We serve:
- ADOPTIVE FAMILIES
- ADOPTED CHILDREN
- BIRTH PARENTS
As proud as we are of our history, we are
equally proud of the progression and growth of our programs. It is our mission
to provide services to our clients in a manner that enables self-respect,
dignity, and self-determination. We believe that each person involved in the
decision making process for determining the adoptive placement of a child be
given as much control as possible in making a permanent, loving plan for each
and every child.
Catholic Charities and Family Services provides
a full spectrum of adoption services including:
- Home Studies for identified,
domestic, international, special needs and step-parent adoptions.
- Open, semi-Open, Identified
and traditional adoptions.
- Services relating to
termination of parental rights, statutory parenthood and finalization of
adoption.
- Post-placement supervision
of adoptive placements.
- Informational and support
groups for those engaged in the adoption process.
- Post-finalization adoption
services.
- Adoption Search for
relatives, medical information, non-identifying and reunion services.
We can help you:
- Understand the legal, family
and individual requirements of adoption.
- Complete a home study.
- Understand adoption and
parenting issues.
- Choose the adoption plan
best suited for your family.
- Meet the legal requirements
after a child is placed with your family.
All costs are based on a sliding fee scale.
Adoption Informational/Support Groups
Please join us for our workshop series.
Choose workshops that will be helpful to you and your family. This is
an opportunity for couples and families to meet for support, to learn
something new and to share their adoption experiences. Please RSVP
(860-889-8346, extension 282) for the upcoming workshops and for those you
would like to attend. Snacks will be provided.
Maryann Farrell-Williams is the Coordinator of the Adoption program.
Maryann wishes to express that it is a pleasure to help couples create and
expand their families through adoption.
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Norwich, Inc. is
a Connecticut
licensed child-placing agency which has been successfully facilitating adoptions
for over seventy years. We provide a full range of professional services to
individuals and couples of all races, religions and ethnic backgrounds.
For further information about Adoption Services, please contact:
Maryann Farrell-Willliams
Coordinator of Adoption Services
860-889-8346 Ext: 282
FAX: 860-889-2958
331 Main Street, Norwich CT 06360-5836
More Adoption Information
Before an individual or couple commits to any
adoption service, it is important that they fully explore and investigate the
process. This ensures that they have a thorough knowledge about this process,
related issues and how decisions will affect their family. Our Adoption
Program staff is trained and available to provide the information and
resources necessary to achieve this goal.
If you find that you are interested in our
services, please contact Maryann Farrell-Williams as soon as possible (at
860-889-8346, extension 282.) Depending on the services requested, the
demand for services often requires being on a waiting list.
An initial consultation interview is an
opportunity for the applicant(s) to gather information and to assess their
comfort with and confidence in our agency. Once a client commits to the
agency, an application is completed and the formal home study is begun. The
home study usually consists of 4-8 office meetings, one home visit and the
client’s compilation of various documents, forms and questionnaires.
A home study is viewed as being a tool by which
the applicant is able to assess his/her ability to become adoptive parent(s).
It is an educational, as well as, an evaluative process that evolves into a
written document that summarizes the process. It is the goal of the agency to
complete the home study process as soon as possible following initiation.
Once a couple/individual is approved by the agency, the State of Connecticut grants
licensure and the home is considered to be available for adoptive placement.
Within the Catholic Charities and Family Service
Adoption Program, children are placed only with those couples whose license
is held by CCFS. If a couple has completed a home study with another agency
and then chooses to be included in the CCFS, Norwich Diocese Adoption
Program, it is necessary that they withdraw from the agency that originally
approved them as an adoptive family, and then be approved by CCFS. Department
of Children and Families regulations, in the State of Connecticut require that a family be
approved by only one child-placing agency at any given time.
We hope that the following information will be
helpful to you as an introduction to the Adoption Program at Catholic
Charities and Family Services. In the following pages you will find C.C.F.S.
adoption program information including:
I.
Orientation
II.
Home study/ Pre-training
III.
Placement of Child
IV.
Post-Placement Supervision
V.
Finalization
VI.
Post-Adoptive Services
VII.
Adoption Fees
It is important for you to know that the
adoption of a child is truly possible. It takes hard work and a collaborative
effort between you and the agency. We assure you that through our combined
efforts and partnership, your adoption dream can become a reality. We are
well aware of the importance of the decision you are about to make and
welcome any phone calls, (860) 889-8346 extension 282, to provide further
clarification of the process.
ADOPTION SERVICES
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES
I.
Orientation
An orientation is required
for all applicants. This may be done in an individual or group setting
depending on the number of applicants at any one time. The purpose of the
orientation is to provide prospective adoptive parent(s) sufficient
information about the nature of the program and their responsibilities so
that they can decide if they wish to apply to adopt through this agency.
Information will be given to families about the process of being approved as
adoptive parent(s), the experiences of adoptive parents and the type of
children needing adoptive care.
II.
Home Study and Pre-Service Training
The purpose of the
home study is to evaluate the appropriateness of adoption and the particular
type of adoption desired, for each family. The standards used to determine
eligibility are taken from:
a. The Connecticut
Department of Children and Families’ Regulations for Foster and Adoptive
Families
b. The Council of
Accreditation of Services for Families and Children, Inc.
c. The Child Welfare
League of America
d. The United Way
These organizations’
standards have also been used to create the policies and procedures for all
of Catholic Charities and Family Services, Diocese of Norwich, Inc. programs.
The home study and
pre-service training takes an average of 6-7 sessions with an agency representative.
Most of the sessions are conducted at the agency offices and at least one is
done at the family home. The expected duration of the whole process is about
three months.
During a home study
an adoption social worker has interviews with an applicant(s) to observe the
child’s future living conditions. These interview visits are designed to
"get a feel" for prospective adopter(s) as individual(s) and/or as
a marital team, to assess their life histories, family background, reasons
for wanting to adopt a child and other significant life factors that may
influence their ability to parent a child through adoption. The social worker
then prepares a written report, recommending whether to place a child into
the applicant(s) home.
The home study
process is viewed as an opportunity for prospective adopters. Their feelings
are incorporated as important data to be used in their best interests rather
then to deny them a child. No parent is perfect and it is through the
applicant(s) openness and honesty about their life experiences and how they
have learned and grown from those experiences that makes this process a
rewarding and learning process.
Following the home
study is the Pre-Service Training Course. The objective of the training is to
educate families about raising an adopted child. All applicants are required
to participate in six hours of Parent Training classes. Families are required
to read books or articles and view films during the course of their sessions.
All applicants will
be asked to make a profile to be presented to the birth parents. The profile
will contain a picture of themselves, plus letters written to the birth
parents. Birthparents may request to meet the adoptive family to help them
make their adoptive decision. They may also request pictures or updates
concerning their birth child over the course of the child’s life. This
information will go through an agency representative to protect
confidentiality of all parties, if necessary.
III.
Placement of Child into the Home
A child may be placed into
the home anywhere from two days to three months after birth. Most children
are placed with families on a "legal risk" basis, meaning that the
birth parents’ rights have not yet been terminated in court. Adoptive parents
who decide on this plan will sign a "legal risk" agreement, stating
that they are aware of the child’s legal status.
Adoptive parents are
encouraged to visit children in foster care in order to develop a
relationship with the child and to prepare for the placement. All the
information that the agency has about the child’s’ legal, medical and social
history will be shared with the prospective adoptive family prior to
placement.
The fee for a domestic
adoption through CCFS, Diocese of Norwich, Inc. is also based on a sliding
fee scale, determined by the adoptive couples’ most recent tax return. The
family’s gross income as stated on their last completed year’s income tax
return is used to determine their fees. An estimate of all the fees is done
at the time of the home study. The final fee is then calculated at the time
when a child is placed in the home. An income based fee schedule is used to
determine your family’s adoption fee at the time of placement. The total
adoption fees are to be paid prior to the finalization of the adoption. The specifics
of this can be worked out with your adoption social worker.
In situations of Identified
Adoptions and some "agency assisted" Identified Adoptions, families
may also be asked to contribute additional fees for the birthmother’s
expenses, which are non-reimbursable, if the birthmother changes her mind.
This case management fee is due after the child has been legally freed for
adoption, i.e. after parental rights are terminated in court. Families are
asked to pay this fee within thirty days after the child is legally freed. If
necessary, families may opt to pay this over several months, in monthly
installments. This fee should be paid by the time the child has been in the
home for six months since this is when some families are able to start the
adoption finalization process. This fee must be paid in full before the
agency will proceed with the finalization.
IV.
Post-Placement
Supervision
Post-Placement
Supervision after the child has been placed in the home is required by the
State of Connecticut for all domestic
adoptions, within the United
States and may be required for some
international adoptions. The purpose of the supervision is for the agency to
monitor the health and well being of the child after placement. The
finalization or legal completion of all domestic adoptions is contingent upon
positive post-placement supervision reports. Since Catholic Charities becomes
a legally responsible party once a home study is conducted, the agency
requires all families to have three post-placement supervisions, even if the
child-placing agency in an international adoption does not require it.
Post-Placement
Supervision is done during the first six months after Catholic Charities and
Family Services, Diocese of Norwich, Inc. place a child into a home. Included
in the Post-Placement Supervision fee is the cost of traveling to the home,
additional case management and reports following each visit. An agency
representative will visit the family in the home a minimum of three times
over the six months and keep in contact by phone between the visits. The
first visit will occur within the first two weeks after placement and the
other visits will be spread over the remaining six months. During the visits,
the agency representative will discuss with the family issues related to the
placement and the child’s development. More visits may be scheduled if
necessary: for example, if the child and parents are not adjusting well to
each other.
The family’s
responsibilities during this time are for parent(s) to both meet with the
agency representative at the scheduled home visits and to keep the agency
informed of all significant events in the child’s life, including all
doctor’s visits. Families must have their pediatrician complete a doctor’s
report form for each appointment. Families must also inform the agency when
they travel out-of-state. Families must notify CCFS immediately regarding any
emergency in the home or any departure from this mutual agreement. Lastly,
any substitute caregivers must be approved in advance by the agency.
V.
Finalization
of the Adoption
Finalization must be
done for every adoption. Through this courts procedure, the adoption is made
legal and binding. For most international adoptions, finalization occurs in
the home country, but may be voluntarily repeated in the United States.
Families adopting through
this agency may sign an application for finalization at their home, or the
office at the end of the supervision period. This can be done if the agency
has found that the child is thriving in the home and the child has been
legally freed for adoption. About two months after the application is signed
a court hearing is scheduled. An agency representative, the adoptive family
and the child are all required to attend the hearing. There are no additional
agency fees for finalization services. Families are, however, required to pay
the court fee to the Probate Court for the hearing and any additional court
expenses.
VI.
Post-Adoption Services
Catholic Charities
and Family Services, Diocese of Norwich, Inc. provides services to families
after adoptions are finalized. Adoption is a life long process; therefore,
services are available to assist families as needed when adoption issues
arise. The agency has a DCF required Parent Training Program which meets regularly.
The purpose of this program is for families to come together to meet, provide
support, receive information on topics as they relate to adoption issues and
share information with one another. The agency provides educational seminars
on various adoption and parenting subjects. This is an open group and
families are asked to register for the training sessions. The agency also
holds an annual Adoption Program Picnic each summer.
Should you have any
further questions about the above services, please consult your Adoption
Program worker.
VII.
Adoption Program Fee Schedule
Complete Adoption Search: $250.00
·
Non-identifying
information is $75.00.
·
Reunion registration is free of charge.
·
Medical search
information is $25.00.
Traditional Adoption Program:
Application fee is
$300.00
The total adoption
fee is based upon a sliding fee scale.
1. Home Study -
$1500.00 (Minus $300.00 application fee).
· This fee is paid over the course of the
three months it will take to complete the home study.
2.
Placement - Income based fee schedule.
3.
Post Placement
Supervision - $350.00 each (Total
$1050.00 for the three required visits). Note: Some international adoptions
require more visits. This fee is due six months after the child is
placed in the home. No adoption will be finalized in court until all
fees are paid.
Home Study Only:
·
For families doing
international, out-of-state, or identified adoption the fee is $1500.00
Identified Adoption:
The fees are broken
down into three increments.
1. Home Study: $1500.00
2. Placement:
Determined by an income-based fee schedule.
3. Post-Placement Supervision: $350.00 each (Three required).
Re-Licensing of Homes:
· If a previous home study is less than two
years old an update can be done. The fee for an updated home study is
$800.00.
· Home studies more than five years old are
considered invalid; therefore, a new home study is required. The standard fee
for a home study is $1500.00.
Additional Reports and
Addendums:
The fee for additional
services is $85.00 per hour.
Step Parent Adoptions:
The fee for this service is
$1500.00.
Termination of Parental
Rights:
The fee for this service is
$500.00.
Clinical Adoption
Sessions:
The fee is $ 85.00 per hour.
An orientation fee will be deducted from the Home study fee if you decide to
commit to our program.
For further information about Adoption Services, please contact:
Maryann Farrell-Williams
Coordinator of Adoption Services
860-889-8346 Ext: 282
FAX: 860-889-2958
331 Main Street, Norwich CT 06360-5836
© 2000 Catholic Charities & Family Services Diocese
of Norwich
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Last Update: 11 April 2007
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