April 28, 12:00 – 2:00 pm CDT on Zoom

CEUs available for LCSW and LPC: $20 for 2 credit hours

Workshop Description:

At the core of every child’s experience in foster care and adoption is the experience of loss. Sometimes loss is clear cut and understood, but often children living in the home of a foster or adoptive parent have experienced numerous losses of all types. Children who have been removed from their biological family have lost relationship and connection to their biological parents, but those parents are still alive and out there in the world. Will they have a future relationship with their parents once again? Additionally, they’ve potentially lost friendships, teachers, coaches, extended family members, and “place” – their home, their neighborhood, their bed. These losses are harder to define, making it confusing and challenging to grieve. This presentation will discuss ambiguous loss and strategies to help children grieve layers of loss.

Lecturer bio:

Bonni Goodwin, PhD, LCSW, is an Assistant Professor at the Anne and Henry Zarrow School of Social Work at the University of Oklahoma. She has worked in the field of Social Work for the past 20 years with children and families, empowering them to overcome challenges toward hope and stability. Bonni currently serves with the Oklahoma Human Services child welfare division as the Statewide Coordinator of Adoption Preservation Services. In this role, she conducts research and trains child welfare and mental health professionals on the unique and complex needs of children in foster care and those who have been adopted from state custody.