The Children’s Bureau issued a call to action asking States to develop new strategies to achieve timely permanency for the tens of thousands of children and youth in foster care who are waiting to be adopted. The following are the main expectations of the call to action:
- Examine data to determine improved and streamlined methods that will assure no youth linger in the system
- Support States to build capacity to achieve timely permanency for children and youth
The initiative began with a virtual kickoff event in June 2019, followed by a series of regional discussions in preparation for the in-person Adoption Summit in August 2019. States analyzed data snapshots, identified common barriers, and discussed effective strategies to achieve timely permanency for children and youth. States also have developed and are implementing action plans to address the challenges to achieving timely permanency.
In support of State child welfare action plans for the Children’s Bureau's Adoption Call to Action, the Administration for Children and Families, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reached out to State governors encouraging them to become engaged in the Assistant Secretary’s “ALL IN” Foster Adoption Challenge. The assistant secretary asked governors to do what they can to assist their State's child welfare agency’s call-to-action plan to reduce the number of foster children waiting for a forever home.
The resources on this page provide information on the Children’s Bureau's Adoption Call to Action campaign and feature additional information on an array of topics that are applicable for supporting States as they implement strategies to help children and youth achieve timely permanency through adoption.
Related Information Gateway Sections
- Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
- Adoption by Family Type: Transracial/Transcultural Families
- Developing Culturally Competent Adoption Services
- Helping Adopted Children Cope With Grief and Loss
- Interjurisdictional Placements
- Kinship/Relative Adoption
- Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
- Permanency for Specific Populations
- Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
- Bringing Children and Families Together
- Partnering With Youth for Permanency Planning
- Preparing Adoptive Families
- Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
- Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
- Eliminating Barriers Toward Achieving Permanency
- Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
- Creating and Maintaining Meaningful Connections
Related Information Gateway Publications
Belonging Matters—Helping Youth Explore Permanency
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway (U.S.);AdoptUSKids (Program) |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 260KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2019 |
Explores how professionals can help youth in foster care consider the full range of legal and relational permanency options available to them as well as understand the feelings that may underlie a young person’s reluctance to pursue permanency.
Families Considering Foster Care and Adoption
| Series Title | Factsheets for Families |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 240KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2019 |
Summarizes what foster parents should consider while deciding whether to adopt the child or youth in their care. This factsheet does not address the specifics of how to adopt; it provides information on the differences between foster care and adoption, advantages of foster parent adoption, strategies for foster/adoptive families, and useful references.
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.
Preparing Children and Youth for Adoption or Other Family Permanency
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 343KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2020 |
Helps child welfare professionals better understand the feelings and emotions children may experience regarding permanency and prepare them for placements with permanent families. Its focus is on adoption, but much of the information is also applicable to children with other permanency goals, such as kinship care or guardianship. Children, including youth, leaving out-of-home care for adoption or other family permanency require preparation and support to help them understand past events in their lives and process feelings connected to their experiences of abuse and neglect, separation, and loss.
Promoting Permanency for Older Youth in Out-of-Home Care
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 719KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2019 |
Provides information for child welfare professionals about the importance of permanency for youth and strategies for achieving it. Permanency efforts for youth should include both legal permanency (e.g., reunification, adoption, kinship care) and relational permanency (i.e., a relationship or connection with a caring adult, such as a relative, neighbor, service provider, teacher, or other important person in the youth's life). These adults may provide lifelong support that can help youth transition to adulthood and may even become a legal permanent option for the youth.
Providing Adoption Support and Preservation Services
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 462KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2018 |
Draws from available literature and practice knowledge to summarize key issues related to providing effective services to support the stability and permanency of adoptions. It is intended to support adoption professionals in addressing adoptive parents' and children's needs for services, recognizing key considerations in providing services, addressing emerging issues, and meeting common challenges in delivery.
Providing Background Information on Children to Prospective Adoptive Parents
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway (U.S.) |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 0KB) |
| Year Published | 2018 |
This bulletin on providing child background information is designed to assist child welfare professionals who work with families interested in adoption and/or who are about to receive a referral for an adoption placement. It begins by explaining how complete disclosure benefits the child, the family, and the adoption agency by helping families make a fully informed decision, ensuring the adoption child will have full knowledge of his or her family, medical, and genetic history, helping prospective parents understand what supports and services might be needed, and helps agencies protect against wrongful adoption lawsuits. The types of information that should be provided is then reviewed, including material information on the child’s history, written disclosure of background and health information, acknowledgement of the limitations of disclosure, and information regarding the child or youth’s potential Tribal heritage. Questions to consider about the birth family, child health, placement history, educational history are listed, and considerations for international adoption are discussed. Additional resources are listed. 6 references.
Sibling Issues in Foster Care and Adoption
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 328KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2019 |
Explores relevant research, strategies, and resources to assist child welfare professionals in preserving connections among siblings. Sibling relationships can provide positive support and improved outcomes for children involved with child welfare as well as for those in the general population. Connections with siblings can serve as a protective factor for children who have been removed from their birth homes, but for a variety of reasons, siblings may not be placed together or may not have regular contact.
Supporting Brain Development in Traumatized Children and Youth
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 281KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2017 |
Summarizes the effects of early trauma on brain development and steps child welfare professionals can take to screen for developmental delays and identify the trauma-affected children and youth in their care. Looks at ways to access cross-sector, therapeutic, and evidence-based treatment to encourage healthy recovery for trauma-affected children and youth.