Abstract
In recent decades, federal and state child welfare policies have increasingly prioritized and incentivized adoption as the desired permanency alternative for children in the foster care system who cannot be reunified with their parents. Most adoptions from foster care are durable, lasting until children reach adulthood, but in some circumstances, adoptions break down and result in children returning to foster care. Post-adoption services are meant to support durable adoptions of children from the foster care system to strengthen adoptive families and prevent adoption breakdowns.
This brief report, prepared by the Texas Center for Child and Family Studies (the Center), a supporting arm of the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS), documents findings from a review of research literature and existing post-adoption policies to document the prevalence and common causes of adoption breakdown, identify best practices in post-adoption services, describe current post-adoption service provision in Texas, and provide recommendations for closing gaps between best practices and current service provision.
This is the brief version of a longer, more in-depth post-adoption services assessment.