2011 Open Adoption Conference

OPEN ADOPTION: EMPOWERING BIRTH PARENTS, ADOPTEES, AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS
A conference to share new knowledge and perspectives
Sponsored by On Your Feet Foundation and Adoption Connection of Jewish Family and Children Services of San Francisco, the Peninsula, and Marin and Sonoma Counties.
Co-Sponsored by Golden Gate University School of Law and City College of San Francisco

Saturday, April 2, 2011, 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Location: Golden Gate University, School of Law, 2nd floor
536 Mission Street,
San Francisco, CA

5 continuing education credits (CEUs) are available for
licensed LCSWs and MFTs.

Register today online. Space is limited!
Download a PDF of the Conference Brochure here.

To register please call Cameron at:

415-513-5010

Don’t miss the opportunity to hear nationally renowned adoption experts discuss new research about open adoption and how it is affecting birth parents, adoptees, and adoptive parents. Learn more about the needs of women who relinquish infants after placement. Gain new insights into ways parents can best communicate with their children about their birth history to foster positive identity.
This daylong conference will prove enlightening and informative if you are:
    * A hospital social worker who may facilitate the release of a baby to an adoptive family;
    * A birth mother, or a member of a birth family, in an open adoption;
    * An adoptive parent in an open adoption with your child’s birth family, or a family planning to adopt;
    * An individual engaged in open adoption work: as an educational volunteer, counselor, or medical assistant;
    * A student thinking about working in the adoption field or any friend of adoption

Schedule of Events:
8:30 – 9:15 am Registration/welcome with Randie Bencanann, LCSW and Linda Gallanter, MA,EdD
Morning Program: Understanding Open Adoption Through the Eyes of Birth Mothers
9:15 – 10:00 amRuth McRoy, PhD, keynote speaker: Open Adoption and Its Psychological Impact on Birth Parents, Adoptees, and Adoptive Parents.
10:00 – 10:45 am       David Brodzinsky, PhD, presenter:
Post-Placement Adjustment and the Needs of Women Who Relinquish Infants for Adoption
11:00 – 11:45 amBirthparent panel: Rosangela Braganca moderates a discussion with a panel of birth parents.
12:00 – 1:25 pmLunch and break-out information sessions

Break-Out Lunch and Small Group Discussion Sessions:
    * Access to Higher Education and Resources: Discussion on birth parent job search, preparation for vocational training, and access to higher education. Facilitators: Rachel Hawk, MS; Inez Whitlow.
    * Grief and Healing: Birth parents, adoptees and adoptive parents get the opportunity to discuss loss, grief, and healing. Facilitators: Melissa Holub, PhD; Joan Collins, MFT; Charlie Jonas, JD, MA, MFT.
    * Hospital Staff and Their Effects on Placement: Find out how hospital staff can support an adoption placement. Facilitator: Tahnee Gantt, LCSW.
    * What Adoptive Parents Need to Know About Open Adoption: Talk to the experts about how open adoption really works. Facilitators: Ann Wrixon, MBA; Leah Sheldon; Lisa Clark, MSW.
    * Transracial Adoption: Becoming a family of color through adoption introduces new issues of race and culture to the parenting process. Discuss how to make the decision, and the special issues involved in raising your child. Beth Hall.

Afternoon Program: Understanding Adoption Through the Eyes of the Adopted Child and Adoptive Parents
1:30 – 2:20 pmAnne Brodzinsky, PhD, and Leslie Foge, MA, MFT, speak about the developmental understanding of adoption and how parents can communicate with their children about adoption and their birth parents.
2:30 – 3:15 pm Panel of adoptees and adoptive parents. Lynne Fingerman, MSW, Co-Director of Adoption Connection, moderates a discussion with adult adoptees and adoptive parents.
3:15– 3:30 pm Closing remarks

Fees*
Professionals and adoptive parents: $50 ($65 for those seeking CEUs)
Students (with valid ID), birth parents, and adoptees: $25 (scholarships available)

Box lunch provided in cost of conference.

*All walk-ins will be charged an additional $15.

Registration will not be complete until payment is received in full.

Payment Refund Policy*
Refund Policy: A $25 handling charge per registrant will be deducted. Notice of cancellation must be received by March 1.

Getting to the Conference:
Golden Gate University is located at 536 Mission Street, San Francisco. There are many hourly parking lots nearby, including the Westfield Shopping Mall Parking Lot. Bus lines within San Francisco are plentiful. Plan your route on the MUNI Web site or take Bay Area Transit (BART).

BIOS:
Keynote Speaker
Ruth McRoy, PhD, is a Research Professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work and a Senior Research Fellow of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. A practitioner, researcher, and lecturer in the field of adoption for more than 30 years, she is interested in family preservation, open adoptions, older child adoptions, transracial adoption, and post-adoption services, among other issues. She has written eight books, plus many articles and book chapters on adoption issues.

Presenters
Randie Bencanann, LCSW has been co-director of Adoption Connection for over 23 years, and her work continues to be challenging. She enjoys guiding adoptive parents and birth parents through the adoption process to a successful outcome. Prior to her work in adoption she provided health education to teens and young adults.

Rosangela Braganca is a board member of the On Your Feet Foundation and leads many activities related to birth mother outreach and mentorship. Professionally, she is a postpartum doula/baby nurse. Rosangela placed her child for adoption in 1999 in an open adoption.

Anne Brodzinsky, PhD, formerly affiliated with Rutgers University, was part of a team that conducted the definitive research on how adopted and non-adopted children of various ages view and understand adoption’s process, permanency, and relationships. A parent by birth and adoption, as well as through step-parenting, she is the author of the adoption classic The Mulberry Bird, which was revised in 1996 to reflect more openness in adoption. Her private psychology practice in the Bay Area includes many adoption triad members.

David Brodzinsky, PhD, is Professor of Emeritus of Developmental and Clinical Psychology at Rutgers University, where he also was Director of the Foster Care Counseling Project. He is Research and Project Director at the Evan B. Donaldson Institute, of which he was a founding director. His academic interests have focused on the adjustment of adopted and foster children to their families, with particular emphasis on developmental and family issues related to this adjustment.

Lisa Clark, MSW, is the Assistant Director of Adopt, a licensed domestic and international adoption agency. She coordinates the domestic adoption program and facilitates adoptions throughout California.

Joan Collins, LCSW is a birthmother and an adoptive parent. As a social worker she works primarily with hospice care, but has had a private counseling practice for 12 years with a focus in infertility, adoption and birthparents relationships.

Tahnee Gantt, LCSW, is a social worker in San Francisco General Hospital's Women's Clinic. She provides assessment and treatment to pregnant women and has worked with many women completing open adoptions.

Lynne Fingerman, MSW, is the Co-Director and co-founder of Adoption Connection, a licensed domestic and international adoption agency. For the past 26 years, she has worked to bring birth families and adoptive families together through open adoption. Lynne is also an adoptive mother.

Leslie Foge, MA, MFT, has helped facilitate infant, older child, and relative adoptions of all kinds for 20 years. Her book The Third Choice: A Woman’s Guide to Placing a Child for Adoption is widely regarded as a premier reference for women considering adoption. In addition to running a private counseling practice, Leslie serves on the faculty of St. Mary’s College.

Linda Gallanter, MA, EdD has extensive experience working to strengthen communities and develop special needs programs throughout the country. A former graduate professor at Seton Hall University, Linda has worked as a consultant in public and private educational institutions.

Beth Hall is the founder and Director of Pact, An Adoption Alliance, an adoption organization dedicated to addressing essential issues affecting adopted children of color. She is the author of numerous articles and the book Inside Transracial Adoption.

Rachel Hawk, MS, has worked in both the public and private sectors for 30 years, providing vocational counseling, research, training, and job placement. For the past seven years she has specialized as a vocational expert.

Melissa Holub, PhD, has been a clinical psychologist for more than 20 years. In her private practice, she works with adults, couples, and older adolescents. Melissa also speaks throughout the country on adoption-related issues.

Charlie Jonas, JD, MA, MFT is an attorney and counselor focused on bereavement work with children and adults, individually and in groups, and with families.

Leah Sheldon is the Communication/Marketing Director of Adoption Connection. She helps adoptive families connect with birth families throughout the United States.

Inez Whitlow is the founder and Director of Chicks in Crisis, an organization to help pregnant women and teens in crisis situations find alternative safe pregnancy choices. Inez is also is a licensed adoption facilitator.

Ann Wrixon, MBA, is the Executive Director of the Independent Adoption Center, a domestic adoption agency licensed throughout the United States.