- The Quiet Power of PartnershipAdolescence is a season of expanding independence — but for teenagers with disrupted attachment histories, connection remains central. When caregivers and school professionals communicate openly and consistently, stability strengthens and growth unfolds with greater confidence. Partnership between home and school does more than support behavior; it reinforces permanency, trust, and the secure base adolescents still need.
- Veronica’s StoryVeronica’s Story Veronica’s feeding journey as told by Jill Rabin, a licensed speech-language pathologist with deep expertise in early development, attachment, and feeding/communication. Sometimes joyful engagement with food is the priority in therapy versus oral intake. Veronica, age 20 months adjusted. She has struggled with self-limiting, vomiting and weight gain… Read more: Veronica’s Story
- Nora and Leon’s StoryOur Family’s Adoption Story: Guided by Love and Loss Adoption has always been in our hearts. After having three biological children, we felt called to grow our family through adoption. Our journey ultimately began after the heartbreaking loss of our oldest daughter, Kathleen, in 2023 from complications of a rare… Read more: Nora and Leon’s Story
- Kate’s StoryCommunities That Understand Their Stories Children who are adopted—whether through foster care or directly into families—need more than homes; they need communities and schools that understand their stories. Parenting an adopted child begins with humility: the courage to admit you don’t know everything. That simple truth opens the door to… Read more: Kate’s Story
- Rob’s StoryNovember is National Adoption Month, a time to celebrate families created through adoption and to remember the thousands of children in foster care still waiting. But adoption is not the final chapter. For children who come from foster care, the papers may change their address, but their past remains part… Read more: Rob’s Story
On This Day
Shaping Policy that Heals Advancing Healing-Centered Schools: Our July 31 Roundtable On the Day History Was Made, Illinois Leaders Gather to Prioritize Mental Health for
Shaping Policy That Heals – August 2025
Shaping Healing Policy: Why HB1806 Matters This school year, the headlines are full of AI innovation—automated tutoring, lesson planning, and even virtual therapy bots. But
When Mainstream Parenting Advice Misses the Mark
Many popular parenting books were written for families built on stability—not for those raising children with histories of loss, trauma, or disrupted attachment. For adoptive, foster, and kinship caregivers, traditional advice to “let go” or “step back” can be harmful. These families need guidance that centers connection, safety, and healing—not hustle and independence. Here’s why a new parenting lens matters.
Dysregulation
For children in adoptive, foster, and kinship homes, healing doesn’t happen in isolation—it happens in relationships. When school staff encounter struggling caregivers, it’s easy to assume resistance. But what if that parent is simply overwhelmed? This article helps school social workers and educators shift from judgment to curiosity, offering five powerful ways to support families through a connection-first, systems-oriented lens.
From the Founder – August 2025
What AI Can’t Teach—and What Truly Changes Everything Dear Friends, At the Fear to Love conference this summer, Bryan Post shared a line that stayed
Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!
Michael was impeccably dressed in a tiny tie and suit coat, standing on a busy street corner in Sofia, Bulgaria looking for his parents. At
