Since its creation in 2003, our popular W.I.S.E. Up!sm program has grown from a gem of an idea – “How can C.A.S.E. help adopted children respond to the questions and comments of others?” – to a nationally and internationally acclaimed program that has helped over 20,000 adopted children and their parents.
The mission was simple: create a safe place for children to express their feelings about being adopted and prepare them for the inevitable classmate’s questions, neighbor’s remark and insensitive school assignment.
Friends, neighbors, relatives, teachers and strangers ask questions about adoption for many different reasons. Most people whose lives have not been touched by adoption have very little understanding about it.
The W.I.S.E. Up!sm Program gives adopted children simple options for addressing questions and feeling more confident and in control of the discussion. In addition to workshops, we also offer W.I.S.E. Up! Powerbooks for adopted and foster kids.
While W.I.S.E. Up! is simple for adopted and foster children and teens to learn, regardless of their backgrounds, the challenges and feelings related to the reasons for its creation are not. To enable other professionals to provide this widely-acclaimed program in their communities and to preserve its integrity, C.A.S.E. offers a “Train the Trainer” course. Since 2009, C.A.S.E. has trained teams of professionals from 16 agencies, both nationally and internationally, as W.I.S.E. Up! Facilitators.
W.I.S.E. Up! Powerbooks, Pocket Guides and Posters
W.I.S.E. Up! Workshops for Families
Organizations Nationwide Certified to Present the W.I.S.E. Up! Program