	Adoption Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

AS 4: Service Planning and Monitoring

Birth parents, youth, and prospective adoptive parents participate in the development and ongoing review of service plans that are the basis for delivery of services and support.

Interpretation: Service goals should be identified for birth parents, the child, and the prospective adoptive family. Generally, separate plans are developed for each involved party, but in some circumstances it may be appropriate to add the child’s goals to one of the other service plans.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, resources available through the tribe or local Indian organization should be considered when developing the service plan.

Note: The contract signed by prospective adoptive families can be considered a service plan.

NA The organization only provides Foster Care to Adoption Services.

NA The organization provides homestudy services only.

NA The organization provides post placement services only.

AS 4.01

The service plan is based on the assessment, and includes:

agreed upon goals, desired outcomes, and timeframes for achieving them;
services, education, and supports to be provided, and by whom; and
the service recipient’s signature.

Interpretation: The organization should recognize the value of incorporating culturally-grounded interventions into the service plan, and include traditional practices or customs of the child's culture, tribe, or faith-based community to the greatest extent possible and appropriate.

AS 4.02

The worker and a supervisor, or a service or peer team, regularly review each case to assess:

service plan implementation;
progress toward achieving service goals and desired outcomes; and
the continuing appropriateness of agreed upon service goals.

Interpretation: The review should occur:

weekly for infants and monthly for all other children awaiting adoption;
at least quarterly for prospective adoptive parents;
according to milestones in the pregnancy of expectant parents; and
at least quarterly for birth parents.

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.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, a representative from the tribe or a local Indian organization should receive timely notification of case reviews, be given an opportunity to participate, and be informed of any changes made to the plan. The case review should include an assessment for compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act.

AS 4.03

The worker regularly reviews progress toward achievement of goals with birth parents, prospective adoptive families, and youth, and revisions to the goals and plans are signed.

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	PURPOSE: Adoption Services establish a permanent family for children and youth awaiting adoption, and increase the well-being and functioning of birth parents, adoptive families, and adopted individuals.

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."


	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".


	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.


	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.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	INDIAN ORGANIZATION As defined in ICWA, "Any group, association, partnership, cooperation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians."


	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."


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	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.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	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.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	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.


	SAMPLE A portion or representative percentage of a greater whole.


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


	CASE REVIEW A regular and periodic examination of a consumer's service needs, service delivery goals and objectives, intervention plans, prognoses, and the timelines required to achieve them. The direct service provider and supervisor frequently conduct the case review, but it may also involve others, as in an interdisciplinary or inter-organizational case conference. The client, or the parent or legal guardian in the case of a minor, are included in his/her periodic case review by the team.