LUTHERAN

SERVICES

FLORIDA

changing lives daily
 

Adoptions Services

In situations where it has become impossible to safely return children to the family home and the Termination of Parental Rights has been established by the court, the case is transferred to LSF's Adoptions Unit.  This unit consists of eight Adoptions Specialists, and one Post Adoptions Counselor.  The case management duties of the Adoptions Specialists in monitoring the on-going safety and well-being of the children in care are somewhat similar to the activities described in “Relative/non-relative placement and supervision” and “Foster placement and supervision” on the Foster Services page, but in these cases, the goal of adoption has been substituted for the goal of reunification.  Adoptions Specialists also perform the following:

1. Recruitment of Adoptive homes - Recruitment for these homes can be either general or child specific.  General recruitment efforts are similar to those efforts described in the recruitment section of the Foster Services page.  Child-specific recruitment efforts are geared toward matching the needs of the child with the strengths of the potential adoptive home.  Mechanisms to accomplish this include the posting of information on children available for adoption on the website of Children's Network of Southwest Florida, the use of the adoptions exchange located at MyFlorida.com, and the national posting of child information at AdoptUsKids.  In addition, there is a “Waiting Children” brochure compiled by Children's Network of Southwest Florida.

2. Adoption Home Studies - These home studies are similar to Foster Home Studies as described on the Foster Services page, but they are child-specific and geared toward the permanent placement of the child in the home.

3. MAPP Training - These employees frequently work with Foster Home Recruitment Specialists co-facilitating MAPP (Model Approach to Positive Parenting) training in order to identify those families potentially interested in adoptions, and to begin the processes of child-specific recruitment and adoptive home studies.

4. Preparation of Child Studies – These are in-depth histories of each child eligible for adoption.  Information contained includes medical and educational records place of birth, family history, and other information believed to be relevant for the process of adoption.

5. Compilation and submission of the Subsidy Packet – This packet, delivered to the Children's Network of Southwest Florida at the time that the child is placed for adoption, contains the Child Study, an up-to-date psychological evaluation of the child, the Adoptive Home Study, and subsidy agreement forms, which specify a subsidy amount as set by Florida Department of Children and Families policy.

In addition, Adoptions Specialists provide on-going support to both potential adoptive homes and children eligible for adoption as these parties participate in these processes.  The Post-Adoptions Counselor assumes the task of supporting the adoption once it has become finalized, and until the child turns 18.

See also