Press Release-The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) selected to Develop National Center to Support Mental Health Services in the Child Welfare System

Burtonsville, MD — The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) has been awarded a 5-year $20 million Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to launch the first-ever National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services (The Center) beginning September 30, 2023, continuing through September 29, 2028.

“Foster children often face unique challenges without the support to address them. This groundbreaking new program will help prepare mental health care professionals to better understand and respond to the challenges these children face, making a meaningful and positive difference in their lives. I’m proud to see C.A.S.E in Maryland lead the way on this promising initiative,” said Senator Van Hollen.

Nationally recognized for its pioneering work in adoption-competent mental health services and fostering the development of a highly skilled adoption-competent workforce through its National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI), also funded by ACF, C.A.S.E. is excited to partner with a pool of national subject matter experts and other leading organizations to ensure The Center’s success — The Baker Center for Children and Families; FosterClub; the Family Run Executive Director Leadership Association (FREDLA); the National Adoption Association (NAA); the National Foster Parent Association (NFPA); PolicyWorks, and the University Nebraska–Lincoln Center on Children, Families, & the Law (CCFL).

“This award brings C.A.S.E. full circle,” said Debbie Riley LCMFT, C.A.S.E. CEO and Co-founder. “We have been developing and providing specialized mental health services to thousands of foster, kinship and adoptive families for more than two decades. We have seen the positive impact when mental health professionals have the skills, knowledge, and strategies to meet the complex needs of our most vulnerable youth. Leveraging this expertise, we are now able to build bridges between child welfare and mental health systems and enhance the capacity of the workforce nationally. We are proud to model this cross-system partnership to address the mental health crisis plaguing our nation and ensure equitable, accessible, culturally competent, evidenced informed mental health services for children and families.”

The focus of The Center will be to provide targeted technical assistance and evidence-informed training to strengthen coordination and capacity among child welfare and mental health professionals and systems to improve the quality of mental health services provided to children, young adults, and their families who are involved in the child welfare system and who have experienced adoption. The Center will help states, tribes, and territories create transformations that increase their capacity to provide trauma-based, culturally responsive, and linguistically appropriate mental health services consistently and comprehensively available.

“For 25 years, the Center for Adoption Support and Education has been a national leader in offering high quality mental health services to children and families interacting with the adoption, foster care and guardianship systems,” said Congressman John Sarbanes. “I am pleased to see C.A.S.E. awarded the well-deserved opportunity to launch the first-ever National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services. As our nation continues to address the ongoing youth mental health crisis, I am confident this funding will strengthen our workforce, improve the quality of services and expand access to support for children and families across the country.”

About The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) ™

The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) ™ is a nationally recognized nonprofit that improves the well-being and permanence of children and families by delivering adoption competent mental health services, training a national network of professionals, and informing the field through research and advocacy. C.A.S.E. has trained more than 25,000 mental health and child welfare professionals in 32 states. With offices in the greater Baltimore-Washington metro area, C.A.S.E. has provided clinical services for more than 6,800 clients and their families since its founding in 1998.

For additional questions or information, please contact:
Mary Wichansky, LCSW-C
Center Director, The National Center for Adoption Competent Mental Health Services
wichansky@adoptionsupport.org

Funded through the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau, Grant # 90CO1145

The contents of this website do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the funder, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.