January 2020

Betty has struggled with mental health challenges, early traumatic life experiences and addiction since she was a teenager. When her addiction and mental health challenges made it difficult for her...

Travis is a birth father who is 5 years into adoption reunion with his daughter Malaika. I became a father in 1983 just after my 19th birthday. A daughter.   A daughter I was told that I would...

Written by Dianne Mathes R.S.W. Executive Director, ACO Over the past month we have heard the voices of families who are living in adoption and permanency journeys with their children.   We...

Simcoe County Adoption Connections Youth/Family Camping Weekend The fifth annual camping weekend took place on June 21-23, 2019 and once again it was a huge success. The idea for a camping weekend...

  ACO Report Card - How are we doing? The ACO is interested in receiving feedback and suggestions from our families and the professionals who work with them. We now have over 900 Pathways alumni...

Over the winter, ACO piloted a Pathways training specifically for Kinship caregivers in the Simcoe County area.  We often have kin family members in our Pathways trainings. Based on feedback, we...

I had heard the advice around self-care,” you need to take care of yourself first or you wouldn’t be any good to the kids”. I had also heard the analogy of putting your air mask on...

Principal and Adoptive Mother Speaks on Supporting Our Kids- Impact of Childhood Trauma in Ontario Schools Teaching is my profession of choice and I am a lifelong learner who has always been...

Written by a mother through adoption. Over the past couple of years I've written a few times about the mental health of children and youth who have a foster care and/or adoption history from my...

Written by: a Family Formed Through Adoption. We were already adoptive parents when we adopted M, he was almost 12. M had some mental health issues, had been diagnosed with ADHD and was finishing...