Provides information regarding the licensing and certification process for adoption and foster parenting including kinship fostering. Works with local agencies to recruit people who are interested in becoming foster/adoptive parents. Assists with applying for Cash Assistance and other financial assistance for kinship caregivers. Provides information about and referrals to community resources. Orientation meeting schedules are available on the website.

Arizona Department of Child Safety Foster Care & Adoption | Arizona Department of Child Safety Foster Care & Adoption

Programs that assess the needs and capabilities of children who have been relinquished for adoption, compile the children's social and medical histories, make arrangements for care and supervision of the children prior to placement, evaluate prospective adoptive applicants including a review of adoptive home studies, if available, and select and approve prospective adoptive homes.

Adoption Evaluation/Placement

Programs that link individuals who are in need of alternative living arrangements with appropriate private family homes that are licensed to provide foster care. Licensing requirements vary from state to state and, in some situations, licensing is not required at all. Programs that provide placement services for children and adults with disabilities are generally also responsible for recruiting, training, certifying and monitoring placements in family homes and for providing support for the family and the individual(s) with disabilities who live with them.

Foster Home Placement

Programs that establish and enforce health, safety and program standards for foster homes, review applications for licenses, issue or deny licenses, inspect facilities for compliance with requirements and revoke licenses or bring disciplinary action for noncompliance.

Foster Home Licensing

Programs that provide information about the different types of adoption that are available as options and the requirements and procedures for adopting another individual for birth parents, adoptive parents and people who have been adopted. Included are programs that facilitate the adoption process by compiling information about children who are available for adoption in sharable formats such as photo albums, newsletters, video tapes or media campaigns (e.g., newspaper stories or television segments) that feature a particular adoptable child; and arranging activities such as picnics where prospective adoptive parents and children can meet informally. Also included are programs that provide referrals to organizations that offer adoption-related services a family might need.

Adoption Information/Referrals

Programs that meet with individuals who wish to adopt a child to evaluate the home environment in which the adopted child would reside and establish the suitability of the individuals to become adoptive parents. The studies explore people's reasons for wanting to adopt, their personalities, habits, life experiences and parenting ability or potential as a means of determining the kind of child best suited for placement in their home.

Adoptive Home Studies

Programs that provide temporary family living arrangements in agency-supervised private family homes for children who have been relinquished for adoption but have not yet been permanently placed. Some programs may also provide care for infants while birth parents decide whether to parent or place their child for adoption.

Preadoptive Foster Care

Programs that identify and enlist individuals and couples who are willing to provide a permanent home and new legal parentage for children who have been relinquished for adoption, particularly for children who have special needs.

Adoptive Family Recruitment

Provides guidance about the adoption process and offers post-placement support.

Catholic Charities Community Services Adoption Services | Catholic Charities Community Services Adoption Services

Programs that provide guidance and support following placement of a child to help the adopting family through the early period of adjustment or thereafter as needed.

Postadoption Counseling and Support

Programs that provide guidance and support for potential adoptive parents including assistance in understanding and evaluating the impact of adoption on their own lives.

Preadoption Counseling and Support

Programs that specialize in handling adoptions which allow for some form of association among birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees. In open adoptions, information about the adoptive parents and the birth parents (e.g., last names, addresses, and telephone numbers) is exchanged providing an opportunity for the adopted child to develop a relationship with his or her birth family. Whether ongoing contact is monthly, annually or sporadic depends on the parties and is generally decided by them rather than an agency or lawyer.

Open Adoption

Recruits, trains, and certifies people interested in fostering or adopting children placed in the legal custody of the state. Offers home study and post-placement services for attorney-facilitated adoptions and international placing agencies. Also provides post-adoption support groups.

Arizona's Children Association Foster Care/Adoption Services | Arizona's Children Association Foster Care/Adoption Services

Programs that identify and enlist people who are willing to provide foster care for dependent children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect or abandonment and need an alternative family living arrangement, or for children or adults with developmental disabilities, sensory impairments, physical disabilities, emotional problems or multiple disabilities who are unable to live with their birth families or in an independent setting. Programs that recruit families to provide foster care for children and adults with disabilities are generally also responsible for training, certifying and monitoring placements in family homes and for providing support for the family and the individual(s) with disabilities who live with them.