Camilla Brooks, LCSW

Wednesday, January, 25, 2012 from 9 am - noon

Held at JCCA offices, 120 Wall Street – Manhattan - $30

Making a choice to adopt and raise a child of another race or culture, should be done with intention and thought.  As professionals in the adoption community, it is often our job to explore the meaning of creating a multi-racial or multicultural family with our adopting families.  What kinds of conversations can we have with these families in the pre- and post-adopt phases?   What are the different ways that children understand race and culture as part of their own identity over their lifespan?  How can we best prepare these families for being sensitive and attuned to their children’s experiences? How do our own biases and pre-conceived notions of multicultural/racial families affect our work with adoptive families? How can we help families identify their own race and culture issues? How do we help families nurture and sustain an identity as a multi-cultural family?   These and other questions will be explored in a lively discussion and through case examples.  

TALKING POINTS:

-   Gain knowledge of the impact of adoption throughout the lifecycle of the adoptive family.

Camilla Brooks, LCSW, received her Masters of Social Work from New York University and holds additional degrees from Columbia University and Tufts University.  Her psychotherapy practice focuses on individuals and couples with adoption-related issues as well as groups for adoptive parents.   She is an adoption homestudy specialist for JCCA’s Ametz Adoption Program and has been affiliated with the Clinic for Children and Families at St. Vincent Services in Brooklyn.  She has a sub-specialty in trauma treatment.   She is the mother of daughter from China.

The Ametz Adoption Program/JCCA has provided domestic and international private adoption services for over 25 years. As part of this work, there is an emphasis on meeting the needs of clients in the communities in which they live. To do so effectively, Ametz strongly believes an educated professional community is necessary. Drawing on the best “adoption” minds in the New York area, we proudly present the Institute’s 8^th year offerings geared for those working with adoptive families and families-to-be. Each session includes a didactic presentation and time for interactive discussion. Meetings are held at JCCA’s Main Office located at 120 Wall Street, Manhattan.

 
PARENTING: COMMON SENSE OR TAUGHT SKILL?
Dr. Jane Aronson
Thursday, May 17, 2012 from 9am - noon
Held at JCCA offices - 120 Wall Street – Manhattan - $30

Is it harder to parent a baby, toddler, school age child, adolescent or young adult? How does the age of a child when they join the adoptive family, affect the parent/child relationship and parenting? How does the family composition (single, partnered, divorced, separated, GLBTQ, illness and death affect the parent/child relationship and parenting? Through discussion of parenting and developmental stages of childhood, identify what makes a parent a parent, while gaining strategies to help families keep communication open, and remain resilient and strong.

TALKING POINTS
-Explore and contrast parenting of adopted children and birth children.
-Identify difference in parenting and being the child in an adoptive family.
-Discover how personal life and parenting can cause conflicts for kids and how to help parents avoid them.
-Learn strategies to help children, adults and families express anger, communicate and remain a strong familial unit.

Dr. Aronson has been a pediatrician since 1986. She has had a solo pediatric practice in Manhattan specializing in adoption medicine since 2000 and has evaluated well over 10,000 adopted children; she has traveled to orphanages in Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Haiti and Latin America while on medical missions. In addition, Dr. Aronson is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Cornell University and Columbia University. Since 1997, she has provided direct services to orphaned children through her foundation, Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO). WWO began its work by commissioning Orphan Rangers (volunteer university students and healthcare professionals who support orphans). Since 1997, Dr. Aronson has funded over 130 Orphan Rangers in 14 countries.


ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN ADOPTION PRACTICE
Madelyn Freundlich, MSW, MPH, JD
Friday, June 8, 2012 from 9 am – noon
Held at JCCA offices - 120 Wall Street – Manhattan - $30

In the complex world of adoption, some practice decisions are simple - many are not. For those who work at agencies, balancing personal values and agency policy or procedures is not always easy. For those who work independently, finding someone with whom to share ethical concerns and dilemmas and get objective advice can be tricky. Through case examples, we will identify which the key considerations that you need to take into account to make a decision. What ethical issues arise in dealing with prospective adoptive parents, adopted persons, adoptive families, birth families or extended family members? How can you best resolve your own mixed feelings about how to proceed as well as disagreements between professionals? Learn how to strengthen your ability to resolve ethical challenges by developing a set of strategies to enhance your decision making practices.

TALKING POINTS
-Gain an understanding of different ethical frameworks for thinking through complex practice issues.
-Identify legal, institutional and personal values that affect daily practice and decision making.
-Objectify why decisions involving ethical considerations are hard to make and learn how to move forward.
-Apply ethical principles and values in daily work

Madelyn Freundlich, MSW. MPH, JD is a child welfare professional with more than 20 years of experience in child welfare practice, program development and implementation, training, policy and research. She has written extensively on child welfare issues. Ms. Freundlich formerly served as General Counsel and Director of Child Welfare Services for the Child Welfare League of America, Associate Director of Planning for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Executive Director for the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, and Policy Director for Children's Rights.
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All trainings are held at JCCA, 120 Wall Street, NYC

$30 per session or $ 100 for the series of 4 sessions

Pre-registration required and space is limited.

NASW CEUs available upon request.

FUTURE TRAININGS:

EMBRACING RACE AND CULTURE BEFORE, DURING & AFTER THE ADOPTION

Camilla Brooks, LCSW

Wednesday, January, 25, 2012 from 9 am - noon

PARENTING: COMMON SENSE OR TAUGHT SKILL?

Dr. Jane Aronson

Thursday, May 17, 2012 from 9am - noon
 

ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN ADOPTION PRACTICE

Madelyn Freundlich, MSW, MPH, JD

Friday, June 8, 2012 from 9 am – noon