Adoption from the Public Child Welfare System

1. Adoptionfrom the Public Child Welfare System

2. A Brief Legislative History of the Child Welfare System • This link provides access to a PDF file that provides a history of the legislative side of the public child welfare system. The site does a great job providing an overview of many programs that have influenced foster care children, such as: • Aid to Dependant Children/TANF • The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 • Multi-Ethnic Placement Act (MEPA) • The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) http://pewfostercare.org/research/docs/Legislative.pdf

3. Child Welfare Information Gateway The Child Welfare Information Gateway is a great website for general adoption information. The site provides information on ethics, laws, placement, parenting after adoption, and post-adoption services and issues. Many of these topics are problems that are faced by adoptive parents of children from the public welfare system. The most important aspect of this website is the section about the post adoption issues and services available to adoptive parents. http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

4. Costs of Adoption The link above is directly to a PDF file located on the internet. The PDF file is a six page document that outlines the different costs of adoption. The figures are presented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There is a great section related to the low costs of doing Foster to adopt or adopting from the foster care system. There is also a helpful section about adoption subsidies available for children adopted from the public welfare system Range of Costs: http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/s_cost/s_costs.pdf • Foster Care Adoptions $0 – $2,500 • Licensed Private Agency Adoptions $5,000 – $40,000+ • Independent Adoptions $8,000 – $40,000+ • Facilitated/Unlicensed Adoptions $5,000 – $40,000+ • Inter Country Adoptions $7,000 – $30,000

5. The Role of the Single Mother in Adoption of Children from the Child Welfare System • This link provides a great opportunity to read about the role of the single mother in the public welfare adoption field. • Interesting Facts Include: • Single adoptive mothers are more likely to be the child’s foster care parent • The average age of a child adopted by a single mother is 7.2 years • Single mothers were more likely to adopt older children or those with different racial or ethnic backgrounds. • Single mother were not likely to adopt children with special medical needs or sibling groups http://www.cwla.org/programs/adoption/singlemother.htm

6. Spaulding for Children About Spaulding: Spaulding for Children is a private, non-profit adoption agency. They are committed to finding families to adopt children that are older, children from the Child Welfare system. They do not believe in charging any fees for adoption services. Ten Steps to Becoming a Foster/Adoptive Parent: Attend a pre-service orientation Learn more about the topic Complete a foster/adoptive home assessment Approval Child search for adoption Waiting period Placement Post placement Adoption finalization Post adoption services http://www.spaulding.org/

7. Children& Family Services: ADOPTION This link provides a great introduction to learning more about becoming a foster/adoptive parent of a child in the public welfare system. Although designed for the state of California, the PDF file contains great basic information for potential adoptive parents. The website shares what unique characteristics adoptive parents should have in order to think about adopting from the public welfare system. The website also provides considerations that adoptive parents should be aware of before starting the process of adopting from the public welfare system. http://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/DocumentView.aspx?DID=5235

8. Adopt US Kids:Children in Foster Care Awaiting Adoption This website provides a photo listing of many children in the United States awaiting their Forever Families. These children are mostly in the public child welfare system, and have had difficultly finding placements. The children’s pictures, videos and biography’s are listed on the website, and a search feature can help potential adoptive parents locate children to adopt into their family. http://www.adoptuskids.org/

9. Adopt Ohio The Ohio Department of Children and Family Services provides a website for potential adoptive parents. The website provides a great deal of information about the children waiting for families in Ohio’s public welfare system. For example: “On any given day, over 22,000 children are living in foster families or in another out-of-home placement setting” There are many great links on this website that are helpful for any potential adoptive family, but most definitely for families looking to adopt from the public child welfare system. http://jfs.ohio.gov/oapl/

10. Local Public Welfare Adoption Agencies The agencies listed below are located in the Cleveland Ohio area and are great starting points for any potential adoptive family: Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services http://cfs.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/foster-adoptive-parents.aspx Beech Brook: http://www.beechbrook.org Caring For Kids, INC. http://www.cfkadopt.org/

11. YouTube Videos about Adoption from the Public Child Welfare System: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn-1QtlzRHU&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1kk34VRN1g&feature=related

12. Created By:Brittany Bynum Mandel School of Applied Social SciencesCase Western Reserve UniversityFebruary 19, 2011