Policy & Advocacy

Group Photo of Dawn Wilson, Debbie Riley, Ashley Garcia-Rivera, Laura Ornelas, Mary Wichansky

Policy and Advocacy

The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) is a thought leader for state and federal policymakers seeking to improve our nation’s response to the mental health needs of children who are adopted, in foster care or in kinship care. C.A.S.E. educates on and advocates for strengthening the skills of the child welfare workforce and mental health providers, as well as ensure that adoption-competent services are accessible to meet the needs of children and families.

C.A.S.E. proudly partners with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve as the National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services. With our combined experience directly providing adoption-competent mental health services and developing and implementing training programs for the child welfare, mental health and school-based health workforces, including the accredited, and evidence-based Training for Adoption Competency (TAC), the federally funded National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI), and the School-based Mental Health Professionals Training, C.A.S.E. is a credible, reliable resource for policymakers seeking to support the creation of forever families.

Learn more about C.A.S.E.’s policy and advocacy outreach efforts below.

C.A.S.E. Policy and Advocacy Outreach

June 15, 2022: C.A.S.E. issued a letter to the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse to inquire about our submissions of the Training for Adoption Competency (TAC)™ for review by the Clearinghouse. TAC was initially submitted on October 30, 2019 – over two and a half years ago – by Rebecca Jones Gaston, the then Executive Director of Social Services Administration in Maryland. We understand the application was received, but the program has not been reviewed. TAC was resubmitted on December 17, 2021 following the public call for programs and services by the Clearinghouse. Again, our application was received but has not been reviewed.

The following host sites have supported our resubmission of our application with letters: Children’s Home Society of North Carolina, Foster & Adoptive, Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition (Missouri), Family Hope House (Oklahoma), Oregon Department of Human Services, Lutheran Family Services (Nebraska), and OhioKAN (Ohio).

We have not received any tangible feedback for the curriculum developers or related to our supported studies, as is indicated to be the process outlined by the Clearinghouse. Therefore, we are requesting consideration and feedback from the Clearinghouse.

Read our letter to the Clearinghouse

May 17, 2022: C.A.S.E. issued a letter to SAMHSA to take steps to fills gaps in mental health research by 1) prioritizing research in mental health that focuses on children in foster, kinship and adoptive families; 2) incorporating demographic questions into all SAMHSA-funded mental health research projects that identifies people participating in the research that have experienced foster care, kinship care or adoption; 3) partnering with the Administration on Children and Families to advance research tailored to test the effectiveness of professional training on the mental health outcomes of children experiencing foster care, kinship care and adoption.

In addition, given SAMHSA’s role in leading public health efforts to advance the behavioral health—including mental health—of the nation, SAMHSA should prioritize training for the workforce.

Read our letter to SAMHSA

January 31, 2022: PCORI put out a call for submissions to provide input on their research agenda. Given C.A.S.E.’s expertise in serving the foster, adoptive, and kinship community a letter was submitted to address the significant gap in research that exists for specialized mental health needs of children in the child welfare system and children who are adopted. We are hopeful that PCORI will take steps to advance research that fills those gaps by, 1) prioritizing research in mental health that focuses on children in foster, kinship and adoptive families; 2) incorporating demographic questions into all PCORI-funded mental health research projects that identifies people participating in the research that have experienced foster care, kinship care or adoption; and 3) partnering with the Administration on Children and Families to advance research tailored to test the effectiveness of professional training on the mental health outcomes of children experiencing foster care, kinship care and adoption.

Read our letter to PCORI

February 1, 2022. C.A.S.E. continues to advocate for the mental health needs of the adoptive, foster, and kinship community through submitting congressional written testimonies with recommendations on how to improve the state of mental health and services for this population.

The following testimonies have been submitted to committees:

Senate HELP Committee Hearing on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Responding to Growing Crisis held on February 1, 2022.
Read testimony
House Ways and Means Committee Hearing on America’s Mental Health Crisis held on February 2, 2022.
Read testimony
Senate Finance Committee Hearing on Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part I – An Advisory and Call to Action held on February 8, 2022.
Read testimony

C.A.S.E. has been asked to present at the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth staff briefing at the end of the month to share their recommendations for Congress.

December 9, 2021. U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health outlined steps to support the mental health needs of youth involved in the child welfare system. This followed pediatricians, child and adolescent psychiatrists and children’s hospitals declaring a National State of Emergency in Children’s Mental Health. C.A.S.E CEO Debbie Riley, LCMFT responded on how trained workforce serving foster and adoptive children could address the mental health emergency now.

Read C.A.S.E. CEO Debbie Riley's response

November 17, 2021. President Biden announced his intent to nominate Rebecca Jones Gaston as the Commissioner for the Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Department of Health and Human Services. Rebecca is longtime friend and C.A.S.E. colleague who has always embraced, on the deepest level, the mission of C.A.S.E. Debbie Riley, LCMFT, C.A.S.E. CEO sends a response of recommendation to the senate finance committee.

Read Senate Finance Rebecca Jones Gaston Nomination Letter

August 26, 2021. C.A.S.E. has been at the forefront of efforts to identify foster and adopted children and families as a population most at-risk for a mental health crisis and have sought to improve the competency of the workforce through specialized training. This letter to the Senate Finance Committee provides comments related to challenges in delivering adoption-competent mental health services for child welfare populations through federal and state programs, with recommendations at the end of the letter.

Read letter to Senate Finance Committee

November 27, 2018. During National Adoption Month, there are celebrations across the country of newly created “forever families.” Unfortunately, between 10-25% of adoptions are disrupted before being legally finalized, and between 1-5% of adoptions are dissolved at some point after being finalized. The risk of an adoption disrupting or dissolving increases for older children, children adopted from foster care, and children with special needs.

C.A.S.E. had the honor of being asked to present at a congressional briefing on November 27, 2018 hosted by the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth, chaired by Senator Chuck Grassley (IA) and Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI) – Forever Families: How to prevent adoption dissolution and disruption with the focus on how training, education, and support for adoptive families can improve outcomes and help more families stay together.

Sharon Vandivere, Senior Research Analyst with Child Trends presented data on adoption disruption and dissolution. Rita Soronen, President and CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption presented on the Wendy’s Wonderful Kids child-focused recruitment program.

Dawn Wilson, Director of the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative represented C.A.S.E. and spoke on the need for adoption competent mental health services and the role of NTI and TAC trainings in assuring a foundational level of adoption competency among professionals.

Samela Macon, Senior Director of Domestic Foster Care and Adoption with Buckner International in Texas presented on the need for post-adoption supports and improved screening and training of foster and adoptive parents.

View Dawn Wilson's Congressional Briefing

November 10, 2017. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently sought input on a new direction for the Innovation Center, specifically exploring potential models focused on behavioral health, including focus areas such as opioids, substance use disorder, and improving mental healthcare provider participation in Medicaid, and CHIP through models that enhance care integration.

The Center for Adoption Support and Education provided comments focusing on the need for increased access among children in foster care, and children adopted from foster care, to adoption- competent mental health services, which are currently under-funded and therefore unavailable to many families. There are great opportunities for Medicaid to better serve these children and families by fostering the participation of adoption-competent mental health providers in Medicaid and CHIP programs.

Supporting access to adoption-competent mental health would improve rates of adoption, decrease the dissolution of adoptions, decrease psychotropic drug use in foster care, reduce residential treatment needs for children in the foster care system and mitigate interactions with the juvenile justice system, thereby reducing the overall financial cost and burden of our current foster care system that often neglects their mental health needs. It also provides a unique opportunity for collaboration between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to collaborate with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to ensure that these families benefit from the investments being made in building a mental health workforce that is adoption-competent.

Read letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

March 27, 2017. C.A.S.E. provided comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The agency is exploring the development of a new pediatric health care payment and service delivery model and issued a Request for Information (RFI) to obtain input on the design of a draft model concept focused on improving the health of children and youth covered by Medicaid and CHIP through state-driven integration of health care and health-related social services with shared accountability and cost savings. We communicated that the Innovation Center, also known as CMMI, has the authority to begin the work of promoting innovative solutions in Medicaid that will improve the well-being of children in foster care and adopted from foster care by addressing barriers to adoption competent mental health services.

C.A.S.E. has already begun the process of developing the adoption competent workforce needed to test effectiveness through its Training for Adoption Competency (TAC), through its direct services in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, and through its existing partnership with ACF on the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI).

Read C.A.S.E.'s Comments to CMMI

August 30, 2016. The Bipartisan Family First Prevention Act led by Senators Hatch and Wyden was passed by the house in June of 2016, and the Senate will be voting on this act shortly. This bill would help to ensure much-needed mental health services for children most at risk of entering or re-entering foster care.

C.A.S.E. sent a letter in support of this bill to Senators Hatch and Wyden.

Read C.A.S.E.'s Family First Support Letter Read C.A.S.E. CEO, Debbie Riley's Op Ed letter to the Hill

October 30, 2014. C.A.S.E. sent a letter to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), providing guidance on the development of their joint collaboration to reduce psychotropic drug use in the foster care population and to improve child wellbeing. C.A.S.E. proposed that applicants for ACF-funded activities to demonstrate the existing capacity or the commitment to build an adoption competent workforce that will deliver the evidence-based interventions and allow “training for adoption competency for professionals delivering evidence-based interventions” to the list of ACF’s funded activities, among others.

Read C.A.S.E. Follow Up Letter to ACF & CMS

August 18, 2014. C.A.S.E. submitted comments to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on its Strategic Plan, Leading Change 2.0: Advancing the Behavioral Health of the Nation 2015-2018. In our comments, we requested that children who are adopted and in foster care be recognized as a vulnerable population that experiences unique disparities in treatment due to workforce shortages of adoption-competent mental health professionals.

Read C.A.S.E.'s Comments to SAMHSA

June 25, 2014. Eleven Senators sent a letter to the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) supporting efforts to develop a National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative, and advising the ACF of the unique competencies of C.A.S.E. in the field of adoption competency. C.A.S.E. is pleased to have been awarded the contract to collaborate with the ACF to develop this initiative, including new training curriculums for child welfare staff and clinicians.

Read letter from Senators

September 16, 2013. C.A.S.E. provided comments to the Senate Finance Committee in response to their request for suggestions on how to improve mental health services.

Our recommendations focused on the need for a trained, highly qualified, mental health workforce to the nation’s young people with foster care experiences, and foster and adoptive families’ needs to both identify and have affordable access to mental health professionals that are trained to meet their unique needs.

Read Letter to Senate Finance Committee

C.A.S.E. CEO, Debbie Riley, provided written testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee for its hearing on Increasing Adoptions from Foster Care and the Adoption Incentives Program. C.A.S.E. advocated for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to provide clear guidance to states on the allowable use of Title IV-E training funds, including training to private agency staff that serve children who are in foster care. Second, C.A.S.E. urged Congress to prioritize resources for post-adoption services, with a specific focus on addressing the clinical needs of children adopted from the foster care system and their adoptive families. Third, C.A.S.E. encouraged ACF to support the Training for Adoption Competency curriculum through its existing programs.

Read C.A.S.E. CEO Debbie Riley's Testimony