ACF Report: Communication Obstacles Contribute to Adoption and Guardianship Instability

A report released by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in August suggests that foster care-related post-adoption and guardianship instability is partly attributable to the level of communication between public agencies and families.

The study, entitled Contact After Adoption or Guardianship: Child Welfare Agency and Family Interactions, was the latest report released under a 5-year contract from ACF's Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. It was produced by RTI International and based primarily on surveys of, and interviews with, state adoption and guardianship program managers.

The report indicates that 5 to 20 percent of children living in adoptive or guardianship families may experience post-adoption or post-guardianship instability – situations in which children who exit foster care to adoptive and guardianship homes no longer reside with their adoptive parent or legal guardian. One contributing factor to this instability is varying levels of communication with the families.

According to the report, "Agency participants indicate that families are often reluctant to contact child welfare agencies when they need assistance or support because of stigma associated with child welfare involvement. Furthermore, families often reach out for help when they are in crisis, and it is too late for child welfare agencies to effectively intervene."

"Families begin to struggle at first — they don't feel like they should make any contact [with the child welfare agency]," said one administrator. "They don't really know that this may be a behavior or an issue that could get worse ... And they don't make contact with us until they're kind of in that crisis mode ... and are like, 'We can't do this anymore.'"

The report described efforts that agencies undertake to initiate and maintain contact with families, including meeting with them prior to the placement to educate them and manage their expectations around adoption and guardianship. Outreach after the placement includes newsletters, well-being letters to ascertain the well-being of the children, and follow-ups after service completion.

Nevertheless, parental involvement with public agencies is generally voluntary. According to the report, "Although all agency participants acknowledge the importance of staying in contact with families, they also describe a delicate balance they need to address. Although participants want to make sure families are aware of available support services, they also need to balance this with being mindful that they do not interfere with families' rights to self-determination and privacy."

"We are very clear that it is not the role of the state or local departments of social services to interfere or interject themselves in the homes of adoptive families," said one administrator. "We have to wait almost for people to come to us because we can't necessarily intrude in their lives."

This can sometimes leave them in the dark. According to the report, state agencies do not always know about out-of-home events, such as homelessness, running away, or returns to institutional or group care. Although they often receive updates from state administrative data and service providers, they are also substantially dependent upon direct communication from families who sometimes do not reach out until a crisis has occurred. Nearly all of the state administrators surveyed said they can contact the parents after learning of such an event. Most refer families for additional post-adoption services.

When families do reach out to public agencies, it is typically through a helpline or agency website, usually because the family has a service need. Unfortunately, according to the report, families are not always satisfied with the services they receive, often because of a mismatch between services sought and those offered. Some administrators indicated that state agencies also need to recruit more staff from diverse backgrounds to help youth and families relate to the staff.

To address these needs, the report recommends that "child welfare agencies may consider the development of a systematic way to track foster care re-entries and agency-family interactions after legal custody has shifted from the state to adoptive parents or guardians." It also recommended further research on instability experienced by children who exit foster care to adoption or guardianship to determine the strengths, supports, and resources that promote post-permanency stability.

This is an article from Voice for Adoption’s free monthly public policy newsletter.