Adopting a child is a joyful event. However, adoption also involves loss for all of those involved and comes with a unique set of family issues. Like all children, those who are adopted may face difficulties with emotions, development, friendships, or school. Even parents who are well prepared to adopt can have feelings they did not expect. Challenges are a normal part of the adoption process.
Adoption Support Services Can Help:
- Children and youth process feelings of loss or grief related to the adoption.
- Parents build trust and attachment with their children.
- Families heal from childhood trauma.
- Older children and youth explore questions of identity (“Who am I? How am I like and different from my parents?”).
- Children find ways to succeed in school.
- Children and families learn more effective ways to respond to stress.
- Children and adoptive parents navigate safe and positive connections with birth relatives.
- Prevent crises that can result in adoption disruption.
Different types of adoption support and preservation services exist in many communities. These can include the following:
- Mental health counseling or therapy.
- Support groups for parents or youth (in person or online; for all adoptive families or specific to the child’s culture or special needs).
- Workshops, seminars, and publications.
- Camps and other social events for children, parents, and families.
- Birth parent search and reunion support .
- Educational support.
- Respite care.
It is important to find support with those who understand adoption-related issues. Families with Fairfax County Foster Care and Adoption can access support through Fairfax County Adoption Related Resources and through the staff of the Adoption and Kinship Assistance Unit. To find additional adoption support and preservation services in your community, ask one or more of the following:
- Your state postadoption services contact, which you can find through the National Adoption and Foster Care Directory.
- Other adoptive parents and local support groups like Fairfax County Foster Care and Adoption Association.
- Your adoption agency.
- Your doctor or your child’s doctor.
- Your employer’s human resources department or employee assistance program (EAP).
- The Adoption Assistance by State Database, which includes information about services for after adoption.
- Parenting After Adoption – Child Welfare Information Gateway.
- Accessing Adoption Support and Preservation Services – Child Welfare Information Gateway.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2018). Support After an Adoption. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau.
This article posting is part of the Foster Family News monthly newsletter designed to keep foster parents informed about all the new and notable happenings in Fairfax County.
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