In honor of National Adoption Month, the UK College of Social Work is thrilled to highlight our Adoption Support for Kentucky (ASK) program which provides support, coaching, and mentoring for adoptive and foster parents, as well as fictive and relative kin caregivers. ASK works to strengthen families by reducing caregiver stress and increasing parenting skills through innovative training sessions. The team also hosts inclusive support groups, led by seasoned facilitators who have lived experiences as adoptive and foster parents, where members share experiences and discuss important topics related to adoptive, foster, and kinship caregiving.

“The ASK program has been a godsend to my family. We have learned so much throughout the years of working with children. It has also given us a place to share what we have learned. It’s a great place for people without childcare skills to gain some very important knowledge in taking care of multiple types of childhood behaviors,” Valerie Keene, Adoptive Parent and ASK participant said. “We can talk in small or large groups. ASK Instructors are the greatest people that care about the family they work with. I don’t feel it’s just a job to them when needing help or advice! I would recommend that anyone wanting to care for children to be a part of ASK.”

In Kentucky, there are more than 8,000 children in out-of-home care with an average age of 9.7 years. If you are considering adoption, or if you are an adoptive parent in the Commonwealth interested in participating in the ASK program, please visit the UK College of Social Work website to learn more!