Programs & Initiatives

Advocacy, Training and Technical Assistance

The professionals at Adoption Rhode Island offer consultation services, student intern opportunities and specialized trainings on numerous topics related to adoption, permanency, trauma – informed practice and children’s mental health. If your organization has a specialized training need, we may be able to help design and host such a program.

AdvocacyTrainingTechnicalAssistance Presentation

The Center for Advanced Practice

The Center for Advanced Practice at Adoption Rhode Island is a knowledge hub for health, education, and child-welfare professionals with the goal to bring research-based solutions to address the complex needs of children impacted by trauma. With a special focus on foster and adopted children, vulnerable youth and families.

As a resource for professionals, practitioners and policymakers serving children, youth and families the Center for Advanced Practice offers:

  • Professional development and training
  • Support for the workforce
  • Capacity building of child-welfare systems at agency,
  • state and federal levels
  • Research partnerships and dissemination
  • Advocacy and convening
  • Youth engagement

The Center for Advanced Practice is a knowledge hub for health, education, and social service professionals with the goal to bring research based solutions to address the complex needs of foster and adopted children, youth and families in today’s world. By launching the Center for Advanced Practice, we create influence and impact for improving system-wide delivery of evidenced based and promising practices to ensure high-quality and high impact results for children and families. We serve as a link to research infrastructure, policy development and practice implementation.We will be a resource to professionals who are looking to gain knowledge and improve their practice. We offer schools, agencies, medical practices and other organizations consultation, training and expert opinions. We serve as partner to universities interested in furthering research in areas that impact outcomes for children, youth and families. We incubate best practice solutions, provide educational trainings, offer workshops, professional consultation, information dissemination and seek to collaborate to promote the well-being of children.

Consultation and Trainings

Adoption RI offers regular trainings and workshops to help discuss best practice in areas including:

  • child welfare,
  • adoption and permanency,
  • trauma, youth development and more.

 

Advocacy

The organization is engaged in local, national and systematic advocacy efforts to improve the lives of children, youth and families.

 

The Adoption and Foster Care Certificate Program

Adoption Rhode Island partnered with Rhode Island College to create the Adoption and Foster Care Certificate Program (AFCC). The mission of the program is to build the skills and knowledge of community-based clinicians, social service providers, educators, and people whose lives are touched by adoption and foster care. The courses are offered through the Rhode Island School of Social Work Continuing Education Program.

AFCC overview
AFCC overview

In 2023 we received congressionally directed funding to update the curriculum and estimate launching an online course in summer of 2024. This course, Child Welfare and Wellbeing is designed specifically for professionals who work with children, youth and families.

Student Internships

Adoption Rhode Island accepts several student interns each year. We have partnered with numerous local colleges and universities to accept field placement requests for bachelors and masters level students in social work, counseling and allied programs. We have also accepted student intern requests for marketing and communication and worked with student groups on fundraising, evaluation and other administrative projects.

The Center for Advanced Practice
In 2020, Adoption RI established the Center for Advanced Practice – an arm of ARI dedicated to professional education, trainings, collaborative workshops, etc.Through the Center for Advanced Practice at ARI, trainings have included:

  • An introduction to Trauma: Becoming a Trauma-Informed Community
  • A Deeper Dive: Looking Closer at the Impact of Trauma on Children and Adolescents
  • Trauma-Informed Strategies and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) for the Early Childhood and Elementary Educator
  • Trauma-Informed Strategies and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) for the Middle and High School Educator
  • Secondary Traumatic Stress: Recognizing and Managing STS