Category: Adoption from Foster Care
The vast majority of children who are placed for adoption from foster care are eligible for an adoption subsidy/assistance. It is also possible that a child who is not in the foster care system (so...
1. Applying after the adoption is finalized. Families should wait to have a signed subsidy agreement before proceeding to finalize the adoption. It is very rare to have an adoption subsidy agreem...
There are different types of adoption assistance that families may receive. Children can qualify for state or federal subsidies, and each state has discretion regarding the eligibility criteria and...
Three Shifts to Bridge the Gap Between Birth Families and Adoptive Families for the Adoptees We Love Adoption creates a split between a person's biology and biography, and openness is an essent...
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) released its annual Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) da...
For adopted individuals to be empowered to advocate for their healthcare needs, medical providers must know how to interact in an adoption identity affirming manner and create an environment where ...
Thanks to the participation of over 4,200 adoptive parents, NCFA collected an expansive volume of data through our 2021 survey. In our new report, we highlight some of the key findings of our analy...
ALEXANDRIA, VA (June 21, 2022) - National Council For Adoption was proud to present the 2022 Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux Award to Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Indiana Department of Chil...
Adoptions that take place across state lines often involve the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), an important legislative agreement to facilitate interstate child welfare rela...
Kinship adoption, in one form or another, has been around for centuries. And yet there is a significant lack of training and resources on how to support families navigating this pathway to permanen...
In this practical introductory guide to Dr. Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, learn how adoptive parents and professionals can implement the wisdom of the NMT, particularly The S...
An increasing number of adoptive families are single parent households where children have found permanency and are thriving with a Mom or Dad only. To learn how to best support these adoptive fami...
Funded as a cooperative agreement with the Children's Bureau, NTDC is led by Spaulding for Children in partnership with National Council For Adoption (NCFA), Center for Adoption Support and Educat...
Postadoption depression. It's more common than you may think, but it can be an uncomfortable thing for adoptive parents to talk about. Left unaddressed, postadoption depression, sometimes referred ...
For many expectant parents, a prenatal Down Syndrome diagnosis brings increased complexity to parenting decisions, whether the pregnancy was planned or unplanned. This issue of the Adoption Advocat...
ALEXANDRIA, VA, June 9, 2021 - National Council For Adoption (NCFA) supports the passage of S. 1156 and H.R. 3031, the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2021 (ATCRA). The proposed legislatio...
Can military families adopt while a parent is on active duty? Should military families avoid adoption due to deployments and frequent moves? What do adoption professionals need to know and practice...
America's foster care system is in crisis. Despite real efforts to effect change, over 120,000 children remain in the system awaiting a permanent family through adoption. Finding the right families...
Transparent and effective child advocacy requires adoption agencies to weigh important ethical considerations and follow best practices. In this issue of the Adoption Advocate, Jennifer Lanter and ...
People who are interested in adopting are often worried about their ability to come up with the necessary funds for the adoption process. They may also wonder how they can afford the services requi...
Download PDF At various times throughout the year, we are immersed as a culture in times of annual celebration that are strongly linked to traditions, memories, friends, and family. Whi...
With proper financial planning, adoption can be an affordable option for many families. Whether you're interested in adoption grants or loans, the list below includes some of the resources availa...
Updated November 2022 Across the United States, there are nearly 114,000 children and teens waiting for permanency with a loving, nurturing family. Get the facts and resources you need to decide if...
A Note from NCFA: Adoption by the Numbers has now been updated! Please visit adoptioncouncil.org/numbers to see the 2022 report. Adoption: By the Numbers National Council For Adoption's Adoption:...
My life changed completely when adoption became part of my story. Adoption encouraged me to become more empathetic, compassionate, understanding, and mature. Adoption led me to a life lived intimate...
Weaving Hope Into Heartache – A Parent’s Perspective If you’re an adoptive parent like me who has had the benefit of training and education rooted in TBRI, then you know how essential Th...
It's not often that you remember exactly where you were when reading a book more than 13 years ago, but I do remember reading a manuscript of Dr. Karyn Purvis' The Connected Child. I was on a...
Updated for Fall 2022 When educators and parents work together to support adopted children in the classroom, great things can happen! But this requires both teachers and parents to be properly inf...
The decision to become a parent brings one of life's greatest joys and carries with it a whole host of commitments and responsibilities to provide for the many needs children have: from the basics ...
View and Download PDF Tricia loved being a mom. When she and Sam married after college graduation, they had dreamed of having a large family. By their tenth anniversary, they had two da...
In honor of National Foster Care Month, NCFA has been sharing voices and perspectives on our blog and social media channels from former foster youth, foster and adoptive parents, and profession...
Uplifting Youth Voices During National Foster Care Month & COVID-19 Entering this new chapter of leadership at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), I am excited to enga...
Breaking Jurisdictional Barriers in Older Child Adoptions from Foster Care She scanned the room of the various individuals who came to learn more about adoption from foster care, and after ...
In May, we recognize National Foster Care Awareness Month. In the same breath, we advocate for children in foster care who wait for adoptive families. To many, this duality can be confusing. Foster...
Having followed Tori on social media for awhile, I knew that she would have a unique perspective to share with the adoption community during National Foster Care Month, and she was kind enough ...
NCFA has been a strong advocate of the Adoption Tax Credit (ATC) since its inception, because it is a fiscally responsible way to help more American families who want to provide a permanent, lo...
Introduction Now more than ever, adoption agency personnel are being asked to help parents understand pediatric medical and mental health complexities. Whether children are adopted internationally,...
NCFA's "Choosing an Adoption Agency" from 2014 has been one of our most popular Adoption Advocates1. It's been recommended as a resource by the Today Show, NBC Dateline, and RESOLVE: The Nationa...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released their Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System data for FY 2018, capturing data from October 1, 2017, to September 3...
Adoption in the U.S., originally focused on placing healthy infants, has evolved to the point that now the majority of children available for placement either have recognized medical problems or ar...
The decision to begin or grow your family through adoption is certainly life-changing and rewarding. This decision can also bring with it a great deal of uncertainty and emotion. One hundred years a...
Over the past century, transracial adoption in America has become more and more common. In this issue of the Adoption Advocate, Alexis Oberdorfer shares about the history of transracial adoption an...
Feeding and mealtimes are rich with opportunities for families to build trust and attachment, but when things aren’t going well, those opportunities are lost. From hoarding to picky eating, worr...
Words matter so much, especially when we’re speaking about something as deeply personal as adoption. Accurate adoption language can help stop the spread of misconceptions about adoption and reflec...
Curiosity about who we are, where we came from, and our significance in life is universal. Today, opportunities abound to search family history to fill in the missing pieces of the past, whether a f...
Thirty years of research shows that positive interactions between a child and primary caregiver(s) significantly impacts brain development. Studies show that children raised in family-based care (bi...
how to adopt Considering adoption? You probably have a lot of questions. How does the process work? Do I qualify? What are the options? How can I afford adoption? Isn't it really expensive? Who d...
Introduction Historically, private adoption agencies were founded to work on domestic infant and international adoptions. As time has passed and new policies and best practices have been established...
In recognition of the extraordinary leadership that has resulted in measurable progress towards addressing the crisis our nation faces, with more than 100,000 U.S. children in foster care who need p...
May is National Foster Care Month. In this month's issue of NCFA's Adoption Advocate, Dr. Wayne Sharp lays out the enormous social and economic cost when youth age out of foster care - as approxim...
Family is not about blood, it’s about who is willing to hold your hand when you need it most. –Unknown National Adoption Month: An Anniversary Month of Reflection I’m always grateful that Doro...