The Inclusive Family Support Model

session type:
Virtual
duration:
2 hours

Open adoption is not merely something parents do when they exchange photos, send emails, or share a visit; rather, openness can be imagined as a lifestyle that may have its ups and downs as all family relationships will.

The Inclusive Family Support Model is a blueprint for adoptive families and practitioners working with them to  maintain healthy relationships that support the adoptee. In our model, all adoptive families reside in one of four quadrants that we have named: inclusive, spirit of openness, mediated contact, and closed.

Join us to learn what open adoption is and isn’t – and it may not be what you think! For example, did you know that even if your child’s birth parents are not available to you, you can still have an open adoption?

We'll cover the difference between contact and openness and gain an understanding of the Inclusive Family Support Model. You’ll find out what really benefits adoptees, and what strengthens their relationships with their adoptive parents. And you’ll see why openness is the key to being the adoptive parent the adoptee needs you to be.

Workshop Structure
Group Definition of Open Adoption
Group Definition of Open Adoption

Participants will collaboratively define what "Open Adoption" means to them, fostering a shared understanding.

Participants will collaboratively define what "Open Adoption" means to them, fostering a shared understanding.

Presentation of Research on Openness for Adoptees
Presentation of Research on Openness for Adoptees

An overview of relevant research and findings regarding the benefits and challenges of openness in adoption for adoptees will be presented.

An overview of relevant research and findings regarding the benefits and challenges of openness in adoption for adoptees will be presented.

Viewing the Explainer Video
Viewing the Explainer Video

Participants will watch an informative explainer video that illustrates key concepts related to open adoption.

Participants will watch an informative explainer video that illustrates key concepts related to open adoption.

Tour of the Quadrants and Redefining Openness vs. Contact
Tour of the Quadrants and Redefining Openness vs. Contact

A guided exploration of the quadrants illustrating different aspects of open adoption will take place, followed by a discussion to clarify and differentiate between the terms "openness" and "contact."

A guided exploration of the quadrants illustrating different aspects of open adoption will take place, followed by a discussion to clarify and differentiate between the terms "openness" and "contact."

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Learning
Objectives
  • Be able to normalize the questions, concerns and challenges around navigating openness that families face after finalizing an adoption. Attendees will be able to differentiate between perceived safety risks and actual safety risks.

  • Gain an understanding about the potential impact socioeconomic status, zip codes, race, physical disabilities and/or mental illness may have on openness. Shift focus from adoptive parent-centric feelings to active steps that are

  • Shift focus from adoptive parent-centric feelings to active steps that are adoptee-focused and aimed at strengthening the adoptee’s positive identity development.

  • Articulate the differences among the four quadrants of the Inclusive Family Support Model Attendees will become familiar with the terms ambiguous loss and disenfranchised grief

The Team

Angela Tucker

presenter

presenter

Angela Tucker is an adoptee and the author of the book "You Should Be Grateful:" Stories of Race, Identity & Transracial Adoption. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Adoptee Mentoring Society.

Angela Tucker is an adoptee and the author of the book "You Should Be Grateful:" Stories of Race, Identity & Transracial Adoption. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Adoptee Mentoring Society.

Lori Holden

Presenter & Original designer of the model

Presenter & Original designer of the model

Lori Holden is an adoptive parent and a co-author of Adoption Unfiltered and The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption. Lori was honored as an Angel in Adoption® by the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute.

Lori Holden is an adoptive parent and a co-author of Adoption Unfiltered and The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption. Lori was honored as an Angel in Adoption® by the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute.

JaeRan Kim

Researcher

Researcher

JaeRan Kim PhD, MSW, is an adoptee and is currently Associate Professor and BASW chair in the School of Social Work and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington – Tacoma.

JaeRan Kim PhD, MSW, is an adoptee and is currently Associate Professor and BASW chair in the School of Social Work and Criminal Justice at the University of Washington – Tacoma.

Should our son wish to contact his birth parents we wouldn’t know what to do. Or, if they do contact us, what are our rights for visitation? We would have no clue what to do. This workshop helped us think through this.

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adoptive parents

This topic is vitally important, and the IFSM is honestly the best model taht I have seen to help families understand the importance of openness.

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Social Worker

My daughter is now a teenager and is interested in reconnecting with her birth parents. This workshop helped us figure out how to approach this."

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Workshop atTendee

Subscribe to The Adopted Life

BY ANGELA TUCKER

OVER 5,000 SUBSCRIBERS

There is something temptingly tidy about the idea of adoption: a family with extra love and resources meets a child in need of both. The Adopted Life goes beyond the sparkly fairy tale of adoption.

© 2024 angela tucker

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all rights reserved

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Subscribe to The Adopted Life

BY ANGELA TUCKER

OVER 5,000 SUBSCRIBERS

© 2024 angela tucker

|

all rights reserved

site crafted by lhc

Subscribe to The Adopted Life

BY ANGELA TUCKER

OVER 5,000 SUBSCRIBERS

There is something temptingly tidy about the idea of adoption: a family with extra love and resources meets a child in need of both. The Adopted Life goes beyond the sparkly fairy tale of adoption.

© 2024 angela tucker

|

all rights reserved

|

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site crafted by lhc