About
"PACC has given me so much new knowledge, perspective, and resources for my work with families impacted by permanency and adoption. The stories that have been shared throughout the PACC program are invaluable to me as a clinician and a person."
"PACC has provided the opportunity to connect with those in the permanency and adoption field and has given me greater empathy for the challenges faced by each individual impacted by adoption and permanency."
The Permanency and Adoption Competency Certificate (PACC) was developed in 2010 as a response to community demand to meet the need for increasing the availability and competency of a professional workforce able to work across systems to serve the unique and complex clinical and practice needs for adopted individuals and their families. Early on, Senator Amy Klobuchar selected the program as an Angel in Adoption™ recipient for outstanding advocacy in preparing adoption-competent clinical mental health and child welfare professionals for their work with adopted children and their families. Over more than a decade of programming, PACC has graduated over 420 professionals across 23 regional cohorts.
The goal of PACC is to increase the number of qualified permanency and adoption mental health and child welfare professionals in Minnesota who are able to work in collaborative, cross-disciplinary and multicultural contexts. Generous grant support from the Minnesota Department of Human Services ensures that programming remains equitable and affordable across the state.
As PACC celebrates over a decade of programming, the format has been revised based on participant and stakeholder feedback to combine self-paced and interactive training designed to be accessible for working professionals across the state. Central to this work has been collaboration with the adoptee and foster community across curriculum development and facilitation that transforms the dialogue we have as professionals around permanency. PACC includes the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) anchored regularly with full-day trainings designed to deepen and integrate online modules through experiential learning and consultation.
To learn more or apply contact us here.
"So thankful PACC is offered in a way that is adaptable and inclusive. It was so helpful to connect with other professionals and gain insight as to how to better connect with them."
"PACC builds in ways to take info, process in small groups, and report back to a space where difficult discussion is allowed, not shut down."
"I felt like PACC helped me with a better understanding of the mental health needs of the children I am serving, specifically in understanding trauma, attachment and behavior. I was looking for this, and I feel like I got it!"
"I loved hearing personal stories and experiences, especially from adult adoptees as facilitators. It was very powerful and impactful for my learning and growth."
Many PACC collaborators have firsthand experience with permanency and adoption and have shared their reflections on how centering firsthand experience transforms the dialogue we have as professionals around permanency.
