In our Staff Spotlight Series, we catch up with the talented, dedicated and compassionate individuals who help make everything our organization does possible. This month we are featuring Carly Kidd, post adoption supervisor & pregnancy counselor. Read more about Carly’s work and life below!
When did you join CH/LSS, what is your current role, and what are some of your primary responsibilities?
I started with CH/LSS in January 2021, working in the domestic adoption program as an adoption worker for foster care, infant adoption, and pregnancy services. In October 2023 I moved into the role of post adoption supervisor. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the post adoption team, oversight of any post adoption contracts, oversight of the post adoption support groups including, our kids and parent support group, oversight of our Openness Consultation Service, and Family Support Coach program. In post adoption, we process hundreds of calls and inquiries every year, and provide services to about 350 adoptees, birth parents and other family members to pursue things like searches, outreaches, reunions, file reviews, writing of non-identifying social medical history reports, navigating questions around immigration and citizenship, referrals for services outside our expertise like therapy and legal and much more.
What originally drew you to the field of foster care and adoption?
I have always worked in the field of social services, and I’m trained as a marriage and family therapist. My spouse and I had a long journey to parenthood, that led us to adopt domestically. We adopted our oldest child in 2004, and we adopted our second time in 2007. I have always been personally and deeply connected to adoption. I always thought that a career in adoption was something that really interested me. My educational background plus my personal experience as an adoptive parent has served me well in my work in adoption.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I would say the most rewarding part of my job right now is getting to see and hear the stories of birth parents and adoptees reconnecting. Being a part of that reconnection journey is truly a privilege. I see the trepidation, the fear, the worries as someone begins a search, yet also the excitement and hope that they have. When the person being sought out responds and is open to connection, it is truly healing and joyful in a way that makes the hard parts of this job worth it.
Based on your experience working in the field of foster care and adoption, what is something everyone should know about foster care and/or adoption that they might not?
The space of foster care and adoption has changed so radically over the last couple of decades. The need for adoption isn’t what it used to be, yet the need for qualified foster parents is greater than ever. Of course, the goal of foster care is reunification and finding those foster parents who are truly open to the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice that is needed is difficult. And not all who want to be foster parents are capable of providing the care that foster children need. At the same time, foster care and adoption are simultaneously the most rewarding and hardest thing one might do. Raising children who are not born to you is a special kind of privilege and a special kind of hard work that not everyone can do. Adoption is born of loss, and it is critical to acknowledge that, from the get-go. And always hold space for that loss and grief as the adoptee grows up because it will look different at different ages in their life, even into their adulthood.
What advice would you give to families thinking of beginning their adoption journey?
Most hopeful adoptive parents come into adoption because of a need of their own, whether it be they have a desire to grow their family, infertility, etc. Adoptees are the only individual involved in an adoption that truly has no choice in what happens to them. It is critical to keep the experience of the adoptee forefront and centered to truly ensure that their needs are always met first. As a hopeful adoptive parent, please listen to and believe what you are learning about and hearing about in your education classes and home study process. The workers are truly working to ensure that you have all the knowledge and all of the proper skills that you need to be an adoptive parent or foster parent. Don’t be dismissive and think, “oh this won’t happen to me” or “I’ll be the exception.” It will be far better in the long run if you can learn to be open and flexible up front in your adoption journey, because there will be many difficult things that you will encounter over the years, and being educated and equipped for those things up front will serve you and your adoptee well down the road. Having realistic expectations will prevent a lot of disappointment.
Switching gears to life outside of work – what does an ideal weekend look like for you?
I love to relax. Whether that is reading a book, watching a show or a movie, getting outside with my family, or being able to watch my children participate in their activities. I love it when we can get together with family or friends, eat dinner together and play games. And if that weekend can include a live concert or sporting event, then it’s been a perfect weekend.
If you could travel anywhere in the world in the next year, where would you go and what would you do?
I love to travel and have been lucky to be able to travel to lots of different countries and many places across the US. But one place I would really love to be able to go to would be Australia. Although, I have to say I would be terrified of the huge spiders they have there, but it’s on my bucket list of places to travel to.
What is the last book, movie, or TV series you loved?
The last book I read that really impacted me was called Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. It’s a story of a young man growing up in the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia through poverty, addiction and foster care. His experience was heartbreaking and inspiring all at once. It reminded me a lot of stories that I heard from my grandmother growing up in the same area and reminded me of a lot of the experiences that we hear about of children growing up in foster care.
The last TV series that I absolutely loved was The Pitt. I love medical dramas. I remember watching ER religiously as an older teenager and young adult. To see Noah Wyle back in a medical drama was all it took for me to start watching that and I loved that show.
What is something that always brings a smile to your face?
Something that always brings a smile to my face is just being able to spend true quality time with my family. I love it when we can just be together, eat yummy food, play fun games together, and just laugh. Some of the times I’ve laughed the hardest in my life have come out of genuine, authentic, quality time with family members.
