Barb is NACAC’s training and support specialist. To learn more about the training NACAC can offer on FASD and other issues, visit the Training section of our site. Originally published in Adoptalk 2021: issue 3. Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. What have I learned about parenting a child with a fetal alcohol spectrum… Read more
By Melanie Schmidt, LMSW Originally published in Adoptalk 2021: issue 1. Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. Melanie Schmidt is an adoption social worker providing support to Adoption STAR’s A-OK (Adopt an Older Kid) Program in Buffalo, New York. With close to 15 years of experience in the foster care adoption field, Melanie was… Read more
By Barb Clark, NACAC’s parent support and training specialist Originally published in Adoptalk 2020: issue 3. Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. Like many toddlers, my daughter first began taking things from the church nursery when she was two. Unfortunately, she didn’t stop as she got older. For neurotypical children around age five or… Read more
From Adoptalk 2019, Issue 4; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. By Matthew Kaplan Matthew Kaplan is the content marketing strategist at Alternative Family Services. Since 1978, the mission of AFS has been—and continues to be—to support vulnerable children and families in need of stability, safety and well-being in communities through foster care, adoption and mental health… Read more
From Adoptalk 2019, Issue 1; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. Adapted by Anna Libertin, NACAC’s communications specialist, from a webinar by Kim Stevens. Kim Stevens is a program manager at NACAC who specializes in post-adoption support, youth development, training for caregivers, and trauma and healing. She is also the adoptive parent of four children from foster… Read more
See your kids in a whole new light! This webinar offers a toolbox of strategies for parenting children and teens. Topics include developing trust and attachment while helping children learn to manage their own behaviors, build self-esteem, and maintain sanity. The presenter will give special attention to the unique world of teens. Presented by Denise… Read more
From Adoptalk 2018, Issue 4; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. By Anna Libertin, NACAC communications specialist Change is always met with resistance. But the shift from fall to winter is more than just a transition: as winter progresses, grey skies, dropping temperatures, winter activities, and the holiday season pose unique and overwhelming obstacles for parents of children with… Read more
From Adoptalk 2018, Issue 4; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. By Juli Alvarado, MA, LPC Juli Alvarado is the founder and senior clinical consultant at the Alvarado Consulting and Treatment Group. For more than two decades, the Alvarado Consulting and Treatment Group has offered trauma-sensitive resources and training, life coaching, and organizational development to families and child welfare… Read more
From Adoptalk 2018, Issue 4; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. By Jessica Sinarski, LPCMH Jessica Sinarski is a clinical supervisor, consultant, author, and educator. Her areas of expertise include trauma-informed care, child development, and brain-based practices. Jessica has trained thousands of parents and professionals across the country. For more information and a list of recent workshops, click here. Her… Read more
From Adoptalk 2018, Issue 3; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership Adapted by Anna Libertin, NACAC’s communications specialist, from a webinar by Sue Badeau Sue Badeau is a birth and adoptive parent to 22 children and a national child welfare trainer and consultant with more than 30 years of experience in the field. Her… Read more
from Fall 2006 Adoptalk How seriously is methamphetamine (meth) use affecting child welfare? The answer varies by state and region, but Congress, when it reauthorized the Safe and Stable Families Program in September, agreed to spend $40 million on the problem in fiscal year 2007. That’s how much states—through $500,000 to $1 million grants—will have… Read more
From Adoptalk 2018, Issue 2; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership By Phyllis J. Stevens Phyllis Stevens is a foster and adoptive parent and founder of Together As Adoptive Parents, an adoptive parent support network, in Pennsylvania. She also helped start the Philadelphia Resource Parent Association and currently works for the Youth Law Center… Read more
From Adoptalk 2018, Issue 2; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership By Jon Baylin, PhD, and Dan Hughes, PhD © 2018 Jon Baylin is a clinical psychologist who has been working in the mental health field for 35 years. For the past 20 years, while continuing his clinical practice, he has immersed himself in… Read more
On October 24th, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released a free, five-part online video training series that teaches child welfare professionals how to engage kinship caregivers. The videos are facilitated by kinship care expert, Dr. Joseph Crumbley, who has trained and consulted worldwide on the unique experiences and issues facing kinship families. The videos are… Read more
From the Summer 2017 issue of Adoptalk; Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership Monica Cohu is the lead family advocate for the New Mexico Fiesta project, a statewide adoption support program. She is an adoptive parent and supports other families through the Fiesta Project and Project Revive: Emotional First-Aid to Foster Families. Both projects… Read more
From the Summer 2017 issue of Adoptalk. Adoptalk is a benefit of NACAC membership. Tamarie and Angelique wrote this article as part of their work on CORE: Teen, a federally funded project to develop training for current and prospective resource parents of children who are older and who have more substantial needs. In this… Read more
The other day I ran into a neighbor who had just started the process of adopting two little ones who’ve been living with her and her family for two months. She seemed overwhelmed, scared, and above all just worn out by the constant and unrelenting needs of her two new children. In thinking about all… Read more
When reviewing records of many of the children with whom I work, I am perplexed at one particular notation I regularly see written by therapists and counselors. Under the list of negative traits of the child, it is often written, “Child exhibits attention-seeking behaviors.” I strongly believe that children seek attention because they need attention… Read more
In this webinar, Dr. Rowell explores how a child’s early experience with hunger or food insecurity can result in survival behaviors that continue in foster or adoptive families. These behaviors can include eating quickly, stealing or hiding food, getting upset if asked to share or slow down while eating, and more. The presentation helps parents… Read more
Every child entering foster care has experienced some amount of trauma—if nothing else, removal from his or her home and placement into foster care is itself traumatic. In most cases, children in the child welfare system have multiple experiences with trauma, often referred to as complex trauma. Parenting a child who has been separated from… Read more