Lisa Maynard on WBTA 1490

Mark your calendars!
Lisa Maynard, Executive Director of Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children's Center will be on the radio October 2, 2008.
Listen to Batavia's WBTA 1490 AM at 9:40 a.m. to hear her talk about the award the program just received and the upcoming conference.

ASAP services nationally recognized

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced that the Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center is being recognized with the 2008 Adoption Excellence Award for the extraordinary contributions it has made in providing adoption and other permanency outcomes for children in foster care through its Adoption Support and Preservation services.

“It’s an honor to receive national recognition for our work to support and ensure the stability of adoptive families through our Adoption Support and Preservation services,” said Lisa Maynard, Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center executive director.

Adoption Support and Preservation (ASAP) offers support services to TANF-eligible families who have adopted or are in the process of adopting a child. The services include: information and referrals; support groups; skill building; crisis intervention; advocacy; respite services; and counseling. The service model employed by ASAP is the only one of its kind in Monroe County, and is unique to upstate New York.

Since rolling out the services in 2006, ASAP has proven extremely effective and has surpassed all of its performance targets.

“Because of ASAP, 99 percent of all children placed with a pre-adoptive family have stayed with that family despite facing very unique challenges. Without the services, the children wouldn’t have made it,” said Maynard.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established the Adoption Excellence Awards program to recognize outstanding accomplishments in achieving permanency for the nation’s children in foster care awaiting adoption. The awards honor states, child welfare agencies, organizations, courts, businesses, individuals, and families. More information on the awards can be found at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/current_initiatives/aeawards.htm

Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center will hold its 17th Annual Adoption Conference: “The Changing World of Adoption” on November 8, 2008 at Bay Trail Middle School in Penfield. For information about speakers and workshops and to register, log on to http://www.hillside.com/Services/Adoption/conference.htm
More information about Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center can be found at http://www.hillside.com

Adoption pioneer speaks about the changing world of adoption

As a pioneer in the field of adoption and post adoption services, Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao, Ed.D., LCSW, LMFT, knows that the world of adoption has changed since her own adoption sixty years ago.

“So many things have changed. In the early days of adoption it was a supply and demand kind of situation,” notes Pavao. Today, she thinks it is more important for anyone involved in the adoption process to be child-centered–to find families for children rather than find children for families.

Once those families have been found, and an adoption has been finalized, Pavao advocates for the utilization of post adoption services to overcome the challenges in “understanding and making sense of adoption” for all parties—birth family, adoptive family and adopted persons.

“The importance of post adoption services is challenging. There is a lot of loss involved and often trauma as well. Providing services in an ongoing way is very important,” says Pavao.

She notes that the job of the new adoptive parent is to be aware of, and sensitive to, identity issues the child may experience so as to make the youth more comfortable during the transition and afterwards.

Pavao points to the increasing trend of gay and lesbian couples adopting to explain her opinion. In the past, she says that one of the partners in these couples had to act as a single parent to adopt. Now, people are more overt about their sexual orientation. That they are gay or lesbian is important to their identification as a family and that is to be considered as they go through the adoption process. She argues that secrecy did not work in adoption of old, and secrecy does not work in the present.

“These are people that are good people that want to be parents,” says Pavao.

And as the world of adoption continues to change, the desire to be a parent and welcome a child into a family is one constant Pavao views as an important characteristic that anyone interested in adopting should have.

More of Pavao’s take on the changes occurring in the world of adoption can be heard during the morning keynote address “The Changing World of Adoption: How Far Have We Come,” which she is scheduled to deliver during the Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center’s 17th annual conference: “The Changing World of Adoption” being held on November 8, 2008, at the Bay Trail Middle School, 1760 Scribner Road, Penfield, NY 14526.

“I think the conference is terrific. Everyone should consider attending. They will be surprised and will learn something about themselves, their loved ones, and their community,” says Pavao.

Registration for the conference is now open and can be done online at http://www.hillside.com/Services/Adoption/conference.htm. For more on the work Dr. Pavao is doing, log on to The Center For Family Connections web site at http://www.kinnect.org. Her book is The Family of Adoption, Beacon Press, 2005.

The world of adoption is changing

Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center is focusing this year’s conference on the changes that are impacting how and why people adopt children.

Attendees at the November 8, 2008 conference being held from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Bay Trail Middle School in Penfield, NY (See map here), will be able to participate in workshops that explore topics ranging from single parent adoption and LGBT adoption to how the Hague impacts adoption and why connections matter in the adoption process.

“During the 17 years that we’ve been holding this conference, there have been so many changes that have impacted how and why people adopt. Each year, the conference has proven to be one of the best ways for anyone interested in adopting, anyone who is an adoptive parent, and anyone who is an adoptee themselves to learn about these changes first-hand from others who have experienced them,” says Lisa Maynard, Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center executive director.

In addition to the slate of workshops, a morning keynote address entitled “The changing world of adoption: how far have we come,” an afternoon keynote addressing interracial adoption, and a general session discussing the future of adoption, the conference will provide multiple opportunities for conference attendees to interact with one another and learn more about the various aspects of adoption.

Registration for the conference is now open and can be done online at http://www.hillside.com/Services/Adoption/conference.htm.

How you can benefit from Adoption Resource Network’s Annual Adoption Conference

By Lisa Maynard, ARN at HCC Executive Director


When I began exploring adoption as a way to build my family, I thought it would be easy. All I needed to do was figure out who could help, figure out how to apply, and then sit back and start being a Mom.

I had an idea that we would be asked through the homestudy process to explain why we wanted to adopt, describe ourselves, and prove we could handle the responsibility. Starting on that journey was much more challenging than I could have imagined – there was no Internet, no one source of information, no “one stop shop” for adoption. Additionally, I was quite unaware of the enormous impact adoption would have on my life.

When my adoption journey began more than 18 years ago, my friend Cindy and I, under the guidance of our adoption social worker from Love The Children, embarked on a project to host an adoption conference for the Greater Rochester (NY) community.

We had big plans for our conference, including a keynote from a nationally renowned speaker, bringing together advocates from the adoption community, as well as bringing together all three sides of the adoption triad–birth parents, adoptive parents, and adults who were adopted. It was exciting as we eagerly anticipated a successful conference.

Our goal for the first conference was to draw between 100 and 150 attendees. We called on national organizations that had experience hosting conferences, and were cautioned to lower our goal because 50 or so was considered a “great” turnout. Undaunted, we were determined to meet our original attendance goal.

We designed and distributed flyers and announcements. We called on friends and colleagues to spread the word. And, we were completely astounded by the response. One week out from that first conference, we had 450 people registered and more calling each day! It was clear we had identified a “gap in service” and we weren’t even looking!

Prior to hosting that first conference, I had only been to one other conference on adoption. Until that conference, I wasn’t completely aware of the opportunities afforded through such a venue. I found I enjoyed the workshops and learned a great deal from them. I found resources I didn’t see elsewhere, and made new friends. It was exhilarating to see those same opportunities at our conference.

I have since attended state, national, and international conferences on adoption. Each time I learn something new, come home with new ideas, new resources, and renewed hope for the future of adoption and foster care in the United States and abroad. Additionally, I find new challenges and renewed commitment to children and families touched by adoption.

Much like those conferences, Adoption Resource Network’s annual conference offers many resources. If you come, you will learn about the unique issues of adoption and foster care. You can collect helpful tips for parenting adopted children. You will have the opportunity to meet people–agency representatives, attorneys, social workers–who can assist you with the adoption process. You will find information and resources to help you conduct a search for biological family, and network with others in adoptive and foster care relationships.

You are sure to be challenged, to grow in your approach to adoption, to find new perspectives, to learn new approaches to parenting, in your search for self and family at Adoption Resource Network’s annual conference.

See how the changing world of adoption can change your life! Register online today.

Why Hillside Adoption Services?

Hillside Children’s Center has been helping families adopt and raise children for more than 100 years. No one brings more experience or capabilities to adoption services.

Through our Adoption Resource Network, we also provide pre-adoption counseling, support, information, and referral to a wide range of individuals and organizations who can assist you in the adoption process. We understand that the decisions around adoption, raising adopted children, and making an adoption plan are often difficult and emotionally taxing. No matter where you are in the process, we’re here to listen, help, and provide support.

http://www.hillside.com/Services/Adoption/Why.htm