Join us for the
Kids' Adoption Network (KAN) 2024 Conference
Celebrating Community, Linking Our Hearts
at McLean School, Potomac, Maryland
Saturday, November 9, 2024 9:00AM to 4:30PM EST
This event is exclusively for adoptive parents and children & teens who have joined their family through adoption. ♥
The Kids' Adoption Network (KAN) Conference is a full day of fun and learning that includes lunch and engaging activities for children, teens, parents, caregivers, and prospective adoptive parents.
Parents participate in insightful workshops led by adoption experts and panel discussions with adult adoptees. Kids explore and learn through workshops designed by our highly trained adoption-competent therapists in groups by grade, with teens (9th-12th grade) together in one group.
The day ends with carnival games and prizes.
If you adopted through Department of Social Services, your registration will be free and covered under the Fund-A-Family Scholarship Program.
REGISTRATION OPENS ON 9/20/24
C.A.S.E. Thanks Our Sponsors
Schedule
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2024
-
9:00AM - 9:30AM EST
Registration & Continental Breakfast -
9:30AM - 10:00AM EST
Opening -
10:00AM - 11:30AM EST
Workshop 1 -
11:30AM - 12:30PM EST
Celebrating Community: Give Back Project -
12:30PM - 1:15PM EST
Pizza Party Lunch -
1:15PM - 3:00PM EST
Workshop 2 -
3:00PM - 3:30PM EST
Closing -
3:30PM - 4:30PM EST
Family Carnival
Inside KAN
1st - 8th Grade
Workshops
This year's kids program will explore how communities are represented in our lives and how we identify as part of our communities. It will help the kids understand who they are through creative art projects, games, interaction, connection and sharing with other adoptees. The kids will identify how they benefit from community and what they bring to it.
Through a service project kids will learn how we can support our communities and how communities in turn support us. The program will help kids explore communities they’re a part of including family, adoption, culture/ethnicity, SOGIE, spiritual, extracurricular activities, and social groups.
Parent Program
The Community of Adoption - Building and Honoring Connections
Keynote Presenter:
Angela Tucker
Angela Tucker an adoptee herself, knows that the concept of “openness in adoption” is not clear cut. It is not merely exchange of photos, sending emails, or share a visit; rather, openness can be imagined as a lifestyle that may have its ups and downs as all family relationships. Angela will share about a new Inclusive Family Support Model, which provides clarity of what openness is and is not. In this model, all adoptive families reside in one of the four quadrants that we have named: inclusive, spirit of openness, mediated contact, and closed. She'll share about the model and then together, families will interact to ensure they know where they are and if they have genuinely integrated the issues of ambiguous loss, the Ghost Kingdom and the adoptee's communities of origin in their life. Let's work on this together!
Afternoon: A Panel of Individuals With Lived Experiences
Join us to hear from birthparents, adoptees, siblings and adoptive parents as they share their personal journey in navigating these connections Angela Tucker will moderate this vibrant panel and will open up the discussion to include your questions.
9th - 12th Grade Workshops
This year's teens program will explore how communities are represented in our lives and how we identify as part of our communities. It will help the teens understand who they are through creative art projects, games, interaction, connection and sharing with other adoptees. The teens will identify how they benefit from community and what they bring to it.
Through a service project teens will learn how we can support our communities and how communities in turn support us. The program will help teens explore communities they’re a part of including family, adoption, culture/ethnicity, SOGIE, spiritual, extracurricular activities, and social groups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should register for KAN 2024?
KAN 2024 is open to any and all adoptive families with finalized adoptions with youth in grades 1-12 who joined their family through adoption and adoptive parents. At least one parent must register and attend KAN for any participating adoptive youth.
What will my children need to participate?
Please have youth come dressed in comfortable clothes as they will be doing some art projects and moving around over the course of the day.
What if my child(ren) has special dietary needs?
Pizza lunches are provided for all youth with vegetarian and nonvegetarian options. If your child(ren) requires a special diet, please pack an appropriate lunch in a disposable bag with your child’s name on the front to give to CASE staff at registration. We will be sure your child gets it at lunch time.
Can my non-adopted children attend KAN?
KAN is for adoptive parents and youth who joined the family through adoption only.
Is childcare available?
We are not able to provide childcare at KAN 2024.
Who do I contact if I want to register more than four children/teens to participate?
Email us at [email protected]
What if I have other questions about KAN 2024?
Email us at [email protected] with other questions about the KAN Conference.
