Education
The Barker Foundation has been a leader in quality adoption education and outreach to the commuity for several decades.
Information Request: upcoming workshops for adopted children, teens, and adults.
Since 1945, we have emphasized the importance of educating adoptive parents, and more recently birth parents and adopted persons of all ages.
One of the hallmarks of our expertise in adoption education is our Annual Conference. It is attended by birth parents, adoptive parents, adult adopted persons, adoption professionals and individuals wanting more information on adoption. Featured speakers include experts in the adoption field such as Robin Allen, Joyce Pavao, Ruth McRoy, David Brodzinsky, Cheri Register and many other knowledgeable and compassionate professionals.
The topics of our past conferences include:
1995 - Connected Lives: Understanding Adoption
1996 - The Unexpected Journey: Learning and Attention Difficulties and Adoption
1997 - The International Adoption Experience: Bridging the Differences, Making the Connections
1998 - Open Minds, Open Hearts: New research on Issues of Openness for All Adoptive Families
1999 - Adoption and Adolescence: When Two Powerful Forces in a Child’s Life Come Together
2000 - Adolescence and Adoption II: Talking about the Tough Topics
2001 - Our Connected Lives: A Conference for Birth Parents, Adoptive Parents and Adopted Persons
2002 - Now and Always: Forging Lifelong Bonds in Adoption
2003 - Voices of Adoption: A Workshop for Adolescents and Adults
2004 - Adoption Journey: From “Secret Thoughts” to “Open Talk”
2005 - Fulfilling the Promise of Adoption
2006 - The Life of Adoption: Rewards, Regrets, Resilience
2007 - The Unfinished Adoption Revolution
2008 - Connected Lives: Understanding the Birth Parent Experience in Adoption and Foster Care
2009 - In Our Own Voices: Adoptees and Foster Care Youth Speak Out
In addition to our annual conference, Barker presents information sessions, workshops and special seminars throughout the year in an effort to provide educational opportunities to the adoption community.
Listed below are descriptions of the groups, meetings and workshops offered. Please see our Events Calendar for the next available dates of any of these events or call our office at 301/664-9664.
Information Meetings
The information meetings provide an overview of the adoption experience. While descriptions of Barker programs are a regular feature, those who attend these meetings also enjoy hearing from new parents and seeing the children who have joined their families. These new parents share the personal stories of their adoption journey, including their expectations, anxieties and experiences with the adoption process.
Pre-Adoption Group Training
The Pre-Adoption Group one-day training is designed to help you think about both the rewards and the challenges of adoption and the life-long adoption issues that are involved.
Through the leaders’ presentations, discussions, group exercises, readings, and the voices of “real people” in the adoption circle, we will look at the perspectives of adopted children, birth parents, and adoptive parents. These groups are facilitated by Barker staff and provide a forum for you to discuss your hopes, questions and concerns. You will also find the group a wonderful opportunity to meet others with similar interests and concerns. Our goal is to help people make informed decisions about adoption and to feel better prepared as they become parents.
Project Wait No Longer Training
This training is designed to help prospective adoptive parents think about both the rewards and the challenges of older child adoption and the life-long adoption issues that are involved.
Through the leaders’ presentations, discussions, videos, group exercises and readings we will look at the perspectives of adopted children, birth parents, and adoptive parents. Issues specific to children who are in the public foster care system will be addressed. This series is facilitated by Barker staff and experts in the field of foster care and adoption. It is a forum for you to discuss your hopes, questions and concerns. You will also find the group a wonderful opportunity to meet others with similar interests and concerns.
Our goal is to help people make informed decisions about adopting an older child and to feel better prepared as they become parents.
Waiting Parents Meeting
The Barker Foundation holds Waiting Parents Meetings, facilitated by Barker staff, every 4-6 weeks where various speakers include adoptive parents, birth parents and medical professionals. There are separate meetings for the international and domestic programs so that issues specific to those programs can be the focus of the meetings. Many waiting parents find the meetings a great source of support during an anxious time.
Baby Basics
This one day class is taught by a registered nurse and an adoptive parent to waiting parents. Topics include choosing a pediatrician and child care, infant development, car seat installment, first night worries, bonding and attachment, and telling the adoption story. This course is offered 2-3 times a year for a nominal fee.
Communication with Birth Parents Workshop
On-going communication with birth parents presents unique challenges – as well as opportunities – for adoptive families. This workshop is designed to provide guidance and emotional support to adoptive families navigating the process of maintaining contact with their children’s birth families. This workshop is offered one to two times a year.
Creating a Lifebook for Your Adoptive Child
The Barker Foundation provides a workshop on creating a Lifebook for your child. A Lifebook is a wonderful tool for providing an adopted child with an understanding of his/her origins and unique personal history.
Many adoption experts encourage Lifebooks as a means to promote positive, healthy development. Different from a scrapbook or photograph album, a Lifebook tells the adoption story as a way of helping a child make sense of his or her adoption. In some cases this may mean addressing issues such as ethnicity, race, special needs, or unique family circumstances. This workshop is offered a minimum of once a year.
New Parent Group
This group is for new parents and their babies/toddlers. The objectives of the New Parent Group include addressing new parent issues such as “post-adoption blues,” adjusting to a change of lifestyle, changes/challenges in relationship with spouse and other family members, and lack of sleep.
The Group provides a forum to discuss how to deal with questions and comments from others including issues related to racial and cultural issues, and unexpected reactions and questions regarding adoption. Lastly, it provides an opportunity for new adoptive parents to meet, and learn together and from each other.
Birth Parent Support Group
This group is open to anyone who has placed a child for adoption or is considering making an adoption plan. The purpose of the group is to provide a place where birth parents can talk about their experiences, feelings and thoughts with others who have made the same decision. The group is facilitated by a Barker staff person and meets the second Thursday of each month from 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. at Barker’s Bethesda, MD office.
Adopted Persons’ Discussion Group
The Barker Foundation hosts a monthly discussion group for Adopted Persons from 7:00–9:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month at Barker’s Bethesda, MD office. The purpose of the group is to give people an opportunity to talk about their feelings, concerns, and questions about being adopted.
Kids Group
This group provides adopted children the chance to meet and connect with other children their age who have been adopted. The group is divided into children in kindergarten through Grade 2 and Grades 3 to 5. It gives children an opportunity to share their experiences and feelings through discussion and fun activities. By singing games, playing, and various arts and crafts projects, the children can better express their feelings and thoughts about being adopted.
Teen Weekend
The Barker Foundation holds a Teen Weekend every spring for teens in grades 9-12 at the National 4-H Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The program includes both indoor and outdoor activities, an opportunity to share experiences with other teens who were adopted and discussion groups facilitated by adoption professionals who were also adopted.
