A world where every child and family connected to adoption, foster and kinship care thrives.
To improve the well-being and permanence of children and their families by providing adoption competent mental health services, advancing learning to build a responsive national network of professionals, and transforming policy and practice through research and advocacy.
Emboldened by the core belief that all children deserve a safe, loving, permanent home and
dedicated to providing family-focused services. C.A.S.E. draws on expertise, research,
and lived experience to innovate and pay it forward by educating and empowering others.
C.A.S.E. was born out of one family’s relentless commitment to their children.
When Maryland couple Mike and Kathleen Dugan adopted 8 children, each carrying the weight of a complex past, they encountered barriers they never anticipated. In seeking help from local mental health professionals, they found no resources equipped to support their children – or their family’s – unique challenges.
Instead, they were told again and again that the solution was to return their children to the foster care system.
They refused.
In 1998, Kathleen Dugan co-founded C.A.S.E. with fellow adoptive parent Debbie Riley, LCMFT as CEO to ensure every family connected to adoption, foster, and kinship care would have the support they need to ensure permanence and well-being.
Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) is a nationally recognized nonprofit that improves the well-being and permanence of children and families by delivering adoption competent mental health services, training a national network of professionals, and informing the field through research and advocacy.
C.A.S.E. has trained more than 80,000 mental health and child welfare professionals in 43 states and territories. With offices in the greater Baltimore-Washington metro area, C.A.S.E. has provided clinical services for more than 9,000 clients and their families since its founding in 1998.
We value the strong partnerships we have with leading national and local businesses, educational institutions and organizations. Together, we collaborate to promote awareness and provide the highest quality products and services that align with our mission of strengthening the well-being of adoptive, foster and kinship families.
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Due to traumatic life experiences and compromised beginnings, many children who are adopted, who are being raised by relatives (kinship care), or have experienced foster care have higher risks for developmental, health, emotional, behavioral, and academic challenges.
Individuals and participating family members received Adoption Competent Therapy in 2024.
Parents and professionals registered for the Strengthening Your Family (SYF) Webinar Series in 2024.
Children and families have received adoption-competent mental health services since 1998.
