Lisa Maynard elected to NYSCCC Board

On May 7, 2009, Lisa Maynard, Hillside Children’s Center Adoption Services executive director, had the honor of being elected to the New York State Citizen's Coalition for Children's Board of Directors.

Lisa, a long time member and volunteer with the organization, said the New York State Citizen's Coalition for Children (NYSCCC) gave Adoption Resource Network, Inc.(now Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children's Center) the original grant to incorporate and organize in 1991 with the goal to provide information, education, guidance, and support to members of the adoption triad in Monroe and surrounding counties.

Incorporated in 1975, NYSCCC was organized to address problems in New York’s child welfare system. These problems had resulted in protracted foster care stays in what was intended to be a temporary system, but had, in fact, become the way of life for thousands of children in the foster care system. Coalition activities to address these problems over its 34 year history have been focused on:

• Administrative and Legislative Advocacy


• Community Education


• Parent Group Development and Support Services


• Recruitment of Families for Waiting Children

“I am proud to have been a part of NYSCCC for many years, and now have the good fortune to assist with their work in the coming years,” said Lisa.

Hillside staff member named Adoption Activist of the Year

Hillside Family of Agencies staff member Jody Hansen-Walker has been named Adoption Activist of the Year by the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

Hansen-Walker is a member of Hillside Children’s Center’s Niagara County Team and serves as the post adoption coordinator with the Adoption Support and Preservation (ASAP) service.

Hansen-Walker was nominated by her son Steven, who rallied a number of people in support of his mother’s nomination.

“Jody’s boundless energy makes me tired, and her commitment is truly inspirational. This is a very wonderful honor for Jody and for our adoption work at Hillside,” says Lisa Maynard, Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center executive director.

Photo: Lisa (on the left) and Jody at the October 21, 2008 Adoption Excellence Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C. from the US Department of Health and Human Services. The award was for Hillside's work serving families, post adoption through ASAP.

How A Child Defines Belonging

Jaiya John will be giving the luncheon keynote address on November 8 at the 17th Annual Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children’s Center Conference on Adoption “The Changing World of Adoption.”

Jaiya John’s poetic keynote celebrates the promise and the impact of adoption and similar family arrangements. Jaiya defines culture as a person’s way of existing in the world. This definition brings every child under the same tree; a tree rooted in our human need to feel as though we are beautiful (worthy, valid, positively unique and similar) and as though we belong (possessing an honored purpose within the collective). The challenge we face is in learning to honor children in the context of their purposeful individual uniqueness. Honoring children creates serenity, healing, and growth in each family member. In this holistic cultural approach, families learn to celebrate each member’s unique heritage, life story, and identity as a pathway to healthy relationships.

Throughout the afternoon Jaiya will also be conducting a book signing of his child service-related titles Legendary; Beautiful; Reflection Pond and Black Baby White Hands: A View from the Crib. Learn more about Jaiya John and Soul Water Rising’s global human relations mission at www.soulwater.org.

Workshop Session during the conference:

Jaiya’s workshop session will not be a “workshop” in the conventional sense, but rather a question-and-answer discussion addressing issues that were raised for participants during Jaiya’s keynote presentation. This will be a conversational session, without exercises or handouts. Here is your chance for hear-to-heart on the issues that are significant to you.

Two from Hillside discuss adoption on WGRZ's WNY Living

Check out this great segment from the October 11, 2008 WNY Living program. Lisa Maynard and Jody Hansen-Walker talk with Janet, the host of the show, about adoption, the upcoming conference, and the award the Adoption Support and Preservation services received from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Here's the link to the main segment page: http://www.wnyliving.tv/WNYLiving_Article.aspx?storyid=61124

You can find the video by clicking on the "Click here to view" link on top of the Hillside logo, or by clicking here: http://www.wnyliving.tv/VideoPlayer.aspx?aid=48221&bw=

Behind the scenes at RNews on Oct. 9

Here is a brief "behind the scenes" look at the interview Lisa Maynard did with RNews' Virginia Butler early on October 9, 2008 about the ASAP award and the upcoming conference. Wait until the end to get Lisa's take on the interview. The RNews story can be found online here.

Watch RNews on October 9

Check out RNews around 7:45 a.m./8:00 a.m. October 9, 2008 and at RNews.com throughout the day for a special interview with Lisa Maynard, Adoption Resource Network at Hillside Children's Center.

Then come back here to this blog for a "behind-the-scenes" video of the interview.

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.

Adoption Resource Network annual conference is coming

Check back here and at http://www.hillside.com/Services/Adoption/conference.htm for more information regarding the Adoption Resoruce Network at Hillside Children's Center annual conference taking place this year on November 8, at Bay Trail Middle School in Penfield, NY (see map below).


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