Mental Health Care at The Call

On this week’s Facebook Live, Kerri Adams, LMSW, joined Ann Book to talk about her passion for social work and the foster care system. They also discuss the launch of our brand new mental health program for foster and adoptive families and their biological children.

Kerri has been a social worker for the last seven years and has experience in multiple points in the field. She worked for the Department of Child and Family Services as a family social worker, she was a foster care worker for two years, and she has worked in schools as a social worker.  

Now, Kerri is a social worker on staff here at The Call. Along with her role as a social worker, she helps organize volunteer opportunities, assists with managing the clothing closet, runs social media, processes paperwork, and helps with family support. Kerri truly has her hands in everything!

She is passionate about foster care because she wants to help people. From an early age, she has wanted to help people improve their situations and take steps towards healthy, safe, and productive lives. She is enthusiastic about helping people bridge the gap between their current situation and one that is safer and more sustainable

Before Brandy Shioyama was on staff at The Call, she introduced Kerri to our organization. Kerri loves that it combines her passion for foster care and adoption with faith, another passion of Kerri’s. Being a former DCFS worker, it is important to Kerri that The Call has established such a strong relationship with DHS.

Kerri wishes more people understood that foster care and adoption are not scary. While there are many unknowns, uncertainties, and new challenges that come with welcoming a new child into your home, they are normal kids who have the same needs as your biological children.

Kerri has played an essential role in preparing to launch our brand new mental health program for foster and adoptive families and their biological children. We hope that through the program, we can care for all of our homes’ therapeutic needs to increase retention of homes, the longevity of placements, and open-mindedness for more challenging placements.

The program will offer therapy for foster parents, adoptive parents, and the families’ biological children. We know that bringing a new child into your home comes with a particular set of challenges, and we see the importance of caring for your mental and emotional health throughout the process.

We commonly see foster and adoptive families’ needs for more resources and support for their mental and emotional help, and we want to provide that for them. After all, families that take care of themselves are better equipped to take care of their foster and adoptive families!For more information on The Call and our new program, click here!