	Intercountry Adoption Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

ICA 7: Post-Placement and Post-Adoption Services

Post-placement services help the family finalize the adoption, and post-adoption services promote child well-being and acculturation, and family functioning and stability.

Research Note: Research has shown that families receiving post-adoption services: are less likely to experience disruption; feel closer to their adopted child; experience higher levels of marital satisfaction; and experience the adoption as having a more positive impact on the family as a whole.

NA The organization only provides Home Study services.

ICA 7.01

Adoptive parents receive assistance finalizing the adoption.

ICA 7.02

Adoptive parents receive assistance in obtaining needed medical evaluation, consultation, and treatment services for the child.

Interpretation: The child should receive an initial screening within the first 2-3 weeks of his or her arrival. Provision of information about the child’s medical needs and treatment options can help parents plan for the care of their child.

ICA 7.03

Adoptive families receive needed services directly or by referral including:

post-placement reports on the child’s progress, when requested by the country of origin;
developmental and educational services;
mental health services;
therapeutic services to improve the child’s attachment, behavior, and social skills;
individual, family, or marriage counseling;
respite care; and
re-placement of the child if the adoptive placement is disrupted before finalization.

Research Note: Studies have shown that parents who receive post-placement services have a higher level of satisfaction transitioning the child into the new family.

ICA 7.04

Adoptive families are encouraged to celebrate the adopted person’s racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage and support the child’s adaptation to a new culture.

Interpretation: Opportunities to celebrate the adopted person’s heritage can be provided through peer support and connections with individuals who share the child’s heritage.

ICA 7.05

The organization ensures that records of service recipients:

contain social and medical information necessary to provide services and anticipate the adopted child’s and adoptive family’s future needs;
are maintained in a confidential, secure manner; and
are accessible to adoptive families according to applicable law and organizational procedure.

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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


	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."


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


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


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


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.