National Adoption Month 2019

In October 2016, Spaulding for Children was awarded a 3-year cooperative agreement from the Children’s Bureau to develop a foster/adoptive parent preparation, training, and development initiative, Critical Ongoing Resource Education (CORE) Teen Curriculum. The CORE Teen curriculum was designed to prepare and develop both current and prospective resource parents who are caring for older youth with moderate to serious behavioral health challenges who may be at risk for more restrictive placements. The CORE Teen curriculum comprises three components:

• Self-assessment
• Classroom-based training
• Right-time training

The curriculum has been piloted and rigorously evaluated in three States (Florida, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee) and one Tribe (Eastern Band of Cherokee, NC). At the end of the grant period, child welfare agencies will have access to a free, comprehensive curriculum that can then be used to prepare, train, and develop foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. The final curriculum is expected to be available after September 30, 2019. For more information on the project, please contact: Sue Cohick, CORE Project Director.

Because of traumatic life experiences and compromised beginnings, many children who are adopted or in guardianship experience elevated risks for developmental, health, emotional, and behavioral challenges.

The National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) aims to improve the outcomes for children and youth in foster, adoptive, and guardianship families by infusing enhanced permanency, adoption, and mental health competency in the provision of casework and clinical practice.

NTI developed two state-of-the-art, standardized, web-based trainings to build the capacity of child welfare and mental health professionals in all States, Tribes, and territories to effectively support children, youth, and their foster, adoptive, and guardianship families. NTI’s aligned trainings provide the skills, strategies, and tools professionals need to do the following:

• Provide support to children to help them heal from trauma and loss.
• Provide parents with skills to parent more effectively.
• Collaborate effectively with child welfare and mental health professionals.
• Improve outcomes for permanency, child well-being, and family well-being and stability.

Building an Adoption Competent Workforce: A Review of the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (PDF - 1,820 KB)
Wilson, Riley, and Lee (2019)
Rudd Adoption Research Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Outlines the need for adoption-competent mental health services, highlights lessons learned from the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative pilot, and provides implications for future adoption research and practice.

NTI Brochures for Your Organization
Center for Adoption Support and Education (2018)
Provides an overview of the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative and the benefits of implementing it within agencies.

NTI Pilot: Summary of Evaluation Findings (PDF - 462 KB)
Center for Adoption Support and Education (2018)
Summarizes the evaluation findings from the 5,163 child welfare pilot participants of the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative (NTI) training pilot.

The National Training and Development Curriculum for Foster/Adoptive Parents (NTDC) is a 5-year cooperative agreement that will develop and evaluate a state-of-the-art training program to prepare parents who are fostering and adopting to effectively parent children exposed to trauma, separation, and loss and to provide these families with the ongoing skills development needed to understand and promote healthy child development. At the end of the project, States, counties, Tribes, territories, and private agencies will have access to a free, comprehensive curriculum that can be used to prepare, train, and develop parents who are fostering or adopting. This curriculum will not only be for families who are fostering and/or adopting children through the public child welfare system but also for families adopting through the intercountry or private domestic process. The NTDC curriculum will comprise three components:

• Self-assessment
• Classroom-based training
• Right-time training

The themes and their aligning competencies, which is what the curriculum will be based on, can be found at: https://ntdcportal.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Themes_Competencies.pdf (PDF - 268 KB). The final curriculum will be disseminated across the United States in 2022. Find out more about the NTDC project.

Since June 2015, the Children’s Bureau cooperative agreement has supported the building of the National Electronic Interstate Compact Enterprise (NEICE), which is a successful, secure, and functioning application that meets the purpose and guidelines mandated in the Family First Prevention Services Act. NEICE is operated by the American Public Human Services Association, with policy governance provided by the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. For more information, visit NEICE.

The National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption and Guardianship Support and Preservation (QIC-AG) was a 5-year cooperative agreement designed to promote permanence (when reunification is no longer a goal) and to improve support for adoption and guardianship preservation. QIC-AG worked with eight sites that implemented evidence-based interventions or developed and tested promising practices. The interventions that were proven effective can be replicated or adapted in other child welfare jurisdictions. Over the 5 years, QIC-AG developed numerous tools and products that States, counties, Tribes, and territories can utilize to enhance their continuum of services for children and families moving toward adoption and guardianship as well as those that have already obtained guardianship or finalized the adoption. The research done through QIC-AG will help the field to best serve adoptive and guardianship families as well as identify their needs and the interventions that have shown to be effective with this population.

National Quality Improvement Center Framework Aims to Support Families After Adoption Is Finalized
North American Council on Adoptable Children (2018)
Adoptalk, 3
Discusses the permanency continuum framework and how it supports children and families transitioning from foster care to adoption or guardianship and helps families maintain stability and well-being after adoption or guardianship has been achieved.

What Pediatric Health Providers Should Know About Adoption (PDF - 172 KB)
QIC-AG (2017)
Lists how pediatric health-care providers can support adoptive families by identifying adverse childhood experiences and providing the family with referrals to appropriate services and supports.

What Teachers Should Know About Adoption (PDF - 194 KB)
QIC-AG (2017)
Provides information on how teachers can make adoption-sensitive classrooms by developing a relationship with adoptive parents and working with them to determine a classroom routine that works well for their child.