No-cost Adoption and Kinship Family Therapy Changing Lives

Families with adopted children from foster care, those considering adoption, and families formed by kinship now have access to no-cost in-home therapy to help meet many of the challenges that may arise. Launched earlier this year by Children’s Aid and Family Services, Adoption and Kinship Legal Guardianship Clinical Services (AKLG) is designed to be a collaboration between families and therapists, providing support for adoptive parents to increase connections with their children and reduce challenging behaviors. “There is no other program that focuses on adoption and attachment, recognizing the challenges of parenting a child with a background of trauma,” says Lisa Duff, Director. “With this therapy, parents feel seen and validated. Families tell us they’ve been waiting for a program like this.”

The program’s therapists deliver attachment-focused therapy for families with kinship or adopted children, particularly those who have experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment resulting in significant trauma. “Therapists visit the adoptive homes for two hours weekly and coach parents on how to communicate and interact with their child,” says Lisa. “These children can often act out because of the trauma they have endured. Our therapists help shift the parents’ perspective to a lens of empathy and understanding, one in which they ‘connect before they correct’.”

Transforming a child’s life from hardship to hope

Recently one of our therapists worked with a couple in the process of adopting Noah, a five-year-old who had faced unimaginable hardships such as severe neglect and abuse in his young life. AKLG was contacted for assistance after Noah began acting out. Through pre-adoption therapy, the family came to understand the impact of Noah’s past on him, his unique needs, and how they could best parent him. Through this support they confidently moved forward and finalized the adoption, changing the trajectory of Noah’s life from fear and uncertainty to one of stability and nurturing. The family will continue to receive no-cost post-adoption therapy and services.

“Parents sometimes come to us feeling defeated,” says Rebecca Gallese, Director. “This therapy is amazing because it emphasizes the importance of building a safe space for the parent where no one is judging them which helps them to be more open to what the therapist has to say. When kids feel more connected to their parents, typically attachment increases and negative behaviors decrease.”

The program serves pre- and post-adoptive and kinship families with children 20 years old and younger who live in New Jersey and were placed through New Jersey’s Department of Child Protection and Permanency agency. There are presently 10 clinicians working with 41 families in the program which is supported by the State of New Jersey Department of Children and Families. For more information, please call our program coordinator at 551-224-2711.