The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) has been selected by Senator Amy Klobuchar as one of this year’s Angels in AdoptionTM for outstanding advocacy in preparing adoption-competent clinical mental health and child welfare professionals for their work with adopted children and their families. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in AdoptionTM program, will honor CASCW, along with more than 140 other Angels, at an awards ceremony and gala event on September 11 and 12 in Washington, D.C.
Established in 1999, the Angels in AdoptionTM program is CCAI’s signature public awareness campaign that provides an opportunity for Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched the lives of children in foster and adoptive homes in the United States and abroad.
Part of the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work, CASCW is being honored for its Permanency and Adoption Competency Certificate (PACC), a professional training program that was developed in response to community demand for an adoption-competent mental health and child welfare workforce able to serve the unique and complex clinical and practice needs for adopted individuals and their families.

“Competent post-adoption support and adoption-competent mental health providers are critically needed to support and strengthen adoptive families,” says JaeRan Kim, Project Coordinator at the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare. “We are proud that our Center can contribute toward ensuring that mental health and child welfare practitioners in the state of Minnesota understand the unique and often complex needs of children, youth, and families that have been impacted by foster care and adoption.”

The PACC program provides mental health and child welfare professionals the knowledge and skills they need to work with individuals and families involved in permanency and adoption. This helps to prevent disruptions in the post-adoption period.

Photo courtesy of CASCW: With Sen. Klobuchar, second from left, were CASCW staff (L-R) Liz Snyder, Jae Ran Kim, and Traci LaLiberte.