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NACAC...
because every child has the right to a permanent, nurturing, and culturally sensitive family
In North America, tens of thousands of children cannot remain with their birth families. These children—once labeled unadoptable or hard to place—are mostly school-aged. Some are brothers and sisters who must be placed together. Some are drug-exposed or medically fragile. Most have physical, mental, or emotional difficulties. Many are children of color. All need loving families.
Founded in 1974 by adoptive parents, the North American Council on Adoptable Children is committed to meeting the needs of waiting children and the families who adopt them. For more information about NACAC, click on the Services link or download our 2011 annual report. (Click here to download the 2008, 2009, or 2010 report.)
Help Support NACAC's Mission
If you'd like to help support adoptive families and find homes for the thousands of foster children who need a family, please consider making a donation to NACAC. We depend upon public donations to continue our efforts, and you can make a contribution today through our secure server. You will receive notice of your gift for tax purposes.
“NACAC is an introduction to innovation, progressive thinking, and forward-moving by people who are always looking for ways to do what we do better, faster, and smarter; ...
NACAC is a beacon of hope, a statement of steadfast faith, and a promise of unconditional love for children of all kinds...;
and finally NACAC is a force drawing us
together to keep moving forward until
every child has at least one adult completely committed to them for life.”
— adoptive parent and professional
NACAC's Strategic Plan
Vision 2015 (What is different in the world of NACAC’s stakeholders because of NACAC?)
Children and youth in care—especially those in foster care and those with special needs—have joined permanent families that are supported by their communities.
Mission
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.
Core Values
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Families — Every child and youth should have a permanent, loving family.
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Racial and Ethnic Identity — Children must be supported in their right to a strong and positive cultural, racial, and ethnic identity.
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Empowered Parents — Adoptive parents provide some of the best, most meaningful support to other adoptive families.
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Connected Communities — Supported, informed communities can work together to effectively promote and support permanent families for foster children.
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Grassroots Advocacy — People personally touched by adoption and foster care are best able to guide efforts to improve child welfare policy and practice.
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Organizational Excellence — NACAC is a strong, evolving, and viable learning organization.
Three-Year Goals (2010 - 2012)
Organizational Viability and Visibility
- With increased board support for fundraising and expanded diversity of funding sources, especially discretionary sources, NACAC will achieve long-range financial stability and a balanced budget.
- NACAC will be positioned with funders, policymakers, adoptive families, and other adoption community members as the leading organization to meet their special needs adoption priorities.
- NACAC will be an increasingly diverse and culturally responsive organization.
- NACAC will be a continuously learning organization, with an emphasis on identifying what works in child welfare and how to implement model practices ourselves and share them with others.
Policy Advocacy and Leadership
- NACAC will be more engaged in U.S. national child welfare reform to ensure policies and practices are more supportive of children and youth who are or have been in foster care and their families.
- NACAC will actively build the capacity of parent groups, current and former foster youth, and other entities and individuals in the U.S. and Canada to advocate for national, state, provincial, and local policy reform and implementation.
Education/Information Sharing
- NACAC will educate more individuals in the U.S. and Canada who work with children in or adopted from the child welfare system (including mental health providers, teachers, etc.) through training and other efforts.
- NACAC will offer more train-the-trainer presentations to help expand our reach and disseminate information more widely.
- NACAC will significantly increase web-based communications to educate and share information with parents, child welfare professionals, and others.
- NACAC will make its education and information sharing services more accessible to Spanish-speaking people.
Adoption Support
- NACAC will continue to provide the same or increased levels of direct adoption information and support in Minnesota, the U.S., and Canada.
- NACAC will identify, evaluate, and help replicate effective post-adoption support models through advocacy, education, and training throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Parent Leadership Capacity Building
- NACAC will maintain its efforts to create and enhance parent groups in the U.S. and Canada, with a focus on supporting groups in urban areas.
- NACAC will engage parent group leaders and members in national advocacy efforts to enhance post-adoption services in the U.S. and Canada.
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