Betsy Keefer Smalley
Betsy Keefer Smalley has thirty-three years of experience in the field of child welfare, specializing in the areas of adoption, kinship, and foster care. Prior to joining IHS in 1995, Ms. Keefer Smalley was the first Executive Director of the Ohio CASA/GAL (Court Appointed Special Advocates/ Guardians ad Litem) Association, where she provided technical assistance to directors of county CASA programs, and served on several statewide planning groups and legislative committees. She has also served as Coordinator of one of the first post-finalization adoption programs in the United States. With colleague Jayne Schooler, Ms. Keefer Smalley co-authored the award-winning book, Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child: Making Sense of the Past. She is lead author of the 10-module IHS Adoption Assessor training series, and the Preservice Training for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Caregivers. She also developed a curriculum to train parallel support groups of adopted youth and their parents, which was adapted and disseminated nationally by the North American Council for Adoptable Children (NACAC.) Ms. Keefer Smalley has been an active member of the Ohio Adoption Planning Group for eighteen years, and has served as both Chair and Vice-Chair. Ms. Keefer Smalley has conducted training throughout North America at state and national conferences, for adoptive family groups, and in competency-based training systems for child welfare. Institute for Human Services As Program Manager of the Adoption and Foster Care training components of the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program, Ms. Keefer Smalley coordinates and oversees the development and implementation of competency-based training for adoption and foster care caseworkers, managers, and adoptive, foster, and kinship families in both public and private child placing agencies. She develops competencies, recruits, prepares, and mentors trainers, manages the operations of the Adoption Steering Committee and the Foster Care Work Team, and consults with other staff on adoption and foster care issues. Ms. Keefer Smalley has assisted several states and provinces adapt and implement Adoption Assessor and Preservice training to meet their unique needs, and has prepared over 600 foster care and adoption specialists throughout North America to use these curricula. She also conducts program assessments of foster, adoptive, and group home programming in local child welfare organizations. Center for Child Welfare Policy Ms. Keefer Smalley is a consultant to the Center for Child Welfare Policy on issues related to adoption and foster care. Family Trust Clinic Ms. Keefer Smalley is a clinical consultant to the Family Trust Clinic in cases involving adoption and other child placement issues.