Research That Matters (January 17 - 20, 2008)

PURPOSE: Many children adopted from the child welfare system have experienced multiple moves and losses and often exhibit difficult behaviors. The most common behaviors parents report include anger, violating house rules, lying, and tantrums. There is a growing demand for services to help adoptive families address problems their children experience as they emerge. The purpose of this study was to examine the needs and uses of post adoption services for families who adopt children with special needs from the child welfare system. METHODS: Data from the Success Factors Study of The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids research project were analyzed to develop a better understanding of families' needs and utilization of post adoption services. One-hundred and forty-four families (N=144) who had participated in a telephone interview responded to a mailed survey designed to assess the types of post adoption services families have available and the extent to which they utilized these services. Families were also asked to rate how helpful these services were, to indicate services they needed but did not receive and to identify barriers they faced when obtaining post adoption services. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Almost all of the families in this study were parenting children who were school age or older, and approximately two-thirds were parenting at least one teenager. Families reported using an average of 13 different types of post adoption services. The most common services families received included financial supports, such as adoption subsidies (89%), assistance with routine medical (79%) and dental care (77%). The next most common services families accessed addressed the child's psychological and educational needs. The majority of families reported that their child participated in individual therapy (71%) and psychological evaluations (58%). More than half of the families (59%) reported they had educational assessments of their child completed. In addition to utilizing post adoption services for their children, many families also reported accessing supportive services for themselves, such as support groups (66%) and family therapy (47%). Only four percent of the families surveyed indicated they did not use any post adoption services. The most common services needed but not received included homemaker services (88%), day care for children with psychiatric problems (68%), and drug and alcohol services (67%). The most common barriers faced by families in their attempts to obtain post adoption services were difficulty finding service providers who understand adoption-related issues (42%) and lack of confidence in service (41%). IMPLICATIONS: While the majority of the sample utilized some type of post adoption services, only about half of the parents' service needs were met. This disparity suggests the importance of identifying appropriate services and ensuring these services are made available to adoptive families to meet the families' needs as problems emerge. The findings are currently being used to train child welfare staff about families' post adoption service needs and will be used to advocate for policies and practices to address unmet service needs.