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Adoption Promotion and
Support Services
Adoption Promotion and Support Services (APSS) is federally funded through the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Act. (PSSF). The specific goal of the APSS Program is to increase permanency for children in Los Angeles County. This is a new resource available to all children's social workers where the issue is permanence. Adoption from foster care is promoted when it is in the best interest of the child.
Community-based agencies located in each Service Planning Area (SPA) provide coordinated services. These APSS service providers have adoption expertise and are trained to focus on adoption-related issues. The specific services are individual, group or family therapy, mentors, and support groups for children and/or adults. Services are available when the primary focus or concern of the child or family is adoption related. The referring children's social worker does not have to be an Adoption Division staff member. The family can be considering adoption, be in the process of adopting or a finalized adoptive family with Medi-Cal benefits.
Contracted APSS agencies provide support to children and adoptive families to nurture lifetime commitments, to ensure permanency for children, to expedite the adoption process, and to reduce disruption of adoption. Case management services ensure a service plan designed to strengthen and preserve the child and/or family.
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The expected outcome of APSS services is a decrease in the number of children remaining in out-of-home care and an increase in the number of finalized adoptions. Parents and children are empowered through information, support and skills to be involved partners in directing their own permanency planning and decision making.
APPS agencies in addition to case management and the specified services can provide referrals for linkage services that can include childcare, health care, mental health; physical and developmental services, Regional Center Services, educational, special education, substitute adult role model, income support and transportation services.
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Targeted Population are:
- Children with an alternative permanent plan of adoption for whom adoption recruitment efforts are underway.
- Children in long term foster care that could benefit from a more permanent plan of adoption.
- Children who are hesitant about being adopted.
- Families pursuing adoptions by becoming a resource family through participation in Partnering for Safety and Permanence- Model Approach for Partnership in Parenting (PS-MAPP).
- Families involved in the adoption process including pre-adoption activities and the adoption home study.
- Children and families in need of support and services before, during and following adoptive placement.
- Families in need of support services due to risk of adoption disruption after adoption finalization.
- Families adopting a sibling group.
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Children must be less than eighteen years of age. All therapy services require Medi-Cal. Therapy is only provided to families who are in a match or placement with a child. Finalized adoptive families receive support group services from DCFS Post Adoption Section (PAS) but are eligible to receive other APSS services. The family must be referred by their Children's Social Worker to the APSS Program Manager or, once they are receiving APSS services, are referred by another APSS service provider. APSS service providers work in collaboration with other APSS service providers. A continuum of service is created. The Children's Social Worker receives quarterly progress reports
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