Our Mission
Adoption Network Cleveland connects and empowers individuals, organizations, and communities impacted by adoption and foster care, providing a source of healing for those in need since 1988.
Important Message from our Board Chair
Upcoming Events
Supporting Your Child in School
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM | Monday, September 16
Do you have pre-k or school-aged children? Do you want to learn more about IEP, 504s, and interventions? Does your child need social-emotional support at school? Does your child struggle with behaviors at school? Does your child have needs that impact them at school such as Anxiety, ADHD, ASD?
Hickman Lowder education advocate Mary Jo O'Neill and Attorney Janet Fleck Griffith will provide an overview of ways to support your student's academic, social, and emotional needs at school, setting them up for a successful year.
An Adoptee's Reflections on Working in Adoption and Foster Care with Sandi Caesar
8:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET | Monday, September 23
Sandra “Sandi” Caesar is an adoptee and, for many years worked as an adoption professional. She was born Cristina Rodriguez in Panama to a 14-year-old girl who parented her for most of her 1st year. Ultimately, she was placed for adoption by her maternal grandmother without the knowledge or consent of her birth mother. Sandi was adopted by a Black US Air Force family stationed in Panama at the time. Sandi was naturalized as a US citizen at age 2 and moved to Dayton, Ohio at 3 years old. Sandi has been reunited with her birthmother and maternal family in Panama since 2004. Sandi holds a B.S. degree in Human Development from Howard University and an M.S.W. from Indiana University. Like many people in social work, Sandi has found parallels between the work she was drawn to and her personal life – finding answers to many of her own life questions while working with people who are often at their most vulnerable. Sandi is excited to share her own evolution of thought, insights, and experiences working in foster care and adoption as an adoptee with you. Learn more about Sandi here.
Thank You Corporate Partners!
Together we build community and help create a brighter future.
See how Adoption Network Cleveland changes lives.
On the Blog
September is recognized as National Kinship Care Month, a time to acknowledge and support families who have stepped in to care for their relatives’ children. In Ohio, approximately 124,000 children are being raised by relatives or close family friends, known as kinship caregivers.
“As a former single person who adopted two brothers from the foster care system when they were 5 and 6, I have knowledge of the complexities of adoption and foster care.” Cheryl shared. “My sons are now 28 and 29 and are out in the world, but we still have conversations about their identities and needs as adults."
Our newest team member, Russ Lang, is an individual whose journey through the foster care system is a powerful testament to his strength and perseverance. "Being an emancipated foster youth means a lot to me," Russ says. "I am not ashamed of having grown up in the foster care system; in fact, I am proud to say I did."
