Adoption

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Adoption

Adoption Competent Practice Certification
This post-graduate certificate program, developed through a collaborative partnership among GSSW’s Erna and Brad Butler Institute for Families, the Adoption Exchange and the Colorado Department of Human Services, provides advanced training and education in the field of adoption. The certificate curriculum focuses on specialized theories and practices for working with all members of the adoption triad: birth parents, adoptive parents and adopted individuals. The program emphasizes the development of a framework for understanding the complexity of being a child or adult in a family by adoption, and the therapeutic skills that enable practitioners to work at the individual, couple, group and family levels of clinical practice. For more information, please visit www.thebutlerinstitute.org. For additional information, contact Debra Mixon at 303-871-2445.

Children Waiting for Adoptions
See pictures and read about some of Colorado's children that are available for adoption!

Heart Gallery
An exhibit featuring over 50 children who are currently waiting for their forever families.

Change a Life Forever
"Colorado's County Departments of Human Services and Social Services are looking for some really special people to be adopted and foster families.  Becoming an adoptive or foster parent is an important decision that will change your life- and that of a child-forever.  Hundreds of children in Colorado are waiting for a family.  One of them might be waiting for you. "

Adoption Exchange
Call Toll free (866) 229-7605 or visit their website.  Through services provided by the adoption Exchange assist vulnerable children achieve adoption.  The exchange works to make the connection between families who adopt and the children who are waiting.

Adoptee's in Search
This site is for individuals who were adopted and are searching for birth relatives.

Child Welfare Gateway
The National Adoption Information and Clearinghouse (NAIC) was established by Congress in 1987 to provide free information on all aspects of adoption.  This website provides comprehensive information on domestic and intercountry adoption.  The name has changed to the Child Welfare Information Gateway.

Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families (COCAF)
The COCAF is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization who desires to increase the amount of information and resources available to Colorado Pre- and Post-adoptive and kinship families.  Their goal is to provide information to the advocate for families at all phases of the foster-adopt/adoption/kinship process.

Colorado Association of Family and Children's Agency (CAFCA)
CAFCA is a broad based group of non-for-profit organizations uniting together to develop the best care possible for Colorado's children and their families.

Statewide Adoption Services:
The Adoption Exchange was awarded a contract in December, 2004 to provide services to Colorado's families who have adopted children through the county departments.  The following services are to be provided:

• Enhance relationships with counties and private agencies to service families needing post adoption services and to avoid duplication of services.
• Maintain a 24-hour access through e-mail and 1-800 hotline number to respond to post-adoption inquiries in both English and Spanish, including evening access.
• Develop a website devoted to post-adoption resources through a subcontract with Colorado Coalition of adoptive Families (COCAF).
• Engage in a variety of outreach and marketing activities to publicize the grant, services available and adoption-related issues throughout the state.
• Provide bilingual support materials to help families with adoption -related paperwork.
• Provide support/advocacy for families with inquiries regarding post-adoption services.
• Enhance the existing resource list to distribute to services providers and adoptive families including a therapist directory.
• Provide staff support and resources to Colorado counties, including lending libraries.
• Create new and support existing post-adoption support groups.
• Train 20 mentors who are veteran adoptive parents to support new adoptive parents
• Train 32 respite providers about caring for children with special needs.
• Conduct 6 seminars for 120 adoptive parents and service providers available statewide through live and videoconferencing training.
• Maintain benefits information for children with specials needs in English and Spanish, including updating the Compass: A Family Guide to Post-Adoption Resources.
• Integrate with existing county services and create services where the need exists.
• Publish and distribute a newsletter on post-adoptive services twice yearly.
  

Adoption Assistance Information
This document contains information on who to contact, who is eligible, post adoption services, and more.

November is National Adoption Month
National Adoption Day is a national collective effort to raise awareness of the 118,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. Through a collaborative effort for six years between courts, judges, attorneys, and advocates, National Adoption Day has helped to finalize adoptions. National Adoption Month began more than 25 years ago. In 1976, the Governor of Massachusetts first proclaimed Adoption Week and, later that year, President Gerald Ford made it official nationally. The number of States proclaiming the observance of Adoption Week in November grew, and in 1990, National Adoption Week became National Adoption Month.

For adoption questions, please contact Connie Vigil at 303-866-3209.

revised 9/23/2009