National Association of Adoption Counselors

History of the National Association of Adoption Counselors

The N.A.A.C. was chartered as a non profit corporation in New York in 1995 by Dr. Ron Katz, with the help of his Board of Advisors: Sara Greenblatt, Zena Ogelsby, Jann Heffner, Greg Keck, Betty Jean Lifton, Debbie Riley, Sharon Kaplan Roszia and Susan Freivald and with the gracious support of Madelyn Freundlich. At the NACAC conference in Toronto in 1997 the NAAC held it’s plenary meeting with approximately 100 professional adoption professionals from the USA and Canada in attendance following which a committee was formed consisting of Ken Watson, B.J. Lifton and Ron Katz for the purpose of drafting a statement of core beliefs; the guiding principles of the NAAC. In 1998, the NAAC in concert with the Washington Square Institute for Mental Health conducted an adoption conference in New York City “From Reproductive Challenge To Family Generativity:clinical insights into infertility and adoption”. After a period of incubation during which time we were granted federal recognition as a non profit foundation, the NAAC is once again moving forward with its goals to serve the professional and lay adoption community.

Adoption: Definition and Core Beliefs Definition: Adoption is a means of meeting the developmental needs of a child by legally transferring ongoing parental responsibilities for that child from the birth parents to adoptive parents. The adoption process creates a new kinship network that forever links the two families through the child who is shared by both. This kinship network may also include significant other families, both formal and informal who have been a part of the child’s experience.

Basic Beliefs:

The purpose of adoption is to provide children permanent, safe families that can meet their ongoing developmental needs and offer them continuity of care when the families into which they were born are unable to do so.
Adoption creates its own set of social and emotional conditions independent of the people involved or the other circumstances of their lives.
By definition, every child comes into adoption already connected to another family.
Adoption is a unique relationship building process that is rooted in loss but one that deepens and grows through union. It is a challenging experience for the children and parents involved, and one that will have life-long impact on the lives of all those involved.
Adoption adds a unique dimension of complexity to every developmental phase for the children involved and every life stage for their families.
Effective counseling for those in the adoption triad depends upon recognition and understanding of adoption and its impact on their lives.

Mission of the National Association of Adoption Counselors

Those individuals who have been involved in the adoption process – birthmother, adoptee, adopting parents- have been touched by an overwhelming experience with lifetime consequences. To help them to integrate this experience in a constructive and healthful manner, mental health professionals need to recognize, understand and relate to this complex adoption experience. The acquisition of the special preparation required for this accomplishment defines the mental health professional as a Specialist in Adoption Counseling.

Goals:

To provide families and agencies with a source of qualified mental health providers who have an understanding of and sensitivity to adoption issues by establishing a National Registry of Specialists in Adoption Counseling.
To foster professional education, communication, research and the sharing of experiences and programs.
To facilitate professional preparation and development through the provision of education and training resources directly and long distance through sponsorship of workshops, seminars, conferences, courses and training groups.
To foster the provision of a variety of psycho-educational services for families with workshops, seminars, conferences, guided support groups, individual group couple and family counseling and via telephone and internet conferencing.
To promote the establishment of adoption related education in the academic preparation of mental health professionals.

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