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 Is Offering
A Series of Webinars
Congress Has Introduced
Bills to Make the Adoption
Tax Credit Refundable!
NACAC has scheduled the following webinars on a variety of topics:
Healing from Food Insecurity: Beyond the Stash — by Katja Rowell, M.D. — Thursday, September 19 at noon central time (10 am pacific, 11 am mountain, 1 pm eastern
Parenting Children Who Have Been Prenatally Exposed — by Kari Fletcher — This webinar has taken place, but you can purchase access to a recording.
Understanding the Acting-Out Behavior of Your Adopted Children — by Maris Blechner —This webinar has taken place, but you can purchase access to a recording
Helping Children Heal from Trauma: What Parents and Caregivers Need to Know — by Sue Badeau —This webinar has taken place, but you can purchase access to a recording.
Fees for each webinar are $15 for NACAC members and $20 for non-members.
On May 22, both the Senate and House introduced bills to make the adotion tax credit efundable. NACAC — and the rest of the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group — will be asking all members of the adoption community to join us in advocating for passage of these bills.
In the Senate, the Adoption Tax Refunability Act (S. 1056) was introduced by Senator Casey (D-PA), Senator Landrieu (D-LA), and Senator Blount (R. MO). The House bill, H.R. 2144, was introduced by Rep. Blaley (D. IA).
For more about advocacy steps you can take to support this bill, please visit adoptiontaxcredit.org. There you'll find details about the law and information about how to ask your member of Congress to become co-sponsors.
Adoption Tax Credit Is Permanent but Not Refundable
NACAC Passes New Position Statement on Educational Needs
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, signed into law on January 2, included a provision that made the adoption tax credit permanent. Unfortunately it did not make the adoption credit refundable for 2012 or future years, so the credit will only benefit those adoptive families who have federal income tax liability. The maximum amount of the credit for 2013 will be $12,970.
NACAC will continue to advocate for refundability in the future.
At its February 10, 2013 meeting, the NACAC board of directors approved a position statement on Educational Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care and Adoption.
The statement highlights the many education challenges facing children who have been adopted or who have been in foster care, and outlines policies and pratices that would better support these children and youth. We encourage advocates to pursue system reform that would accomplish the recommended policies and pratices.
NACAC and the Adoption Institute Release New Issue Brief on the
Importance of Adoption Assistance
NACAC Passes New Position Statement on Educational Needs
NACAC and the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute have partnered on a nationwide campaign to counter efforts by states to cut adoption assistance benefits. Our goal is to raise public awareness, educate policy makers, and provide advocacy materials for parents, professionals, and other activists to use at the state level. On September 19, we released The Vital Role of Adoption Subsidies: Increasing Permanency and Improving Children’s Lives (While Saving States Money) to help individuals understand the value of adoption assistance and advocate to maintain these crucial benefits.
At its February 10, 2013 meeting, the NACAC board of directors approved a position statement on Educational Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care and Adoption.
The statement highlights the many education challenges facing children who have been adopted or who have been in foster care, and outlines policies and pratices that would better support these children and youth. We encourage advocates to pursue system reform that would accomplish the recommended policies and pratices.
NACAC Passes New Position Statement on Trauma-Informed Care
NACAC recently held two webinars on adoption assistance, and you can download an mp4 file to view the sessions. (Please note the file is 52MB. In some browsers, you need to right click or control click on the link and choose Save Link As to download the file.)
Adoption Assistance Benefits and Eligibility — download
Advocating for Adoption Assistance Programs on — download
At its December 11, 2012 meeting, the NACAC board of directors approved a position statement on Access to Trauma-Informed Care.
The statement acknowledges that all children and youth involved in adoption and foster care have experenced trauma, that this trauma affects them and their entire family, and that services provided must take into account the effects of trauma and how best to serve those who have experienced trauma.
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
