Feature - Connected Together September Newsletter
From the Founder…
When you don’t have the whole map, you learn to navigate by heart
As we step into September and a new school year, I’m reminded of both the opportunities and challenges that face adoptive, foster, and kinship families. This is a month where awareness and advocacy meet real life. One important focus is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)—a condition more common than Autism, Down Syndrome, Tourette Syndrome, and Cerebral Palsy combined, yet often overlooked.
For many families, when we don’t have the whole map of our child’s prenatal or medical history, we’re left navigating by heart. Living in the “maybe” isn’t easy. But loving in the “maybe” means responding with patience, structure, and hope—even on the hardest days.
In recognition of National FASD Awareness Month, I’m honored to share a powerful contribution from Angela Geddes, author of A Complicated and Beautiful Brain and Not Your Typical Parenting Guide. Angela is a leading voice in FASD advocacy, and her piece offers both validation and practical tools for parents, caregivers, and professionals walking this journey.
This month we’re also releasing something many of you have asked for—family-focused FAQs on Illinois’ new annual mental health screening mandate for grades 3–12. Screenings can be an important step in connecting children to help earlier. But without any training or professional development on best practices for serving adoptive, foster, and kinship children, our schools risk missing the mark. That’s why iCARE is advocating for a framework that ensures these screenings are implemented in ways that truly serve children and families. You can read more about this in our Shaping Policy That Heals section.
We were honored to kick off the school year with intervention specialists and educators at ROE4–Boone/Winnebago, leading all three of our Connected, We Thrive™ professional development workshops—Beyond the Family Tree™, From Cradle to Classroom™, and It Takes a Team™. Together, we equipped staff with best practices and our Connection Kits™ to strengthen support for adopted, foster, and kinship students and create classrooms that heal and connect.
Our full Connected, We Thrive™ series is now available on Eventbrite, along with our special Connected to Healing™ workshop in partnership with Mimi’s House. We’re also welcoming four new advisory board members, extending our graduate student scholarship deadline, and preparing for a busy season of fall conferences and workshops. Check our website and Facebook page for more information.
Through it all, our guiding principle remains the same: compassion and love are our compass. Together, connected, we can keep moving forward—no matter how incomplete the map.
Laura Adams
President & Founder
iCARE4 Adoptive And Foster Families
When Typical Strategies Fall Short
Over the years, I have met some of the most dedicated, loving, and well-informed foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers. Many have been trained extensively in trauma and attachment, yet still face puzzling and persistent challenges when parenting children impacted by prenatal alcohol and other substance exposures.
These exposures can alter brain and body development in ways that create unique — and often misunderstood — symptoms. While trauma-informed strategies are vital, they don’t always work the same way for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) or related neurodevelopmental differences. Typical expectations, such as building on yesterday’s learning or managing impulsivity through step-by-step instruction, may not be realistic.
Children with FASD may show remarkable strengths — perhaps excelling in art, navigation, or creativity for example — alongside inconsistent skills in daily routines like brushing teeth, packing lunch, or remembering instructions. Memory gaps, impulsive decision-making, sensory sensitivities, and “confabulation” (filling in memory gaps with mixed details) can be mistaken for defiance or dishonesty.
When these differences are not recognized, (Globally, fewer than 2% of the people who should have an FASD diagnosis have access to relevant assessment services) systems can unintentionally add to family stress and even create and perpetuate trauma. Understanding the brain-based nature of these behaviors helps caregivers, educators, and professionals set realistic expectations, protect dignity, and foster success.
We all share the same goal: for children to feel safe, valued, and capable. By using FASD-informed screening and assessment, and adapting our approaches to their unique needs, we can better support individuals to grow and thrive. For more insights, visit angelageddes.ca or listen to Kitchen Table Conversations.
Founder of Geddes Specialized Supports & Integrative Wellness, she is the author of 'A Complicated and Beautiful Brain' and other guides, and is known for translating research into practical, compassionate strategies. A certified ACT practitioner, speaker, and trainer, Angela leads a team of trauma-informed clinicians and collaborates with schools, child welfare, and health systems to build more compassionate, coordinated care.
Angela Geddes
Angela Geddes, CYW, BA (Psych), MSW, RSW, MYACT, YTT, is a registered social worker with 30+ years of experience supporting families navigating FASD, ADHD, trauma, and intergenerational adversity.
Shaping Policy that Heals
Why iCARE Supports Illinois’ New Mental Health Screening Mandate And How We Can Make It Stronger
Starting in 2027, all Illinois students in grades 3–12 will be offered an annual mental health screening.
As a mom, I understand the hesitation around the new mental health screenings —and the desire to protect our kids from anything that might cause harm. We don’t want to create a problem that isn’t truly there. A child’s response indicating sadness could be a sign of depression, a reflection of the deep and complex feelings that sometimes come with realizing the loss of their family of origin—or it could be something far more benign, like not being invited to a friend’s party or feeling deflated when an Instagram post didn’t get enough likes.
As a professional, I also see the opportunity this new mandate brings. When done with care, this could help schools catch concerns earlier, connect students to help faster, and change the trajectory of a child’s life.
Over the past decade, Illinois has been steadily building a stronger mental health support system for children and youth—expanding access to services, training schools and communities to respond to trauma, and working to make those responses culturally responsive and consistent statewide. This new screening mandate can be a powerful next step in that effort, helping schools identify needs earlier and connect families to real help.
But we also know not all screenings are created equal. Without a trauma-informed lens, children—especially those in adoptive, foster, and kinship families—risk being misunderstood, mislabeled, or even over-pathologized. These kids often carry experiences that can shape how they think, feel, learn, and relate to others. This reality must guide how screenings are designed, interpreted, and followed up.
And it’s equally concerning that there are very few therapists in private practice or schools trained in adoption competency for us to turn to when our children and families do need help. Over 80% of children in foster care and over 50% of all adopted children need therapy, yet there is no currently required adoption-competent training in social work graduate programs or school professional development. School support teams work hard, but they are not always set up with the training or resources needed to fully meet these children’s unique needs. How can children and their families get the right help if helpers don’t know how to help?
Adopted, foster, and kinship kids benefit most from care that is specialized and deeply understanding. With Illinois’ two year window to put mental health screenings in place, we have a ramp to get school staff trained. We’re encouraged by the leaders already at the table—and believe they can help ensure schools are ready from day one.
That’s why at iCARE4 Adoptive And Foster Families, we see mental health screening as a “both/and” moment: a reason for hope, and a call for care. We believe Illinois can lead the nation by ensuring:
Tools are developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive
Context questions are included to understand a child’s lived experience and family structures
Screening is paired with training for school teams and family engagement strategies-especially in adoption, foster and kinship care support.
Results lead to real support—not just a checklist or label. Guiding families to adoption competent therapists, support groups and trauma-informed parenting and caregiving.
As adoptive parents, we know this is a long game. Healing takes time. Trust takes time. Growth takes time. The real work isn’t just about spotting concerns—it’s about walking alongside children and families for years, not weeks, with steady support–the right kind of support–that helps them grow into their fullest selves.
The FAQs below answer the most common questions we’ve been hearing from parents, caregivers, and educators, along with iCARE’s perspective on how to make this mandate a source of help for every child. If you have others, please connect with us.
Mental Health Screening FAQs
Beginning in 2027, Illinois schools will offer annual mental health screenings for students in grades 3–12. This FAQ answers parents’ and caregivers’ top questions—what the law requires, how the screenings will work, and what families can expect.
Click to see all the FAQs