Adoption Resource Network
18th Annual Conference

 

 

2009 Conference Schedule

 

Creating Kin: Forever Families Through Adoption

 
Saturday, November 14, 2009
8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

 

Register Online
 

Download the 2009 Adoption Conference Brochure

Download the 2009 Conference Schedule

 
Bay Trail Middle School, 1760 Scribner Road, Penfield, NY  14526

 

8:00 a.m. Registration & Coffee

8:45 a.m. Welcome & Morning Keynote -

Rita Sorenen, Executive Director, Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

Forever Families for Kids

9:45 a.m. Workshop Session #1

11:00 a.m. Workshop Session #2

12:00 p.m. Lunch

1:00 p.m. Luncheon Keynote -

Leslie Pate Mackinnon. LCSW

Where Do Babies Come From: The Real Truth About Today’s Families

2:00 p.m. Workshop Session #3

3:15 p.m. General Session & Closing

 

Why attend?

LEARN about the unique issues of foster care and adoption.

COLLECT helpful tips for parenting foster and adopted children.

GATHER information to begin the adoption process or to learn about becoming a foster parent

FIND information and resources to search for biological relatives.

NETWORK with others in foster and adoptive relationships.

 

Featured Speakers:

Rita Soronen, Executive Director - Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption

 

Rita is the executive director of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, which works to find loving adoptive families for the 150,000 waiting children in the United States and Canada. In 2007 the Foundation dedicated more than $12 million to grants and award-winning national awareness activities, including Wendy’s Wonderful Kids, Adoption-Friendly Workplace, and National Adoption Day. More than 400 children have been adopted as a direct result of Wendy’s Wonderful Kids. Rita is a graduate of the University of Louisville and the recipient of the Angels in Adoption Award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption.

 

Leslie Pate McKinnon, LCSW - "The Girls Who Went Away"

Leslie has over 30 years experience as a psychotherapist specializing in families created through alternative means. Leslie was drawn to the field by her own experience of placing two sons in “closed” adoptions. She has been involved in adoption education and reform and is an expert on the complex issues encountered by these modern families. She is committed to educating the psychotherapeutic community to adoption and donor issues. Married and raising 18 year old IVF twins, Leslie has written a book on families created by alternative means.

 

 

Susan Badeau - Casey Foundation

Susan is director of the Cross Systems Integration team within the Knowledge Management department of Casey Family Programs. Sue has also served as executive director of the Philadelphia Children’s Commission and as deputy director of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. Sue and her husband, Hector, have two birth children and twenty adopted children. They have also served as foster parents to more than 50 children and have been recognized by President Clinton for their work on behalf of adoption and children in foster care.

 

Josh Kroll - North American Council on Adoptable Children

Josh is the project coordinator of the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center, a program of the North American Council on Adoptable Children. Josh has extensive knowledge of federal and state adoption laws and policies to answer thousand of inquiries from parents, workers, and administrators across the United States.

 

 

Special Feature: This year's conference will also provide an opportunity for families to meet youth who are freed for adoption and in need of a forever family. The youth will assist with conference registration, book sales, and lunch monitoring, as well as share their stories on a panel facilitated by Rita Sorenen.

 

 


ARN/HCC Professional Development Seminar
 

Friday, November 13, 2009

Lodge at Buckland Park

1341 Westfall Road,Brighton, NY

9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

 

 

 

The Impact of Transracial/transcultural Placements in Adoption and Foster Care

 

Barry Chaffkin and April Dinwoodie

The Walk This Way Organization

 

Children placed in foster homes and with adoptive families face many challenges and new family dynamics to negotiate. Each family has it's own "culture" regardless of race, ethnicity, religious practice and lifestyle. This workshop will explore the impact of the transition into a new home for all youth in care, with a special focus on the impact of transracial/transcultural placement.

Additionally, this workshop will address how to help youth transition from home to home- from that first placement to all the moves that happen while in care through an adoptive placement, including engaging youth in transition planning, and helping youth and families to establish strong relationships and build permanent, safe, reliable futures.

 

Register for seminar by calling Cecelia Spinelli at 585.350.2501 or email Cecelia at cspinell@hillside.com

 

Continental breakfast, lunch and beverages provided @ $15 per person

 

Make checks payable to Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children's Center and mail to:

100 Metro Park

Rochester, NY 14623

Please Register by Monday, November 9th.