Adoption Workshops/Information Seminars
In an effort to serve as a continued source of education and support for adoptive families and others interested in adoption, St. Mary’s hosts a series of adoption workshops and information seminars.All seminars are open to the public and pre-registration is required. Programs are not appropriate for children and babysitting services are not available. One credit is given per seminar hour attended.
There is a $20 per person fee, to be paid in advance and is non-refundable. This fee does not apply to families that have been accepted into St. Mary's domestic and international programs. Please make checks payable to “St. Mary’s Services” and send to the agency at:
717 West Kirchhoff Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Upcoming Adoption Workshops/Information Seminars:
birth and adoptive families panel
Saturday, February 25, 2012
9 a.m. to Noon
St. Simon's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
717 W. Kirchhoff Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Listen to a panel of birth families and adoptive parents who currently are participating in adoptions that range in levels of openness. Topics will include discussion of the emotions involved in placing a child and the grieving process that birth parents experience. Adoptive parents will share stories of their relationships with birth parents, how they’ve evolved, keys to maintaining healthy relationships and things to avoid.
effects of prenatal substance exposure on the developing fetus and managing behaviors
Saturday, March 24, 2012
9 a.m. to Noon
St. Simon's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
717 W. Kirchhoff Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Dr. Dan Griffith, a licensed clinical pediatric psychologist, will speak about the effects prenatal substance and alcohol exposure have on the developing child. He also will discuss managing children’s behaviors at different developmental stages.
becoming a transracial adoptive family
Saturday, April 21, 2012
9:30 a.m. to Noon
St. Andrew's Church Parish Hall
1125 Franklin St.
Downers Grove, IL
The seminar, led by Michaelyn Sloan, MSEd, adoption professional and adoptive parent, will use interactive exercises, discussion, and lecture to teach how transracial adoptive families get to experience the joy of parenting in their own special way. The seminar will help the parents learn how to respond to intrusive comments and questions in different ways, and will help parents understand how the adoptee's identity changes as the adoptee ages and how to address the child's questions and concerns with age appropriate answers.
parenting and disciplining your adopted child
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
St. Simon's Episcopal Church Parish Hall
717 W. Kirchhoff Rd.
Arlington Heights, IL
Kay Holler, LCSW, therapist and adoptive parent, will talk with adoptive families about ways to effectively discipline their children. The seminar is geared for parents with children ages 2 to 17.