FAQ's

How is Kinship House Different?

Kinship House is a unique resource in Oregon, serving children and families touched by foster care or adoption with comprehensive mental health, education and advocacy services in a home-like setting. In addition to offering direct services, we offer training around the state for foster and adoptive parents, mental health and child welfare professionals, attorneys, and judges. We are also frequently called upon as expert witnesses in family court settings. Kinship House also provides an unusual professional bridge between mental health and child welfare services in the State.

What can I expect when my child or I come to Kinship House?

A warm, welcome and experienced professional team with personal commitment. Clinicians generally meet with the parent or parents first to gather information and a sense of the current concerns. A treatment plan is designed to meet the unique needs of the child or family. When your child comes to Kinship House they are personally greeted and welcomed to our pleasant living room and meeting rooms. They may be provided a snack with parent permission, invited outside to our garden or to one of our play, art or sandtray rooms.

How has Kinship House impacted the lives of other families?

Since 1996, Kinship House has served over 1800 children and families in the Portland metro area and other Oregon communities with counseling, educational programs and support groups. Our services have helped children and adults succeed as foster, adoptive, or reunified families. For stories from some of our clients and friends on the impact of our services please see Stories.
Click for Stories

Is Kinship House knowledgeable about working with multiracial/multicultural families?

Most definitely. Our staff is experienced in working with and treating children and families of diverse backgrounds and heritages. Some of our staff have personal experience with multi-racial adoptions. Others are multi-lingual. All honor the rich diversity of our clients and the unique heritages of families we serve.

What treatment philosophies does Kinship House follow?

The Kinship House Mission is to provide comprehensive counseling, education and advocacy for foster children, adoptees and their foster and adoptive families. We honor each persons unique heritage and kinship bonds. We recognize the necessity and wisdom of serving children throughout their journey into permanent families. The overriding goal of Kinship House is to break the cycle of abuse and prevent placement disruption for children needing a permanent family.

Who does Kinship House serve?

Our program specializes in permanent adoption of children from difficult, multi-problem, high-risk backgrounds. The children we serve desperately need a permanent home. In order to make the transition out of crisis, these children need mental health counseling, and their adopting or foster families need help and support to meet the needs of these special children. Our clients come from throughout Oregon, though many are located in the Portland metro area, and they represent all economic, racial and cultural diversities. Most of our clients are between the ages of 3 and 17 years of age. Some are adults seeking to understand their own adoptive or foster care childhood. Many are the foster, adoptive or biological families needing support with a childis successful transition.

What services does Kinship House provide?

In the state of Oregon, Kinship House is unique in the quality of support and expertise related to the mental health needs of children and youth who are seeking to transition from foster care to permanent adoption. We provide one on one mental health therapy for children, counseling for siblings, adults and families. Our clinicians also provide training and educational seminars and facilitate parenting and support groups. Our team provides advocacy and outreach to communities and leaders throughout Oregon on the issues related to supporting successful transitions for children to permanent, caring homes. For more information on specific service options please refer to Services.
Click for Services

How are services accessed and paid for?

Kinship House clients are referred by case workers, attorneys, CASA workers, Department of Human Services, parents, teachers and other service providers. To schedule an appointment or to refer a client please call our Intake Specialist at 503.460.2796 x17 or x14. She will ask some initial questions so that we can schedule an appointment within a week of receiving necessary paperwork or information.
Some of our services are covered by Oregon Health Plan, Oregon Medical Assistance Program, private insurance and direct payments from clients. Many of our client services are made possible through subsidies provided by individual donors or foundations.
Click for more info

How can I help Kinship House?

Kinship House is a small non-profit making a big impact. But we need help. If you would like to make a meaningful impact, here is how.

Contribute funds to subsidize a child in need of counseling to make the successful transition to a brighter future. - See donations form.
Help Kinship House buy our buildings so we can continue to offer low cost services in a warm-homelike facility.
Come to our upcoming Spring Auction on May 17th in the Pearl and bring your friends to our Kazoo Koncert on Pioneer Courthouse Square in mid-December.
Donate furniture. Help us replace our dining room table and chairs, and our living room sofas!
Join our May event Auction team to secure unique, wonderful items and to decorate.
Volunteer to help with painting, gardening, book sales and distribution, or events promotion.
Call and come visit to see what strikes your passion! 503.460.2796

How many clients do you serve?

Kinship House is proud to have served over 1,800 children and their families since we were founded in October 1996. On a yearly basis, we serve about 300 children. On a daily basis our clinicians see about 15 to 20 on an individual basis. Although our clinicians are meeting with clients throughout the day, our living room and kitchen are calm and welcoming to incoming clients.

Why is the office in a house?

Our offices are in a house to create a more comfortable environment for families and children. Kinship House has resided in two houses since opening in 1996. The primary counseling facility is warm and welcoming with several different counseling rooms for children, younger and older adults. The facility has art, sand and play therapy rooms, confidential counseling rooms and outside play and therapy gardens. Our holistic approach to counseling integrates all aspects of a supportive home environment. We believe the home like environment in which we provide our personalized, focused counseling enables us to help each client understand and move forward with their lives feeling supported, nurtured and empowered.

Are your therapists licensed?

Our staff includes six mental health professionals. All Kinship House clinicians are master's level, experienced mental health therapists with considerable experience dealing with adoption and the child welfare systems. Five of our clinicians have 12 - 28 years of experience in the field of foster care and adoption, more than 90 years of collective experience and are licensed clinical social workers or licensed professional counselors. In 2007, Kinship House welcomed a new clinical team member who previously interned with Kinship House while completing her master's program.

The Medical Director for Kinship House, Dr. Charlene Sabin, is a Behavioral Pediatrician who works in concert with our therapy team to prescribe medicines as needed by our clients. In addition, Dr. John Deeney, our affiliate psychiatrist, leads quality assurance and utilization management for Kinship House.

How long do children and families usually spend in therapy?

One-on-one counseling with clients and family members may be conducted from one to twelve months or longer. Therapy treatment is usually one hour long, once a week and is designed to meet the unique needs of the child and family members. Many of our young clients come with an adult, who have an opportunity to meet with the clinician following the counseling session with the child. Some of our older teen and adult clients come to Kinship House on their own.

Is my donation to Kinship House tax deductible?

Yes! Kinship House is a 501 (c) 3, non-profit agency channeling all revenues to program operations and to direct essential overhead. By contributing to Kinship House, your donations are tax deductible and a receipt for tax filing purposes will be forwarded to you following any donations. Starting fall of 2006, all donations made to Kinship House from a 401k are tax free to the donor, further stretching the value of your contribution. As a donor to Kinship House, you may direct your donations to help a child receive needed therapy, fund our capital campaign for purchase of our buildings, enable clinical outreach to other parts of Oregon, or other direct needs of your interest.

What are your quality assurance procedures?

First, Kinship House is governed by a Board of Directors that meets monthly to review all Kinship House operations. The board communicates directly with the Kinship House Executive Director and staff and has diverse representation from business and professions as well as advocates and community leaders.

The Kinship House clinical team meets weekly and as needed to discuss cases and specific challenges, sharing expertise and insight confidentially. Quarterly, the Kinship House Quality Assurance and Utilization Management team, comprised of our Behavioral Pediatrician, our advising psychiatrist, a service consumer, and our clinical coordinator, meets to review cases, procedures and specific issues. The team questions and advises on procedures and treatments, and adheres to standard procedures required by State of Oregon Department of Human Services, Office of Mental Health and Addictive Services.

Where is Kinship House located and how do I get there?

We are located in NE Portland just off NE Broadway on 8th Avenue at 1823 NE 8th Avenue. Kinship House is across from the Irvington post office with parking on the street.
Click for Map

From North or South on the East side, take I-5 to the Coliseum exit and head East on NE Weidler to NE 7th Avenue. Turn left and head north across NE Broadway for 2 blocks. Turn right on NE Hancock and right on NE 8th Avenue and park. Our buildings are on the West side of the street.

From the West side of Portland, take the Broadway Bridge and head East on NE Weidler and follow above directions.

From the East side of Portland, head West on NE Broadway. Turn right on NE 9th Avenue. Go 2 blocks. Turn left on NE Hancock and left on NE 8th Avenue and park. Our buildings are on the West side of the street.

What are your hours of operation?

Our doors are open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday and on Saturday mornings with appointment. Our clinicians generally have their first appointment available at 9:00 am. Evening appointments may be scheduled directly with individual clinicians. An emergency crisis line is available 24 hours for current Kinship House clients.

I've heard about a book published by Kinship Press. What is it about?

Kinship House Art Therapist, Heather Wilson, has written and illustrated a book to assist children in their journey through foster care and adoption. The book, Foster Care and Adoption: A Pathway to Understanding, provides concrete explanations of a child's journey and helps a child understand their experiences, their emotions, and ways to make transitions with an enhanced sense of self and their future. The book is engaging, and colorful book with interactive pages that encourage children to draw, color and personalize images in the book. Foster Care and Adoption: A Pathway to Understanding is a book to be used in therapy and throughout life.

Do you have trainings for parents or other professionals?

Yes. In addition to offering direct services, Kinship House provides training around the state for foster and adoptive parents, mental health and child welfare professionals, attorneys, and judges. We offer training on how to talk with a child about adoption and foster care, how to conduct a good-bye visit with families, understanding the impact of adoption as an adult, ways to welcome and integrate a new child to your family, behavioral modification techniques, and more. Some of these trainings are offered in collaboration with other agencies or groups, such as the Oregon Department of Human Services, with Oregon Post Adopt Resource Center, and the Child Welfare Partnership at Portland State University. Our clinicians also facilitate parenting and networking meetings for adoptive and foster care families. If you or your agency is interested in a Kinship House training or a facilitated meeting, please contact us at 503.460.2796.

Do your clinicians ever testify on a child's behalf?

Yes. We are frequently called upon as expert witnesses in family court settings. Requests for our testimony usually come from case workers, attorneys, judges or CASA workers. Our approach is to conduct extensive research and analysis on the unique experiences and issues of a client, child or family.

Most expert witness testimonies are conducted in conjunction with an assessment of a child, siblings, foster adoptive or biological family and are based on a holistic, comprehensive review of what is in the best interest of the child and his or her future.
Click for Services