	Adoption Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

AS 12: Post-Adoption Services

Post-adoption services promote child and adult well-being and family functioning and stability.

Interpretation: The child's extended family and other community members should be considered as valuable resources when arranging post-adoption services, unless contraindicated.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, resources offered by the tribe ora local Indian organization should be considered.

NA The organization provides homestudy services only.

AS 12.01

When the need for post-adoption services is identified, the organization and the individual or family jointly develop a plan that specifies steps for obtaining these services.

Interpretation: The decision to develop a post-adoption service plan is based on the wishes of the adopted person, adoptive family, or the birth parents unless it is mandated.

AS 12.02

Children, birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted persons have access to needed post-adoption services that are culturally relevant and include:

assessments;
information and referral;
case management;
early intervention for children with developmental delays;
educational services;
counseling, mental health treatment, and crisis intervention services;
family preservation and stabilization services;
peer support;
transportation; and
respite services and out-of-home care.

Interpretation: The organization refers families to professionals with experience working in adoption services or with adopted families.

Research Note: Research studies demonstrate that adoptive families seek a wide array of post-adoption services, and needs may vary depending upon the type of adoption. Research and literature suggest that families often seek services in response to: issues of separation and loss, relationship problems, self-development and identity issues, and emotional and behavioral problems resulting from childhood abuse or neglect. Research has shown that financial support, medical services, and respite care were important to families that adopted children with special needs.

AS 12.03

The organization takes the initiative to explore suitable resources and contact service providers when appropriate, and with the permission of the person or family.

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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.


	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.


	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."


	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".


	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.


	DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY A condition in which a child has an ongoing, major delay in the achievement of one or more developmental milestones in the areas of language, cognitive, motor, and/or and social skills. A doctor usually diagnoses a developmental delay based on strict guidelines.


	MANAGEMENT See ADMINISTRATION


	CRISIS INTERVENTION The immediate response to the acute needs of a person in crisis including referral to appropriate community resources, advocacy, support, or direct assistance.


	OUT-OF-HOME CARE Services for persons living in environments outside of their usual households. Foster Care Services are considered to serve persons in out-of-home care.


	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.


	SPECIAL NEEDS A designation used in reference to conditions or characteristics of a person that reflect a need for special care, services, or treatment. When the term is used in the context of adoption services, special needs refers to conditions that make a child harder to place for adoption. This includes children who are members of sibling groups, older children, children with disabilities, children of certain racial /ethnic backgrounds, etc. When the term is used in the context of foster care it refers to the need for a higher degree of specialized case services and attention due to mental and physical disabilities. When the term is used in the context of out-of-school time services, a child or youth may have special physical, behavioral, medical, emotional, or cognitive needs that should be addressed or accommodated. The term is also used in other contexts. See also DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.