Creating A Family

CREATING A FAMILY IS THE NATIONAL ADOPTION & FOSTER CARE EDUCATION AND SUPPORT NONPROFIT. OUR MISSION IS TO STRENGTHEN AND INSPIRE ADOPTIVE, FOSTER AND KINSHIP PARENTS AND THE PROFESSIONALS WHO SUPPORT THEM BY CREATING, EASY-TO-IMPLEMENT, EXPERT-BASED RESOURCES AND TRAINING FOR PARENTS AND PROFESSIONALS. OUR VISION IS THAT EVERY ADOPTED AND FOSTER CHILD HAS A FAMILY WHO UNDERSTANDS THEIR UNIQUE GIFTS AND CHALLENGES AND IS EQUIPPED TO HELP THEM THRIVE.

IN 2020, CREATING A FAMILY WORKED TO CREATE, PILOT AND TEST THE NEW INTERACTIVE TRAINING & SUPPORT FOR FOSTER/ADOPTIVE/KINSHIP FAMILIES SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE. TEN CURRICULA WERE DEVELOPED IN 2020 AND OFFERED TO THE PUBLIC IN 2021. DURING 2021 AN ADDITIONAL 10 CURRICULA WERE DEVELOPED. THE INTERACTIVE TRAINING & SUPPORT CURRICULA PROVIDE COURSES AND WRAPAROUND SERVICES WITH THE GOAL OF INCREASING THE NUMBER OF PARENT SUPPORT GROUPS AVAILABLE TO FAMILIES BY MAKING IT EASIER TO FACILITATE AND MAINTAIN HIGH-QUALITY GROUPS WHERE PARENTS DEVELOP SOCIAL CONNECTIONS, REDUCE STRESS AND FEEL MORE CONFIDENT IN PARENTING CHILDREN EXPOSED TO TRAUMA. EACH CURRICULUM INCLUDES A VIDEO, FACILITATOR GUIDE AND HANDOUTS. THE WRAPAROUND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE INCLUDES INITIAL FACILITATOR TRAINING, QUARTERLY LIVE FACILITATOR TRAINING, IN-TIME AUTOMATED ACCESS TO PARTICIPANT EVALUATIONS AND ACCESS TO OUR CURRICULUM LIBRARY ON TOPICS FOR FOSTER, ADOPTIVE, AND KINSHIP PARENTS. DURING 2021, 250 CURRICULUMS WERE UTILIZED BY 15 ORGANIZATIONS.

CREATING A FAMILY REACHES OUT TO INDIVIDUALS THROUGH ITS WEEKLY ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE NEWSLETTER TO 4,000 SUBSCRIBERS AND THROUGH ITS BROAD EXPOSURE TO THE SOCIAL NETWORKS THAT IT MAINTAINS ON FACEBOOK (OVER 10,000 FOLLOWERS OF THE SUPPORT GROUP PAGE), TWITTER (6,400+) AND PINTEREST (6,300+ FOLLOWERS)

CREATING A FAMILY PROVIDES ONLINE COURSES FOR ADOPTIVE, FOSTER, AND KINSHIP PARENTS AND CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSES FOR SOCIAL WORKERS IN THE CHILD WELFARE FIELD. WE HAVE 75+ PARENT COURSES FOR PRE-ADOPTIVE FAMILIES, IN-SERVICE FOSTER FAMILIES AND POST ADOPTION FAMILIES. EACH COURSE IS 1 HOUR AND COMES WITH A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION. OUR COURSES ALIGN WITH THE FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION AND VARIOUS STATE-SPECIFIC PRE-ADOPTION EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS. OUR COURSES ADDRESS TOPICS RELEVANT TO ADOPTIVE, FOSTER AND KINSHIP FAMILIES. WE ALSO OFFER 17 COURSES THAT ARE ACCREDITED WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SOCIAL WORKERS (NASW) TO OFFER CONTINUING EDUCATION (CE) CREDIT FOR SOCIAL WORKERS. DURING 2021, MORE THAN 20,000 COURSES WERE ACQUIRED.