Responding to Difficult Questions in Adoption Conversations

Join the Heart Galleries of Texas for 2026 Spring’s Learning Series, Adoption Conversations Across Childhood! The Heart Gallery Learning Series is designed to build statewide consistency, create shared language, and strengthen practice skills across the child welfare community. The Heart Galleries of Texas monthly webinars are provided to the child welfare community with the purpose to inform and bring awareness to current child welfare practices and efforts related to adoption and post permanency.

This webinar aims to provide knowledge on navigating and responding to difficult questions in adoption conversations. Our trainers will explore strategies and develop skills to guide families and caregivers with these conversations.

Learning objectives:

1. Learn how to initiate adoption-related conversations with children.
2. Explore age-appropriate strategies for navigating adoption-related discussions.
3. Develop skills to guide adoptive families in fostering an open and ongoing dialogue about adoption.

Meet our trainers:

Jody Chandler, LCSW-S, Program Manager, DePelchin Children’s Center

Jody is the Program Manager at DePelchin Children’s Center, where she oversees clinical counseling and case management programs dedicated to supporting children and families. Jody is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Supervisor with over 15 years of experience in counseling and child welfare.

Bevin Barrett, LPC, Adoption Case Manager, DePelchin Children’s Center

Bevin is an Adoption Case Manager at DePelchin Children’s Center and works closely with CPS to match children available for adoption, and provides education, guidance, and support to adoptive parents going through the adoption process. Bevin has worked in foster care, adoption, and post adoption in her 19 years with DePelchin and is passionate about her work preparing adoptive families.