NACAC promotes and supports permanent families for children and youth in the U.S. and Canada who have been in care—especially those in foster care and those with special needs.
Our Work
To achieve this mission, NACAC focuses its program services in four areas: public policy advocacy, parent leadership capacity building, education and information sharing, and adoption support.
Thank You!
NACAC is grateful for
the support of our
major funders:
The Debra Steigerwaldt Waller Foundation
North American Council
on Adoptable Children ... because every child deserves a permanent, loving,
and culturally competent family
NACAC's Newest Publication Seeks Attention for Older Child Adoptions
NACAC Releases State Adoption Fact Sheets
NACAC's latest publication It's Time to Make Older Child Adoption a Reality: Because Every Child and Youth Deserves a Family identifies policy and practice barriers that keep older children and youth in care. The document also highlights laws, programs, and practices that are successfully achieving permanence for older youth.
In January 2010, NACAC released a series of state-by-state adoption fact sheets (based primarily on 2007 AFCARS data). Designed to be a tool for local adoption advocates, each sheet highlights the number of waiting children, number of children adopted, race and ethnic background of waiting children, data on who adopted foster children, and much more.
HHS Awards $35 Million to 38 States and Puerto Rico for
FY 2008 Adoption Increases
NACAC's New Brief Highlights How States Can Calculate New Funds Available
On September 14, 2009, HHS awarded incentive payments to states that increased the number of children adopted from foster care in fiscal year 2008. Incentives are awarded for increases in the number of children adopted, the number of children age 9 and over adopted, and the overall adoption rate.
Eight states (California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas) earned more than a million dollars. Florida and Texas earned the highest payments—$9,754,990 and $4,969,734 respectively.
In July2009, NACAC released Providing Federal Adoption Assistance for More Children with Special Needs: A Welcome Change, which highlights the expansion of federal IV-E eligiblity and explains how states can determine how this provision of the Fostering Connections Act may affect them. A sample worksheet enables state leaders and advocates to estimate the amount of state dollars that will be available for reinvestment in other child welfare services.
NACAC Releases Publication on How to Create Parent-to-Parent Post-Adoption Support Networks
New Resource Center on Fostering Connections Act Launched
Developing a Parent-to-Parent Support Network is intended to help parents and family advocates set up parent-to-parent networks that provide post-adoption support in their own communities. The document provides information on six model peer support programs.
On October 7, a coalition of foundation leaders launched a national resource center in support of implementing Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act. The Center will provide access to national networks of state-based and local stakeholders organized according to the six major topic areas of the law—adoption, kinship, older youth, tribal child welfare, health, and education. NACAC will serve as the Center’s lead partner on adoption issues.
In the Winter 2009 issue of the U.C. Davis Journal of Juvenile Law & Policy, Mary Eschelbach Hansen and Josh Gupta-Kagan make a strong case for extending adoption and guardianship assistance beyond age 18. Their research suggests that such a policy change would increase permanency and save funds.
North American
Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC)
970 Raymond Avenue, Suite 106
St. Paul, MN 55114
phone: 651-644-3036
fax: 651-644-9848
e-mail: info@nacac.org Feedback
