Patch

Supporting Adopters is Supporting Adoptees

A Call to Action: Building Change Through Understanding and Hope

Children’s futures are shaped not only by their adoptive families but also by the professionals and systems designed to support them. Adopters can only provide stability, security, and healing if they receive the right guidance and intervention. Yet, when they seek help, they are often dismissed, misunderstood, or blamed.

Why Change is Urgent

The current system is failing too many families. Trauma-responsive and recovery-focused approaches are lacking, leaving children and parents struggling without adequate support. A system that blames rather than helps is unsustainable.

For too many, adoption crisis feels like a psychological prison—where systemic failures leave families isolated, doubting themselves, and struggling to move forward.

A Pathway for Change - This is not about blame systems or professionals—it is about solutions. The PATCH Pathway calls for:

• Trauma-responsive and recovery focused practice embedded in adoption support.

• Early intervention to prevent crisis.

• Partnership, not opposition, between professionals and families.

We must move beyond crisis management to proactive, compassionate, and effective support.

The Core Issue

Children removed from their birth families have often endured significant abuse. Yet, once removed, the impact of their trauma is frequently ignored, and no structured plan exists for recovery. As trauma manifests over time, parents are unfairly blamed for struggles rooted in past harm.

Families in crisis encounter:

• Delayed interventions

• Biased assessments

• A lack of trauma-informed expertise

Rather than receiving specialist support, children’s trauma is dismissed and parents are judged instead of helped. The system must shift from blame to timely, expert-led recovery and repair.

Our Vision for a Reformed Adoption System

PATCH envisions a system that:

✅ Addresses the root causes of trauma and ensures proper support is in place.

✅ Provides expert-led, trauma-informed care for families.

✅ Engages professionals who listen, learn, and act with empathy.

✅ Prevents adoption breakdowns through early, transparent, and proactive support.

✅ Fosters collaboration between agencies to build stability for families.

Our Commitment

PATCH was founded to challenge systemic failures and push for urgent reform. We advocate for trauma-expert-led interventions that prevent crises and ensure professionals engage with ethical values and compassion.

Adopters are the lifeline for children, but they cannot do it alone. Supporting adopters is supporting adoptees. Founded by an adoptee, adopter and a social worker.