Illinois & Wisconsin Branch Office

Adoption services from this branch office are open to all families living in IL and WI, even if you are using another placing agency.

We can help you adopt via international or U.S. adoption. If you are already working with another agency, we can complete your homestudy and provide post-placement services.

I am exploring adoption

I have already adopted

Join us for an upcoming adoption information meeting!

These remote meetings are open to families anywhere in the U.S.

Exploring Adoption?
We Can Help.

We offer caring support from experienced social workers who will assist you with your international or U.S. adoption.

Holt knows how important it is for prospective adoptive families to feel supported throughout the process. Our knowledgeable social workers are here to answer questions and offer guidance throughout your adoption.

Homestudy Services

We can facilitate homestudies for families who are adopting internationally or in the U.S., even if you are with another placing agency. Reach out to learn more about how Holt’s homestudy services.

Submit Form Below

International Adoption Services

If you are adopting internationally through Holt, we will conduct your homestudy and serve as a resource throughout the process. You can also look to us for post-adoption support and referrals.

Submit Form Below

U.S. Adoption Services

We can offer support and referrals for families adopting in the United States.

U.S. Adoption info

Inquire About Adoption Services for Families in IL and WI

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Step-Parent Adoption (WI residents only)

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RSVP to an Adoption Information Meeting

Want to learn more about international or domestic adoption? Attend a free adoption information meeting to learn about the adoption process from an experienced Holt social worker. We will cover eligibility requirements, the homestudy, common child profiles and Holt’s mission of finding a loving and secure home for every child. Our hope is to help you navigate through this process and answer whatever questions you may have. To register through Eventbrite, please click the link below.

Have You Already Adopted?
We Can Help.

Holt offers a range of services to adoptive parents and adoptees through its post adoption services team in Holt’s Eugene, OR headquarters as well as through staff in our branch office. Any family or adoptee can utilize Holt’s services even if you adopted from another agency.

Birth Search & Reunion Support
Citizenship & Documentation help
Adoptee Connections and Advice
Therapy Services (Illinois only)

Birth Search

If you are interested in beginning a birth parent search, begin here.

Get Help

Citizenship & Documentation

Need help or advice on obtaining records or learning about citizenship? Contact us.

Learn More

Post Adoption Coaching & Education

Adoption can result in emotional challenges and questions. We’re here to help.

Get support

Therapy Services for Adoptive Families and Adoptees in Illinois

Pam Shepard, LCSW

Pam is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). She has over 25 years of experience in child welfare and is extensively trained to provide therapy for adopted children, teens, adult adoptees, adoptive parents and families. Pam has been trained in Theraplay, DDP (Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy), RMT(Rhythmic Movement Training), EMDR (Eye Movement,Desensitization and Reprocessing), Brainspotting, and is also a TBRI® (Trust Based Relational Intervention) Practitioner.

For more information or to a schedule a consultation, contact [email protected]

Consultation

This is an initial session to discuss and answer questions regarding your child or your family’s specific situation. Resources and referrals are available. Ongoing therapy sessions at Holt could be an option if you live in IL.

Individual Therapy

These are ongoing sessions based on the progress of your identified goals and objectives. Treatment plans are individualized and based on your unique needs. One-on-one therapy sessions are with the identified client (you or your child) and the therapist.

Family Therapy

Family therapy is a session with all members of the family, or at least one parent, the child and the therapist.

Group Therapy

On ongoing group session with other identified clients. Arranged based on similar age ranges, the presenting problem/issue and maturity level.

Adoptee Support Groups

We regularly hold group sessions for parents and adoptees of all ages.

TBRI

We hold a regular, four-part Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI)® series geared towards parents of children who have experienced early childhood trauma. TBRI is built on the founding principles of connecting, empowering and correcting.

Therapy Services FAQs

Trauma is defined as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience or physical injury. Even if your child came home with you from the hospital that they were delivered in, they experienced a separation from the mother that carried them for nine months. As a baby grows in the womb, they hear and are exposed to everything that their mother experiences.

The risk factors associated with complex developmental trauma are as follows: prenatal trauma, difficult labor and delivery, early hospitalization, medical issues, abuse, neglect and environmental trauma (such as a car accident or hurricane) and multiple other life transitions or events that greatly impact a person. Current neuroscience reflects that trauma lives within the body; so even if there are no conscious memories of a disturbing experience or distressing event, our body remembers for us.

Therapy is catered to fit the unique needs of the individual client and/or family that is seeking services. There is an initial intake phone call followed by an in-person or virtual consultation with the child’s parents or the client themselves, if they are an adult.

At Holt International, we develop a plan, goals and objectives that specifically address the identified issue. Our therapists use an eclectic and holistic approach that relies heavily on evidenced-based modalities in attachment and trauma including Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI), Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy® (DDP), Theraplay®, EMDR and Brainspotting.

Many parents and children are surprised to learn that the type of therapy we do is fun, active and engaging! Frequency and duration of therapy is decided based on the needs of the client and their reasons for seeking therapy.

Meet Our Staff

Amy Trotter, MSW, LCSW

Branch Director | IL & WI
[email protected]
Call: 630-754-4514

Pam Shepard, MSW, LCSW

Supervisor of Clinical Services | IL
[email protected]
Call: 630-754-4522

Colleen Martinson, MSW, LCSW

Social Worker | IL
[email protected]
Call: 708-628-7879

Diana Jimenez, LCSW, MSW

Social Worker | IL
[email protected]
Call: 630-754-4504

Danielle Smith, MSW

Social Worker | Eastern IL & IA
[email protected]
Call: 309-489-6168

Annie Owens

Branch Assistant | WI
[email protected]

From Sunny Ridge Family Center to Holt International Illinois & Wisconsin Branch

The Illinois and Wisconsin branch of Holt International has a long and unique history of serving children — with roots planted in 1926 by a man named Reverend John Klinberg. He started Children’s Home of Chicago, which later moved to a farm and eventually became Sunny Ridge Family Center.

Reverend John Klingberg had already created a home for children in Connecticut when he sent his daughter, Mabel, to Chicago in hopes of opening another one. Mabel was able to find a house and on October 17, 1926, the Klingberg Children’s Home of Chicago was born.

Sunny Ridge Home for Children tudor style house circa 1953

In 1953, the home moved to a 36-acre farm in Wheaton, Illinois named Sunny Ridge Farm, which led to a new name for the home — Sunny Ridge Home for Children. Here, children from 4 to 18 years old who were orphaned or separated from their families lived together, building life skills.

In 1979, the first child from Sunny Ridge Home joined a family through adoption — creating the foundation for the Sunny Ridge Family Center domestic adoption program. Two years later, Sunny Ridge placed their first child through international adoption. Over the next 10-20 years, Sunny Ridge Family Center grew enormously. By 1986, they were placing over 100 children through domestic adoption every year, and by 1994, they had placed over 750 children from China.

After 50 years in Wheaton, Illinois, Sunny Ridge decided to move their location to Bolingbrook, Illinois in 2007. Here, they continued to serve children and families domestically and around the world. In April 2014, Sunny Ridge began yet another exciting chapter when they merged with Holt International to become Holt-Sunny Ridge. Then, in June 2019, Holt-Sunny Ridge became licensed in Wisconsin and acquired Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan (LSS)’s private domestic adoption services in Wisconsin.

With these many organizational changes, Holt-Sunny Ridge also evolved in name — officially becoming Holt International Illinois and Wisconsin branch in November 2020. With a unique and expansive history and evolution in identity that began over 90 years ago, the Illinois and Wisconsin branch of Holt International today remains dedicated to the mission of strengthening families at risk of separation and finding loving, permanent homes for children — in Illinois, Wisconsin and around the world.

IL License #529708

Annual DCFS Report

Consumer Complaint Policy

Holt Illinois Branch Office

270 Remington Boulevard, Suite D
Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Holt Wisconsin Branch Office

414 E. Walnut St. Suite 261
Green Bay, WI 54301

Services to help keep families together

Services and care to help children thrive

Serving adoptees & families since 1956

Pre Adoption

Post Adoption

Supporting children & families around the world

Illinois & Wisconsin Branch Office

Adoption services from this branch office are open to all families living in IL and WI, even if you are using another placing agency.

We can help you adopt via international or U.S. adoption. If you are already working with another agency, we can complete your homestudy and provide post-placement services.

Join us for an upcoming adoption information meeting!