Debbie Riley, CEO - C.A.S.E. - Nurture, Inspire, Empower
Email Icon Newsletter Sign Up
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Login
Fundraise
Donate
close
  • Login
  • Store
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Overview
    • Mission, Vision & Values
    • Board of Directors
    • Emerging Leaders
    • The C.A.S.E. Team
      • Overview
      • Kathleen Dugan, Founder
      • Debbie Riley, CEO
      • Staff
    • Annual Reports
    • Partnerships
    • Our Impact
      • Overview
      • Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Adoption Recruitment
      • Policy & Advocacy
      • C.A.S.E. Stars of Adoption
      • Awards & Recognition
    • Careers
    • C.A.S.E. Locations
  • Counseling Services
    • Overview
    • Counseling at C.A.S.E.
      • Overview
      • Tele-mental Health Services
      • Individual & Family Counseling
      • Consultation
      • Child & Teen Groups
    • Who We Serve
    • Meet Our Mental Health Staff
    • How to Schedule an Appointment
  • Adoption Competency Initiatives
    • Overview
    • Directory of Adoption Competent Professionals
    • Training for Adoption Competency (TAC)
      • Overview
      • About TAC
      • TAC Sites and Partners
      • TAC Participants
      • TAC Trainers
    • National Training Initiative (NTI)
  • Education & Resources
    • Overview
    • For Parents & Families
      • Overview
      • Free Resources and Links
      • W.I.S.E. Up!
      • Strengthening Your Family Webinar Series
      • Resources and Events for Northern Virginia Families (NPAC)
    • For Professionals
      • Overview
      • W.I.S.E. Up! Become a Certified Trainer
      • Jockey Being Family Backpack Program
      • Educational Trainings for Parent Groups and Professionals
      • Webinars
      • Resources and Events for Northern Virginia Families (NPAC)
  • Get Involved
    • Overview
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Ways to Give
    • Corporate and Foundation Partnerships
    • Events
    • Volunteer
    • Internships
  • Growing Together Campaign
    • Overview
    • Campaign Goals & Leadership
    • Unique Challenges of Adoption & Foster Care
    • Growth Capital Priorities
    • Planned Giving
    • Endowment Fund
    • Donate to the Campaign
    • Growing Together Campaign Donors
  • NTI
Newsletter Sign Up
Fundraise Donate
  • Home
  • About Us
  • The C.A.S.E. Team

Debbie Riley, CEO

Debbie B. Riley LCMFT, CEO, and co-founder of The Center for Adoption Support and Education, a nonprofit adoptive family support center in the Baltimore-Washington area. A nationally recognized adoption expert and dynamic public speaker, Ms. Riley is a licensed marriage and family therapist with  40 years of professional experience, including extensive health care management, administrative expertise, designing and developing nationally acclaimed adoption-competent programs, direct delivery of specialized counseling services which affords her the broad knowledge and nationally respected expertise needed to promote mental health training, child advocacy and public policy development.

Ms. Riley created a continuum of innovative, culturally responsive evidenced-informed programs to improve the behavioral outcomes of foster and adopted youth and their families which has become a nationally recognized model. Ms. Riley consults with national child welfare agencies on complex child welfare issues and systems of care enhancement. For over a decade she has built and implemented a framework for training an adoption competent mental health workforce nationally and is the founder of TAC (Training for Adoption Competency) Curriculum currently taught in 15 states within the United States. Through a federal cooperative agreement awarded to C.A.S.E from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Ms. Riley serves as the PI for the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI). NTI developed, piloted, and evaluated two state of the art web-based adoption competency curriculum to build the capacity of child welfare professionals and mental health practitioners that serve youth moving toward permanency, through adoption or guardianship. She also has been contributor on two other federally funded curriculum initiatives, The National Training and Development Curriculum (NTDC) and CORETeen.

Ms. Riley received her Bachelor of Science in Family and Community Development and Master of Science in Marital and Family Therapy from the University of College Park, Maryland.  She is co-author of the book, Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens (Riley and Meeks, 2006) and Adoption Specific Therapy, A Guide to Helping Adopted Children and Their Families Thrive (Waterman, Langley, Miranda, and Riley, 2018). She is a contributing author to several book chapter and articles including, The Need for Adoption Competent Mental Health Professionals in Transracial and Intercountry Adoptions, Cultural Guidance for Professionals (Fong and McRoy, 2016); Training for Adoption Competency Curriculum in The Routledge Handbook Of Adoption (Wrober, Helder, and Marr, 2020); Adoption as a Diversity Issue in Professional Preparation: Perceptions of Preservice Education Professionals, Adoptions Quarterly (Taymans, Marotta, Lynch, Riley, Ortiz, Schutt, Mallery, Embich, 2008); Adoption Competent Clinical Practice; Defining Its Meaning and Development, Adoption Quarterly (Atkinson, Freundlich, Gonet, Riley, 2013); and Training for Adoption Competency: Building a Community of Adoption-Competent Clinicians, Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services (Atkinson and Riley, 2017).

Ms. Riley is the recipient of the 2015 HHS Adoption Excellence Award for Individuals and Professionals, the 2005 Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute Angels in Adoption Award, the 2005 HHS Adoption Excellence Award for support for adoptive families, the 2003 Maryland Governor’s Council on Child Abuse and Neglect Award for Outstanding Advocate, and the 2003 Voice for Adoption Award for Outstanding Work in Post-Adoption Services.

Contact Us

3919 National Drive, Suite 200 Burtonsville, MD 20866

Other Locations

General

301-476-8525
caseadopt@adoptionsupport.org

For More About Our Mental Health Services or to Schedule an Appointment

866-217-8534

appts@adoptionsupport.org 

Connect With Us

Stay up to date on C.A.S.E. News and Events

Enewsletter Sign UpFor Email Newsletters you can trust.

C.A.S.E. Privacy Policy

Press & Media

Support Us

C.A.S.E. is a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization.
EIN 52-2100734

2020-Guidestar-Platinum-Seal
Best in America 2017 Seal
2020-21-Stamp-Dark-Blue-No-GW
CFC11123