Information and Training

Please check our calendar for class dates and registration. Call for more information 206.260.1700.

Information Session

• Adoption Information Meeting. The goal of this session is to introduce you to Amara and our adoption services, as well as to provide an overview of adoption in the areas of foster-to-adopt and private relinquishment. A family who has previously adopted through Amara will share their personal experience. You’ll be encouraged to ask questions throughout the session of both Amara staff and the family.

Training classes required of families adopting through Amara

• Focusing on the Needs of the Child: Openness in Foster Care and Adoption. This three-hour training helps adoptive parents understand adoption as a blended family experience. We discuss birth parent stereotypes and consider a collaborative approach to working with birth families to encourage the healthy, lifelong development of each child.
• Transracial & Transcultural Adoption Training – Part 1. This three-hour training encourages prospective adoptive parents to explore their understanding and competence around parenting a child of a different race, ethnicity, and/or culture. Attendees will acquire tools to assess their readiness for transracial adoption. They will increase their understanding of what is needed to prepare themselves, their families, and their children for the challenges ahead.
• P.R.I.D.E. – Parents’ Resource for Information, Development, and Education. This 27-hour training is a required part of the licensing process for foster and adoptive parents. The program is a valuable resource for families learning about children in foster care and the roles foster and adoptive families have when caring for these children.  This free training is offered by Amara,  other adoption agencies, and the Department of Social and Health Services.
• First Aid and CPR training and HIV/AIDS awareness training. First Aid and CPR training helps participants recognize and treat life-threatening conditions and injuries. Participants also learn Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), a manual method to keep the heart pumping in an emergency situation. The HIV/AIDS Awareness training provides participants with a basic understanding of HIV/AIDS and Blood Borne Pathogens.

• Transracial & Transcultural Adoption Training – Part 2. This training will expand on the original and required Transracial & Transcultural Adoption Training and will include topics such as Development of Racial Identity, Talking to Kids about Race & Culture, Seeking Diversity, and Challenging Racism.
• Siblings in Foster Care and Adoption. This four-hour workshop explores the complexities of sibling relationships, particularly for children who have been in foster care.  Using presentations, exercises, and small group discussions, we consider how adoptive parents can understand their children and their children’s roles as individuals as well as members of their birth and adoptive families.
• LGBT Families and Adoption. This four-hour workshop offers an opportunity to explore ways in which LGBT families are wonderful and different from other families. Participants will focus on ways to prepare for the joys and challenges that may arise throughout the adoption process and continue into parenthood.

Support Group Meetings 

• Amara Family Support Group. We offer monthly support group meetings for Amara families at any stage of the process. Typically, a guest speaker will discuss a topic related to adoption or parenting, followed by Q & A. Next, parents will join small discussion groups to exchange experiences on a more personal level. Parent support group meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month, 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Amara. We provide dinner, beverages and child care.