Center for Adoption Support and Education

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Center for Adoption Support and Education

A national leader transforming the mental health of the adoption, foster, and kinship community. The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.)

nurtures, inspires, and empowers children, families, and professionals across the adoption, foster, and kinship ecosystem—making permanence possible through adoption-competent care, education, and advocacy. We Provide:

Direct services to children and families, offering adoption-competent therapy, case management, and support that sustains permanence. Training and education to professionals nationwide so they can respond to the unique needs of adoptive, foster, and kinship families. Systems change by building bridges between the child welfare and mental health systems—removing barriers that stand between families and the care they need. Visit our website to learn how C.A.S.E. is making a lasting impact and making permanence possible for adoptive, foster, and kinship families nationwide. Our Mission:

To improve the well-being and permanence of children and their families by providing adoption competent mental health services, advancing learning to build a responsive national network of professionals, and transforming policy and practice through research and advocacy.

30/12/2025

We are approaching the final days to make your 2025 gift!

Families like Zoë’s depend on your generosity to access the specialized care they need to heal, grow, and stay connected.

Every dollar makes a difference in the lives of adoptive, foster, and kinship families. Your support before midnight on December 31 helps C.A.S.E. reach even more families in 2026.

End the year by gifting hope. Make your donation today: https://www.adoptionsupport.org/donate?utm_source=Social+Media&utm_medium=Social+Post+&utm_campaign=EOY+Fundraising+Appeal+2025+&utm_id=+

29/12/2025

What sets C.A.S.E.’s Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) program apart?

For years, families connected to adoption, foster, and kinship care have voiced the need for mental health support that understands their unique stories. That’s why we created the accredited, evidence-based TAC program— the nation’s premiere assessment-based certificate program for training mental health practitioners and developing adoption competency skills.

Now, new research confirms what families knew to be true: TAC-trained clinicians make a measurable difference. These findings highlight what adoption-competent care can mean for individuals and families when clinicians are equipped with specialized knowledge and tools.

Swipe through this post to explore key takeaways from the studies.

Then, visit our website to read our national survey highlights and the full research report: adoptionsupport.org/stateofpractice

22/12/2025

There’s still time to make a difference this year!

Your gift today helps C.A.S.E. continue providing adoption competent therapy, training, and resources for families like Zoë’s.

Every donation helps create a world where children and families can find permanence and thrive.

Don't wait, give today to help more children and families through the new year. https://www.adoptionsupport.org/donate?utm_source=Social+Media&utm_medium=Social+Post+&utm_campaign=EOY+Fundraising+Appeal+2025+&utm_id=+

19/12/2025

✨ Save the Date! ✨

C.A.S.E.’s Annual Gala is coming on Saturday, April 11, 2026!

Join C.A.S.E. for an inspiring evening in support of the adoptive, foster, and kinship individuals and families we serve. Our 2026 Gala will take place April 11 from 6-10 PM at the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C.

This year’s theme, “Empowered Voices. Brighter Futures,” celebrates the power of lived experience in the adoptive, foster, and kinship community—and the collective impact we can make when we come together to uplift families and build brighter futures.

More details about the program, honorees, and ways to get involved are coming soon, so stay tuned!

🔗 Bookmark our Gala webpage for sponsorship information and updates: adoptionsupport.org/gala

We hope you can join us this year!

18/12/2025

Holidays Through the Eyes of Adoptees: A Four-Part Series with Tony Hynes, Ph.D. - New Year, New Reflections

Wednesday, January 14, 2026 | 7:00PM-8:30PM EST

Holidays are often portrayed as joyful milestones but for many adoptees, they can also bring complex emotions, unanswered questions, and reminders of loss.

Join C.A.S.E.’s Training and Content Development Specialist Tony Hynes, Ph.D., for the first session in a powerful four-part series that will explore the unique emotional landscape holidays can create for adopted individuals.

This session offers thoughtful insight and practical strategies for:
- Supporting open conversations about adoption during holidays
- Addressing insensitive or hurtful comments
- Honoring both past and present connections
- Strengthening secure attachment
- Talking with children about adoption during meaningful times of the year

By better understanding the holiday experiences of adoptees, we can offer deeper, more empathetic support to them and their families throughout the year.

🔗 Register for this session today: https://adoptionsupport.org/resource/event/holidays-through-the-eyes-of-adoptees-a-four-part-series-with-tony-hynes-ph-d-new-year-new-reflections/

Registration is $20 per course and professionals completing this course can receive 1.5 CE credits per course.

17/12/2025

Six years ago, Zoë was a middle schooler struggling with anxiety and identity questions related to her adoption. Traditional therapy wasn’t helping, until she was referred to C.A.S.E. where she found specialized, adoption-competent support she needed to heal and grow.

Today, Zoë is thriving as a graduating college senior and a member of C.A.S.E.’s Emerging Leaders Advisory Council. In these roles, she’s paying it forward, using both her lived experience and her future profession in social work to help other adoptees find their voice.

In Zoë’s poem Everlasting, she uses her voice to share her experience and empower other adopted, foster, and kinship children and youth who may be navigating similar journeys– exploring what it means to carry questions, grieve, honor the past, and keep growing.

Zoë’s story is just one example of how your support can make a lasting impact.

There are still so many children and families who need access to adoption-competent mental health care. In fact, out of 500 respondents in our recent national survey, only 1 in 5 rated their clinician as adoption competent. Your contribution ensures more young people like Zoë and their families have the resources they need to help them overcome challenges and thrive.

Read Zoë’s full poem: https://adoptionsupport.org/resource/blog/everlasting-a-poem-in-recognition-of-national-adoption-month/

Making a Lasting Impact + Donate Today: https://www.adoptionsupport.org/donate?utm_source=Social+Media&utm_medium=Social+Post+&utm_campaign=EOY+Fundraising+Appeal+2025+&utm_id=+

17/12/2025

S*F Webinar: Managing the Toll of Caregiver Trauma and Building Resiliency in Families of Children with Complex Needs

Thursday, January 15, 2026 | 1:00PM-2:30PM EST

Use coupon code RESILIENCY to receive free registration at checkout.

Join us for the first installment in our 2026 Strengthening Your Family Webinar (S*F) Series, “Managing the Toll of Caregiver Trauma and Building Resiliency in Families of Children with Complex Needs.”

Parents and caregivers of children with complex needs frequently experience chronic stress that impacts their emotional health, relationships, and capacity to sustain long-term caregiving. Yet many are expected to simply “keep going.”

This webinar examines trauma through the caregiver lens, addressing compassion fatigue, burnout, and relational stress while emphasizing the role of nervous system regulation in healing and resilience. Participants will also learn about meaningful steps that can be taken each day to build resiliency and heal from the trauma endured.

Facilitated by Eileen Devine, LCSW, a clinician and trainer with more than 20 years of clinical experience. For the last 10 years, Eileen focused solely on supporting parents across the globe, all of whom have children with neurobehavioral conditions.

In conjunction with our partner, The Jockey Being Family Foundation, C.A.S.E offers 600 FREE registrations to each Strengthening Your Family (S*F) Webinar.

Learn more + register today: https://adoptionsupport.org/resource/event/syf-webinar-managing-the-toll-of-caregiver-trauma-and-building-resiliency-in-families-of-children-with-complex-needs/

12/12/2025

We are thrilled to welcome Nohora McNally to C.A.S.E. as our new Case Manager (Maryland)!

Nohora brings over 10 years of experience supporting and connecting with children, families, and sponsors. She is dedicated to helping adoptive, foster, and kinship youth thrive. She lives in Anne Arundel County, MD, with her son and their goldendoodle pup. Her home and her work reflect her passion for family, care, and community.

Welcome to C.A.S.E. Nohora! We’re excited to have you join our mission of promoting permanency and empowering families through every stage of adoption, foster, and kinship care.

Learn more about Nohora and the entire C.A.S.E. team on our website: https://adoptionsupport.org/about-us/meet-our-team/

11/12/2025

For more than 25 years, we’ve listened to the adoption, foster, and kinship community about what they need to thrive. Their stories have guided our work and pushed us to search for answers to a critical question: What truly helps individuals and families feel supported and understood in their mental health care?

Through decades of research—and now, new national data—we’ve found a consistent truth. When individuals and families have access to adoption-competent mental health services, their outcomes improve in measurable, meaningful ways. Parents feel more supported. Children and youth feel more understood. Families report stronger bonds and improved well-being.

But our latest national survey shows another reality: far too many in this community still can’t access these services.

That’s why this survey matters. Our goal is to give policymakers, states, systems, and providers clear, compelling evidence of how adoption-competent care changes lives—and to urge them to take meaningful action so every individual and family can receive the support they deserve.

Explore the survey as well as our findings, key takeaways, and recommendations for the future of adoption-competent services and training here: adoptionsupport.org/stateofpractice

10/12/2025

After more than 25 years of pioneering this work, C.A.S.E. is proud to release two landmark research reports that provide the strongest evidence to date that adoption-competent mental health services deliver measurably better outcomes for adoptive families—and that far too few families can access them.

With this data, we are calling on policy makers, states, systems, and providers to adopt national standards for adoption-competent mental health care, invest in training and credentialing, and expand public access to directories of qualified clinicians.

To read the survey and research report in full, visit our website: adoptionsupport.org/stateofpractice

08/12/2025

As 2025 winds down and the holidays approach, we’re reflecting on our year and why C.A.S.E.’s work matters to our community.

The holidays can be a time of great joy, and they can also be a particularly hard time for adoptive, foster, or kinship families that have experienced tremendous challenges.

Whether it's $10, $25, or $50 dollars, every donation helps create a future where children and families can receive the support they need.

Your gift matters. Give with purpose. Make permanence possible today.

https://www.adoptionsupport.org/donate?utm_source=Social+Media&utm_medium=Social+Post+&utm_campaign=EOY+Fundraising+Appeal+2025+&utm_id=+

05/12/2025

The holidays can bring joy—and unique challenges—for adoptive, foster, and kinship families. To offer some support this season, we have gathered a collection of free holiday-focused resources, including:

Holiday Webinars (Use promo code HOLIDAY25 to receive FREE 48-hour access to our holiday webinar topics through 12/31/25!):
- Navigating Through the Holidays with the “First Family”
- Understanding Challenges of Kinship Families and Strategies for Supporting Them
- Navigating Family Connections
- We Are Still Family: Supporting Relationships Between Separated Siblings

Holiday Blog Posts:
- Preparing and Supporting Children During the Holidays
- Nurturing Your Holiday Spirit: Advice for Adoptees, Foster & Kinship Care Alumni and Their Families
- Holidays with Extended Family: An Opportunity for Connection
- And more!

Find the resources on our website: https://adoptionsupport.org/freeresource/holiday-resources/

We hope these tools help bring more ease, connection, and understanding into your holiday season. 💚

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Monday	09:00 - 20:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 20:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 20:00
Thursday	09:00 - 20:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00

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+13014768525

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http://www.adoptionsupport.org/

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Nurture. Inspire. Empower.

In 1998, The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) was formed, recognizing a long-standing dream that co-founder and adoptive parent Kathleen Dugan had to provide counseling services and educational resources for families touched by adoption and foster care. 20 years later, C.A.S.E. has grown to become the national leader in mental health services nationwide, nurturing, inspiring and empowering children, teens, adults, and the professionals who assist them and encouraging them all to grow and thrive.

Today, C.A.S.E. provides clinical services for families throughout the Washington DC. metro region and offers educational products, publications, webinars and workshops for families and professionals nationwide. C.A.S.E. is also developing training curricula for child welfare and mental health professionals across the country through the federally funded National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI). With 35 training partners in 22 states and Canada, 7 offices across the Washington, D.C. metro area and Capital Region of New York, 8 NTI pilot sites, 16 Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) Partners, and more than 6,000 families served, C.A.S.E. is proud to celebrate 20 years of service for the adoption and foster care community.

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