You will find several links below with resources ranging from advocacy, education, laws and policies, special needs, support services, and many other resources related to adoption, kinship, and foster care.
AASK Adopt A Special Kid believes that every child has the right to a safe, stable and nurturing home and that all children are adoptable. Adopt A Special Kid provides education and support services to adoptive and foster families and children. We promote positive changes to benefit children who are in the child welfare system.
A Family For Every Child Free Matching Assistance – The free program is designed to assist current approved home studied families looking to adopt waiting foster children. It works with families and their adoption workers to help them be placed with a waiting foster child. The goal is to work alongside families, providing them with one-on-one communication, assurance, and support during the submission and waiting process.
American Bar Association on Children and the Law – The mission of the Center is to improve children’s lives through advances in law, justice, knowledge, practice and public policy. The Center began in 1978 out of the American Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division. Starting as a small legal resource center, it has grown into a full-service technical assistance, training, and research program addressing a broad spectrum of law and court-related topics affecting children. Our first conference, Advocating for Children in the Courts, started a biannual tradition. One of our early books, Foster Children in the Courts, prompted three decades of work improving foster care legal systems and raising the level and quality of advocacy for children and families.
Adoption Learning Partners – The vision of Adoption Learning Partners is to make a positive measurable impact on adoption outcomes. Adoption Learning Partners offers meaningful, timely, web-based educational adoption resources for professionals, parents, adopted individuals, and the families that love them. Access to support is a cornerstone of Adoption Learning Partners. You can find support on the site from courses and from each other. The site is designed for people who may live far away from knowledgeable, experienced adoption resources, or for those whose time is limited because of the demands of work and family schedules. There is an array of interactive, e-learning courses,downloads of articles and papers that you may find interesting. There is also a community forum – it’s there for you to be able to interact with others who are on this journey as well.
AdoptUSKids offers an array of services to both families and child welfare professionals. From tips and resources to an extensive database of children in U.S. foster care available for adoption and families who are home studied and approved to adopt them.
Advokids is a legal resource for California Foster Children and their advocates. The Advokids telephone Hotline (1.877.ADV4KID) is the only free telephone support service of its kind in California, which offers direct legal assistance daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Advokids Telephone Hotline provides information and assistance with understanding and navigating the child welfare system and the juvenile court dependency systems. Accredited by the State Bar of California, Advokids provides a comprehensive Foster Parent Training, “How to Access the Juvenile Court” for foster parents and relative caregivers in California. Armed with a working knowledge of our Juvenile Court laws, caregivers can advocate for stability and effect critical changes in our foster care system.
Alliance for Children’s Rights, Los Angeles protects the rights of impoverished and abused children and youth so that they have safe, stable homes, health care and the education they need to thrive. Founded in 1992, Alliance has provided free legal services and advocacy to over 100,000 children and youth in Los Angeles County.
Attachment Disorder Website – Here you will find a wide variety of information regarding attachment issues.
caldog (California Dependency Online Guide) – Provides Assistance to attorneys, judicial officers, and other professionals working in California’s Child Welfare System. Includes on California Law, Trainings, Reunification and FM Maintenance providers, Publications, and more.
California State Department of Social Services Regulations Manual – Child Welfare Services regulations, policies and procedural manual and updated policies are posted here. Topics covered include court decisions, grievance procedures, review hearings, case records, family maintenance services, and many more topics.
California Child Welfare Indicators Project – A collaborative venture between University of California, Berkeley and the California Department of Social Services. It provides customizable direct access to information on California’s child welfare system.
Children’s Law Center, Los Angeles – Children’s Law Center of California (“CLC”) is a nonprofit, public interest law corporation created 18 years ago and funded by the Court to serve as appointed counsel for our County’s abused and neglected youth. With a 220 person staff of lawyers, paralegals and investigator/social workers, CLC serves as the “voice” in the foster care system for the vast majority of children under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles dependency court. CLC attorneys represent children who are at risk of abuse or neglect in juvenile dependency proceedings and seek to advocate for critical services and support that these children so desperately need. On a broader organizational level, CLC strives to identify areas where systemic reforms are needed and to work with other advocacy groups and stakeholders to bring about those more far-reaching changes. Given our organization’s status as the largest representative of foster youth in California, CLC is actively engaged in local, statewide and national legislative and other reform efforts and has also spearheaded initiatives to enhance public awareness within our community of the issues and concerns facing foster youth.
Children’s Rights is a national advocacy group working to reform child welfare systems on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of abused and neglected children who depend on them for protection and care.
Child SHARE was founded in 1985 to challenge and equip local congregations to recruit and support foster and adoptive parents.
Dependency Quick Guide for Attorneys Representing Children and Parents – Includes checklists and tips covering Detention, Jurisdiction, Disposition, Judicial Review, Status Review, and Selection and Implementation hearings.
Emancipation Program of L.A. Dept. of Children and Family Services This is a website for Transition Age Youth (current and former foster/probation youth) in Los Angeles County.
Foster Parent College provides innovative, research-based, interactive online courses for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents.
Helping Your Foster Child Transition to Your Adopted Child – This document discusses talking to children about changes, history, dealing with losses, understanding and facilitating attachment, and also provides resources for adoptive resource families and their adopted children.
IRS Adoption Tax Credit – Adoption Credit and Adoption Assistance Programs.
LA County DCFS Policy Regarding Foster Childrens and Social Security Numbers for Caregivers
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund – Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.
Law Office of Alexis Casillas representing special-needs individuals and families seeking the services they deserve from public and private schools.
NACC The New Lawyer’s Guide to Representing Clients in Dependency Court
National Attention Deficit Disorder Association – The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) is the world’s leading adult ADHD organization. The ADDA mission is to provide information, resources and networking opportunities to help adults with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) lead better lives. ADDA is an international non-profit organization, founded twenty years ago by adult ADHD support group leaders to share information, resources and provide support for one another. The ADDA goal is to generate hope, awareness, empowerment and connections worldwide in the field of AD/HD. The information and resources provided to individuals and families affected by AD/HD and professionals who serve them focuses on the diagnosis, treatments, strategies and techniques for helping adults with AD/HD lead better lives.
National Child Traumatic Stress Network – The National Child Traumatic Stress Network has created a new webpage focused on the family. The site includes information that defines the impact of trauma from a family systems perspective and connects readers to valuable resources related to trauma.
National Center for Youth Law (San Francisco) The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) uses the law to improve the lives of low-income children. NCYL works to ensure that low-income children have the resources, support, and opportunities they need for healthy and productive lives. Much of NCYL’s work is focused on poor children who are additionally challenged by abuse and neglect, disability, or other disadvantage.
National Center for Adoption Law & Policy The National Center for Adoption Law & Policy (NCALP) works to improve child welfare and adoption law, practices, and policies so that all children – especially those who have been abused or neglected or are dependent on the state for their care – can have healthy, safe, and stable homes. Research efforts are aimed at identifying the means through which child protection, foster care and adoption systems and processes can be improved. Center advocacy projects are aimed at bringing about these improvements through changes in the law and the way the law is implemented. Education programs are designed to assist judges, lawyers, government managers, social workers, families and other process stakeholders to know about strategies for making child welfare and adoption laws work in ways that will provide kids the stable families they deserve as quickly, efficiently and safely as possible.
National Foster Care Coalition Established in 1998, NFCC’s mission is to build and sustain political and public will to improve the foster care system and the lives of the children and youth in its care. Unlike other child welfare organizations, NFCC focuses exclusively on foster care, and its engagement on other issues impacting children, youth and families is through the lens of this issue. Under the Coalition’s umbrella, NFCC members engage in a diverse array of activities, including advocating on behalf of children, youth, and families involved with the foster care system; supporting local, regional and national foster care initiatives; offering training and technical assistance to parents and professionals; and providing education and information about the foster care system to decision-makers at the local, state, and federal levels.
National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is dedicated to eliminating birth defects caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy and improving the quality of life for those affected individuals and families. Resources, books, advocacy, education, news, and events are all topics covered within the web site.
National Resource Center for Diligent Recruitment (NRCDR) – NRCDR at AdoptUsKids created a new web page intended to assist state and tribal child welfare administrators, leaders and managers in implementing recruitment programs. The web page offers a wealth of information, ideas from the field, publications, and other resources to help child welfare systems recruit, retain, develop, and support foster, adoptive and kinship families.
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections – Links to foster care handbooks, with state specific information, including explanations of the foster care system and the legal system as it relates to foster care, agency rules, what to expect from the children, whom to contact in various situations, what to do in an emergency, and how to engage with birth families.
North American Council on Adoptable Children – 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. NACAC’s services include advocacy, education, adoption support, and leadership development in the U.S. and Canada.
Weekend Miracles offers a unique and proven approach to creating forever families and lasting connections for adolescents who are languishing in foster care in Los Angeles. Since the program’s official launch in 2006, Weekend Miracles has been a resounding success, having recruited adopt families, legal guardians, and lasting connections for 75 percent of participating children. Download the complete article written by Deborah Dentler here.
Rainbow Kids-Resources for International and Older Children Adoption – Rainbow Kids provides a central location for Adoption Information, International Adoptions, Special Needs Adoption, Adoption Articles and Waiting Child Photo listings.
Links to All States On-Line Waiting Children Photolistings – Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes the safety, permanency, and well-being of children, youth, and families by connecting child welfare, adoption, and related professionals as well as the general public to information, resources, and tools covering topics on child welfare, child abuse and neglect, out-of-home care, adoption, and more. A service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Gateway provides access to print and electronic publications, websites, databases, and online learning tools for improving child welfare practice, including resources that can be shared with families.
Special Education FAQs – Education-A-Must Inc. is a nonprofit corporation providing advocate services for the child or youth with physical, emotional, behavioral, or learning disabilities. Our goal is to assist parents and caregivers in finding help for the child with special needs. EAM works with local, state and federal agencies to secure the necessary services and education for all who qualify.