Child Welfare Information Gateway
Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • Administration for Children & Families
  • Children's Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   

Home Topics Publications Library State Resources More Tools & Resources News & Events
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Free Subscriptions
  • Resources in Spanish
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Resources in Spanish
  • Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family-Centered Practice
      • Philosophy and Key Elements of Family-Centered Practice
      • Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
      • Engaging Families
      • Family-Centered Casework Practice
      • Family Group Decision-Making
      • Engaging Communities to Support Families
      • Creating a Family-Centered Agency Culture
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Risk Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
      • People Who Engage in Child Abuse or Neglect
      • Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
      • Overview: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
      • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs
      • Public Awareness & Creating Supportive Communities
      • Developing & Sustaining Prevention Programs
      • Evidence-Based Practice for Child Abuse Prevention
      • Evaluating Prevention Programs
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Introduction to Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
      • Assessment in Child Protection
      • Differential Response in Child Protective Services
      • Child Protection Casework Practice
      • Responding to Child Maltreatment Near Fatalities and Fatalities
      • Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
      • Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
      • Supporting Families With Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
      • Introduction to Family Support and Preservation
      • In-Home Services Involved With Child Protection
      • Family Support Services
      • Resources for Managers of Family Support and Preservation Services
      • Family Preservation Services
    • Out-of-Home Care
      • National Foster Care Month
      • Overview: Out-of-Home Care
      • Foster Care
      • Group and Residential Care
      • Kinship Care
      • Casework Practice in Out-of-Home Care
      • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
      • Placement Decisions
      • Resources for Foster Families
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Overview: Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific Youth Populations
      • Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
      • Interjurisdictional Placements
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families After Permanency
      • Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
      • Resources for Families About Permanency
    • Adoption
      • National Adoption Month
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
      • Introduction to Adoption
      • Ethical Issues in Adoption
      • For Adopted People
      • For Adoption Program Managers & Administrators
      • For Expectant Parents Considering Adoption and Birth Parents
      • How to Adopt
      • Laws Related to Adoption
      • Parenting After Adoption
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion in Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
      • Administering & Managing Child Welfare Agencies & Programs
      • Child Welfare Practice Improvement
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Ethical Practice & Client Rights
      • Evaluating Program and Practice Effectiveness
      • Funding
      • Information Systems & Data
      • Supervising Child Welfare Services
      • System Reform
      • Training
      • Workforce
    • Systemwide
      • Assessment
      • Behavioral Health & Wellness
      • Courts
      • Cultural Responsiveness
      • Diverse Populations and Communities
      • Domestic Violence
      • Human Trafficking
      • Laws & Policies
      • Service Array
      • Statistics
      • Well-Being
      • Youth
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Topic
    • Browse by Title
    • índice de Títulos en Español (Spanish Title Index)
  • Library
    • Library Search Help
    • Library Services
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals Search
    • State-Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Resources From the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Free Subscriptions
    • Adoption Triad
    • Children's Bureau Express (CBX)
    • The Grantee Connection
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • Home
  • Topics
  • Adoption
  • Parenting After Adoption
  • Finding Services for an Adopted Child
  • Postadoption Services and Support

Postadoption Services and Support

Adoptive families may access postadoption services and wraparound supports in their State or jurisdiction. Adoptive parents who need services should first check with their adoption placement agency to see what services are available. However, the value of talking with other adoptive parents who have had similar experiences cannot be overstated. In this section, find information and examples of postadoption services, including a searchable, nationwide directory to find support groups and services close to home. Resources also include State and local examples.

Accessing Adoption Support and Preservation Services

Series Title
Factsheets for Families
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 362KB)
Order (Free)
Year Published
2018
Describes issues that adoptive children, youth, and families may encounter after adoption and the postadoption services available to help them manage their issues. Topics discussed include postadoption issues that adoptive families often encounter, the changing needs for support at different ages and developmental stages, types of postadoption services, finding postadoption services, paying for postadoption services, and advocating for postadoption services. A list of additional resources is also offered.

Finding and Working with Adoption-Competent Therapists

Series Title
Factsheets for Families
Author(s)
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Availability
View
Download (PDF - 252KB)
Order (Free)
Year Published
2018
Provides suggestions for finding an adoption-competent therapist and offers information about the types of therapy that can help adopted children and their families. Foster parents considering adoption could face similar issues and therefore also may find definitions and descriptions in this factsheet useful.

Intervention and Program Catalog
Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation (QIC-AG)
Identifies evidence-based practices and programs related to the pre- and postpermanency needs of children in foster care. See also Introduction to the QIC-AG Permanency Continuum Framework (PDF - 210 KB).

National Director of NTI Trained Professionals 
National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI)
Find a database of mental health professionals trained on the NTI curriculum, which include the following topics: loss and grief, attachment and brain development, race, ethnicity, culture and transrational adoption, parenting strategies, identify formation, and more.

National Foster Care and Adoption Directory Search 
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Offers contact information for State child welfare officials, programs, organizations, and services with a focus on foster care, permanency, and adoption. Search the directory to find foster care and adoption agencies, support groups, training- and youth-specific associations, State offices, and State-sponsored information lines.

Support for Parents Who Adopt From Foster Care
AdoptUSKids
Outlines the financial assistance, postadoption services, and emotional support available to newly adoptive parents.

Support Matters: Lessons From the Field on Services for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Care Families (PDF - 1,420 KB)
AdoptUSKids (2015)
Discusses details on specific program models, including services for older youth, parents, and families, as well as tips for implementing and sustaining support services. 

(Back to Top)

State and local examples

Adoption Support and Preservation and Guardianship Support and Preservation Programs
Harmony Family Center
Facilitates evidence-based, trauma-informed therapeutic and educational services designed to support and promote a family’s success at every stage of the adoption and guardianship process.

Adoptive Families Together
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
Offers an online discussion group, a newsletter, a calendar of events, and other useful publications. This network of adoptive parents is based in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.

Center for Adoption Support and Education
Provides postadoption counseling and educational services to families, educators, child welfare staff, and mental health providers in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington, DC.

Post-Adoption and Guardianship Services (PDF - 1,933 KB)
Illinois Department of Children & Family Services (2020)
Offers a range of supports to families to ensure a smooth transition during the adoption or guardianship process, including counseling services, ongoing training, supplemental assistance with health-care needs, and several other support services.

QIC-AG Partner Sites
Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation
Generates evidence for the field about approaches proven to help families achieve and maintain permanence and improve adoption and guardianship preservation and support.

UCLA TIES (Training, Intervention, Education, and Services) for Families
UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital
Offers a free, trauma-informed preparation program for resource parents referred by the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services or local foster family agencies. The course is offered in English and Spanish.  

(Back to Top)

The webpages listed below act as a guide for where to find additional information on postadoption services and support.

Assessment

  • Assessing Child Well-Being/Behavior
  • Screening and Assessing Child Mental Health

Behavioral/Emotional Functioning

  • Behavioral Health and Wellness Resources for Children and Families

Identity Development

  • For Adopted People
  • Racially and Culturally Diverse Families

Parenting Resources and Supports

  • Parenting Resources 
  • Respite Care

Physical Health and Development

  • Health Services
  • Services to Child and Youth with Disabilities

Relationships/Social Functioning

  • Helping Children and Families With Separation and Loss
Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the

  • Children’s Bureau
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
↑ Back to top
  • HOME
  • TOPICS
    • Family-Centered Practice
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
    • Out-of-Home Care
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
    • Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
    • Systemwide
  • National Initiatives
    • National Adoption Month
    • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
    • National Foster Care Month
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Title
    • Browse by Topic
    • Índice de Títulos en Español
  • Library
    • Search the Library
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals
    • State Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Children's Bureau Resources
    • Information Gateway Podcast
    • Multimedia
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • ABOUT US
    • How to Report Child Abuse or Neglect
    • Find Help With a Personal Situation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Glossary
    • Search A to Z
  • Contact Us
    • 1-800-394-3366
    • info@childwelfare.gov
    • Subscribe to Free Updates
    • Chat With Us
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on YouTube
  • POLICIES & HELPFUL LINKS
    • Disclaimer and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • FOIA requests
    • No FEAR Act data
    • Office of the Inspector General
    • Performance reports
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Download Acrobat Reader
  • ↑ Back to top