NAA Conference

NAA National 2026 Conference

Advocate for Permanence and Advance Effective Strategies for the Future 

April 27-28, 2026

WORKSHOP: Building Bridges to Enhance Adoption Competence and Improve Mental Health Services for Children and Families Across Systems and Tribal Nations 

Overview

In this interactive session, we will share practical strategies for developing a responsive and adoption competent, workforce. Strengthening the child welfare and mental health workforce is essential to meeting the needs of children and families with complex backgrounds, and our work reflects this shared commitment. Drawing on our partnerships with States, Tribes, and Territories, our session will highlight how communities are implementing effective cross‑system collaboration and building local champions who help sustain trauma‑informed and adoption‑competent practices. Examples from the Navajo Nation will illustrate what these approaches look like in action and the impact they can have on service delivery.

Participants will gain insights into how our technical assistance supports agencies in strengthening workforce preparation, improving coordination between child welfare and mental health systems, and creating lasting improvements in care. This work reflects our joint mission to bridge system gaps so children and families receive the knowledgeable, adoption‑competent, grounded support they deserve.

Below are materials to help you explore these approaches further. Even if you aren’t attending the session, we invite you to use these resources to learn from the strategies, tools, and examples emerging from our national partnerships.