This interactive workshop introduces Play Together Stay Together, a vital component of the Adopt America Network’s Ongoing Adoption and Kinship Support Program. Designed to strengthen family connections through intentional play, this program helps adoptive, kinship, and resource families build trust, foster attachment, and develop meaningful relationships. Participants will gain an overview of how play is used as a powerful therapeutic and relational tool and explore the benefits of shared activities for both children and caregivers. Participants will also be introduced to how this program offers a community of other resources for adoptive and resource families, creating pathways for support, connection, and collaboration beyond the session. Ideal for professionals looking for creative ways to reinforce family unity and cultivate lasting ties to better ensure permanency for youth in resource or adoptive families.
According to Platt and Gephart (2022), children with disabilities in foster care spent an average of 915 days in foster care compared to 514 days for children without a disability. Once placed, children with disabilities in foster care had a mean of 4.0 disruptions while the mean is 2.37 disruptions among those without a disability. It is clear that these numbers need to change. This workshop will explore common barriers to permanency for children with disabilities, offer actionable strategies for recruitment and family preparation, highlight how cross-agency teams can collaborate more effectively. This will be an interactive session with the opportunity to learn from families and youth who are living the experience post-permanency.
1.0 CE (National Association of Social Workers – NASW
While the Adoption and Guardianship Preparation Training (AGPT) equip caregivers with tools to navigate grief, attachment, identity and openness, kinship families often face these challenges in deeply personal ways. This panel will explore how AGPT principles can be tailored to meet the needs of kinship families. The presentation will discuss the challenges and successes Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) has experienced in preparing families for permanency. Attendees will learn how customizing the AGPT curriculum can help bridge the gap in training and supporting kinship caregivers.
With over 25 years of experience in child welfare, my passion for Social Work and Human Services is unwavering. I have expertise in Foster Care, Adoption, Kinship Care, and Resource Development at both the state and county level. I am currently working with the National Center for... Read More →
1.0 CE (National Association of Social Workers – NASW)
In this interactive session presenters from the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services and NTI Training will explore strategies for recruiting, preparing, and retaining a child welfare-competent and culturally responsive workforce sharing examples from state and tribal work. Participants will learn how technical assistance can help systems and tribes implement effective models of cross-system collaboration, develop local champions, and sustain trauma-informed and child welfare-competent services for children and families with complex needs.
1.0 CE (National Association of Social Workers – NASW)
Young people who age out of the foster care system without a safe, stable, emotionally secure parenting relationship face an array of challenges that significantly affect all areas of their lives as they continue to emerge into young adulthood. In Massachusetts, young people can sustain a connection with the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) between the ages of 18-22, and at times through age 23. However, there is no real expectation that young people involved with DCF during this time will achieve or are expected to achieve legal permanency. There are indeed young adults who want to be adopted and can be adopted, even if the current practice norms and policy in our state are barriers. The Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) and Plummer Youth Promise have partnered together to create an innovative solution that aims to assist transitional aged young adults in achieving permanency. This presentation will provide an overview of both agencies; the genesis of the collaboration; the role that each agency maintains; and the specifics of the actual permanency practice and procedures delivered to young adults who express an interest in Permanency Through Adoption. Youth and Family Voice/actual program participants will be incorporated into this presentation through assisting with the design of the presentation in addition to contributing to the delivery of the presentation.
