Prospective adoptive parents participate in the development and ongoing review of a service plan that is the basis for delivery of appropriate services and support.

Note: The service plan is sometimes referred to as the adoption plan, the life plan, or the contract.

NA The organization only provides homestudy and post placement services.

ICA 3.01

The adoption worker and prospective adoptive parents develop a service plan that includes:

a description of the family’s initial preference for the child’s characteristics;
timeframes for completing the adoption;
services and supports to be provided, and by whom;
acknowledgement that prospective adoptive parents understand the risks associated with intercountry adoption services; and
prospective adoptive parents’ signatures.

ICA 3.02

The worker and a supervisor, or service, or peer team, review the case quarterly to assess progress toward completing the adoption and continuing appropriateness of the service goals.

Interpretation: Experienced workers may conduct reviews of their own cases. In such cases, the worker's supervisor reviews a sample of the worker's evaluations as per the requirements of the standard.

ICA 3.03

Prospective adoptive parents receive regular updates on the status of their case, and the adoption worker and the prospective adoptive parents regularly review progress toward completing the adoption.

Interpretation: Updates should be provided at least quarterly, and when events occur that may delay the adoption process. Prospective adoptive parents should sign revisions to service goals and plans.

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	PURPOSE: Intercountry Adoption Services establish a permanent family for children who cannot be cared for or adopted in their country of origin and increase the well-being of adopted individuals and adoptive families.

RELATED FILES

ICA Private Template.doc
Intercountry Adoption (ICA) Service Profile.doc
NA Request.doc
ICA Reference List.pdf


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	SERVICE PLAN A written plan of action based on the assessment of consumer needs and strengths that identifies problems, sets goals, and describes a strategy for achieving those goals and engaging in joint problem solving with the consumer. Also known as a "treatment plan".


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	APPROPRIATENESS The degree to which a particular service, placement, treatment, intervention, or activity is: best suited to an individual's needs; not excessive, unduly intrusive, or restrictive; anticipated to be effective in achieving the desired and specified outcomes; and adequate or sufficient in quantity to address the problem.


	SERVICE GOALS Broad, issue-oriented statements that reflect the realistic achievements to be accomplished in the short or long term. Goals are achieved through the accomplishment of specific quantifiable objectives.


	SAMPLE A portion or representative percentage of a greater whole.


	EVALUATION The review and assessment of organizational operations, programs and services.