Connected Together™ is our monthly e-newsletter designed to bring families, educators, mental health professionals, and all those who support adoptive, foster, and kinship children together. Each edition features helpful articles, real stories, and the latest research to keep you informed, inspired, and connected.
April 2026
April is National Stress Awareness Month, a time to recognize how stress affects well-being and to explore ways to build more supportive environments. For children impacted by adoption, foster care, and kinship care, stress is often a daily reality…an “invisible backpack” of grief, loss, and early adversity that they carry into their classrooms and communities.
Healing begins when we stop seeing behavior as defiance and start seeing it as a nervous system trying to protect itself. This month’s Connected Together™ highlights the power of understanding and the tools available to help children feel safe and seen. Through leadership, legislative progress, and stories of bravery, we continue to build a movement where home and school are united in support of every child’s story.
Understanding changes the narrative. Support lightens the load. And together, we ensure no child carries their backpack alone.
- From the Founder…
- Welcome to the Board: Catherine-Esther Cowie & Stephanie Bell
- Shaping Policy that Heals: Update on HB 4536
- Bravery in the Face of Stress: Featured Author Francine Apy
- Adoption & Foster Friendly Schools™ Movement
- Meet the Champions: Building a Movement Together
- Shaping Practice that Heals: Evidence in Action Summit
- Connected We Thrive™ Professional Development
- Scholarship Update: iCARE Champion Scholarship for Future School Social Workers
- Shaping Parenting that Heals: They Are Not Problems to Be Fixed
- Shaping Communities that Heals: Upcoming iCARE Presentations
- School-Based Mental Health Training
- Resources: Sequoia Families Support Groups
And more ways to learn, connect, and support children and families through iCARE.
March 2026
March invites us to honor the professionals whose work often happens quietly, yet powerfully — especially school social workers. In National School Social Work Month, we recognize that children carry their pasts with them into classrooms, friendships, and learning spaces. When schools and families share understanding — not just of behavior, but of a child’s story — trust can grow, regulation can strengthen, and connection can take root.
For adoptive, foster, and kinship children, permanency is not a finish line — it’s ongoing. Healing is reinforced through everyday partnership: counseling offices, IEP meetings, team conversations, and the steady presence of trusted adults. This month’s Connected Together™ highlights what becomes possible when home and school are truly connected — through scholarship support for school social work leaders, forward movement in policy, and a featured reflection on supporting teenagers with disrupted attachment histories.
Healing is a team effort.
Connection is a group project.
And together, we help children grow, trust, and thrive.
- From the Founder…
- Shaping Practice that Heals
- Scholarship Update: Adoption & Foster Friendly Schools™ Social Worker Champion Scholarships
- Shaping Policy that Heals
- Supporting Teenagers with Disrupted Attachment Histories
- Shaping Parenting that Heals: Connection Corner
- Connected We Thrive™ Professional Development
- Celebrating One Year of Connection Kits™
- School-Based Mental Health Training
- Sequoia Families
- Resources
And more ways to learn, connect, and support children and families through iCARE.
February 2026
February invites us to reflect on the heart — not just as a symbol of love, but as the place where early experiences shape safety, trust, and connection. For children impacted by adoption, foster care, and kinship care, those early experiences can leave lasting impressions that follow them into families, classrooms, and communities.
This month, we’re exploring what happens when a child’s heart is wounded early — and how healing becomes possible when caregivers, educators, and systems respond with understanding instead of pressure. From family stories to policy change, from professional learning to school-wide commitments, the message we continue to hear is clear:
Understanding changes everything.
Connection leads the way.
And when we respond differently, children can truly thrive.
The Pervasive Damage of Heart Shocks
Veronica’s Story + Her Mom’s Story
Shaping Policy that Heals
The Adoption & Foster Friendly Schools Champion Network
Shaping Parenting that Heals
Shaping Support that Heals
Adoption Competency State of Practice
Connected We Thrive™ Professional Development
School-Based Mental Health Training
Sequoia Families
And more ways to learn, connect, and support children and families through iCARE.
December 2025 / January 2026
As the holidays approach, we’re nudged to look ahead — to what’s possible for our families, our work, and the children we serve. It’s a season built on potential.
This year, I’ve been especially moved by almost 500 parents, caregivers, teachers, and social workers who joined our trainings. Your openness to learning and reimagining support for adopted, foster, and kinship kids was unmistakable. In every room, I heard the same heartbeat:
We’re ready for something different. A reset. A better way forward.
Connected by Purpose
Shaping Policy that Heals
Shaping Parenting That Heals
Youth Voices
In Case You Missed it
Sequoia Families Support Groups—In Person and Virtual
Connected We Thrive™ Professional Development Series
And more updates from iCARE in your community
November 2025
November is National Adoption Month—a time to honor the love, resilience, and creativity of adoptive, foster, and kinship families. At iCARE, we celebrate connection every day, knowing that family is built not by biology, but through trust, care, and shared joy.
This month, we’re honored to share stories that remind us what connection looks like in real life:
Stories of Connection
Shaping Policy that Heals
Training at the Heart of Excellence in Child Welfare
Fostering Change Podcast
Connected by Purpose
Sequoia Families Support Groups—In Person and Virtual
Connected We Thrive™ Professional Development Series
And more updates from iCARE in your community
October 2025
As we step into October, we’re reminded that fall brings both reflection and fresh opportunities to support adoptive, foster, and kinship families. This month we join in recognizing National Down Syndrome Awareness Month, we’re excited to premiere our new spotlight video, and we’re on the move this fall presenting at numerous conferences and events across the Midwest and beyond. Alongside these updates, we continue to share hope-focused resources and practical tools for schools and families.
Love Without Limits: Celebrating Families with Children with Down Syndrome
Seeing the Whole Picture and Shaping Policy that Heals
Sequoia Families Support Groups—In Person and Virtual
Connected We Thrive™ Professional Development Series
And more updates from iCARE in your community
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.
FASD Awareness Month with a special contribution by Angela Geddes
Family Focused FAQs in Shaping Policy that Heals
Connected, We Thrive™ Professional Development Series
iCARE is on the move…and so much more
August 2025
Back-to-school brings more than supplies—it brings opportunities for connection and healing. In this issue, we highlight new Illinois legislation that prioritizes human connection in school mental health, explore what it means to build healing-centered schools, and share upcoming trainings and tools to help children feel safe, seen, and supported—especially those in adoptive, foster, and kinship families.
SUMMER EDITION June and July 2025
It’s Summer. School may be out, but we never stop learning!
Listening First: What Adoptees are Teaching Us About School Support
‘What Can I Do?” is the question that kept rising from the crowd. Listen and learn in this edition.
May 2025
May is National Foster Care AND Mental Health Awareness Month.
We hear from a powerful voice, Jocelyn, as she shares her story, a story about an adoptive dad’s wake-up call and learn about a movement that is growing!
April 2025
Let’s Talk About Stress: April is Stress Awareness Month.
Stress affects everyone—find tips for coping and supporting those who need it most
February 2025
Love in Action!
💙 Big News for Kids in Foster, Adoptive & Kinship Care.
We’re embracing the power of LOVE with CONNECTION and COLLABORATION!
January 2025
A Fresh Start: Mental Health Matters for Foster and Adoptive Kids💙
This New Year, let’s empower children with the support they need to thrive.
December 2024
Together We Thrive December Newsletter 💌 2024
November 2024
Welcome to iCARE’s First Monthly Newsletter 💌!
Join us on this journey—let’s make a positive impact, one child and one family at a time.
