Become an Adoption & Foster Friendly School
Build Belonging. Strengthen Families. Help Children Thrive.
A Question Worth Asking
If a child with a complex family story walked into your school tomorrow, what would tell them—without words—that they belong here?
Children from adoptive, foster, and kinship families are in every school—yet most educators have never received professional learning on adoption, foster care, kinship care, or the lifelong impact of early loss and disrupted attachment. Yet, these experiences shape how students learn, connect, and feel safe in school.
Schools can be powerful places of stability, healing, and hope—when educators are equipped and families are valued as partners.
What Does It Mean to Be an Adoption & Foster Friendly School?
Adoption & Foster Friendly Schools Intentionally:
- Recognize early relational loss and disrupted attachment as part of a child’s learning context
- Integrate adoption- and foster-informed learning into professional development
- Encourage student services and mental health teams to use adoption- and foster-competent practices
- Strengthen partnerships with caregivers as trusted members of the school team
This work is about shared language, practical tools, and connection—not labels or singling students out.
What Adoption & Foster Friendly Schools Create
Children who feel understood • Families who feel supported • Educators who feel equipped
“If we want our youth to thrive in college and beyond, we have to start by showing up for them in elementary, middle, and high school. We must equip educators with the tools to understand and walk alongside them.”
Become an Adoption & Foster Friendly School
Sign up TODAY!
The Adoption & Foster Friendly Schools Campaign is a growing initiative led by iCARE4 Adoptive And Foster Families to help schools move from awareness to action—and from isolation to connection.
Questions? info@icare4aaff.org
