The Family Resilience Fund was created to support vulnerable families and provides financial assistance to adoptive parents, foster parents, kinship caregivers, and parents who themselves were formerly in foster care during their youth.

While our regular meeting discussions flow with the input of participants, once a month a meeting takes a unique, single, special topic for a deeper facilitated discussion. Upcoming sessions cover a variety of subjects like positive self-talk, emotional perspectives during the holidays,

Every year, approximately 20,000 young adults age out of the foster care system in the United States—stepping into the adult world without the safety net of family and navigating life independently.

The Ohio House of Representatives' vote on HB 352 to establish the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) Study Commission marks an important step forward in addressing childhood trauma.

Adoption Network Cleveland extends its sincerest gratitude to CAECP for their generosity and steadfast support. Their decision to invest in our mission amplifies our collective efforts in advocacy, education, and support for all those touched by adoption. With heartfelt appreciation, we thank CAECP for their partnership and their dedication to making a meaningful difference in the lives of so many. We promise to put their funds to good use. Thank you for a job well done, CAECP!

The task of locating family members can seem daunting. Still, through collaborative efforts and meticulous research, the goal is to provide accurate and concise information to those searching for their roots.

Abby joined Adoption Network Cleveland as the Family Support Coordinator in January 2024. In this role, she is responsible for providing responsive support and opportunities for parents, caregivers, and youth in adoptive, foster, and kinship families.

Join us in celebrating the invaluable contributions of Black authors, creators, and educators this February—and all year long. In honor of Black History Month, we are highlighting profound works covering adoption, foster care, and kinship care by Black researchers and storytellers. If any of these books spark your interest, consider purchasing from a Black-owned bookstore.

We need Lobby Day volunteers! Register by March 15th to join us in making a difference!

“After every Lobby Day, people come back at the end and they are invigorated and excited and say—that was amazing! I’m so glad I did that! I felt like I made a difference!!” our contract lobbyist Aaron Ockerman said. “Any trepidation they had at 9 am is completely gone by 3 pm.”

Together, we have the power to affect policies that impact the lives of our community. Each year, Adoption Network Cleveland volunteers and staff travel in teams to lobby our state representatives and senators, both freshman and veterans alike. We set Tuesday, May 7th as our 2024 Lobby Day! Volunteers will advocate for our public policy agenda, deliver materials, and give attention getting gifts of branded candy.

In celebrating the remarkable milestone of our 35th anniversary, we embarked on a reflective journey with Betsie Norris, founder and Executive Director of Adoption Network Cleveland. With a wealth of experience garnered over three and a half decades of leadership, Betsie generously shares her top ten lessons learned in steering the course of an organization dedicated to advocacy, education, and support for those impacted by adoption.

Join us this year in one or all of our Special Topic General Discussion Meetings.

While the majority of meetings are open discussions, one group per month will offer a discussion based on a special topic. Our topic meetings are very popular and a great way to welcome people who don’t normally attend a support group.

“It was started for those who had these surprise circumstances come up,” said Karen Wyman, a program manager at the Adoption Network. She oversees the DNA Discovery Support Group established by the nonprofit. She specializes in helping people find family members.

In the late 2010s in the USA, data and technology had led to easily accessible, reasonably reliable DNA testing and matching of biological relatives. My understanding and trust in data, coupled with the loss of my brother a few years prior, led me to spit in a tube and send it off to the leading ancestry companies at the time (there may also have been some wine involved, back then). It would be fun. I wouldn’t worry about it too much. And if anything materialized, it would be really neat to meet someone I shared blood with.

Four Adoption Network Cleveland Board of Directors completed their terms of service and retired from the board, including Molly Cissell, Daniel Gisser, Julie Lady, and Carlin Culbertson. All four were honored for their service at the 2023 Annual Meeting in November.