Postadoption services are crucial for providing families with the support needed to navigate the lifelong issues of adoption. In order to ensure that these programs and services are effective, evaluation is needed. Find resources in this section to help professionals in evaluating their postadoption programs, including State and local examples.
How Adoptees Are Shaping Post-Adoption Services (PDF - 419 KB)
Kalb & Tucker (2019)
University of Massachusetts, Rudd Adoption Research Program
Examines trends in postadoption services, including the adoptee approach, in which services are created and provided based on input from adoptees themselves. The brief provides a listing of programs developed through this approach and explores implications for future adoption research, practice, and policy.
Implementation Science and Prevention in Action: Application in a Post-Permanency World (PDF - 1,662 KB)
Rolock, Ocasio, Webb, Fleary-Simmons, Cohen, & Fong (2018)
Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 16(1)
Describes the use of implementation science and intervention research in the application of the evidence-informed Tuning in to Teens (TINT) program for families with youth ages 10 to 13 who are at-risk for postpermanency discontinuity. Using the steps in this article, large public child welfare systems wanting to implement evidence-informed postpermanency services can learn how to select, adapt, and implement an intervention.
Parent, Child, and Adoption Characteristics Associated With Post-Adoption Support Needs (PDF - 231 KB)
Lee, Battalen, Brodzinsky, & Goldberg (2020)
Social Work Research, 44(1)
Offers evidence from the Modern Adoptive Families study on which parent, youth, and adoption characteristics are most associated with higher levels of need for postadoption support.
Post-Permanency Services
The California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse (CEBC) for Child Welfare
Provides access to a summary of practice topical areas and programs relevant to one or more major child welfare goals, including adoption permanency. The programs have been reviewed and rated by the CEBC in postpermanency services.
Remediating Child Attachment Insecurity: Evaluating the Basic Trust Intervention in Adoptive Families (PDF - 310 KB)
Zeegers, Colonnesi, Noom, Polderman, & Stams (2019)
Research on Social Work Practice, 30(7)
Presents an evaluation of the Basic Trust program, which aims to reduce attachment insecurity and problem behaviors in adopted children aged 2 to 12 years old.
The Step-by-Step Guide to Evaluation: How to Become Savvy Evaluation Consumers
W.K. Kellogg Foundation (2017)
Describes how to integrate an evaluation component into program design.
State and local examples
Evaluation Results from Catawba County, NC: Final Evaluation Report (PDF - 4,215 KB)
White, Rolock, Cho, Diamant-Wilson, & Fong (2019)
National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption & Guardianship Support and Preservation
Presents the results of an evaluation completed with the Catawba County Department of Social Services that examined the Reach for Success Program, which aims to increase postadoption engagement with success coaching services.
Evaluation Results From Illinois: Final Evaluation Report (PDF - 4,342 KB)
Rolock, White, Cho, Zhang, Diamant-Wilson, & Fong (2019)
National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption & Guardianship Support and Preservation
Examines an intervention, Trauma Affect Regulation: Guide for Education and Therapy (TARGET), to see if the program helped adoptive and guardianship families in Illinois experience lower levels of adoption disruption and improved well-being.
Evaluation Results From Tennessee: Final Evaluation Report (PDF - 6,713 KB)
Rolock, Diamant-Wilson, White, Cho, & Fong (2019)
National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption & Guardianship Support and Preservation
Describes an evaluation in Tennessee that examined whether counselors’ participation in the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT) helped families experience a reduction in postpermanency discontinuity and improved well-being.
Evaluation Results from Wisconsin: Final Evaluation Report (PDF - 4,829 KB)
Rolock, Diamant-Wilson, Blakey, Zhang, White, Cho, & Fong (2019)
National Quality Improvement Center for Adoption & Guardianship Support and Preservation (2019)
Presents an evaluation of the Adoption and Guardianship Enhanced Support (AGES) intervention used with service providers in Wisconsin to train them to better provide post-permanency support to families. Findings showed AGES workers felt more comfortable helping families make difficult decisions, equipping families with knowledge of available resources, assisting families with setting up services, navigating various systems, and more.
A Review of 10 Kinship and Adoption Navigator Programs: Introduction to OhioKAN Development Program (PDF - 576 KB)
Kinnect Ohio (2019)
Presents a review of 10 kinship and adoption navigator programs in Ohio and reviews funding for each, program service offerings, the evidence base for each program, implementation support materials, and more. The report also lists recommendations and lessons learned from existing programs.
Study Highlights Opportunity to Target Services to At-Risk Families to Improve Adoption Stability
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Famiilies, Children’s Bureau (2019)
Children’s Bureau Express, 20(9)
Presents the results of a study that examines foster care reentry and opportunities to improve adoption stability by targeting families at-risk of adoption disruption. Results found that factors most associated with postadoption reentry into foster care were a child being younger at the time of adoption and the child having more previous foster care placements. Findings may be useful in targeting families with postadoption services.