In 2023 Spaulding for Children, in collaboration with Harmony, Child Trends®, the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), the National Adoption Association and Raise the Future, received a five-year, cooperative agreement with the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children & Families in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Funded at $4 million per year for a total of $20 million, this grant will facilitate the establishment of a National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support.
For the past 20 years, Harmony’s Adoption & Guardianship Support and Preservation Program (ASAP/GSAP) has been promoting family success on every level and at every stage of the adoption and guardianship journey in the state of Tennessee. As a partner agency in the National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support, Harmony’s role will include development of a Post Permanency Support Model, and provision of technical assistance to states, tribes and territories who want to build more robust post-adoption programs. Harmony is so fortunate to work alongside our national partners and use our expertise in post-adoption services to build support for families across the country.
Post-Adoption Resources
Our Team
Resource Center Program Director
Resource Center Program Director
Allison Cooke Douglas, M.S., IECMH-E®, is the Resource Center Program Director at Harmony Family in Knoxville, TN and serves as a post-permanency expert at the National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support. Over the past decade, Allison’s work has focused on post-permanency family support. She has developed and presented curricula regarding therapeutic parenting, the impact of early trauma on the developing brain, and best practices in the child welfare system. In her work with Tennessee’s Adoption Support and Preservation (ASAP) program, Allison provides direct services to adoptive families as a part of Harmony’s multidisciplinary ASAP team. Allison holds an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement, is certified in Phases I and II of The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics and is a Neurosequential Model in Education trainer. She is a Napa Infant-Parent & Early Childhood Mental Health fellow and was selected for the 2022-23 All Educators cohort at The Fred Rogers Institute. Allison brings her lived experience as an adoptive parent of four children to her daily work.
Resource Center Program Director
Resource Center Program Director
Allison Cooke Douglas, M.S., IECMH-E®, is the Resource Center Program Director at Harmony Family in Knoxville, TN and serves as a post-permanency expert at the National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support. Over the past decade, Allison’s work has focused on post-permanency family support. She has developed and presented curricula regarding therapeutic parenting, the impact of early trauma on the developing brain, and best practices in the child welfare system. In her work with Tennessee’s Adoption Support and Preservation (ASAP) program, Allison provides direct services to adoptive families as a part of Harmony’s multidisciplinary ASAP team. Allison holds an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement, is certified in Phases I and II of The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics and is a Neurosequential Model in Education trainer. She is a Napa Infant-Parent & Early Childhood Mental Health fellow and was selected for the 2022-23 All Educators cohort at The Fred Rogers Institute. Allison brings her lived experience as an adoptive parent of four children to her daily work.
Clinical Director
Clinical Director
Kristi grew up in Oak Ridge, TN and holds a LMSW with the state of Tennessee, earning her master’s degree in clinical social work in 2004 from UTK. Go Vols! She originally worked full-time with Harmony beginning in 2006 for over seven years in various programs and capacities including Adoption Support & Preservation (ASAP), Harmony Assessment Resource Team (HART), pre-adopt curriculum and family camp development, and Harmony’s leadership team. Kristi then worked as an independent contractor for Harmony in DCS and private home study programs. She rejoined the Harmony team full-time in January 2020, and now serves as the ASAP/GSAP Program Manager – East. Kristi has certification and training in several evidence-based clinical treatment models and is currently working towards certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) and LCSW licensure.
Clinical Director
Clinical Director
Kristi grew up in Oak Ridge, TN and holds a LMSW with the state of Tennessee, earning her master’s degree in clinical social work in 2004 from UTK. Go Vols! She originally worked full-time with Harmony beginning in 2006 for over seven years in various programs and capacities including Adoption Support & Preservation (ASAP), Harmony Assessment Resource Team (HART), pre-adopt curriculum and family camp development, and Harmony’s leadership team. Kristi then worked as an independent contractor for Harmony in DCS and private home study programs. She rejoined the Harmony team full-time in January 2020, and now serves as the ASAP/GSAP Program Manager – East. Kristi has certification and training in several evidence-based clinical treatment models and is currently working towards certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) and LCSW licensure.
Chief Program Officer
Chief Program Officer
Michelle received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work from East Tennessee State University and is a Licensed Advanced Practice Social Worker. Her professional experience includes over 20 years of work with children and families in Tennessee. Michelle was trained in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) in 2014 through Texas Christian University, and was certified as a TBRI Educator in 2015. She completed Circle of Security Parenting training in 2015 and is a registered Parenting Facilitator. Michelle recently completed the Child Trauma Academy’s Phase II Certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics and EMDR training. She was the former Clinical Manager of Harmony’s Adoption Support and Preservation Program prior to moving into the Family Preservation Director position.
Chief Program Officer
Chief Program Officer
Michelle received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Social Work from East Tennessee State University and is a Licensed Advanced Practice Social Worker. Her professional experience includes over 20 years of work with children and families in Tennessee. Michelle was trained in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) in 2014 through Texas Christian University, and was certified as a TBRI Educator in 2015. She completed Circle of Security Parenting training in 2015 and is a registered Parenting Facilitator. Michelle recently completed the Child Trauma Academy’s Phase II Certification in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics and EMDR training. She was the former Clinical Manager of Harmony’s Adoption Support and Preservation Program prior to moving into the Family Preservation Director position.
