Links for Foster Parents
Indiana Child Welfare Manual
http://www.in.gov/fssa/families/protection/cwmanual.html
Contains the complete manual of rules and policies relating to foster children and foster parents. Updated monthly. A good resource for foster parents who wish to know their rights.
Adoption and Foster Care Reporting and Analysis System (AFCARS)
These two websites provide statistics on foster care, adoptions from foster care, and foster/adopt parents nationwide and state-by-state. AFCARS provides this critical date to federal, state, and private agencies.
AFCARS
NOTE: The data does not include private adoptions. The Administration for
Children & Families(ACF), operating as the Children's Bureau, uses the data
in its annual report to Congress.
Another AFCARS website, provided by Cornell University, offers the same statistics/reports as ACF (same numbers), but is more specific and technical (more categories) and just as up to date.
Fostering Families Today Magazine
http://www.fosteringfamiliestoday.com
Fostering Families Today magazine is about you: the parents, children and dedicated professionals of foster care and domestic adoption.
Casey Family Programs
http://www.casey.org
1300 Dexter Avenue
North Floor 3
Seattle, WA 98109-3542
206-282-7300
Casey Family Programs' mission is to provide and improve and ultimately to prevent the need for foster care. Established by United Parcel Service founder Jim Casey, we are a Seattle-based national operating foundation that has served children, youth, and families in the child welfare system since 1966. We operate in two ways. We provide direct services, and we promote advances in child-welfare practice and policy. We collaborate with foster, kinship, and adoptive parents to provide safe, loving homes for youth in our direct care. We also collaborate with counties, states, and American Indian and Alaska Native tribes to improve services and outcomes for the more than 500,000 young people in out-of-home care across the U.S.
Foster Parent Network
http://www.fosterparentnet.org
We are a web site devoted entirely to helping foster parents do the difficult, yet vital, job of caring for foster kids. On this site you will find information about: Starting, leading and facilitating foster parent support groups; online courses; discussion and chat groups; relevant web site; resources.
Foster Family Treatment Association
http://www.ffta.org
294 Union Street
Hackensack, New Jersey 07601
800-414-3382
FFTA is committed to enhancing the lives of children within families through strengthening family-based organizations.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children's Bureau
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb
370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20447
The Children's Bureau (CB) is the oldest federal agency for children and is located within the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families. It is responsible for assisting States in the delivery of child welfare services - services designed to protect children and strengthen families. The agency provides grants to States, Tribes and communities to operate a range of child welfare services including child protective services (child abuse and neglect) family preservation and support, foster care, adoption and independent living. In addition, the agency makes major investments in staff training, technology and innovative programs.
Child Welfare League of America
http://www.cwla.org
440 First Street, NW, Third Floor
Washington, DC 20001-2085
202-638-2952
The Child Welfare League of America is the nation's oldest and largest membership-based child welfare organization. We are committed to engaging people everywhere in promoting the well-being of children, youth and their families, and protecting every child from harm.
National Foster Parents Association
http://www.kidsource.com/NFPA
P.O. BOX 81
Alpha, Ohio, 45301-0081
Phone: (800) 557-5238
The National Foster Parent Association (NFPA) is a nonprofit, volunteer organization established in 1972, with tax exempt status under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue code. The purpose of NFPA is:
- To bring together foster parents, agency representatives and community people who wish to work together to improve the foster care system and enhance the lives of all children and families.
- To promote mutual coordination, cooperation and communication among foster parents, Foster Parent Associations, child care agencies and other child advocates
- To encourage the recruitment and retention.
ADOPTION RESOURCES
AdoptUSKids- The Children's Bureau
http://www.adoptuskids.org
AdoptUSKids.org is a national photo listing service for children awaiting adoption across the United States. You may "Meet the Children" by searching our photolisting.
North American Council on Adoptable Children
http://www.nacac.org
970 Raymond Avenue, Suite 106
St. Paul, MN 55114
phone: 651-644-3036
fax: 651-644-9848
Founded in 1974 by adoptive parents, the North American Council on Adoptable Children is committed to meeting the needs of waiting children and the families who adopt them. Since its inception, NACAC's mission has remained essentially unchanged: Every child has the right to a permanent family. The Council advocates the right of every child to a permanent, continuous, nurturing and culturally sensitive family.
Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
http://www.adoptioninstitute.org
The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute is committed to developing and implementing a high quality education program that responds to the needs of adoption professionals and others who work in the field. A key component of this program is the sponsoring of a major national conference every two years.
The Dave Thomas Foundation
http://www.davethomasfoundationforadoption.org
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to increasing the adoptions of the more than 150,000 children in North America's foster care system. Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's International, created the Foundation in 1992 in support of the vision that every child deserves a permanent home and a loving family. The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption focuses on increasing adoption awareness while supporting model adoption service programs.
YOU GOTTA BELIEVE
http://www.yougottabelieve.org
You Gotta Believe is an agency located in Brooklyn, New York, that finds permanent homes for children over the age of ten. Founder Pat O’Brien focused on this group because many agencies found this age group to be unadoptable. Rather that advertising the children to unknown prospective adoptive parents, this agency seeks adults with whom the child already has a relationship, truly a child-centered approach. Adoptions vary from full permanent placements to a permanent mentoring in which the adult is always there for the child. Post-adoption support is an important part of the agency’s mission.
A Place Called Home: An Adoption Story
"Must-see" award-winning documentary DVD on the second largest family adoption in US history. The heartwarming and down-to-earth story of one family's struggle to adopt nine children in the face of overwhelming odds. Sensitive and affectionate in its portrayal, the film chronicles the evolution of the adoption in the home and in the courts from moments of doubt to hope and triumph. A rare glimpse into the emotional bonding of two families. For more information and how to order, go to:
www.aplacecalledhome.info
A Child's Best Interests (ACBI)
ACBI is a national child advocacy organization working for children who face the loss of their bonded families outside the realm of divorce/custody cases. We are unique in that we work on a case by case effort.
www.achildsbestinterest.org