From the Founder – September 2025

From the Founder – September 2025 As we step into September and a new school year, I’m reminded of both the opportunities and challenges that face adoptive, foster, and kinship families. This is a month where awareness and advocacy meet real life. One important focus is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)—a condition more common than […]

The Missing Link in School Attendance:

The Missing Link in School Attendance: Why Connection Matters More Than Ever By Laura AdamsPresident & Founder, iCARE4 Adoptive And Foster Families Chronic Absenteeism: Still 50% Higher Than Before the Pandemic Five years after COVID-19 disrupted our classrooms, students still aren’t showing up like they used to. The numbers are stark: Chronic absenteeism is 50% […]

The Power of Being Seen

The Power of Being Seen Jocelyn Fetting, BSW Good morning, everyone. I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying your Thursday so far. My name is Jocelyn Fetting- I’m a big sister to two, an almost two-time university graduate, and someone with eight and a half years of experience in the Illinois child welfare system. […]

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 Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Youth: On the very same day Governor JB Pritzker signed a landmark bill making Illinois the first state in the nation to mandate mental health screenings […]

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 in Illinois, lawmakers just drew a powerful line in the sand: some things should only be done by a human. Enter Illinois House Bill 1806, now signed into law. HB1806 […]

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 with me: “Fear says, ‘Fix it.’ Love says, ‘Create the relationship and the environment to allow the behavior to fix itself.’” It reminded me why iCARE exists. Whether it’s insights […]

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 three, he was realizing, along with some passers-by, that he had been abandoned. He would never see his parents again. He was referred to me ten years later following treatment […]

Shaping Policy that Heals – June/July

Celebrating Progress and Charting a Path Forward Our Legislative Spotlight has a new name: Shaping Policy That Heals– because real change starts with bold ideas and vision. At iCARE, we’re not just following policy—we are working to shape it, so every child and family has the support they need to heal, belong, and thrive. Celebrating Progress […]