Post-Adoption Services in the United States

Though many adoptive parents might initially disagree, the period leading up to an adoption is often perceived as perhaps the easiest part of the process. While the matching of adoptive parents to child has a significant impact on the ultimate success of the adoption process, post-adoption services, such as counseling, can be critical to the adjustment and well-being of parents and child.

In a recent study by the Donaldson Adoption Institute, researchers looked at the different types of post-adoption services offered across the United States, including who is eligible to receive them and how they are funded. Specifically, the study evaluated:

• The types of educational programs and materials available
• Information and referral programs
• Therapeutic and counseling opportunities
• Residential services
• Support mechanisms
• Advocacy programs

Forty nine states participated in the study. Researchers found that nearly 75% (36 of the 49) had at least mid-level services, whereas 17 states had developed a number of the above services. Thirteen states had no special services for adoptive families other than an adoption tax credit or subsidy.

The study also found that the majority of states—28—only offered post-adoption services to families who had adopted children through a foster care program.

Contact Adoption Attorneys Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC

At the law office of Cofsky & Zeidman, LLC, our lawyers bring more than 25 years of experience to every matter we handle. Attorney Donald C. Cofsky has personally handled more than 1,500 adoption proceedings since joining the bar in 1974. Attorney Bruce D. Zeidman has protected the interests of clients in state and federal courts in New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 1984. We understand the challenges you face, and can help you identify all your options so that you can make good decisions that are in your best long-term interests.

Contact our office online or call us at (856) 429-5005 in Haddonfield, NJ, at (856) 429-5005 in Woodbury, NJ, or in Philadelphia, PA, at (856) 429-5005.