Overview Designing services that effectively meet the needs of individuals and families in rural communities has posed challenges across multiple sectors. People living in these areas frequently encounter significant barriers when trying to access essential supports, including medical and behavioral … Read More
Adoption
Building Sustainable Post-Permanency Support Systems: A Strengths-Based Framework for Child Welfare Leaders
Post-permanency programs help adoptive, guardianship, and kinship families build on the stability, commitment, and relational strengths that made permanency possible. Child welfare leaders need to create a coordinated support system that honors family expertise, responds early, and reinforces resilience before … Read More
The Hidden Realities of Post-Adoption Estrangement: Why Post-Permanency Support Must Prioritize Relationships
Adoption and guardianship are often celebrated as a joyful conclusion to a child’s journey through the child welfare system. But neither adoption nor guardianship is the finish line it is the beginning of a lifelong relationship. While legal permanency marks … Read More
Adoption and Guardianship Preparation Training (AGPT)
Designed to prepare prospective adoptive and guardianship parents deepen their awareness and understanding about themselves and their children and to help build a strong foundation and lasting commitment for families who pursue adoption/guardianship. The curriculum is divided into four sessions, … Read More
Spark the Conversation
Purpose of this guide This guide is designed to help child welfare professionals lead conversations while watching WhenWe Have Each Other: Teen Adoption Stories. It offers practical strategies to spark reflection, encourageopen discussion, normalize mixed feelings, and center youth voice … Read More
Adoption and Guardianship for Children in Kinship Foster Care
The laws dictating how adoption and guardianship are granted, by which court, and what those options entail are developed at the state and tribal levels, so the intricacies for obtaining these legal relationships differ. The Brief The brief provides general … Read More
Helping Children Understand Their Adoption Stories
Talking openly with children about their adoption and empowering them to do so as well is important both for the child and the relationship; keeping an adoption a secret is never a good idea. However, just knowing that it is … Read More
Increased Use of Extended Foster Care Allows More Young People to Benefit
The transition to adulthood is a critical developmental milestone for all young adults, marked by identity exploration, increased autonomy, and growth and learning as youth finish school and enter the workforce. During emerging adulthood, many young people continue to receive monetary and emotional support from … Read More
Teens Need Families
Thousands of teens in foster care are looking for the love, support, and encouragement that families provide throughout their lives—not just until they turn 18 This year, more than 20,000 young people will leave foster care without a family. Many … Read More
Promoting Reunification as a Kin Caregiver
As a kin caregiver, you play an important role in the child welfare system by helping support the family connections that are essential to a child’s health and well-being. Because kin caregivers must navigate the often-blurred line between being a … Read More