Adoption Zone - Three Points Center

Dr. Norm Thibault 

Susan Badeau (Sue) writes and speaks extensively on topics related to children, particularly those with special needs and is a frequent and passionate keynote speaker and workshop leader at state, regional and national conferences. Sue and her husband, Hector, are the lifetime parents of twenty-two children, two by birth and twenty adopted (three children who had terminal illnesses, are now deceased). They have also served as foster parents for more than 50 children in three states, and as a host family for refugee youth from Sudan, Kosovo and Guatemala.

They have won numerous awards for their work, including being recognized by President Clinton with an “Adoption Excellence” award, and receiving an “Angels in Adoption” award from Congress; both of these awards were for their work on behalf of adoption and children in foster care. Sue and Hector are also authors – we’ll talk more about that in a bit.

The Badeau family children come from many ethnicities and personal backgrounds. Some children were adopted at birth; others were teenagers when they joined the family. Some are from the United States; others are from countries around the world. Some have mental, physical, intellectual, or emotional challenges.

I first became acquainted with Sue through our shared work on the Board of Directors of the Association for Training in Trauma and Attachment in Children. She and I have gone on to present trainings together to teach therapists how to better work with our kids. I love Sue. She is an amazing font of knowledge and graciousness, and I am honored to call her a colleague and friend.

Learn more about Sue at www.suebadeau.com

Dr. David Brodzinsky is a developmental, clinical and forensic psychologist based in the San Francisco Bay area. His research and scholarly writings have focused on psychological issues in adoption and foster care, stress and coping in children, non-traditional family life, sexual-minority parenting and adoption, child custody issues, and children’s cognitive development. He has published numerous articles, books, book chapters and other writing on related, topics. He has also lectured frequently to professionals and the public throughout the Americas and Europe.

As a forensic psychologist, David conducts evaluations and serves as an expert witness in cases involving child custody and parenting time, dependency, contested adoption, child abuse and personal injury. He has testified on these issues throughout the country. He also provides private consultations and second opinions to attorneys on forensic psychological issues.

David is Professor Emeritus of clinical and developmental psychology at Rutgers University. He was a founding director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a national non-profit organization focusing on research, education and advocacy – and, most recently, served as the Institute’s Research Director. David is a consultant to numerous adoption, child welfare and mental health organizations in the San Francisco bay area, where he also maintains a clinical practice for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families in short-term and long-term psychotherapy. He also offers consultations to parents and professionals regarding child development, parenting, adoption, foster care, divorce, and custody mediation.

He has published widely on the psychology of adoption in professional journals and is the co-author or co-editor of six books on adoption, including The Psychology of Adoption (1990); Being Adopted: The Lifelong Search for Self (1992); Children’s Adjustment to Adoption: Developmental and Clinical Issues (1998); Adoption and Prenatal Drug Exposure: Research, Policy and Practice (2000); Psychological Issues in Adoption: Research and Practice (2005); and Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men: A New Dimension in Family Diversity (2012).

Sharon is an accomplished educator, consultant and author who has devoted her decades-long career to foster care, adoption and permanency. She has conducted numerous trainings, presentations and other highly respected work on all aspects of child welfare, nationally and internationally. In addition, she has provided – and still provides – direct services to families and organizational consulting on adoption’s lifelong issues and generational impact.

Sharon proposed the first clinical training to achieve competency for child placement and mental health professionals in the field. She also was a pioneer in open adoption, and created landmark educational work for developing practice relating to openness, as well as to LGBTQ families, in adoption. She is the coauthor of two books, has contributed to others, and has produced valuable training videos and written curricula for adoptive families and professionals.

The two books she co-authored are “The Open Adoption Experience: A Complete Guide for Adoptive and Birth Families, from Making the Decision through the Child’s Growing Year” and “Cooperative Adoption: The Official Handbook.” She was a contributor “Creating Kinship,” “Working with Older Adoptees: A Sourcebook of Innovative Models,” “Siblings in Adoption and Foster Care,” and “Traumatic Separations and Honored Connections.” She has also had her work published in magazines, and has been interviewed as a leading expert by many journalists.

​Sharon has often been honored for her work, including an Angel in Adoption award from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, recognition by the Association for Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children (ATTACh), and the Annette Baran and Reuben Pannor Award for Outstanding Work in Adoption. The framework for her training and writing are the Seven Core Issues of Adoption. Sharon has parented by birth, adoption and foster care, and has seven great-grandchildren.