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Home > Conference Calendar > Conference Exhibits > ACTION 4th International Conference on Post-Adoption Services
ACTION 4th International Conference on Post-Adoption Services
The following Information Gateway materials were made available at the ACTION (Adoption Connections Training Institute: OneWorld Neighborhood) 4th International Conference on Post-Adoption Services held February 23 to February 25, 2009, in Cambridge, MA.
Abuse-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Child Physical Abuse
Abuse-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (AF-CBT) has been found to improve functioning in school-aged children who have experienced physical abuse, as well as in their parents, caregivers, and families. This issue brief explores the characteristics and benefits of AF-CBT to help child welfare caseworkers, other professionals who work with at-risk families, and caregivers make more informed decisions about family participation in AF-CBT. It includes information about what makes AF-CBT unique, key components, target populations, effectiveness, and what to look for in an AF-CBT therapist.
Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted From Foster Care
In every State there are children with special needs waiting in foster care for adoptive families. The most recent data estimate that 126,000 children are available to be adopted from foster care. In the past, the costs of care and services were major obstacles to parents who would otherwise adopt and love these children, and most were not placed for adoption. The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 provided the first Federal subsidies to encourage the adoption of children from the nation's foster care system. These subsidies, known as adoption assistance, serve to minimize the financial obstacles to ...
Adoption Disruption and Dissolution
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.
Adoption Options
This fact sheet provides basic information about adoption options. It focuses on the choices between domestic and intercountry adoption, domestic infant or foster care adoption, and licensed private agencies, independent adoption, or facilitated/unlicensed agencies. A description of how the placement process will vary for each type of adoption is provided, as is a list of resources.
Adoption Options At-a-Glance
This fact sheet, meant to accompany "Adoption Options: A Fact Sheet for Families," provides basic information about adoption options in a table format. It focuses on the choices between domestic and intercountry adoption, domestic infant or foster care adoption, and licensed private agencies, independent adoption, or facilitated/unlicensed agencies. A description of how the placement process will vary for each type of adoption is provided, including agency oversight, termination of parental rights, child characteristics, cost, and potential wait times.
The Basics of Adoption Practice
Adoption is a highly specialized field that focuses on placing children with families and providing services to ensure that these placements are permanent. In recent decades, the emphasis of adoption practice has shifted from helping families find children to finding safe and permanent families for children. Adoption workers are now expected to have extensive knowledge and understanding of the recruitment and assessment of adoptive families, the placement of children with a variety of strengths and needs, and supportive postadoption services to promote attachment and permanency for children. This bulletin provides an overview of the basics of adoption practice and the ...
Foster Parent Adoption
This paper discusses issues related to the increasing importance of foster parents as permanency resources for children in foster care. In order to facilitate adoptions by foster parents, professionals should be knowledgeable about the benefits, costs, and practice issues surrounding foster parent adoption. Practice issues include assessment, adoption preparation and postadoption support, and facilitating ongoing connections with birth families.
Helping Your Foster Child Transition to Your Adopted Child
There are a number of ways to help foster children make the emotional transition from being "a ward of the State or the Court" to being "a son or daughter" of foster/adoptive parents. This fact sheet describes specific things families can say and do to help foster children transition, including: talking with children about the changes, engaging in activities to help children understand their own history and background and the reasons why they cannot live with their birth family, helping children adjust to these losses, and helping children transfer their attachments to the foster/adoptive family. Additionally, families will need to ...
How Many Children Were Adopted in 2000 and 2001? -- Highlights
This factsheet presents highlights from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse's full report on How Many Children Were Adopted in 2000 and 2001? The purpose of this report is to estimate the number of children adopted in each of the States for 2000 and 2001 and to use these numbers to estimate the composition and trends of all adoptions in the United States. Key findings are summarized. 2 references.
Impact of Adoption on Adopted Persons
As discussion of the adoption process becomes more open and accepted in American society, and as more Americans have experience with adoption, there is also more attention focused on those involved in adoption -- the adopted person, the birth parents, and the adoptive parents (often referred to as the adoption triad or, more recently, the adoption constellation). People who have experienced adoption firsthand are coming forward to talk or write about their experiences, and researchers are conducting scientific studies to find out about the impact of adoption on all members of the adoption triad. This factsheet examines the impact of ...
Impact of Adoption on Birth Parents
This factsheet discusses some of the emotional issues that parents face after making the decision to place an infant for adoption, in surrendering the child, and in handling the feelings that often persist afterwards. In addition, it addresses some of the emotional issues of parents whose children are permanently removed from them and whose parental rights are terminated. This factsheet may be a helpful resource for birth parents, as well as family members, friends, and others who want to support birth parents. It may also provide some insight to adopted persons and adoptive parents who want to understand the struggles ...
Long-Term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect
The harmful effects of child abuse and neglect vary depending on a number of factors, including the circumstances, personal characteristics of the child, and the child?s environment. In many cases, child abuse and neglect have consequences for children, families, and society that last lifetimes. This factsheet provides an overview of some of the most common physical, psychological, behavioral, and societal consequences of child abuse and neglect, including findings from research supported by the Federal Government.
Obtaining Background Information on Your Prospective Adopted Child
This fact sheet explains why it is important to obtain background information about a prospective child. It discusses where a family might find background information, what questions to ask about the child's medical, family, social, and placement history, and why information may not be available. It includes a list of resources for more information.
Openness in Adoption
This fact sheet defines open adoption, including information about the laws regarding open adoption and research findings about the effects of open adoption on the adoption triad. It discusses implications for agency policy around adoption openness, foster care adoptions, and when open adoption may not be in the child's best interest. It includes a list of useful web sites, books and articles for both families and professionals, and the pros and cons of each type of adoption (confidential, mediated, and open).
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy With At-Risk Families
Parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) is a family-centered treatment approach demonstrated effective for abused and at-risk children ages 2½ to 12 and their parents or caregivers. This issue brief explores the characteristics and benefits of PCIT to help child welfare caseworkers, other professionals who work with at-risk families, and caregivers make more informed decisions about family participation in PCIT programs. It includes information about what makes PCIT unique, key components, effectiveness, and what to look for in a PCIT therapist.
Postadoption Services
All adopted children and their families can potentially benefit from services provided after the adoption is finalized. These services may include educational and informational services, clinical services, material services, and/or support services. This bulletin addresses: who benefits from postadoption services, how can postadoption services help, what postadoptive services do families need, what postadoptive services do States offer, how are postadoption services delivered, how are postadoption services funded, why evaluate postadoption services, what are the implications for practice, and what future research is needed This bulletin specifically focuses on the benefits for adopted people and adoptive parents. Includes resources.
Postadoption Services
It is common for adoptive families to need support and services after adoption. Postadoption services can help families with a wide range of issues. They are available for everything from learning how to explain adoption to a preschooler, to helping a child who experienced early childhood abuse, to helping with an adopted teen?s search for identity. Experience with adoptive families has shown that all family members can benefit from some type of postadoption support. Families of children who have experienced trauma, neglect, or institutionalization may require more intensive services.
Post-Legal Adoption Services For Children with Special Needs and Their Families : Challenges and Lessons Learned
With the goal of expanding and enhancing services to adoptive families of children with special needs, post-legal adoption services have been established in annual adoption discretionary grant announcements. Under that priority area in 1998, 15 3-year grants were awarded to increase permanency and well-being for children with special needs by preventing adoption disruption, dissolution, or out-of-home placement. This briefing paper synthesizes the final reports of those 15 projects. The projects targeted post-legal adoptive families and their children with special needs, pre-adoptive families, single adoptive parents, transracial adoptive families, kinship families. Core services included parent support and educational groups, children s ...
Providing Background Information to Adoptive Parents
This bulletin explains the importance of providing background information about a child to prospective adoptive parents so that they can be prepared to address the child's emotional, health, and behavioral needs. The briefing describes the liability of agencies in cases of wrongful adoption and identifies the types of information that families should receive. Issues regarding sensitive information and right to privacy also are discussed.
Respite Care Services for Families Who Adopt Children with Special Needs: Synthesis of Demonstration Program Final Reports
This report synthesizes information from the final program and evaluation reports of 8 Adoption Opportunities discretionary grants programs written between 1994 and 1999. It summarizes project descriptions, lessons learned, accomplishments, and recommendations. An appendix includes project information for each of the 8 projects, including contact information, area served, target population, and evaluation activities.
Selecting and Working With an Adoption Therapist
Adoption has a lifelong impact on those it touches, and members of adoptive families may want professional help as concerns arise. Timely intervention by a professional skilled in adoption issues often can prevent concerns from becoming more serious problems. Professionals with adoption knowledge and experience are best suited to help families identify connections between problems and adoption and to plan effective treatment strategies. Sometimes a difficulty that a child is experiencing can be directly linked to adoption, but sometimes the connection is not readily apparent. In other situations, issues that seem on the surface to be related to adoption turn ...
Stay Connected to Adoption Information
Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families by connecting adoption and other child welfare professionals to information and resources that help them address the needs of children and families in their communities. This flier highlights the resources and services that Child Welfare Information Gateway offers.
Understanding the Effects of Maltreatment on Early Brain Development
This In Focus report provides an overview of early brain development and examines how child abuse can impair cognitive and emotional functioning. The specific effects of stress, persistent fear response, hyperarousal, dissociation, disrupted attachment process, and neglect are discussed. The briefing reviews the implications of research findings for the child welfare system, practitioners, and caregivers. Early intervention and prevention strategies are suggested.
Child Welfare Information Gateway: Stay Connected
Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to timely, practical resources that help child welfare, adoption, and related professionals protect children and strengthen families. This flier describes Information Gateway?s free services, including reliable print and electronic publications, websites, online databases, and more.
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