Adoption is a lifelong process and adoptive families of medically complex children, in particular, need support. NAC’s Post Legal Adoption Network (PLAN) is designed to train, assist and strengthen the capacity of families who have adopted one or more children with special medical needs.

Adoption dissolutions (when a child is returned to foster care after adoption) among children with special needs can be as high as 14% nationally. Among the hundreds of adoptions completed at NAC since PLAN’s inception in 1994, no child has ever returned to foster care after being adopted.

Who is eligible to participate in PLAN?

Adoptive parents of children with special medical needs are eligible to join PLAN regardless of where their adoption took place.

The NAC Family Permanency Center offers families formed through adoption or guardianship, a place where they can find the support, advocacy, information, and a range of professional health and social services needed to help them create or maintain a successful and permanent home.

Who is eligible to participate in FPC?

• Adoptive families who have finalized the adoption of their child. This includes private placement adoptions and international adoptions
• Guardianship families including Kinship caregivers who have legal guardianship of the child and an approved KinGAP agreement or families with legal guardianship without a KinGAP agreement

The goals of PPSP are to improve outcomes for children and families exiting foster care to adoption or kinship guardianship through creative and critical services. The work carried out on this grant will meet a critical need for children and families in New York City for post-permanency services, helping New York City children make better transitions from foster care to permanent homes that remain their forever families because the right support and services are in place.

Who is eligible to participate in PPSP?

• Children and families who are within 90-days of exiting the NYC foster care system via adoption or kinship guardianship; and
• Children who have already been adopted or exited foster care to kinship guardianship via the NYC foster care system and their families.

Our model is to provide interdisciplinary, comprehensive services that meet the specific needs of the entire family and a continuum of care for as long as the family needs support. Families not only have access to master’s level Social Workers, but a team of educators, medical providers, mental health clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, and youth development specialists

Our range of services includes:

• Case management and in-home support
• Comprehensive psychosocial, family-centered needs assessment, and trauma assessment screening
• Information and advocacy
• Crisis intervention
• Advocacy and Referrals
• Individual and Family Counseling through our Family Mental Health Clinic
• Psychoeducation on kinship/adoption-related issues
• Lifebook Work: create an adoption storybook that serves as a keepsake that illustrates a child’s journey to his or her adoptive home. It is used as a source of information and a way to open up the adoption discussion with a child.
• Parent workshops, training, and monthly support groups
• ·Monthly art therapy self-care group partnered with Art Therapy Outreach Center
• Annual recreational and cultural group activities for families and youth

• Increasing competence for legal guardians and adoptive parents
• Safe space to discuss common challenges around adoption/kinship issues
• Improved parenting skills
• Prevention of adoption/kinship disruptions
• Families who receive post-adoption services often report positive outcomes in terms of the stability of the family

Learn about the other programs and supports available to all families receiving services at NAC

• Children and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS)
• Mental Health Clinic
• Medical Clinic
• Autism Center
• Educational Advocacy & Tutoring
• College Bound Program
• Youth Development & Mentoring Programs
• Recreational Services
• Food Bank
• Safe Haven LGBTQI+ Support

Our programs are completely voluntary and services are provided to the whole household. We provide services in English and Spanish in all 5 boroughs. Proof of legal documentation is required to enroll (Adoption decree/adoption certificate or Letter of Guardianship, Court Order Appointing Guardianship, or Proof of Legal Guardianship).

Families are eligible for support regardless of their insurance or immigration status. We are currently accepting referrals.