Adoptive Family Support Network

Information may not be reliable

Join other adoptive families for an evening ofFamily Fun! Food! Entertainment! Prizes! And much more .

Kevin Kammeraad, singer, songwriter and puppeteer will entertain us with his interactive program: The Tomato Collection

Foster, Swift, Collins & Swift PC has generously donated tickets to the Grand Rapids Ballets Nutcracker Dress Rehearsal on December 2nd. Tickets are limited so arrive early to reserve your ticket(s).

Bethany Christian Services, Catholic Charities of West Michigan, D.A. Blodgett/St. Johns Home, Fifth/Third Bank, Grand Rapids Community College, Parrish Consulting, & Strain, Murphy & Vander Wal PC.

There are so many reasons to celebrate as AFSN heads into its 20th year. When AFSNs original Articles of Incorporation were filed on August 9, 1991 the organizational structure was literally a phone on the corner of someones desk. This phone was the first Warmline that reached out to adoptive parents in need of support. Today we are celebrating having been awarded our first State of Michigan contract to develop an extensive adoptive Parent to Parent network in Kent County. It will allow us to provide in depth, what the Warmline was established to do 19 years ago. Research has shown Parent to Parent support to be one of the most effective ways of supporting adoptive parents and preventing disruption of adoptions, particularly for those adopting older children with histories of trauma that includes abuse and neglect issues. When we begin providing that program, AFSN P2P, in October, we will have a staff of 12 employees all dedicated to providing support, information, referral, training, and education to adoptive parents. We know that love, combined with confidence, can equip any family to grow together. AFSN strives to give adoptive parents both the confidence and skills they can utilize to be successful parents.

In addition to the AFSN P2P program, AFSN is proud to announce that the Baldwin Foundation has again provided support for AFSN in the form of a $5000 grant to support The Adoptive Parent Respite program. This new program will provide both training for Respite Providers and Drop-Off events for parents of adopted children with challenging behaviors. Respite is the #1 service parents have identified as being needed by their families. The program is designed to provide parents a short break to be able to go to a movie or dinner, or in the case of our December event, do some holiday shopping without their children. Our trained childcare staff will provide the care while supervised by the AFSN Program Coordinator. Watch for details in upcoming AFSN announcements.

Adoptive Family Support Network (AFSN) is the gardener of adoption in our community. We support, and nurture parents and children as they grow together into a strong, healthy family.