In 1998, Kathy and Mike Dugan, parents of eight children adopted from the Prince George’s County foster care system, struggled to find a family therapist who understood the impact of trauma and adoption on children’s lives. So the Dugans became unintentional philanthropists: they created CASE, and their vision has since helped thousands of adoptive, foster, and kinship families in the region. Some three-quarters of school-age children in foster care experience abuse, and one-quarter experience PTSD – exacerbated by the trauma of multiple placements. Depression, anxiety, aggression, and fear are common and can challenge a family's survival. CASE offers adoption-competent therapy for children, parents, and families; therapy and case management for children whose age or circumstances create added challenges in finding permanent homes; and training and education for hundreds of professionals about the unique challenges of adoption, foster, and kinship care. If this is your cause, you have found your home.
COVID-19 Update:
When the pandemic hit, direct service staff immediately trained to achieve Level 1 Telebehavioral Health Practitioner certification and consulted with experts on responding to severe clinical symptoms and adapting play therapy to a virtual medium. To meet growing demands for help as the pandemic re-triggered trauma and exacerbated symptoms, CASE offered free access to 13 in-demand webinars (over 4,000 people have participated) and continues to provide parent/caregiver and teen adoptee support groups – at reduced fees to those in need.
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