Spaulding for Children receives federal grant to establish National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support
SOUTHFIELD, MI – October 11, 2023 – Spaulding for Children, in collaboration with partners including Child Trends®, the Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), Harmony Family Center, the National Adoption Association and Raise the Future, is proud to announce its receipt of a five-year, cooperative agreement with the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children & Families in the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Funded at $4 million per year for a total of $20 million, this grant will facilitate the establishment of a National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support.
This investment of funds and expertise heralds a new era of ensuring that U.S. states, Tribal Nations and territories have the capacity to provide comprehensive support and services for families who achieve permanency through adoption, guardianship and kinship.
“The importance of comprehensive, post-permanency services cannot be overstated,” said Melissa Jenovai, President and Chief Executive Officer of Spaulding for Children, the lead agency tasked with establishing the new National Center. “These families often face unique challenges that can come into play long after they have adopted or assumed guardianship of a child or a youth. Because need levels can ebb and flow over time, it is imperative that children and youth and their families have access to comprehensive services that ensure successful transitions and lasting stability.”
States, territories and Tribal Nations do not always offer comprehensive, post-permanency services due to one or more of the following deficits: lack of familiarity with the need for services, lack of the skill set to build an array of comprehensive services and lack of knowledge about service delivery. The National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support will be pivotal to bridging this gap by equipping child welfare agencies with the tools and knowledge necessary to meet the diverse needs of families formed by adoption, guardianship and kinship.
The National Center will leverage its extensive expertise, evidence-informed training and technical assistance services to bolster the capacity of 25 jurisdictions that includes a combination of states, Tribal Nations and territories throughout the U.S. The Center’s ultimate goal will be to empower child welfare agencies in these jurisdictions to develop, to implement and to sustain comprehensive, accessible, culturally responsive programs supporting families formed by adoption, guardianship and kinship.
“Spaulding for Children has a long history of providing technical assistance on adoption and post adoption through the previously funded National Resource Center for Adoption, which began in 1985. We look forward to working with our partners in this cooperative agreement and are honored to have been selected to continue this important work,” said President and CEO Jenovai.
The grant not only will support the development and implementation of post-adoption services but also will facilitate ongoing, national, outreach efforts. The Center will work diligently to bridge the gap between the needs of families and the services provided by child welfare agencies, thereby enhancing the well-being and stability of children and youth after they have achieved placement in their permanent families. This federal grant and collaborative effort represent a significant step forward to provide states, territories and tribal nations with the information and technical assistance they need to expand their capacity to meet the needs of all families.
For more information about the National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support, please contact Melissa Jenovai at (248) 443-0300, ext. 237, or via email at MJenovai@spaulding.org.
