Events
Learn. Support. Connect.
With 40 years of experience in open adoption, OA&FS is uniquely qualified to provide learning, support, and connection opportunities for the people we work with and the broader adoption community. On this page, you’ll find information about classes, speaker panels, and other events hosted by OA&FS. We draw upon the experience and expertise of the members of our community who are living in open adoptions to help inform others.
Learning opportunities
Learning opportunities
Gain insights, share ideas, and brush up on skills.
Infant Care for Prospective Adoptive Parents
Saturday, May 9, 2026 10:00 am – 1:00 pm PST | $70 for individuals and couples.Register Today!
Infant care education is an essential part of preparing to become a parent. In this 3-hour training online training, OA&FS Counselor and trained infant care educator, Katie Raser, LMHC, will provide infant care education specifically designed for prospective adoptive parents. Space is limited so register now!
- The first days and weeks in a baby’s life
- What to expect at the hospital
- How to prepare for the unknowns
- Prenatal substance exposure
- Feeding (including alternatives to bottle/formula feeding)
- Diapering
- Sleep
- Infant development over the first 12 months
- Safety
- Attachment
- Self-care
- and more!
In this training, we will discuss:
About your instructor
Katie Raser is an OA&FS counselor, a licensed mental health counselor, and an Infant Care Educator. Katie completed the Childbirth and Infant Care education course through the Penny Simkin center at Bastyr University and is also a Gottman Bringing Baby Home educator. Katie provides private infant care courses that draw from evidence-based research and her lived experience as a parent of two biological children. She has also volunteered with PEPS as a group leader for expectant parents in the Seattle area. Throughout her career—as a social worker, therapist, and options counselor—she has always enjoyed working closely with new and expectant parents.
Peer Support Cohorts
Peer support cohorts
In these virtual groups, adoptive parents who have a similar lived experience or interest in a specific topic will gather weekly for six weeks per cohort to get support from one another and an OA&FS counselor. Families may register for more than one cohort. Sample topics may include launching an adopted teen into adulthood, navigating open adoption relationships, building attachment in an adoptive family, and talking to your child about adoption. An OA&FS counselor will facilitate group discussions, share resources and information, and may invite expert guests to participate from time to time, depending on the topic. The primary goal of these groups is to offer space for adoptive families to build connection and community.
If you have a topic that you hope is covered in a peer support cohort, let us know by emailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Check back for new adoptive parent cohort group opportunities coming in Spring 2026.
Upcoming cohorts:
LGBTQ+ adoptive parents
Dates TBD later this year
Please email Jan at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) if you are interested in attending this cohort.
This cohort will be open to adoptive parents who identify as LGBTQ+, with children of any age. Participants will gather weekly for six weeks to build community, learn from one another, and receive support from each other and an OA&FS counselor. We will explore topics such as navigating the differences and unique challenges of parenting through adoption as an LGBTQ+ family, talking about adoption with your child, adoptee development, creating a culture of openness, belonging, and community resources.
Past cohorts:
Our six-week cohorts for parents of adoptees ages 11-14 and parents of adoptees ages 15-18+ were held in fall 2025. Stay tuned for information on when these cohorts will be held again.
Cohorts for parents of adoptees ages 0 to 5 years and for parents of adoptees ages 6 to 10 years were held in spring 2025. These cohorts will be held again beginning winter 2026.
Hear from past cohort participants
Hear from infant care class attendees
Speaker panels
Speaker panel series
Learn from members of the OA&FS community who share their lived experience on a range of adoption topics.
Our panel events are on pause for the summer. Check back soon for our fall schedule!
Missed an event? You can purchase recordings of our past speaker panel events.
- Supporting adoptees when birth parent contact is limited
- Nurturing your open adoption relationships