W.I.S.E. Up!®

“Why don’t you look like your parents?”
“How much did you cost?”
“Where are your real parents?”

The Cradle is proud to be the only organization in Illinois trained to facilitate this program that empowers adopted and foster children to decide if, when and how to share their stories. Developed by the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), W.I.S.E. Up!® gives kids the tools to answer when questions inevitably begin.

The Cradle’s sessions are open to all families. Read about The Cradle’s involvement with W.I.S.E. Up!® in this article by Evanston Now: “Adopted and foster kids learn how to ‘W.I.S.E. Up!’

Hear from Families

Over 20,000 children from adoptive families have been helped by the W.I.S.E. UP!® program. Here’s what parents had to say!

Adoptive Mom

The W.I.S.E. Up! workshop was both informative and enjoyable! My 11 year-old daughter, husband and I took away information and tools we can use when we are asked questions about being an adoption family. Most days, I can’t remember my password. Yet even months later, I can remember the four approaches to responding to questions about adoption. Learning alongside other parents and kids made the experience even richer. We made a connection with another family and went out to lunch together afterward!

Teen Adoptee

"Being adopted is really not that easy. You get a lot of questions that you don’t want to answer but you don’t want to say it in a rude way."

Adoptive Parent

"Thank you for presenting W.I.S.E. Up! I did take a poll of our 2nd graders who recited their questions to me. They all said they knew how to answer these hard questions because of W.I.S.E. Up! How wonderful to know they are prepared!"

Adoption-Competent Therapist

"I, as an adult who was adopted, would love to have had something like this when I was a kid."

Facilitator

"We’ve heard reports back already about kids using it and instructing other adopted friends about it. This strategy applies to many things in their young lives."

Adoptive Mom

"This was one of the most helpful trainings. We recently adopted our son in March and I have had many questions like this gone unanswered from DCS and my agency. Thank you for the valuable resource!"

Previous slide

Next slide

Meet the Facilitators

Register for an Upcoming Workshop

W.I.S.E. Up!® April 2026

Primary Parent Name(Required)

First Last

This parent will be in attendance

Secondary Parent Name

First Last

This parent will be in attendance

Child's Name(Required)

First Last

If you have more than one child to register, please complete a new registration form for each child.

Child's Date of Birth(Required)

Is your child in 3rd or 4th grade?(Required)

Yes

No

Was your child's adoption through The Cradle?(Required)

Yes

No

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Address(Required)

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country

Is there anything you would like the facilitators to know about your child or the adoption process beforehand?

OPTIONAL: Research Opportunity

Emily Helder, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Hope College, is working in partnership with CASE to evaluate the impact of W.I.S.E. Up! for youth and families. Workshop participants have the option to join her study. Participation would involve children and their parents completing a brief online questionnaire before and after the workshop, receiving a monthly email with a W.I.S.E. Up! discussion prompt that can be used at home during the 6 months after the workshop, and repeating the initial questionnaire at the end of those 6 months. The results from families participating in this project across multiple sites will be combined to better understand the impact of W.I.S.E. Up! and further support adopted and fostered youth and their families with effective programming. For further details and to ask questions, contact Dr. Helder (helder@hope.edu).

I consent to participating in this research opportunity (optional)

OPTIONAL: Consent to Share Contact Information

I would like my contact information included in a shared list for participating families who wish to stay connected following the session (optional)

W.I.S.E. Up! Workshop(Required)

Price:

Only purchase a registration slot for your child. Parents are included. If you need to register more than one child, please complete a new registration form for them.

Total

Credit Card

","location":[{"@type":"Place","name":"The Cradle","address":{"@type": "PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2049 Ridge Avenue"}}]}

25apr9:15 am11:00 amW.I.S.E. Up!® Session for 3rd and 4th Graders

Event Details

W.I.S.E. UP!® is an empowerment program designed to create a safe space for children to express their feelings about being adopted and prepare them for intrusive questions and insensitive remarks from peers and others like:

“Why don’t you look like your parents?”
“How much did you cost?”
“Where are your real parents?”

The Cradle is proud to be the only organization in Illinois trained to facilitate this program that empowers adopted and foster children to decide if, when and how to share their stories. Developed by the Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE), W.I.S.E. Up!® gives kids the tools to answer when questions inevitably begin.

The Cradle’s W.I.S.E. Up!® sessions are open to all families. Siblings are not included in the session and babysitting is not provided. Please arrive by 9:15 for check in.

Space is limited to 15 children. At least one parent or guardian must be in attendance.

W.I.S.E. Up!® April 2026

Primary Parent Name(Required)

First

Last

This parent will be in attendance

Secondary Parent Name

First

Last

This parent will be in attendance

Child's Name(Required)

First

Last

If you have more than one child to register, please complete a new registration form for each child.

Child's Date of Birth(Required)

Is your child in 3rd or 4th grade?(Required)

Yes

No

Was your child's adoption through The Cradle?(Required)

Yes

No

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Address(Required)

Street Address

Address Line 2

City

State / Province / Region

ZIP / Postal Code

Country

Is there anything you would like the facilitators to know about your child or the adoption process beforehand?

OPTIONAL: Research Opportunity

Emily Helder, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Hope College, is working in partnership with CASE to evaluate the impact of W.I.S.E. Up! for youth and families. Workshop participants have the option to join her study. Participation would involve children and their parents completing a brief online questionnaire before and after the workshop, receiving a monthly email with a W.I.S.E. Up! discussion prompt that can be used at home during the 6 months after the workshop, and repeating the initial questionnaire at the end of those 6 months. The results from families participating in this project across multiple sites will be combined to better understand the impact of W.I.S.E. Up! and further support adopted and fostered youth and their families with effective programming. For further details and to ask questions, contact Dr. Helder (helder@hope.edu).

I consent to participating in this research opportunity (optional)

OPTIONAL: Consent to Share Contact Information

I would like my contact information included in a shared list for participating families who wish to stay connected following the session (optional)

W.I.S.E. Up! Workshop(Required)

Price:

Only purchase a registration slot for your child. Parents are included. If you need to register more than one child, please complete a new registration form for them.

Total

Credit Card

Time

April 25, 2026 9:15 am – 11:00 am(GMT-06:00)

Location

The Cradle

2049 Ridge Avenue

Other Events

If you would like to be notified of future W.I.S.E. Up!® workshops, please sign up for our mailing list. For one-on-one support, visit our adoption-competent counseling page to learn how we can help you in the short-term or through ongoing therapeutic care.

Watch this video to learn more.

Bring W.I.S.E. UP!® to Your Organization

The Cradle can bring W.I.S.E UP!® to your school, agency or community group. We provide all the materials, guidance and facilitators needed to run the session, and you provide registration for your families. The session can be held at your location of your choice, including The Cradle. Email dsuckerman@cradle.org or download our brochure to learn more and book your session.

I'm Pregnant

Adoption Services

Counseling, Education & Training

I'm Pregnant

Adoption Services

Counseling, Education & Training

W.I.S.E. Up!®

Hear from Families

Meet the Facilitators

Register for an Upcoming Workshop

W.I.S.E. Up!® April 2026

Event Details

Event Details

W.I.S.E. Up!® April 2026

Time

Location

Get Directions

Watch this video to learn more.

Bring W.I.S.E. UP!® to Your Organization

Unplanned Pregnancy?

Adoptive Families & General Inquiries

Join Our List

I'm Pregnant

Adoption Services

Counseling, Education & Training

I'm Pregnant

Adoption Services

Counseling, Education & Training

W.I.S.E. Up!®

Hear from Families

Meet the Facilitators

Arletta Barbel

Nina Friedman, LCSW

Dori Fujii, LCSW

Jennifer Rogers, LCSW

Deva Suckerman, LCPC

Expectant Parent Counselor and Family Support Specialist

Arletta Barbel

Director of Post Adoption Support

Nina Friedman, LCSW

Senior Therapist & Clinical Lead

Dori Fujii, LCSW

Adoption & Family Support Specialist

Jennifer Rogers, LCSW

Therapist

Deva Suckerman, LCPC

Register for an Upcoming Workshop

W.I.S.E. Up!® April 2026

Event Details

Event Details

W.I.S.E. Up!® April 2026

Time

Location

Get Directions

Watch this video to learn more.

Bring W.I.S.E. UP!® to Your Organization

Unplanned Pregnancy?

Adoptive Families & General Inquiries

Join Our List