For the first time, the Annual Child Welfare Symposium will feature ten five-minute-long presentations in an hour-long round of Lightning Talks to take place on Tuesday, May 21st at 5:00 pm. This fast-paced session is a great way to hear about topics related to the speakers’ work or avocations, professional or personal, and provides the opportunity to become more familiar with others in the field.

The Art of Adoption

A look at the way adoption is portrayed in art by adoptees, via plays, painting, poetry, and more. As more international adult adoptees grow up and speak out, many are sharing their views and experiences through creative, poignant, thought-provoking artistic expression. Powerful stuff.
Speaker: Maureen McCauley Evans

CHS specializes in placing teenagers in foster care in adoptive homes. That’s not the hard part, helping the parents survive the “grueling months” is… CHS have developed a unique way to help.
Speakers: Laura Ash-Brackley and Kristy Frick

The odds were stacked against him. How did an unlikely meeting, a symphony, and a special name bring a family together? I will tell a story that is improbable, but true. A story of an adoption that can’t be explained by anything other than it was “meant to be.” May we all be encouraged to continue the seemingly impossible task of finding families for these very special children, because miracles do happen.
Speaker: Susan Orban

This presentation will explore the overlaps in experience (and the counter-transference issues) of a first-generation Russian immigrant turned International Adoption social worker. Having arrived in the United States from the USSR at the age of 5, I have clear memories of the transition, and have seen these played out with the children I work with. While the experience is different in many important ways, the emotionally intense reactions and attachments I have had to some of my kids (particularity those who arrive around the same age as I was), has led me to see some interesting commonalities that we as adoption professionals may find interesting and informative. From language acquisition, social norms, identity confusion, issues of acculturation, native language loss, split loyalties & fears of betraying one’s birth culture, adoptees and immigrant children negotiate enormous life changes, often internally, rarely asking for or receiving help with these issues. In this presentation, I will explore these issues and the resiliency, creativity, and “melding of 2 worlds” that are required for these children to live their lives.
Speaker: Stella Gilgur-Cook

International adoption programs are not without their risks and these risks must be analyzed, planned for, and mitigated as much as possible for an adoption agency to be able to expand its adoption program. This presentation will outline some of the causing factors of risk in international adoption programs, discuss how future risks can be identified and how, in light of such risks, an agency can strategically plan for growth of its international adoption program. This presentation will discuss such matters as a country’s stability and general political climate, the country’s political climate as it relates to adoption, the U.S. State Department’s position on adoptions in the particular country, the stability of the country’s central authority, the number of completed adoptions from the country, the experience of in-country staff with international adoption, and whether the country is Hague or Non-Hague, and how the above mentioned factors play into risk analysis and the strategic planning process.
Speaker: Michele L. Jackson

Common thought is that the older adoptee and adoptive family will never truly be able to form a familial attachment. This presentation will demonstrate that with pre-adoption education, preparation for all members of the pre-adoptive family, prospective adoptee and post adoption support for all, older child adoptions can in fact be very successful.
Speaker: Rhonda Jarema

All about getting around town with kids, on bikes! Cargo bikes, child seats, trailers, and kids on their own two wheels. From a biking-fool father and pediatrician that would love to get kids biking to school again. For more info, see www.totcycle.com…
Speaker: Julian Davies

Employees are happier (and more likely to stay around) if they like where they work. Simple things such as reducing the length of meetings, playing music in the office, or even playing silly games improve the morale of staff. Learn how Joint Council keeps staff, interns, and volunteers productive AND ensures everyone is enjoying their work.
Speaker: Rebecca Harris

Ultimately, the goal of adoption is a permanent and loving home for a child in need of a family. While agencies and prospective parents clearly share this common goal, we often have differing perspectives on how this goal is best achieved. Prospective parents may have experienced extreme loss before making the decision to adopt and are passionate about bringing a child home to their family. Agencies often have a broader perspective of adoption, with an understanding of the laws, policies and foreign culture, which all play a role in the international adoption process. These differing perspectives can cause misunderstandings and conflicts while in pursuit of the common goal of adoption. It is important for agencies to educate prospective parents on these perspectives, not only to mitigate future conflict, but also to protect itself from future liability. This presentation will discuss how to mitigate conflict and misunderstandings before and during the adoption process, through strategic and compassionate verbal and written communication, with an eye towards building a mutually gratifying relationship.
Speaker: Nicole Skellenger

A presentation on the sometimes raw beauty of kids who have been in foster care and/or adopted.
Speaker: Kim Stevens