Building Stronger Support for Ohio’s Kinship, Foster, and Adoptive Families

Families formed through adoption and kinship care are built on deep love, but they are also often built in the wake of loss, trauma, and transition. Supporting these families requires professionals who understand the unique layers of identity, grief, and belonging that come with adoption and kinship relationships. 

That’s why the Ohio Department of Children and Youth’s Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN) program, in partnership with the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), is pleased to announce recruitment for the 2026 Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) cohort — a transformative professional development opportunity for Ohio-based, master’s-level mental health clinicians. 

What Is TAC? 

TAC is a nationally recognized course, accredited by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, designed to build adoption-competent clinical skills. Participants develop specialized expertise in trauma-informed care, developmental stages, assessment, and clinical interventions tailored to adopted, kinship, and foster youth and their families. 

Over the course of the year, clinicians will engage in a dynamic learning experience that includes case study presentations, peer collaboration, and feedback from TAC-certified clinicians. 

• Format: Virtual via Zoom, twice monthly (9 a.m. –12:30 p.m.) 
• Dates: January–November 2026 
• Cost: Free, including the TAC certification assessment fee 
• Credits: Continuing education credits available through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)  

Upon completion, participants earn a TAC certificate and digital badge and are listed in C.A.S.E.’s national directory of TAC-trained professionals helping families connect with providers who truly “get it.” 

Why This Matters 

When families seek mental health support, they’re often looking for someone who can hold space for their story — someone who understands that a child’s anger might come from a deep fear of loss, or that a caregiver’s exhaustion might stem from carrying generational burdens while navigating complex systems. 

Adoption and kinship are not just placement decisions; they are lifelong journeys. Having adoption-competent clinicians ensures that families don’t have to educate their providers about the unique challenges of raising a child who has experienced trauma, loss, or identity struggles related to adoption. Instead, the provider can start from a place of understanding and empathy while offering tools and strategies that are individualized to meet the unique needs of adopted, kinship, and foster youth and their families. 

“TAC was instrumental in giving me therapeutic interventions to use with the caregivers to help support them while they learn how to parent from an attachment-focused and trauma-informed lens… I also find the TAC background to be useful when working with my school team, I often collaborate with our behavior coaching team or intervention specialists to create school interventions that support the attachment need these kids have.”  - Elizabeth Edington, MSSW, LISW-S 

“This curriculum names and explains common adoption topics that can be so helpful for a youths healing and growing. TAC helped me both as a professional, as well as an adoptive parent to three children to just be better informed and more understanding.” -Caring for Kids Family Life Navigator 

How to Apply 

If you’re a licensed, master’s-level mental health professional in Ohio who is passionate about strengthening families and enhancing your skills, consider applying for the 2026 TAC Cohort. 

Apply today: ohiokan.ohio.gov/tac-training 

Questions? Contact Mindy Mauk at Mindy.Mauk@childrenandyouth.ohio.gov  

By investing in this training, you’re not just enhancing your clinical expertise. You’re helping ensure that every child and family in Ohio can access the compassionate, knowledgeable care they deserve.