Adoption Competency Certificate Program
An understanding of the core issues of adoption is critical to providing a competent continuum of care for families formed by foster care, kinship, guardianship or adoption. Hillside’s Learning Institute and Adoption Resource Network Adoption Competency Certificate Program provides training for: Social workers Mental health professionals Schools counselors Birth parents of children who were adopted Adoptive or pre-adoptive parents Adults who were adopted
Adoption Competency Certificate Program Earn this certificate and increase your expertise! In order to obtain a certificate you must complete six of the eight training sessions within one year. Those who do not wish to attain an Adoption Competency Certificate are still welcome to attend one or more sessions. Individuals who do earn a certificate will be encouraged to increase adoption competency in the community through training, consultation, technical assistance or direct service to adoptive families. Objective: To improve the adoption competency of service providers working in the community through professional training. Where: Learning Institute, 1 Mustard Street (Rochester) When: Each session will be a day-long session 9-4 with a break for lunch Cost to participants: None (underwritten by OCFS and Hillside) Registration: Required for each session. the Hillside Learning Institute at: Contact
Hillside Family of Agency’s Learning Institute and Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center
Ad o p t i o n Co m p e te n cy Ce r ti f i cat e P r o gr am
Training@hillside.com or call 585.654.1323
Hillside Family of Agency’s Learning Institute and Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center
585.654.1323 training@hillside.com
Learning Institute 1 Mustard Street Rochester, NY 14609 Phone: 585.654.1323 Fax: 585.654.1312 E-mail: training@hillside.com
Program Sessions
Changing Trends in Foster Care and Adoption– This training is an overview of the history of adoption and foster care, from the “Orphan Trains” to today’s practice. The presenters will discuss Hillside Family of Agency’s philosophy of adoption, policy and direction, and lead a brief discussion of common triad issues. When: 9/18/08 9am-4pm Presenters: Lisa Maynard, Mike Finn, Mike Carroll, Hillside Children’s Center Core Clinical Issues in Adoption/ Adoption Family Systems– The seven core issues of adoption as identified by KaplanRozia are Loss, Rejection, Guilt & Shame, Grief, Identity, Intimacy, and Mastery & Control. The presenter will discuss these core issues, the impact they have on the child, the adoptive parents, and the birthparents, and how a family systems approach can facilitate healing and strengthen bonds. When: 10/3/08 9am-4pm Presenter: John Sobraske, Adoption Therapist Culturally Sensitive Adoption Practice– The Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) prohibits the denial of placement of a child based on race or ethnicity. Roughly fourteen percent of adoptions are transracial/ transcultural, that is children being adopted by families who differ racially or culturally from their families of origin. What is considered best practice today, how can we help families traverse the rocky road of transracial adoption, how can we ensure children adopted transracially develop a healthy sense of cultural identity? The presenter will draw on her personal experience as well as more than 25 years as a national advocate and leader in adoption. When: 10/24/08 9am-4pm Presenter: Judith Ashton, Former Executive Director NYS CCC
Trauma Impact for Foster/Adoptive Children and Families– Project Joy’s innovative training will increase understanding of trauma and its impact on children and adults, our understanding of the role of playfulness, and how it can serve as a protective factor. The presenters will discuss playfulness in four domains: affective, social, psychosocial, and cognitive components; utilizing playfulness as an antidote to exposure to trauma, including the use of bodyoriented activities and games for families to use with their children with the development of playfulness as a treatment goal. Participants will walk away equipped with the tools to use play as a therapeutic process to help children heal, grow and thrive, and with a renewed sense of energy and joy. When: 11/7/08 9am-4pm Presenter: Steve Gross, Project Joy Behavior: The Language of Children– A child’s extreme acting out behavior is often blamed as the reason a placement is disrupting, occasionally leading to the dissolution of a finalized adoption. This training will look at the underlying message in the behavior of a child in a pre-adoptive placement or within an adoptive family; build an understanding that the behavior is often a child’s expression of loss, grief, growing intimacy, or fear. The presenter will provide a toolkit for workers and families to better meet the challenges presented by these intense behaviors to keep the family intact. When: 12/12/08 9am-4pm Presenter: Barry Chaffkin, CT WOCAT Birthfamily Relationships– Oftentimes it feels more comfortable for professionals and prospective adoptive parents to terminate a child’s birthfamily relationships following a voluntary surrender, involuntary surrender, or a purposeful adoption plan. However, children, birthfamily and adoptive family can all greatly benefit from maintaining those relationships. The presenter, a social worker and adoptive mother, will discuss the value of maintaining relationships or reconnecting with birthfamily while keeping children safe and setting appropriate boundaries. She will also discuss the process of search and reunion for adults who were adopted. When: 1/23/09 9am-4pm Presenters: Karen Rabish MSW, Lisa Maynard, Hillside Children’s Center
Transitions to Permanence– The focus of this session will be on the importance of finding permanent, adoptive families for youth freed for adoption. It will provide strategies and resources to help staff identify families who may be willing to commit to youth forever, helping a reluctant youth “unpack the no” and become open to adoption and the transition for youth and families once a commit to adoption has been made. When: 2/27/09 9am-4pm Presenters: Lisa Maynard, Mike Finn, Mike Carroll, Hillside Children’s Center
Additional Offerings: Legal Issues in Adoption– This session will provide an overview of the legal issues in adoption, addressing TPR (termination of parental rights), custody appeals, guardianship, kinship, subsidy, post-adoption contact agreements and other related issues. Culture of Adoption: This session will explore the common experiences shared by members of the adoption triad (the adopted individual, the birthparents, the adoptive parents). Recruitment/Retention from the LGBT Community– This session will look at adoption by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and couples, current trends, research findings on this practice, and the potential impact on youth. Parenting Adoptive Children Effectively (PACE)- The presenter offers rationale for looking at children’s challenging behaviors from a different perspective, along with the motivation and a toolkit for a new model of parenting. Attachment: What are the steps to “normal” attachment, how do breaks in attachment lead to a child’s ability to trust and develop relationships throughout life? How can we help remediate those breaks in attachment and identify families willing to take those steps to do so, as well? This session will address these issues and your questions, as well.