Darlene Allen MS

Ms. Allen has worked in public and private organizations to provide services to promote, safety, stability and permanency for children and created policies and practices to advance the field of child welfare. As the Executive Director of Adoption Rhode Island, she co-chairs the Rhode Island Child Welfare Advisory Committee and assisted the state in development of an Adoption and Foster Care certification program. She is affiliated with First Star, Inc. a Washington, DC based organization dedicated to helping abused children in foster care succeed in college and has been a consultant reviewer for JBS, Inc., the contractor charged with staffing the federal child and family service reviews.

Ms. Allen sits on the Adoption Exchange Association Board of Directors, and is a member of the finance committee overseeing the federal AdoptUsKids contract. She also serves on Rhode Island’s state team dedicated to reducing the use of psychotropic drugs in children in foster care. She is a member of the National Family Builders Association of Adoption professionals, serves on the Rhode Island Family Court Permanency Committee, and assists the Court Improvement Project on adoption-related issues. She has received several awards, including a Congressional Angel in Adoption. She received her Masters of Science in Human Service Administration from the University of Massachusetts.