More than 6,000 Colorado families who have adopted children through
the child welfare system now have a resource network, called the Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center.
The Center offers networking, education, lending libraries
and even financial assistance to adoptive families. One family received a grant of $500 from the
Center to help pay for a diagnostic medical exam (which was not covered by Medicaid)
for their son, while another family received a grant of $500 to help send their
teenage son to a two-week Outward Bound course in Utah.
Lt. Governor Jane Norton endorses the Center as part of her
“Strengthening Families” initiative. In a press release, Lt. Governor Norton
said, “The best hope for Colorado’s ‘waiting children’ is to ensure that adoptive families are supported in their
efforts to provide safe and stable environments for their children. That
support must extend well beyond the day of adoption. In providing special
services, sharing information, building networks, and coordinating training for
adoptive families, The Post-Adoption Resource Center will play a critical role
in that process.”
The Center is funded by a five-year grant of $400,000 from
the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), plus $80,000 from The
Adoption Exchange (a nonprofit organization) for the first year. During the
2005-2006 fiscal year beginning in October, the grant will increase to $500,000
from the CDHS and $100,000 from The Adoption Exchange.
Other states should take note of this innovative network,
which was years in the making. The Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center can serve as a model for
other states seeking to provide much-needed services to adoptive families.
For more about the Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center, contact Pamela Avery at
303-807-1797, pavery@bozelljacobs.com.
For more about The Adoption Exchange, a nonprofit agency
that has helped find families for more than 4,300 children with special needs,
visit www.adoptex.org.
For more about the CDHS, which oversees Colorado’s 64 county departments of social/human services, visit www.cdhs.state.co.us.
Colorado Opens Post-Adoption Resource Center
in News, Issues, & Commentary
More than 6,000 Colorado families who have adopted children through
the child welfare system now have a resource network, called the Colorado Post-Adoption
The Center offers networking, education, lending libraries
and even financial assistance to adoptive families. One family received a grant of $500 from the
Center to help pay for a diagnostic medical exam (which was not covered by Medicaid)
for their son, while another family received a grant of $500 to help send their
teenage son to a two-week Outward Bound course in Utah.
Lt. Governor Jane Norton endorses the Center as part of her
“Strengthening Families” initiative. In a press release, Lt. Governor Norton
said, “The best hope for Colorado’s
efforts to provide safe and stable environments for their children. That
support must extend well beyond the day of adoption. In providing special
services, sharing information, building networks, and coordinating training for
adoptive families, The Post-Adoption Resource Center will play a critical role
in that process.”
The Center is funded by a five-year grant of $400,000 from
the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), plus $80,000 from The
Adoption Exchange (a nonprofit organization) for the first year. During the
2005-2006 fiscal year beginning in October, the grant will increase to $500,000
from the CDHS and $100,000 from The Adoption Exchange.
Other states should take note of this innovative network,
which was years in the making. The Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center can
other states seeking to provide much-needed services to adoptive families.
For more about the Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center,
303-807-1797, pavery@bozelljacobs.com.
For more about The Adoption Exchange, a nonprofit agency
that has helped find families for more than 4,300 children with special needs,
visit www.adoptex.org.
For more about the CDHS, which oversees Colorado’s 64 county departments of social/human services, visit www.cdhs.state.co.us.