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May Is National Foster Care Month
Building Well-Being Postpermanency
Access to a range of postpermanency services is critical to increasing well-being for children and youth. In this section, child welfare professionals can find resources that provide information about postpermanency support for reunification, kinship care, guardianship, and adoption.
Spotlight On...
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011
(PDF - 5458 KB)Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics (2011)
Presents indicators measuring seven domains—family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment, safety, behavior, education, and health—that help influence the likelihood that a child will grow into a productive adult. The report also includes a special feature on adoption, including adoptions from foster care.
Reunification
Issues and Challenges in Aftercare Services: A Literature Review
(PDF - 1229 KB)Northern California Training Academy (2009)
Aims to help child welfare professionals recognize potential risk factors that are present when children are returned home from foster care and presents aftercare strategies that may contribute to better outcomes.
National Reunification Month
Provides information and resources to celebrate families and recognize the important accomplishments of parents and the many professionals that support them in reuniting with their children.
Kinship Care
Caring Communities Demonstration Project, Clark County, Nevada: Final Report 2003–2009
Caring Communities Demonstration Project (2010)
Describes a systems of care approach that increased the use of kinship care and improved child safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes.
Kinship Guardianship Assistance Practice Guide
(PDF - 1208 KB)New York State Office of Children and Family Services (2011)
Offers a resource for caseworkers who are assisting related foster parents in determining whether legal guardianship with support from the New York Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KinGAP) is an appropriate permanency option for children under their foster care.
Guardianship
Guardianship: A Web-Based Primer
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (2012)
Presents an overview of guardianship issues and an array of resources, including research, an organizational self-study guide, and State policies, procedures, and practices.
Increase Exits From Foster Care to Guardianship
Center for the Study of Social & PolicyForResults (2011)
Examines exits from foster care to guardianship using a results-based framework that links data on child and family well-beings to specific policy strategies.
Adoption
Keeping the Promise: The Critical Need for Post-Adoption Services to Enable Children and Families to Succeed
(PDF - 1003 KB)Evan B. Donaldson Institute (2010)
Presents a comprehensive compilation of knowledge about postadoption services, including recommendations for improvements to help ensure the child's well-being after adoption.
Post-Adoption Services: Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Children Adopted From Foster Care
(PDF - 158 KB)North American Council on Adoptable Children (2007)
Provides information on the mental health needs of children adopted from foster care, including a description of the services needed and available financial assistance. State examples of effective postadoption service programs are also included.