace as well as in the context of transracial placements at home, with family, and how we interact – or not – with others.

Covering Up Mental Illness Won’t Make It Go Away

Breana Frazier

There are approximately 400,000 kids in foster care in the United States alone with many of them struggling with their mental health. Instead of avoiding their struggles in the hopes that they will go away, Breana addresses what it means to not only confront but embrace and therefore address a child’s mental health concerns and needs. With Breana’s personal experience and current research in this area, she will dive deep into the world of pediatric mental health and ways to help properly address and advocate for a child’s well-being.

Black Adoption in Pop Culture

Sandria Washington & Samantha Coleman

The idea of family is at the heart of the stories we tell in pop culture. From the creation of new families through romance to the tales told about established traditions through generations, human connection is everything. However, we know that family isn’t solely about blood ties. Adoption continues to play an integral part in the construction of modern families. Unfortunately, negative attitudes towards adoption are ingrained in pop culture. Many shows and movies make light of it, go for casual “he/she is adopted” jokes, and even use adoption as a plot point to perpetuate stereotypes. This discussion will explore the role of pop culture in changing how the world sees Black adoption, and how it has both empowered and disempowered Black adoptees.

How to Adopt

Lisa Clark, Adopt International; Katie Wynen, Pact, An Adoption Alliance; Alfonso Silva, Family Builders

Learn the basics about domestic (both private and foster) adoption and international adoption, as well as infant vs. older child placement, special needs parenting and other options including gender and/or race selection and open adoption. This workshop will guide you in finding the right placement path for your family if you are considering adoption. Panelists will address the following: How to choose an agency and what questions to ask; What goes into a home study and what (if anything) you need to be nervous about; How to choose a country to adopt from and what questions to ask; How to choose which adoption professional(s) to work with and more.

Healthy Relationships in Adoption: Empathy, Honesty and Responsiveness

CE ELIGIBLE

Susan Dusza Guerra Leksander

In 2023 almost everyone knows the term “open adoption,” an exchange of information, potentially including direct contact and relationships between adopted people and their first/birth families. But openness in adoption does not “solve” all the challenges of being adopted. Rather, it presents both opportunities and challenges for the adoptee and requires both sets of parents to develop specific attitudes and skills as they navigate information about and relationships with one another. We will discuss how to walk this path, keeping the adoptee at the center, supporting them in deciding who their people are and what kind of closeness or distance they want or need.

Talking with (not to) Children about Adoption

Beth Hall

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 and how to talk about first/birth parents depending on the information available as well as how to answer and anticipate children’s questions whether they ask them or not. We will discuss how to coordinate these conversations when birth parents are available to be part of them and when they are not.

Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk About

Jill Jacobs & Sydney Jacobs Allen

It is so easy to feel like you’re doing everything wrong in a field that so often speaks about interracial adoption in a negative light. Training after training; Internet websites and chat rooms can be all about what parents do wrong; foster and adoptive parents can often be left feeling like an enemy instead of a support and guide for their children. Sydney and Jill hope to change this narrative to one of hope by engaging participants in a conversation about what families CAN do as opposed to what they shouldn’t do. Inside the home, out in the community – how do you make sure your child feels seen, respected, acknowledged for who they are, loved and supportive? Sydney and Jill will share experiences, stories, and lessons learned in their family.

Voices of Adopted Adults

Panel Moderated by Katie Wynen

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. We believe that adults with first-hand experience are the truest experts on that experience. The voices of adopted adults born both domestically and internationally, adopted transracially and in same race placements, will be featured.

Adopting Teens: The Real Deal

Debbie Schugg

Parenting teenagers can be a bit daunting, and the idea of having someone join your family as a teen can feel awkward, even overwhelming, to many parents. In this workshop we’ll take a look at common concerns and misconceptions around adopting teens and the underlying fears that often drive them. We’ll explore the realities of offering permanency to an adolescent, including both the challenges and the bountiful benefits to the family, as well as to the teen. Deb will share practical tips for welcoming a teenager into your family, as well as pitfalls to avoid, and will challenge you to think differently about the loving, lasting gifts of adopting a teen.

Teaching & Learning: Creating and Supporting Adoptee Centered Spaces in the Classroom

Elena Pereira, Tina Fox, Carly Ellis

Listen in on a discussion among three adult adoptees who are working across grade levels Pre K-8 in school settings. They will share both their ownexperiences and research to inform educational practice when working with children and suggest best practices when working with adoptees. They will answer questions about what resources are available to teachers and parents, explore the kind of emotional support needed to support adoptees in a classroom setting and learn how to identify and address possible pitfalls in education for adopted children/families. We will also review research about brain development of adopted children and how that can show up for students.

Birth/First Parent Voices

Panel moderated by Susan Dusza Guerra Leksander

Nationwide, the adoption discussion is too often missing the perspective of first/birth parent voices and instead dominated by the voices of adoptive parents. When first/birth voices are missing, the message is sent to adoptees that their origin, the beginning of their life story and the connection to their first heritage and family is not important, not worthy, or perhaps is even something to be ashamed of, or overcome. Hear from several birth/first parents about how they are processing and managing their own adoption experiences, and doing their best to keep their child at the center. You will hear about different adoption scenarios including open adoptions with ongoing contact and adoptions where contact is challenging.

Holistic Family Healing: Healing through a Mirror, Self-Exploration Parenting

Carol Passmore

This workshop will explore the relationship between adopted children’s abandonment wounds and adoptive parents unresolved relationship traumas. As an adoptive parent and a family therapist, Carol has explored the “mirror” behaviors among adoptive family members and will encourage attendees to take a deeper look at healing their own wounds in order to create a healthier environment and model the path to healing for their children.