ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. 2012 Annual Report

Every Child. Every Family. Every Step of the Way.

2 ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

Welcome to the Adopt ions Together communi ty where connect ions

and re la t ionships are a t the very core of who we are as individu-

als , as famil ies , and as a socie ty. Since 1990, we have been pr iv i -

leged to bui ld , s t rengthen, and maintain connect ions for over

16 ,000 chi ldren and famil ies .

2012 was a year of redef in ing, deepening , and expanding our reach

as an agency. We bui l t s t ronger, innovat ive col laborat ions to

impact famil ies and chi ldren who needed us ; we bui l t and ref ined

our programs to even more effect ively del iver services consis tent

wi th current research on the b rain ; and we s t rengthened our voice

as a leader in advocat ing for permanency for a l l chi ldren .

As we move in to 2013, we are exci ted to focus on a def ined

s t ra tegic p lan which leads us to an expansion of numbers impacted

by our work . With the changing face of the fami ly, Adopt ions

Together looks forward to help ing def ine ways to in tersect communi ty needs wi th

innovat ive se rvice del ivery and bes t p ract ice approaches .

I f th is i s your f i rs t t ime learning about Adopt ions Together, or you have been in our

family for many years , we welcome you as a par tner and f r i end. Please jo in us in im-

pact ing every chi ld , every family, every s tep o f the way.

Sincerely,

Janice Goldwater

Founder, Execut ive Directo r

and Dedicated Inves tor

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our mission Adoptions Together bui lds healthy,

l i fe long family connections for every chi ld and advocates for continuous

improvement of systems that promote the well being of chi ldren.

Every chi ld wil l have l i felong connections to a caring ,

nurturing family.

our vision

ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. 3

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A Year in Numbers

44 7 56 +

107

Domestic Infant

Older Children

International

Children found lifelong families

2012 Summary of Family Built

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real stories of an older child adoption

“All children deserve a family of their own”

In 2006 Nancy’s dreams came true. She adopted Deliah. Deliah was 13 years old and the child Nancy always dreamed of parenting. Time passed quickly and soon Nancy was driving home from dropping Deliah off at col-lege. It was a hard transition and Nancy soon realized something was missing…. Another child. After contacting Adoptions Together, Nancy decided to start the process of adopting another child from foster care. As she turned the pages of too many children waiting for a family, one picture made her pause. The young woman, Rachel, staring back from the page held striking similarity to her De-liah. Nancy inquired and soon learned that Rachel was Deliah’s younger sister. A divine surprise that ultimately lead to Rachel’s adoption and the reunion of sisters.

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real connections Adoptions Together build families

The horses helped the children in a way that inspired them

The year 2012 was the year Drew and Ted became parents, tri-pled. In preparation they began working with an Adoptions Together’s therapist. They learned effective parenting strategies, mentally and emotionally prepared to adopt a child from foster care and

began the process of building a community of resources that would strengthen them as a family for the future and beyond. They were ready to build a family. Soon a pair of young siblings in the DC foster care system stole their hearts. They were cute as a button and eligi-ble for adoption. As the progressed through the steps to adopt their son and daughter a surprise came… a baby sister. Committed to keeping the siblings together, Drew and Ted revamped their plan and the hearts opened up even wider to parent three. Every adoption day is a special one but for Drew and Ted it was extra special. In one day, Drew and Ted adopted their three children and got married. In one day, a family of five was officially built.

What a difference a day makes!

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real stories

to “connect” with others and to be themselves...

“As parents, we always strive to find “perfect” life experiences for our children; Something fun, exciting, granting them a chance to learn something new about themselves. For my kids, Adoptions Together’s Great Strides Horse Camp fits the bill. The camp allowed my children, for the first and only time in their lives, to experience the power of standing with a group, with a herd, made up of kids just like themselves. They belonged to this herd where each member has a unique adoption journey. The activities helped them take risks with a sense of camaraderie from their peers and support from the horses and program staff. The horses helped ground the my kids and the activities helped them take risks in a safe place supported by peers. It was a week of internal exploration and fun. A week of healing and transformation, and none of us expected that!” From a grateful parent

of a camp that makes Great Strides

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real impact Adoptions Together facilitates education and train-

“... new and more strategies for working with families...”

Education is the backbone for success. For more than 23 years, Adoptions Together has been building the capaci-ty of child welfare workers, therapists, counselors and professionals re-sponding to the needs of children. Working from its expertise grounded in trauma-informed attachment-focused practice, Adoptions Together equips professionals with the skills to identify and therapeutically respond to the needs of children who have a history of abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Adoptions Together responds to the needs of professionals on the front line. Below are comments from partici-pants who have benefited from AT’s training and expertise. A great reminder that even in Child Protective Service work, we can always use new and more strategies for

working with families to extract information and communicate effectively. The most important take away was the importance of engaging youth in their permanency plan and allowing

them the opportunity to have a voice.

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“what it means to be in a family”

real stories of the power a birthday party

Kevin just had his first birthday party but he’s been waiting 14 years for someone to celebrate his special day with him. Sadly, Kevin has been in foster care since his first birthday. But Kevin and his Adoptions Together so-cial worker have a plan. Through a partnership with a metropolitan social service agency, Adoptions Together is helping kids just like Kevin find a lifelong connection they can call their own. The process involves investigating possible leads into relatives, past foster parents and other adults that have been a positive pres-ence in Kevin’s life. It’s call case mining and it works. Kevin and his social worker case mined and uncovered numer-ous great aunts, uncles and a grandfather who all want to know more and build a relationship with Kevin. After meeting Kevin, Great Aunt Sophie was ready to take the next step to-wards adoption but Kevin is taking it slow. As of now he spends nearly every weekend connecting with his long lost paternal relatives moving toward a trusting a healthy relationship. Because of case mining Kevin is beginning to know what it means to be in a family and what it means to be the honored “Birthday Boy”.

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Adoptions Together reunifies families real families

Kyle and Samatha are good parents. While staying at a hotel, two police officers mistakenly knocked on their hotel door. The knock went unanswered causing the police to enter the room finding Kyle, Samantha and their two children making strange gestures. Confused and worried for the well-being of the children, the officers removed the children from Kyle and Saman-tha’s care placing them in foster care. What the police failed to recognize that Kyle and Samantha were deaf, thus didn’t hear the knock and were silently communicating through sign. Immediately, Kyle and Samantha were matched with Natausha, an Adoptions Together mentor. Building from her own experience as a parent formerly impacted by the child welfare system, Natausha guided and supported Kyle and Samantha as they work to dismantle the barriers to reuniting with their children. For Natausha, this family was special. Natausha’s son was hearing impaired and too had a negative experience with police due to ignorance. From the onset, Natausha was committed to helping Kyle and Samantha reunite with their children. She lined up professional translators for meetings and court appearances. The hard work paid off. On May 1, 2013, they day of the custody hearing Kyle and Samantha were reunited with their two children.

“dismantle the barriers in the way of reuniting”

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“Ready for the adventure of parenthood”

real stories of a domestic infant adoption

Michael and Christopher are new year twins. Born on January 1, 14 weeks premature, the boys had a rough start but Adoptions Together responded immediately with expert care and love. The boys made progress and were soon taken home by a loving interim family ready to respond to their needs and helped them grow stronger. Michael and Christopher’s six month birthday was a celebration as they were placed into their arms of their adoptive parents. Parents who had traveled from the Midwest and were ready for the ad-venture of parenthood.

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take action...

1 2 3 4

unite with us and change the future for children searching for REAL CONNECTIONS.

become our partner, strengthen families and make REAL IMPACT.

support our counseling and education programs and support REAL FAMILIES.

make a sound investment in REAL CHANGE for children and families.

ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. 13 ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY 13.

unite with us and change the future for children searching for REAL CONNECTIONS.

become our partner, strengthen families and make REAL IMPACT.

support our counseling and education programs and support REAL FAMILIES.

make a sound investment in REAL CHANGE for children and families.

...join us!

14 ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

a year in numbers Adoptions Together has impact

1,850+

3,800+

56

120

Counseling sessions from the Post Permanency Family Center

Professionals, children and parents touched by Adoptions Together training and presentations.

DC and Baltimore City youth found permanency

Children played during Saturday Respite at A Place to Go & Grow

ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. 15

5,000+ Online supporters

117 Families seeking reunification with the assistance of their PAP mentor

8 Parent advocate project mentors

3,394 Families built since 1990

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Statement of financial position

Assets 2012

Current Assets $1,361,168

Property and Equipment $33,462

Other Assets $56,273

Total Assets $1,450,903

Liabilities 2012

Current Liabilities $726,582

Capital Lease Obligations $11,704

Total Liabilities $738,286

Total Net Assets $712,617

2009 Income Tax Returns (hyperlink)

2010 Income Tax Returns (hyperlink

2011 Income Tax Returns (hyperlink)

ADOPTIONS TOGETHER 2012 ANNUAL REPORT | EVERY CHILD. EVERY FAMILY. EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. 17

Statement of Activities and Changes in Net Assets

Revenue and Support 2012 Domestic Adoptions $1,033,065

International Adoptions $24,517

Ancillary Permanency Services $2,104,740

Assessment $969,321

Total Fees for Services $4,131,643

Contributions $301,951

Investment and Other $436

Total Revenue and Support $4,434,030

Expenses 2012

Program Services:

Domestic Adoptions $772,498

International Adoptions $53,048

Ancillary Permanency Services $1,890,859

Assessment Services $933,356

International Orphanage Relief $550

Total Program Services $3,650,311

Supporting Services:

Management and general $585,416

Fundraising $244,944

Total Supporting Services $830,360

Total Expenses $4,480,671

Change in Net Assets $(40,641)

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Our partners in action: Our Board of Directors

Mary Lynn Alberti Director, Freddie Mac Coproration Gary Blitz Managing Director, Aon Financial Solu-tions Thomas R. Burton (Board Chair) Chief Investment Officer, Alex Brown Realty, Inc. Amy Choi, Consultant, Price Waterhouse Coop-ers, LLP Jennifer Farland Marketing, Consult-ant Janice Goldwater (non-voting mem-ber) Executive Director, Adoptions Together

Edward (Ted) Hop-per Vice President, Busi-ness Development, Blackboard Inc. Jeanette LeBlanc Marketing, Consult-ant Jeffrey Menick Financial Advisor, Menick-Friese Group and Merrill Lynch Finan-cial Advisory Team Valaree Moodee Principal & Director (EP), Booz Allen Hamilton Dawn Musgrave (non-voting mem-ber) Associate Director, Adoptions Together

Jane Phillips (Vice Chair) Vice President, SAIC Christopher Pirtle (Treasurer) Managing Director, Peake Financial Group Judy Polk-Sebring (Secretary) Event Coordinator, Consultant Sarah Rollman Attorney, Washing-ton Metro Area Transit Authority Jeff Travers Vice President of Communication, Fight for Children Joe Vogelpohl Vice President of

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Our partners in action: Our Leadership Team

Janice Goldwater, LCSW-C Founder and Executive Director Dawn Musgrave, JD Associate Director and General Counsel Laura Duvelius, MSW Director of Development Jennifer Kelman, Ph.D. Director of Education and Training Tenneh Johnson-Kemah, LCSW-C Director of Permanency Support Services Madonna Green, MSW, LICSW Manager of Programs, Post Permanency Family Center Erica Moltz, MA, CPC Director of Clinical Program, Post Permanency Family Center

Irene Jordan, LCSW-C Director of Assessments and International Programs Susan Ogden Director of Domestic Infant Adoption Carol Edelstein Director of AdoptionWorks

Mary Bergman Manager of Executive Projects Audra Hurd Administrator of Network and Database Kate Cliff Manager of Finance

Adoptions Together has 43 staff members and contracts with

more than 50 social workers and child-welfare professionals.

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About Children: The welfare of the children who need our help comes first. Permanency in a healthy family is best for children. Children need to maintain connections with their birth families and cultures even when they cannot be safely raised in their birth family.

About Foster Care:

Foster care should be used as a last resort when a child cannot safely remain in his family. Stays in foster care should be as short as possible. Foster care should strengthen family ties, not weaken them. The first foster care placement should be the last foster care placement.

About Adoption: Adoption is the best option when a child cannot be safely raised or reunified with their birth families. Adoption is a life-long process. Openness and honesty is healthy for children and families. The ability to be a good adoptive parent does not depend upon wealth, race, religion, marital status, sexual preference or gender identity. Education, support and guidance from qualified adoption professionals before, during and after placement helps adopted children and their families succeed.

About Adoptions Together:

Commitment to mission and awareness of guiding principles are necessary for every staff member. Good financial health is required to accomplish our mission. Continuous improvement of programs and services requires knowledgeable, experienced and creative child-welfare professionals and staff. Racial, cultural, ethnic and religious diversity within the staff is essential for good decision-making. Direct and honest communication is the best way to prevent and resolve conflict.

our guiding principles We believe...

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every child. every family. every step of the way.

Calverton, MD 4061 Powder Mill Road,

Suite 320 Calverton, Maryland 20705

(301) 439-2900

Herndon, VA 457A Carlisle Drive

Herndon, Virginia 20170 (703) 689-0404

Baltimore, MD 5750 Executive Drive

Suite 107 Baltimore, Maryland 21228

(410) 869-0620

Washington, DC 900 Varnum Street, NE Washington, DC 20017

(202) 526.4802

Visit one of our four locations: