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Maintaining and Strengthening Birth Family Relationships Post-Placement (for Professionals)

With increasing openness in adoption, how can adoption professionals offer truly helpful and relevant guidance to families navigating these complex relationships and family dynamics?

While there is no perfect recipe for addressing the infinite number of tricky situations that may arise between adoptive and birth families, adoption professionals can still offer guidance in how to approach these situations. With three key shifts we can support clients in becoming the parents their children need them to be. This presentation will help adoption professionals support adoptive families through setting healthy boundaries that are oriented on the child’s needs rather than boundaries that are based on fear and insecurity. These strategies can help families move toward greater connection, curiosity, and confidence. Considerations will be discussed for adoption from foster care, private domestic infant adoption, and international adoption.

Lori Holden, MA – Author and Adoption Educator
Janelle Ison, MBA – Adoption Education Manager, National Council For Adoption

Course length: 80 minutes

After completing this course, participants will be able to:
• Explain the benefits of openness.
• Differentiate between open adoption and openness in adoption.
• Identify three key shifts for adoptive parents to make and be able to explain them to parents.
• Apply the three shifts to in situations that require boundary-making and/or discernments.

Course level: Beginning

Cost to register: $15
If you are a NCFA member, look for your discount code in the membership portal.

Register for this course

For more information on this webinar and continuing education credits, click the “Register for this course” button above"