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Postadoption Services
Bulletin for Professionals

Author(s):  Child Welfare Information Gateway

Year Published:  2005

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You are in section: Table of Contents 1 - Introduction 2 - Who Benefits From Postadoption… 3 - How Can Postadoption … 4 - What Postadoptive Services… 5 - What Postadoptive Services Do S… 6 - How Are Postadoption Services… 7 - How Are Postadoption Services… 8 - Why Evaluate Postadoption s… 9 - What Are the Implications Fors… 10 - What Future Research… 11 - Conclusion 12 - References 13 - Resources

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6. How Are Postadoption Services Delivered?

There are four main methods that public child welfare agencies use to deliver postadoption services, including:

• Services provided by the adoption worker. In this case, postadoption services are funded as a part of the adoption worker's caseload. One benefit of this approach is that the worker knows the family; however, given the high turnover rate for case managers, the same caseworker may no longer be there when the family requests services, and this may result in interruptions in the continuity of care. Additionally, the adoption worker typically has a full adoption caseload and must work in postadoption services as time allows.
  
  
• Specialized postadoption services units. With this approach, specialized units of staff who do not carry an adoption caseload provide postadoption services. An advantage of this approach is that this staff can collaborate with the adoption worker to access the children's and families' history. These professionals also are generally more knowledgeable about postadoption resources, since this is their area of specialty. In addition, families in need of postadoption services are not competing with an active caseload for the attention of busy social workers.
  
  
• Multiagency Collaboration. This approach uses existing public and private service providers to provide postadoption services and to train other public and private agency personnel to improve the level of community response to adoptive families and their children. At least three States have created Adoption Resource Centers that provide services and treatment for adoptive families or families considering adoption (Casey Family Services, 2003a).
  
  
• Private Agencies Under Contract with the Public Agency. Some States have opted to contract with the private sector to provide all of their postadoption services (Barth, Gibbs, & Siebenaler, 2001; Festinger, 2001; King, 2004).

It is not necessary, or even practical, for all postadoption services to be provided by State or county programs. These services also can be made available through existing health, mental health, and social service systems, as well as through nonprofit or faith-based organizations. Intensive wrap-around services are provided in some States to prevent residential placements and/or dissolutions for children with significant needs, including adopted children. These services can both prevent costly residential placements and dissolutions while keeping the child in the community. To access these services, families may need to request services from teams within the community consisting of parents, advocates, and providers set up by States to foster a Systems of Care approach to services.

Many of these services, while not designed specifically for adoptive families and their children, are already available in the communities and accessible to children who are eligible for Medicaid (Oppenheim, Gruber, & Evans, 2000; Smith, Howard, & Monroe, 1998; Barth, Gibbs, & Siebenaler, 2001; Festinger, 2001).

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You are in section: Table of Contents 1 - Introduction 2 - Who Benefits From Postadoption… 3 - How Can Postadoption … 4 - What Postadoptive Services… 5 - What Postadoptive Services Do S… 6 - How Are Postadoption Services… 7 - How Are Postadoption Services… 8 - Why Evaluate Postadoption s… 9 - What Are the Implications Fors… 10 - What Future Research… 11 - Conclusion 12 - References 13 - Resources

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Updated on July 3, 2008