Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

Melanie Scheetz and her husband are proud adoptive parents of two children. Melanie has 29 years of non-profit management experience in the areas of administration and development. She joined the Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition as its Executive Director in 1999. Under her guidance, the agency developed the groundbreaking programs, Extreme Recruitment® and 30 Days to Family®. Melanie has been honored with the St. Louis Business Journal’s 50 Most Influential Business Women of 2019 award; North American Council on Adoptable Children’s “National Adoption Advocate” award; the Congressional “Angels in Adoption” award; and the “Women of the Well” award.

Connect with her at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-scheetz-622118a/

The Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition strives to create permanency in foster children’s lives by recruiting and supporting foster and adoptive families in the metropolitan St. Louis region.

Find out more at

https://www.foster-adopt.org/

https://www.facebook.com/FosterAdopt/

https://www.instagram.com/foster.adopt/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Tony, a former foster youth and adoptee, was adopted by a same sex couple in the mid 1990’s. He writes about his experiences growing up as both an interracial adoptee and as a child growing up in a same sex headed household in his memoir “The Son With Two Moms.”

Connect with Tony:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthony-hynes-283aa941/

C.A.S.E. offers mental health services and educational resources for all members of the adoption and foster community. They are committed to nurturing, inspiring and empowering children, teens, their families and the professionals who support them.

https://adoptionsupport.org/

https://twitter.com/CASEadopt

https://www.facebook.com/caseadopt/

https://www.instagram.com/caseadopt/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Jenni first encountered the child welfare system in 1995 when her foster brother entered their family as a toddler. His story and five-year adoptive journey had a profound impact, and she has had a desire for systemic transformation since. After several years in the business sector, the road for professional advocacy opened up in 2008 when she had an idea of how to help children who needed loving and safe families. Subsequently, she founded Chosen.

Jenni has a background in Communications, Psychology, and Counseling. She has extended her professional training with a Nonprofit Management Certification, along with certifications in Leadership and Fundraising. Part of her role is advocating for systemic policy reform, and she is active in both federal and state affairs.

Chosen‘s mission has evolved with her at the helm to fulfill a unique need in the childcare welfare continuum. Jenni recognized that there is a real deficiency in long-term support of families impacted by the grief and loss associated with foster care and adoption. She is extremely passionate about children healing from the trauma of abuse, neglect, and abandonment, which is the agency’s primary focus today. Equally, she is dedicated to strengthening families as agents of healing for their children.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenni-lord-498057105/

Chosen’s mission is to help children heal from trauma by strengthening their families. 

Once a child is safely placed in a home, Chosen comes in with ourModel of Care, delivered by licensed care managers who do whatever it takes to equip families with tools to overcome trauma and thrive together.

https://www.facebook.com/chosen.care

https://www.instagram.com/chosen_care/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvAJKSmWGWYZqRWhNdMlFOA

https://www.pinterest.com/chosencare/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Connect with Sandy at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-pricer-566741107/

RiseUP is a nonprofit that supports teens and at-risk youth (13-23 years old). By teaching life and leadership skills and by filling in service gaps, RiseUP is working to make sure that no child becomes a statistic. We believe every teen can learn the skills and principles needed to become responsible, independent, strong, empowered, upstanding, and productive adults with a positive mindset and self-esteem.

RiseUP stands for Responsible Independent Strong Empowered Upstanding Productive in society!

A desire to help all teens and at-risk youth have the same opportunities as our own children is what inspired us to create RiseUP. A teen’s future is vitally important, which is why we provide the tools and knowledge each individual needs in order to have a better tomorrow. Our volunteers bring their passion and experience to every life and leadership skills workshop they teach. 

We also offer workshops for adults, which give parents information they can use to help the teen(s) in their lives. We welcome all adults—those who work with teens, are raising teens, or just want to learn more about these valuable topics. This is one way RiseUP aims to help stop the generational cycle of poverty, trauma, and brokenness. 

Find more at:

https://www.riseupcooperative.org/

https://www.facebook.com/RiseUpcooperative

https://www.instagram.com/rise_up_cooperative/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfXg7_TuJnpjyHU6SSAu8Rg

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

As Director of Adoption and Permanency Services, Erika is responsible for overseeing all functions of the full service Infant Adoption Program, State Wide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) program, and county foster care placement services. She is a Management Team member at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center, maintains all financial aspects of the program and is involved in strategic planning. Erika also works directly with clients providing infertility and pre-adoption counseling sessions and running a monthly infertility support group.  Erika was integral in starting up the SWAN program and county foster care placement services at The Children’s Home, beginning in 2012.  She also recently began expanding the program’s Counseling Services, which now includes counseling for donor conceived individuals, recipient parents, and those using artificial reproductive technology to conceive. 

Erika also serves as a trainer for the REACH training collaborative, training prospective foster and adoptive families on topics such as Parenting, Resources, Grief and Loss, Child Development, and Cultural Humility.  She also trains families adopting through The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh’s infant adoption program on open adoption and has presented at seminars on open adoption and hospital adoption policy, as well as at SWAN statewide conferences.  Erika was also co-author to an article published for the North American Council on Adoptable Children’s (NACAC) publication, Adoptalk, titled Innovative Family Preparation: Thinking Outside the Box for the Whole Family. 

Erika has been at The Children’s Home since 2006, working as a birthparent counselor, birthparent counseling services supervisor, and manager of the SWAN Program.  Prior to her position at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh, Erika worked for over 4 years as a Psychiatric Specialty Counselor for an adolescent drug and alcohol research program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic and remained on staff as a Behavioral Health Counselor, conducting diagnostic interviews and performing program management duties on a casual basis until May of 2018. She earned both a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Master’s Degree in Social Work through The University of Pittsburgh and obtained her social work license in 2006.

Here's a bit about the Home from their website

At The Children's Home & Lemieux Family Center, we're investing in a family today to secure a child's tomorrow.

Our goal is to make sure every person who walks through our doors feels empowered whether it be to take care of their medically fragile child, or to make a life changing decision. We’re here to support the community; our family.

Find out more at:

https://www.childrenshomepgh.org/

https://www.facebook.com/ChildrensHomePgh

https://twitter.com/ChildrensHome

https://www.youtube.com/user/Chomepgh

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-children%27s-home-of-pittsburgh-&-lemieux-family-center/

https://www.instagram.com/childrenshomepgh/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Connect with Alejandro at:

https://twitter.com/alejandro_caw?lang=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandro-quezada-caw/

“CAW” is an organization realized for those adopted from Chile or even within the country borders in order to provide them with a platform they can relate to. 

In the 70s, 80s and 90s there has been a wave of children leaving the country and due to this phenomenon they are currently spread all over the world. These decades have known to be very difficult times for the countries history due to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Since some years however, it is known that many of these children have not been left by their mothers and/or families voluntarily. As a result, today there is an official investigations in progress that tries to identify those involved. The official complaints of families who have lost their children under the most strange circumstances are still coming in on a daily basis and official numbers have past the amount of 10.000 official declarations in the year 2018.

Chilean Adoptees Worldwide (CAW) was founded in Chile in 2018 by Alejandro Quezada, Angélica Martínez and Jessica Pincheira who were adopted illegally and lived the biggest parts of their lifes in resp. The Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium. Alejandro went to live in Chile to investigate his own adoption in 2014 where he resides until today.

Find out more at:

https://chileanadoptees.org/

https://www.facebook.com/chileanadoptees/

https://twitter.com/chileanadoptees?lang=en

https://www.instagram.com/chileanadoptees/?hl=en

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Here's a bit about Julie and her agency from their website:

Julie VanHoose-Wells has worked at Greater Love Adoption Decision, Inc (GLAD) since 1997. She began as a Case Manager and became the Executive Director in 2014. Julie’s parents, Rick and Nancy VanHoose, founded GLAD after their own adoption experience. Julie waited 9 years to become a big sister, which was like “dog years” for an only child. The whole family celebrated the gift of adoption when Julie’s brother, Jeron, was placed with the family.

As the agency grew, Rick and Nancy housed many young women who had been kicked out from their homes or just felt uncomfortable living in their hometowns while pregnant. Living with women who were pregnant, sometimes afraid, and considering adoption was a powerful experience for Julie as an adolescent. She saw many of these women as “big sisters” and enjoyed spending time with them. She also witnessed the agony that they experienced when trying to consider what was best for their baby. This was a type of education that could not come from any textbook. This was an up-close, personal look into many unique adoptions and it developed a love and deep concern for all people who are touched by adoption.

In 1995, Julie graduated from the University of Evansville with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She chose to further her education at the University of Southern Indiana, and graduated in 1997 with a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Julie is a Licensed Social Worker in the State of Indiana. She has been trained in Play Therapy and Trauma Informed Care. Julie is able to provide individual, family and group therapies. Her passion is to work with women who have suffered traumas and have encountered crisis. In addition to working in adoption, Julie has worked periodically as a Psychiatric Mental Health Therapist at the Evansville Psychiatric Children’s Center, which is the children’s division of the Indiana State Hospital. As a therapist, Julie worked to provide mental health services to children who received inpatient care for approximately 8 months while providing family therapy to re-stabilize the home. Julie has been a volunteer with EPCC since 1999, and by participating on the Patient Right’s Committee since 2016.

GLAD has been meeting the immediate need since 1985. We are licensed by the State of Indiana and we have uniquely qualified professionals to help you decide if adoption could be right for you. Our founder, Nancy VanHoose, chose the name of this agency as inspiration from John 15:13 where Jesus said this: "Greater Love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."

This is what we witness when we work with birth parents who choose adoption. We see love. We see sacrifice. We see a good mom trying to make a loving decision that is best for her baby. That’s why we are GLAD to be called Greater Love Adoption Decision.

Find out more at:

http://www.gladadoption.com/

https://www.facebook.com/gladadoption

https://twitter.com/gladadoption

https://www.instagram.com/glad_adoption

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Bryan Post is one of America’s foremost child behavior experts and founder of the Post Institute for Family-Centered Therapy. The Post Institute works with adults, children and families struggling with early life trauma and the impact on the development of the mind/body system. A renowned clinician, lecturer, and author, Bryan has traveled throughout the world providing expert treatment and consultation. An internationally recognized specialist in the treatment of emotional and behavioral disturbance, he specializes in a holistic family-based treatment approach that addresses the underlying interactive dynamics of the entire family.

Bryan has been researching child behavior and finding solutions for a small niche of kids “with whom nothing works”. He has worked in the trenches for the last 15 years with children in the last resort category, as well as training parents and professionals in a new paradigm of parenting which he calls The Stress Model. This new model is in direct opposition to traditional parenting and societal behavior modification programming, which he considers as beyond consequences, logic and control.

A maverick in the mental health field, Bryan broke from traditional teachings in the late 1990s and developed a theoretical model of behavior which he coined the Stress Model. When fully understood and applied, this can reveal underlying unconscious expressive states which can transform relationship dynamics. From the Stress Model theory he has gone on to develop both Family-Centered Regulatory Parenting and Regulatory Therapy which both have been taught at the university level. These rapid results programs have been changing the lives of struggling adults, parents, and families for over fifteen years.

He holds three degrees in the field of social work: a Bachelors of Social Work degree from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma; a Masters of Social Work degree from the University of Texas at Arlington; and a Doctoral degree in Social Work from Columbus University School of Public Administration.

A retired Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Bryan continues spreading his loved based parenting message through his lecturing and writing. He lives with his family in Oklahoma. He also enjoys starting new business ventures.

Get the book at

 https://www.feartolovebook.com/misc-28687180

Connect with Bryan at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanpost1/

The Post Institute was founded in 1999 by Bryan Post and Kristi Saul. The Post Institute has published over 100 books, DVD’s, CD’s, MP3’s, Webinar’s, and articles on the topic of parenting children who have experienced pre-birth and early life trauma. The founders of the Post Institute are passionate about helping parents create healing from the wounds created by trauma, by providing parents an understanding of the impact of trauma and a proven effective, unique model of parenting. The Post Institute model of parenting has been put to the test by parents across the globe, as well as foster care agencies, adoption agencies, group homes, and treatment centers.

Bryan Post and Kristi Saul, are unique in that they have chosen to not only teach and train parents and professionals, but they also have been in the trenches implementing the model of love based parenting in group home settings, therapeutic foster homes, and their own home. Their trauma informed model and understanding has been used by numerous agencies in training foster and adoptive parents as well as direct care staff in treatment settings. They understand the challenges of parenting traumatized children, not just from an intellectual perspective but through firsthand experience.

The Post Institute continues to create unique opportunities for understanding and support for parents and professionals invested in the lives of children, through an online community, The Parenting Inner Circle, personal family coaching, parenting groups, and professional training and consultation.

Find out more at:

facebook.com/postinstitute 

youtube.com/postinstitute

https://postinstitute.com/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Connect with Kate at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-patel-3569a3170

Diagrama Adoption is an independent, voluntary adoption agency rated GOOD by Ofsted. Their friendly and professional team members are dedicated to finding loving and nurturing families for vulnerable children waiting to be adopted.

For more about Diagrama Adoption visit:

https://www.diagramaadoption.org.uk/

https://twitter.com/diagramaukkids

https://www.youtube.com/user/DiagramaFoundation

https://www.facebook.com/Diagramafosteringadoption/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Jill Crewes, MSW has over 23 years experience working within child welfare and the foster/adoption community. She is the Vice President of Colorado Programs at Raise the Future where she manages program development and critically examines issues and trends in the public child welfare and adoption arenas to determine the most effective avenues to recruit families for waiting youth and support those connections long term. She also Co-founded Emerge Family Connections in 2013.

Connect with Jill here

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-crewes-45522532/

Raise the Future has designed and implemented evidence-based, wraparound services that reduce the amount of time youth in foster care live without a permanent family. Our programs increase the likelihood of forming and sustaining positive connections that help to transform their futures.

Find out more at:

https://www.raisethefuture.org/

https://www.facebook.com/RaiseFuture

https://twitter.com/raisefuture

https://www.instagram.com/raise.the.future/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.