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Home > Adoption > Postadoption Services > Research and Outcome Studies on Postadoption Services

Research and Outcome Studies on Postadoption Services

Resources to assist adoption professionals in providing postadoptive services, including State and local examples.

 
Logic Model Builder for Postadoption Services Programs
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Assists postadoption services programs in evaluating their effectiveness in improving outcomes for children and families.

Post-Legal Adoption Services for Children With Special Needs and Their Families: Challenges and Lessons Learned
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2005)
Synthesis of findings from 15 Adoption Opportunities grants awarded by the Children's Bureau.

 

Adoption Disruption and Dissolution

Series Title: Numbers and Trends
Author(s): Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability: View
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Year Published: 2004 - 5 pages
 
This factsheet reports statistics about adoption disruption (before finalization of the placement) and dissolution (after legal finalization). Differences in disruption rates by age of the child and placement history, reasons why disruption and dissolution occur, and disruption and dissolution trends are noted.

After Adoption: Direct Contact and Relationships
Logan, Janette, Smith, & Carole (2004)
View Abstract
British study about the impact of direct postadoption contact on adopted children, adoptive parents, and birth families.

After Adoption: The Needs of Adopted Youth
Howard & Smith (2003)
View Abstract
Examines the experiences of 1,343 parents of children adopted from the public child welfare system to see how they are functioning years after the adoption.

Assessing the Field of Post-Adoption Service: Family Needs, Program Models, and Evaluation Issues
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2001)
Literature review regarding postadoption services.

Assessing the Support Needs of Adoptive Families: Building Secure Placements
Miller & Bentovim (2006)
View Abstract
Provides guidance on making evidence-based assessments and planning successful adoption support.

Concept Model for Postadoption Services
National Consortium for Post Legal Adoption Services (1996)
Diagram illustrating the guiding principles of adoption support and preservation and the characteristics and outcomes of postadoption services. (PDF - 13 KB)

Confronting Barriers to Adoption Success
Family Court Review, 44(2), 2006
View Abstract
Describes three categories of barriers that undermine successful adoption outcomes.

Post-Adoption Services: Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Children Adopted From Foster Care (PDF – 158 KB)
North American Council on Adoptable Children (2007)
Provides information on the mental health needs of children adopted from foster care, including a description of the services needed and available financial assistance. State examples of effective postadoption service programs are also included.

Post-Permanency Services (PDF – 1437 KB)
Freundlich & Wright (2003)
In 1998, the Children's Bureau awarded 15 3-year grants with the objective of increasing permanency and well-being for children by preventing adoption disruption, dissolution, and out-of-home placement. This report reviews support services for adoptive families by synthesizing the final reports and lessons learned from the 15 projects.

Promising Practices in Adoption-Competent Mental Health Services
Casey Center for Effective Child Welfare Practice (2003)
Includes research and adoptive families' perspectives on the need for services, and program examples.(PDF - 241 KB)

Promising Practices in State Developed Post-Adoption Programs (PDF - 889 KB)
King
The Roundtable, 2004
Focuses on selected promising practices in postadoption programs that represent several possible program designs.

Relationship Between Post-Adoption Services and Adoption Outcomes
Children's Bureau Express, 5(9), 2004
Article on a study that found a significant relationship between postadoption service utilization and positive adoption outcomes.

Special Needs and Disabilities (PDF – 320 KB)
Hansen (2006)
Provides background information on the adoption of children with special needs and disabilities in the United States and shares Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data from 1996 to 2003 on the number of such children currently adopted.

Strengthening Adoption Practice, Listening to Adoptive Families
Child Welfare, 86(1), (2007)
View Abstract
Presents findings from a study of postadoption services provided through Virginia's Adoptive Family Preservation program, documenting the need for support in a variety of forms, including respite, counseling, and information.

Strengthening and Preserving Adoptive Families: A Study of TANF-Funded Post Adoption Services in New York State (PDF - 400 KB)
Avery (2004)
Reports on more than 1,000 families who received postadoption services from 13 New York agencies, as well as results from a parent satisfaction survey.

Strengthening Families and Communities: An Approach to Post-Adoption Services: A White Paper (PDF - 562 KB)
Casey Family Services (2002)
Addresses the need for policy and practice aimed at achieving and sustaining permanence for children through adoption.

Survey Examines Postadoption Services Among Private Agencies (PDF - 112 KB)
Mack
Children's Voice, 15(6), 2006
The results of this survey put in perspective the ways agencies are meeting the postadoption needs of the children and families they serve and how they are funding these services.

Sustaining Adoptive Families: A Qualitative Study of Public Post-Adoption Services (PDF - 192 KB)
Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance, the Center for Adoption Studies, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (2002)
Provides a brief overview of the nature and limitations of the study and discusses the needs of families with children adopted from the child welfare system.

Understanding Adoption Subsidies: An Analysis of AFCARS Data. Final Report.

Author(s): United States. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation., Research Triangle Institute.
Dalberth, Gibbs, Berkman
Availability: View
Download (PDF - 1,410KB)
Year Published: 2005 - 58 pages
 
Adoption subsidies are perhaps the single-most powerful tool by which the child welfare system can encourage adoption and support adoptive families. Yet little is known about the factors associated with the receipt and amount of subsidies. Data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) offer an opportunity to examine how states use adoption subsidies to help achieve goals of permanency and well-being for children. Of particular interest to this study are patterns of subsidy receipt, the role of federal support for adoption subsidies under Title IV-E, and the relationship between adoption subsidies and adoption outcomes, including ...

What’s Working for Children: A Policy Study of Adoption Stability and Termination (PDF – 381 KB)
Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute (2004)
This study found that adoption terminations are rare and that postadoption services are important for successful outcomes.

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State and local examples

The Postadoption Experience: Adoptive Families' Service Needs and Service Outcomes
Casey Family Services (2006)
View Abstract
Foster care provider Casey Family Services has commissioned several research studies to examine different ways to meet the needs of adoptive families and their children

Strengthening Adoption Practice, Listening to Adoptive Families
Atkinson & Gonet
Child Welfare,  86(1), 2007
View Abstract
Describes the results of a project that examined the experiences of 500 adoptive families who received postadoption services through Virginia's Adoptive Family Preservation program.

Supporting Adoptions and Guardianships in Illinois: An Analysis of Subsidies, Services, and Spending (PDF - 8532 KB)
Children and Family Research Center (2006)
Presents results from a 2005 study examining postadoption services in Illinois.

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Related Information Gateway Topics

Achieving and maintaining permanency: Postpermanency services
Supporting & preserving families
Systemwide: Service improvement/Systems reform - Improving practices

 

 

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