37th Annual New England Adoption Conference

Jan. 12, 2010 - PRLog -- Adoption Community of New England to host
37th New England Adoption Conference

The Adoption Community of New England, Inc. (ACONE) will present its 37th New England Adoption Conference Saturday, April 17, 2010 at Bellingham High School in Bellingham, Massachusetts. This annual gathering has become the largest such event in the nation, attracting all members of the adoption triad -- adoptive families, birth families, and adopted individuals -- as well as adoption professionals from all reaches of New England and beyond.

Debbie B. Riley M.S. will deliver the keynote address with the theme for 2010 being Identity in Adoption: Glimpses Beneath the Masks. “ACONE is thrilled to have Debbie Riley as our keynote speaker given the depth of her experience as well as her clinical expertise,” says Bonney Cashin, Co-President of the Board of Directors for ACONE. A dynamic speaker, Ms. Riley has a wealth of experience in the field of foster care and adoption, particularly with adolescents. She is the executive director of the Center for Adoption Support and Education, Inc. (C.A.S.E.), a non-profit organization in Maryland providing post-adoption services to families, educators, and adoption professionals. In 200_ Ms. Riley and John Meeks Ph.D. coauthored Beneath the Mask – Understanding Adopted Teens. Forging an identity is a critical task for adolescents, and it can sometimes be complicated for adolescents who are in foster care or who were adopted.

The New England Adoption Conference regularly offers over 85 workshops on an array of topics for adoptive parents, those considering adoption as a way to build their families, birthparents, adopted persons, extended family, and professionals.

ACONE is a non-profit corporation dedicated to advocacy, support, and education of all people touched by adoption. ACONE does not endorse any one kind of adoption, only the right of every child to safety and permanency.