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
Finding and Working with Adoption-Competent Therapists
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.
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.