FREE Webinar with 1.5 CEU for Understanding ACEs Tuesday February 27th 8:00pm eastern

Childhood experiences, both good and bad, shape the developing brain and have a major impact on the physical, mental health and the social emotional functioning of adults. Poor childhood experiences such as childhood neglect, physical and sexual abuse or incarceration of caregivers are called Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs.

Join Harmony Family Center’s Education and Training Coordinator, Allison Cooke Douglas, for an overview of the science of ACEs, how these experience impact children and what parents and professionals can do to help children grow and heal after adversity.

Follow this link to register!

Certificates for 1.5 hours of training will be issued for qualified participants.

PLEASE NOTE: Couples using the same device to watch the webinar must register both participants on the registration form (one person in the first name space and the second in the last name space) to receive separate certificates. 

The Scariest Special Need of All—Would You Adopt This Child?

Source: https://creatingafamily.org

By Dawn Davenport




In my experience there is one special need that scares prospective adoptive parents the most. The one where even parents who have a wide range of acceptance for special needs will often say “no”. The special need that is preventing thousands of children from being adopted. That special need is being the victim of sexual abuse. Yes, that special need is actually being the victim of abuse!

Through no fault of their own these children have been sexually abused and are now being victimized again by the near universal fear of raising a child that has been sexually abused. Irony anyone?

I have been told by countless social worker that if the child has a record of sexual abuse in their file or a record of showing the symptoms of having been sexually abused, the chances of finding an adoptive family becomes infinitely harder. This breaks my heart.

Continue reading.

Sharing Stories, Symptoms...Persons with Developmental Disabilities - Register now!

NC families can share this with their professional medical and clinical supports to be sure they are aware of this great opportunity.  The more they know, the more they can support your child and family’s needs.

Register early and save $20!
Click here to register.



For more information and to register for other Mental Health continuing education, click here.

Announcing NCFA's April Webinar- It's Okay to Think About Yourself

"It's Okay to Think About Yourself: An Honest Conversation About Self-Care"

 

Working in the adoption field is more than just a job. For many of us, it is a calling, a vocation, our life’s work. As a result, we give of ourselves in a way that can leave us feeling tired both physically and emotionally. During this webinar, Kimberly Harrell will share practical ways to take care of yourself so you can continue refreshed and renewed in this important work allowing you to do your very best work on behalf of children and familiesty.

Join us on Thursday, April 28th, at 2pm EST for NCFA's Newest Webinar.

CEU: 1.5 hours credit*, 1 hour ethics credit**

Deadline to register: Wednesday, April 17th at noon EST

About the Presenter: Kimberly Harrell, M.Ed., LPC, NCC is the program director at the Center for Adoption and Pregnancy Services, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Arlington. She has over 20 years of experience working with those whose lives have been touched by adoption, including birth parents, adoptees, adoptive parents and adoptive families. Kimberly is also in private practice in Centreville, VA where she works with individuals, families, and adolescents. Her passion for working on adoption-related issues continues in her practice.  Kimberly has written a number of articles on the importance of support for birth parents, including Meeting Birth Parent Needs for a Successful Adoption.  She also speaks to groups of mental health professionals to educate them on the adoption-related issues they may encounter in their practices.  She holds a Masters in Education from Virginia Tech University. 

COSTS: $25 for NCFA Members and $30 for the Public, CEU $15

Looking for a caring, adoption-competent mental health professional in your area?

Directory of Adoption Competent Professionals 

 

Access to adoption-competent mental health professionals is crucial to promote adoption success and the well-being of all those involved. The Center for Adoption Support and Education has trained more than 700 mental health professionals from across the country through the Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) program.

Looking for a caring, adoption-competent mental health professional in your area? Below you will find contact information and bios for many of our TAC graduates.

Read more.

Register Now! Anxiety and Depression in Adopted Children

Upcoming Webcast

 

 

REGISTER NOW

Studies show that the rate of anxiety and depression in adopted children is more than double that of the general population.

Depression, while usually associated with lethargy in adults, often looks like anger in kids. Anxiety typically sounds fearful in adults, but looks more like avoidance, annoyance or off-the-wall behavior in children.
Specific topics will include:

• The incidence of depression and anxiety in our adopted or foster children
• The role of early trauma and how it can play out over time
• What depression and/or anxiety looks like at different ages and stages
• How to help kids develop more coping tools
• When to consider professional help

 

Our featured experts:

 

Learn more and click here to register now 

Feel free to forward this on to anyone who may benefit!

We've relaunched a portion of our website to optimize the experience for our webcasts. Let me know what you think!

Thank you,
Kirby

Questions? Email Kirby

NAMI Piedmont Tri-County Walk for 1 in 4

Source: http://www.razoo.com/story/Ericka-Kauer-Fundraising-For-Nami-Piedmont-Tri-County-Walk-For-1-In-4

Adoptive families really know the value of accessing mental health services and support. Here's a great chance to support that for families in your own community.

Did you know that 1 in 5 children are affected by mental illness in a given year? Your support matters to our family and many, many others!

We knew from almost the very start that our daughter, Ava, was different from other kids. As time went on, her struggles became more pronounced. After years of evaluations, she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and a mild Intellectual Disability at age 9. Her increasingly isolating behaviors threatened to tear our family apart. We were truly a family in crisis. It was then that we found NAMI. At the NAMI Piedmont Tri-County, Family to Family course, we started to understand the challenges Ava faces every minute of every day. The education we received at NAMI Family to Family and NAMI Basics has been life changing. As a result of attending NAMI support groups, we have learned to become better advocates for Ava in the school setting as well as in the community. The caring and generous nature of the many NAMI Piedmont Tri-County volunteers we have met has provided much needed emotional as well as educational support to us.

Read more.

The Role of Attachment in Infancy on Later Mental and Physical Health Outcomes

Click here to see video.

Voice for Adoption Seeks Input on Access to Mental Health Services for Foster and Adopted Children

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is seeking input on how to ensure that all Americans have necessary mental health treatment. Specifically, they are asking about administrative and legal barriers to care, key policies that have lead to improved outcomes, and how Medicaid and Medicare can be improved to help people with mental health needs.

Voice for Adoption (VFA) wants to be sure that the U.S. adoption community is part of this process. VFA has created a brief survey to gather information on these issues as they relate to children adopted from domestic foster or institutional inter-country care, and will share the results with Senate leadership.

Please take a moment to complete the survey. The survey deadline is September 17.

Thank you,
Robin E. Sizemore
Executive Director of Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc

Latest Research on the Mental Health of Adopted Children

Photo credit: thinkprogess

All For You!!

If you are a Hopscotch Family, we have something great to share with you - for FREE! As a proud sponsor of Creating A Family website, our client families are provided FREE access to their vast library of radio podcasts. The library covers a vast range of adoption related topics that you will not find anywhere else. As a bonus, you can opt to receive educational credit hours and a certificate with a password issued to each of our clients - again, free to Hopscotch client families.

To access the adoption learning center on the Creating a Family website:

Hopscotch clients can access the adoption education courses by going to the learning center at http://www.creatingafamily.org/learning-center.html

Each individual will need to create an account with a username and password (see the blue link in the upper right hand corner of the webpage for creating a new account)

Once you have logged in with you individual username and password you'll have access to listen to all the courses - for FREE!

As a sponsoring agency, our clients have access to the quiz/certificate option for each course.   You'll just need to click on the quiz icon next to a particular course listing.  You'll then be prompted for a course password that is unique to Hopscotch clients. You'll need to contact Megan for your password to receive your certificate after completion of each podcast and quiz. Be sure to print your certificate after each podcast quiz.

Here's a podcast sample:

Latest Research on the Mental Health of Adopted Children

What does the latest research show on the emotional and mental health of adopted children? How do adoptees fare later in life? Our guest is Dr. Kathleen Whitten, a developmental psychologist and adoptive mother who researches the mental health of adopted children. She has been a lecturer in psychology at Georgia State University and at the University of Virginia, where she was also a research faculty member at the Child-Parent Attachment Clinic, Department of Psychiatric Medicine. She was named a Distinguished Fellow in Developmental Psychology by the National Council for Adoption in Washington, D.C. She is also the author of Labor of the Heart: A Parent’s Guide to the Decisions and Emotions in Adoption. Highlights from this show.

Building Protective Factors from Birth to Five

Hopscotch Staff is committed to your family's ongoing success after completing your adoption.  Our staff will be attending this conference in May and hope to incorporate more protective factors, strategies and resources into our post adoption services.

Sponsors:  Orange County Partnership for Young Children, North Carolina Children’s Trust Fund, Orange County Department of Social Services, and Child Care Services Association

Time and Date: 8:30 to 3:30 Friday, May 31, 2013

Location:  William & Ida Friday Center Continuing Education, Chapel Hill

Maximum Number of Participants:  90

Who Should Attend?   The training will be applicable to a multidisciplinary group of early childhood professionals and advocates, including mental health providers, child care providers and administrators, early intervention, social services, family support, and others who are concerned with promoting social emotional development in children birth through five.

Description:   Recent research has made it increasingly clear that adverse experiences during the period of birth to five years have an enduring impact on the developing brain and body. However, family protective factors have the capacity to buffer these harmful effects. The morning session will provide an overview of what the American Academy of Pediatrics terms “toxic stress,” as well as five family protective factors. We will then hear about an initiative of the North Carolina Children’s Trust Fund to bolster family protective factors in very high risk families, highlighting methods for engaging such families. Participants will receive the newest version of Orange County Smart Start’s community resource guide – Parent Pages.

Participants can network during a complimentary buffet lunch, then for the afternoon session we will divide into two tracks: 1) mental health, and 2) early education.  Each group will hear about four separate evidence-based or evidence-informed interventions for building protective factors and promoting social emotional skills and coping in early childhood. 

Objectives:  The primary participant objectives for this presentation are to:

• Understand three different kinds of stress (positive, tolerable, and toxic) and how each affects the developing child’s brain and body
• List and describe five Family Protective Factors
• Apply specific techniques for successfully engaging high risk families
• Use a local resource guide to identify community services that support families
• Identify and know how to access information about at least four evidence-based interventions for work with young children and their families through 1) mental health, or 2) early education.

Still Face Experiment Video

Ed Tronick Ph.D. is an internationally known researcher and leader in the field of infant and young child mental health.  His Still Face experiment, which uses microanalysis of infant/young child-caregiver interactions, led to creation of his Mutual Regulation Model.  This Model views infants as part of an early dyadic communication system in which the infant and adult mutually regulate and scaffold their engagement with each other and the world by communicating and responding to each other’s intentions. Through this back- and-forth engagement, including matched and mismatched intentions and emotional states, the infant and young child learn about communication and emotional regulation.  These processes form the foundation of social-emotional development and underlying brain architecture upon which the child’s later ability to regulate emotions and attend to tasks is built.  Dr. Tronick will share his research findings, his theory, and videotapes of infants, young children, and parents to illuminate these processes.