Gladney's Family Service Department's mission is to provide education, counseling, pre and post adoption education to Domestic and International Adoptive Parents.
The Gladney Center for Adoption is excited to present informative and educational training sessions on adoption. Each training will be facilitated by a highly trained professional. Some of the professionals include:
Meredith Bailey, LMSW
Meredith has worked with children and families for over 15 years. She holds both Bachelor and Master Degrees in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is currently the Domestic Adoption Manager for The Gladney Center for Adoption, where she has been employed serving adoptive families since 1997.
Prior to her employment with Gladney, Meredith gained experience in residential treatment for children, helping prepare children with abuse and neglect backgrounds for permanent adoptive placement. In addition, she has experience as a medical social worker and has worked to advance a pro-child, pro-family agenda through community planning and public policy formation in her role as a constituency case manager for a state legislator.
Linda B. Clarke
Linda B. Clarke, a Program Specialist with Recovery Resource Council (formerly Tarrant Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse), has facilitated Love and Logic programs throughout Tarrant County for the past seven years. As a former teacher, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, and Certified Prevention Specialist, Mrs. Clarke states, "The best drug and alcohol prevention is good parenting - the Love and Logic way." By starting early using the Love and Logic principles, parents up the odds that their children will be respectful, responsible, and fun to be around - and be ready to start school with a solid background of loving discipline.
Heather Colby, LMSW
Heather Colby, the International Post Adoption Caseworker, provides pre-adoption education and post-adoption support to all Gladney families who adopt internationally. Heather's experience prior to joining Gladney has been in various settings, the majority involving direct practice with children and families. She has especially enjoyed her work in schools and in community outreach. She is a Licensed Masters Social Worker and has a MSSW degree from The University of Texas at Austin, and a BSW degree from Brigham Young University.
Heidi Cox
Heidi Cox is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for The Gladney Center for Adoption. She has been an adoption professional for over 15 years. In addition to being a member of the Board of Directors for the National Council for Adoption, she is a member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Texas Bar Association, College of the State Bar of Texas, and The Texas Family Law Council. As an attorney and child advocate, Cox is involved with legislative initiatives in Texas to protect children and protect adoption practices. A frequent author and lecturer, she is also committed to education other professionals, policy makers, and the public about the benefits for the children touched by adoption, as well as, the positive outcomes for birth families. She has a B.A. in History with concentrations in philosophy and German from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and a Law Degree from Texas Tech University.
Amy Curtis, LSW
Amy Curtis is a Licensed Social Worker. She has worked in the field of adoption for 20 years preparing children for adoption, working with birth parents, foster parents and adoptive parents. She and her family also served as a transitional care family for Gladney. Amy is currently the Home Study Services Coordinator at The Gladney Center for Adoption.
Cristina Fabbri
Cristina Fabbri was born and raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She attended school in Addis Ababa. She has a Nursing Degree from El Centro College and a Biology Degree from UTA. Cristina currently is employed by UT Southwestern Medical Center as a Research Nurse for the department of Surgery. Cristina serves on the Education Committee at Kidmia School. Cristina also teaches reading and writing in the Amharic language at Kidmia.
Arienne Harvey, LMSW
Mrs. Harvey has worked for the Gladney Center for Adoption for 9 years. In her nine years of experience at Gladney she has worked in the international department as an Intake and Homestudy caseworker, Russia Program Manager and currently serves in the role of International Adoption Manager. Mrs. Harvey also has experience working with pregnant and parenting teens; hospital social work; and working with welfare recipients assisting them with obtaining education, training and employment. Mrs. Harvey received her Bachelors of Social Work in December 1993 from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas and her Masters in Social Work in May 1997 from the University of Texas, Arlington. Mrs. Harvey is licensed by the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners as a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW).
Pattye P. Hicks, MA
Pattye Hicks has 22+ years of experience as a social worker working with children and families. Presently she is the Director of Post Adoption and Specialized Services at The Gladney Center for Adoption in Fort Worth, TX, where she has been employed since 1991. Pattye provides services to adult adoptees, adoptive families and birth families post-placement..Pattye has served on numerous community task forces and parent groups boards as an advocate for adoption. She was also employed by the National Committee for Adoption as a Master Adoption Trainer from 2003-2005. Pattye's social work career has also included work as a social worker in a nursing home, social worker with Child Protective Services, and as a School Counselor. Pattye has a BSW from Mississippi State University in 1982 and a Master's of Arts in Social Services from Southwestern in 1986. Pattye and her husband have a daughter through adoption.
Raquel McFadden, LSW
Raquel McFadden is currently the ABC Program Coordinator for The Gladney Center for Adoption. Raquel has a degree in Social Work and has worked with children and families for the past 15 years. It has been her privilege to spend the last eight years of her career growing families through adoption at The Gladney Center. Raquel enjoys her work with families who want to adopt children of color.
Dr. Ruth McRoy
Ruth G. McRoy is a Research Professor and the Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Professor Emerita at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work. During her 25 years on the UT faculty, she served for 12 years, as the Director of the Center for Social Work Research, Director of the Diversity Institute at the UT School of Social Work and since 2002; Dr. McRoy was also Associate Dean for Research. A practitioner, researcher, trainer and lecturer in the field for over 30 years, her interests include such topics as transracial adoptions, family preservation, disproportionality, open adoptions, older child adoptions, and post-adoption services. She serves on the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) Board and is a Senior Research Fellow and a member of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Board. As part of the federally funded Collaboration to AdoptUsKids project, she is leading a research team at the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work which has just completed two nationwide studies on barriers to adoption and factors associated with successful special needs adoptions. From 2007-2012, McRoy and her research team will be conducting a five year evaluation of the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids. She has written eight books, including: Transracial and Inracial Adoptees: The Adolescent Years (with L. Zurcher), Special Needs Adoptions: Practice Issues, and Openness in Adoption: Family Connections (with H. Grotevant) and numerous articles and book chapters on adoption issues.
Karyn Purvis, Ph.D.
Dr. Karyn Purvis has spent the last ten years developing research-based interventions for adopted children. A developmental psychologist by training, her Ph.D. is with specialization in working with at-risk children. Throughout her life, a personal and professional calling for her has always been to create a welcoming, loving environment for children who come from "hard places". Foster and adoption issues have always been at the heart of her work, and when her own children were small, she served as foster mother to many children. She has three grown sons and six grandchildren including an adopted daughter and grandchildren . Karyn is currently the director of the newly formed Institute of Child Development at TCU. She is an avid advocate for children and speaks frequently to parents and professional groups. She and her colleague, Dr. David Cross recently completed a book project for McGraw-Hill Trade titled The Connected Child: Bring Hope And Healing to your Adoptive Family. Purchase it today on Amazon.com.
Read more about Dr. Purvis' work
Paula St. John, LCSW
Paula St. John is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She has worked with children and families for 17 years, 12 of these years she has worked for The Gladney Center. Paula obtained a Bachelors of Social Worker from Texas Tech University and Masters in Social Work at University of Texas in Arlington. She has supervised both Birth Parent and Adoptive Parent Services, and is currently the Senior Director of Family Services. Paula supervises the development of Training and Education Programs for adoptive families, as well as, providing individual and family Evaluations and Assessments to adoptive families.
Andrew Vaughn, Ph.D.
Adoptive Parent Andrew Vaughn, Ph.D. is the founder of Up Wee Grow, Inc. and author of Maximum Strength Parenting.
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