Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
Adoptions of children who were wards of the state increased slightly over the previous year; Staff worked with the State and designed a system to more accurately track the status and outcomes for waiting children; Programming tangible outcomes revealed that among families using HELP clinic services, adoptions were preserved; Families provided with short term therapeutic services doubled over the previous year; Trainings for professionals and webinars doubled over the previous year; The number of therapists inquiring and receiving trainings and other services increased as did the number of therapists contracted to provide services to MARN/MN ADOPT families. More families reported that HELP clinic services prevented an adoption from disruptions was documented than in the previous year; Trainings were provided to kinship and foster families.
Current Goals
Goals for this year are to further the mission through an increase in adoptions of children who are wards of the state; to find more families for older youth and children of color; to continue to refine the tracking, status and outcomes for waiting children; to continue to reduce adoption disruptions through assessments and short term therapeutic services to families; to prevent "re-homing" of children where adoptive families unprepared to parent children with special needs are using the Internet to place them with other families; to assure that therapists are trained to be adoption-competent; to increase long term trauma-based trainings for families and for professionals; to expand services to kinship and foster families.
Community or Constituency Served
Minnesota Adoption Resource Network/MN ADOPT serves Minnesota children in foster care awaiting adoption; kinship, foster and adoptive families; and professionals in the child welfare system.
Geographic Area Served
Minnesota serves the entire state of Minnesota, doing recruitment, informing, support, training and crisis assessments for families and children across the state.
