by Andrea Brubaker, MSW, LGSW HELP Program Specialist, MN ADOPT
According to the Donaldson Adoption Institute 60% of Americans have a connection to adoption which may be underrepresented due to societal secrecy about this topic. As an adoption professional, I speak on a daily basis to myriad community members such as child welfare workers, teachers, therapists, doctors, and psychiatric and school social workers about the unique needs of this population. Among those professionals, there is a growing recognition that they require their own specific training to support the needs of these children and their families to better serve this community that touches so many.
The Permanency and Adoption Competency Certificate program is a good jumping off point for therapists, child welfare workers, and other community members to explore the nuances of adoption and out-of-home placements (OHP). In this program you will be immersed in an environment of lively professional discussion and training from individuals who recognize the need for and have the personal motivation to obtain more advanced training on such topics as:
- clinical aspects of adoption (including grief and loss, attachment considerations, & mental health)
- specific therapeutic treatment modalities that benefit this population,
- birth family navigation
- transracial/transcultural and transnational adoption
Each class goes by quickly as you explore the robust curriculum designed by CASCW and C.A.S.E. as well as from the experiences and opinions of peers in your cohort. The instructors are knowledgeable, open, and dedicated to supporting families and professionals touched by adoption. Throughout the year you will gain new perspective and insight into how to help best meet the needs of adoptive families, parents, teens and children, as well as birth parents and anyone else in the child’s constellation of support that draws upon the literature, evidence-based practice models, modalities, and best practices. You will gain practical application tools to enrich your work and receive high quality case consult along the way. This is an exciting time for this field, and I recommend this program to anyone looking to further their education on the multilayered aspects of adoption and OHP in their work with children and families as the cadre of adoption knowledgeable professionals continues to grow.