Adoption Assistance Payments- If a child has been adopted through the foster care system, aid, in the form of financial reimbursement, special therapies, insurance etc is available to them in most states. If you are planning to foster-adopt, you should very carefully consider signing a waiver to not accept this aid. Some states will ask you to sign a waiver, but then if you child becomes ill it can be costly. If your child needs extra therapies it is helpful to save receipts, get medical prescriptions and document the need for what you are requesting.
Adoption Assistance
- Adoption Subsidy-Government Site on Child Welfare, links to adoption assistance information as well as other information on foster care and adoption, child welfare, and child abuse.
- Adoption Aid by State -Same government site, navigated differently.
- California Department of Social Services- Adoptions-If you are applying for adoption assistance in California, contact your adoptions worker or the county in which the adoption took place. If you aren’t sure, start here.
- Orange County, CA Adoption Assistance -If your child was adopted in Orange County, Ca start here.
Foreign Adoption
- Department of US Citizenship & Immigration- When you adopt a child from a foreign country, it is a good idea to be informed of what that child and you as his/her family will be dealing with.
- Department of State-Country by country listing of adoption processes.
Therapy/Education
- ATTACh -Association of Treatment an Training in the Attachment of Children. If you are seeking treatment for a child that may be having difficulties in attachment and/or is exhibiting extreme behavioral problems, research is recommended. Many para-professionals claim to treat these children with methods that are out of the normal outpatient therapy parameters. If you have questions, do some research, talk to your doctor, and interview carefully. Attach has some treatment guidelines (protocols) that they use that are aimed at keeping families safe and together.
Respite Care
- The Ranch What do you do when you have a 16 year old that is way too old for childcare but cannot be out of line-of-sight supervision because they are dangerous? Yes, creativity…. Well here is the Ranch camp as seen is People magazine and in the Hallmark movie. Do I need to say use good judgment? If you have a social worker, you need to get the go ahead before sending your kid to camp. You should always ask about how a camp is certified in their state and ask for references.
Books
- Tapestry Books is an adoption online bookstore and has an extensive selection of books on adoption, parents considering adoption, parenting adopting kids, lifebooks, etc.
- A Family Bookshelf is my Amazon store and books are arranged topically. There are some on adoption as well as grief and general parenting.