Finding and Using Postadoption Services: Organizations That Provide Services

This information was taken directly from Child Welfare Information Gateway

Organizations That Provide Services

Postadoption services are provided through various organizations, such as the following:

Public adoption agencies (county or State offices)

Private adoption agencies

Specialized postadoption service organizations (these organizations offer services after an adoption, but do not place children for adoption)

Adoptive parent support groups

Community health and mental health organizations and service providers

The types of services offered will vary across organizations. In addition, some organizations may offer services only to certain groups (e.g., families who have adopted children through foster care), while other organizations may have no restrictions.

Finding Postadoption Services

Details about postadoption services in a particular area are available from local, State, and national information resources. In general, to find information about postadoption services, parents can do the following:

Contact their State’s Postadoption Services Contact. This is a staff member of the State’s department of human services1 and an expert on postadoption services and programs in a particular State or territory. Each State’s Postadoption Services Contact, as well as the State’s Adoption Manager (sometimes the same person), are listed in the National Foster Care & Adoption Directory. (Search http://www.childwelfare.gov/nfcad/ by selecting a State and checking State Foster Care and Adoption Officials as the search category.)

Call the adoption service provider that arranged their child’s adoption and ask for referrals. Parents also may call other public and private adoption agencies in their area and ask to receive information on their postadoption events and services. (While some services may be restricted to families who adopted through the agency, many will be open to all adoptive families.)

Contact parent support groups for information about their events and about local organizations that provide services.

Find out if their employer offers workplace support groups, online networks, or referral services for adoptive parents.

Search online national and regional postadoption databases and provider listings.

Ask family doctors, other adoptive families, or parent support groups for recommendations.

1 The State agency also may be known as the department of social services, department of children and family services, or other, depending on the State.

Continue to Finding and Using Postadoption Services: Finding Postadoption Services and Additional Resources

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Acknowledgment

The original (2006) version of this factsheet was developed by Child Welfare Information Gateway, in partnership with Susan Frievalds. This update is made possible by the Children’s Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The conclusions discussed here are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views or policies of the funding agency, nor does the funding agency endorse the products or organizations mentioned in this factsheet.

Resource

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2012). Finding and using postadoption services. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.