Behavioral health capacity is critical to achieving permanency in child welfare. Learn how mental health and substance use services, workforce development, and cross-system collaboration impact outcomes for children and families.
Caregiver Mental Health Support Guide Being a caregiver for a child or youth isn't easy. However, caring for children who have experienced trauma, loss, and identity disruptions can be especially challenging. Caregivers of children and youth with child welfare...
Building Trust After Trauma: Supporting Children in Adoptive and Foster Families Placement, no matter how well-intended, is a significant transition. Children and youth who have been impacted by child welfare often experience early trauma, loss, disrupted...
Evidence in Action: How Adoption Competency Is Strengthening Mental Health Services Findings from the effectiveness study confirm that adoption‑competent care is essential. When mental health professionals are trained in adoption competence, outcomes...
Building Access Through Partnership: Centene Invests in Illinois TAC Cohort for 2026 The National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services is proud to partner with Centene to facilitate a Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) cohort in Illinois in...
Families First: Understanding Kinship Care One night, while relaxing at home, Kayla received a surprise call from child welfare. Her sister had been deemed unable to safely care for her three children due to untreated mental health challenges, substance...
Centering Lived Experience: Oklahoma Launches Lived Experience Competent Care Advisory Council The National Center, in partnership with our co-sponsor, the OU Center for Adoption and Family Well-Being, was proud to celebrate the successful launch events for the...
NTI Training: What I Learned Could Have Saved My Career in Counseling I knew from a very young age that I wanted to help people, and becoming a mental health counselor felt like the perfect way to do that. After graduating from college, I stepped eagerly into the...
The Invisible Divide in Youth Mental Health Care: 2025 Trends and Their Impact on Children in Child Welfare “Statistics are important, but the stories behind them are what drive our mission. Every child’s behavior tells us something about their experience.” —...
Reflecting on Two Years of Progress and Partnership Letter from the Director of the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services As we mark two years since the founding of the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services, I am proud...
New Data Show Families in Adoption and Foster Care Lack Adoption-Competent Mental Health Care: Rhode Island Aims to Close the Gap FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 2025 Joann Donnellan Joann@jdmediapr.com | 703-966-1990 Washington, DC— Two national...
Meeting the Moment: Utilizing NTI to Enhance the Adoption Competency of Parent Peer Support Specialists in Child Welfare By the National Center's Community Engagement Team (CET) As families and caregivers face ongoing challenges within the child welfare system, one...
Interested in contributing to our blog? We welcome perspectives from professionals, systems leaders, policymakers, advocates, and youth and families working to advance adoption competent mental health. If you’d like to contribute to a future blog, please reach out to us at bader@adoptionsupport.org
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