At Kindred Hearts, we believe that adoption is not the end of a journey—it’s the beginning of a lifelong process of healing, attachment, and growth. Founded on the principle that no adoptive, kinship, or guardianship family should have to navigate this journey alone, we provide the essential support, education, and therapeutic services families need to thrive.
From Personal Experience to a Shared Mission
My inspiration for Kindred Hearts comes from both my personal and professional journey. As a social worker and therapist specializing in early childhood trauma, I saw firsthand the gaps in post-adoption services. While adoption brings permanence, it does not erase the trauma children have experienced before coming into their forever families.
At one point, my therapy waitlist had over 50 families—more than I could ever serve alone. The need for comprehensive, ongoing support was clear. Around the same time, I became a mother through adoption. I experienced the same challenges my clients faced: navigating attachment, addressing trauma, and advocating for resources.
That’s when I met Traci Baker, an adoptive mother who remembered a time when post-adoption services were funded in our county. She encouraged me to think bigger. Together, we built Kindred Hearts, starting with a small contract for support groups and growing into a full-scale agency. Today, we offer wraparound services, community programming, and trauma-informed therapy to ensure that no family has to face these challenges alone.
The Heart of Our Work: Programs That Make a Difference
Our services are designed to meet families wherever they are in their journey:
Counseling Program – Open to the entire community, not only adoptive families, we offer individual, couples and family therapy and all clinicians specialize in trauma-informed care. We also provide psychological assessments and serve as a practicum site for graduate students, ensuring more professionals are trained in trauma-informed care and adoption competency.
Enhanced Care Management (ECM) – Also open to the entire community, we are excited to expand our services with ECM, a new middle-tier level of care designed to bridge the gap between basic support services and intensive interventions. ECM provides person-centered, community-based case management, ensuring individuals and families receive the right support at the right time—before crises escalate.
Post-Adoption Community Program – For adoptive, kinship, or guardianship families, we offer support groups, youth respite events, parent training, family fun events, community education and training, and an annual summer camp for adopted children ages 8-12.
Wraparound Program – Our highest level of care for adoptive families, Wraparound is designed to prevent placement disruptions by providing intensive, in-home therapeutic support for families facing significant behavioral and mental health challenges.
Annual Keynote Events – We bring national speakers to educate and inspire our community. This year, we welcomed Gaelin Elmore, a former NFL player and motivational speaker, who shared his message on the power of belonging.
A Community Effort: Partnerships That Strengthen Our Work
Kindred Hearts doesn’t do this work alone. Our collaboration with local organizations like Shasta County Health and Human Services, UC Davis, Raising Shasta, First 5 Shasta, Shasta County Office of Education, AmeriCorps, and Shasta College FKCE allows us to expand our impact.
Our youth respite events also bring in community partners such as Simply Rooted (yoga and self-regulation), Goddard Music (music exploration), Redding Reptiles (hands-on learning), and Front & Center Dance (movement therapy). These partnerships create opportunities for healing through creativity, connection, and play.
A Vision for the Future
The ultimate goal of Kindred Hearts is to create a compassionate, trauma-informed community where no family has to navigate the complexities of adoption and trauma alone. When we provide the right support at the right time, we create a ripple effect—strengthening families, empowering children, and transforming our community for generations to come.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we are building a future where every child feels a deep sense of belonging and every family has the tools to thrive.
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