Post Adoption Services Needed
NYS CCC Calls for $6 Million to Develop Statewide Services

The NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children urges an appropriation of $6 million in order to develop a vitally-needed statewide program of post adoption services.

As a result of the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act, and New York City's stepped-up efforts, adoptions of NYS foster children are increasing. However, sufficient services are not available to make sure the adoptions are successful. Post adoption services is the greatest unmet need in adoption today.

Most children who are adopted from foster care have backgrounds of abuse and/or neglect, prenatal drug exposure, and medical or psychological problems and risks. If the children remain in foster care, agencies are obliged to provide an array of services. But the services cease at the time of adoption. Therefore, service-needy foster children in New York can be disadvantaged by adoption.

The need for the services has never been greater. From 1993 to 1997, adoptions of New York State foster children climbed from 3,031 to 5,008--a 64% increase. In 1998, approximately 4,800 adoptions were finalized; 4,747 were finalized in 1999. The average length of time the children were in foster care before adoption was a little over six years.

While we celebrate the adoptions, we despair the loss of agency services that results. If the children had remained in foster care, the agencies would have been obliged to continue to provide an array of services, but the services ceased at the time of adoption. The unfortunate reality is that service-needy foster children may have been disadvantaged by their adoptions.

Many more foster families and others would be willing to adopt if they knew continuing services would be available. Responsible parents cannot risk adoption when it means losing the services their children need.

Making sure families have the help they need protects our investment in adoption. Otherwise, without ongoing access to services, a return to foster care can be the tragic--and expensive--outcome. Last year, 805 New York State children were back in foster care as a result of disrupted adoptions, resulting in increased foster care costs of over $12 million per year (based on a conservative estimate of $15,000 per child, per year).

All adopted children, whatever their background, have been separated from and have experienced the loss of their birthparents. They have unanswered questions about their history and birth connections and face extra emotional and developmental challenges resulting from the realities of adoption.

For all adoptees and their families, adoption is a lifelong process. Therefore, services must be available to all whenever they are needed. The following essential services should be included in a comprehensive post adoption program:

• Respite Care
• Advocacy Services
• Crisis Response Teams
• Information and referral
• Educational Parenting Programs
• Access to Birth and Adoption Records
• Case Management and Service Planning
• Residential Placement and Treatment Services
• Support Groups for Adoptive Parents, Birthparents, and Adoptees
• Therapeutic Counseling: Diagnosis and Assessment; Individual, Family, and Group Counseling/Therapy

All services in an effective program must be open to all adoptive families, both pre and post finalization, at no cost. The services must be implemented on a statewide basis and have statewide coordination to assure consistency in service delivery. There should be a single entry point (toll free number, 24/7) for all post adoption service requests, and all service providers must be adoption-competent. Finally, the program needs to be rigorously evaluated, with pre-established performance measures, by outside evaluators.

We strongly believe New York State must make a financial commitment to post adoption services. It is a form of after-care that must be available in a continuum of services in order to safeguard the well-being of adoptive families throughout the state.

We are calling for a state budget appropriation of at least $6 million to the NYS Office of Children and Family Services in order to develop a vitally-needed statewide program of post adoption services.

We hope adoption advocates throughout the state will join in efforts to make this a reality. Contact the Coalition office in Ithaca, 607-272-0034, for more information, and email office@nysccc.org to become a part of our email advocacy network.

03/14/03