WHEN: 2nd Wednesday of each month, 7:00 - 8:30 PM EST

WHERE: Zoom

COST: FREE!

Kinship Caregiver Support Group
Kinship Caregivers, we have created a space just for you! We hope you'll join us for our Kinship Caregiver Support Group to find connection and new ideas, share resources, and build community with those who understand the unique dynamics of your family in a safe and welcoming online space. This group is for those caring for relatives or fictive kin. It will be facilitated by child welfare professionals with extensive lived experience as adoptive and foster parents and kinship caregivers.

ABOUT THE FACILIATORS:

Deb Schugg has more than 35 years of experience working with families of vulnerable youth. She has extensive experience offering individualized, trauma-informed coaching to foster and adoptive families in crisis and training professionals who work with families throughout the nation. She is the mother of 8 children from culturally diverse backgrounds, 7 of whom were adopted as sibling groups from the foster care system. Deb and her husband also provide a safe haven and permanent connections for a number of young adults, many of whom are Deaf and identify as LGBTQ, and are kinship caregivers to 3 of their grandchildren.

As an adoptive parent and adoption professional, Deb is keenly aware of the needs of adoptive families and of the challenges and joys inherent in parenting children with a history of trauma. She is a staunch advocate for elevating the voices of both adoptees and birth/first families. Her fluency in American Sign Language and life experience within the Deaf Community add yet another dimension to her unique perspective.

As an advocate for foster, adoptive, and kinship families, Deb has been called on to provide expert testimony to the California State Assembly and State Senate regarding the need for adoption-competent mental health services. Deb serves as a consultant to families, schools, agencies, and residential treatment facilities to identify trauma-based behaviors, shift culture and language regarding adoption, and provide implementable strategies for helping families heal and thrive. She is a Thinking Partner for The Adoption Exchange Association, working to create a National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption/Guardianship Support, and is a Senior Consultant for the National Center on Adoption and Permanency.

Cassie Ravo, LMSW, holds a Master of Social Work from Catholic University and a Master of Public Administration from American University. With over 15 years of experience in public service, including senior roles at the FDA, Cassie has led financial analysis, evaluations, and organizational initiatives.

She is deeply committed to strengthening her community, coordinating a local school food pantry and coaching Girls on the Run. She has also served as a foster parent since 2017 and was recognized as an Arlington Foster Parent of the Year in 2021.