Across Alabama, countless children are waiting to find the love and stability of a forever home. While each of these children has a story to tell, many of those in foster care have special needs with intricate narratives to share.
Children with special needs may require a range of additional, specialized resources for them to reach their fullest potential, which may seem overwhelming at first. By partnering with Alabama Pre/Post Adoption Connections (APAC), you’re guaranteed to have a helping, seasoned, and knowledgeable hand guiding you every step of the way. From medical resources to community support, APAC cares for every part of the human condition, allowing you to focus on the joy of the journey.
Medical Resources
In Alabama, a child with special needs is defined as not only having certain physical, mental, or emotional disabilities, but also having a birth parent with substance abuse, mental illness, or other conditions which would put them at a higher risk of developing these conditions. In Alabama, the special needs adoption criteria is a range of unique circumstances. Children who fall under this category do not have to represent all of the circumstances listed, but at least one of them. Special needs criteria also include children 5 years of age or older, children who are a part of a sibling group of 2 or more entering the same adopted home, and or children with a certain physical, mental, or emotional disability that warrant higher levels of care.
No matter your specific circumstances, adopting a child with special needs will likely present specific challenges. APAC believes knowledge is power to attempt to foresee these obstacles and create a proactive plan. APAC will provide pre-placement counseling, background reviews, psychosocial testing, and other assessments specifically for your child. These tools allow you to have as much information as available about your child’s medical and emotional history before proceeding. While serious thought should be given at this step, the rewards of adopting a child with special needs are truly unique, especially since these children are at a higher risk of aging out of the foster care system without joining a forever family.
You’ll discuss your child’s treatment plans with members of the APAC team so the holistic view of necessary care and associated finances can be considered. But even here, you’re not alone – medical subsidies and adoption assistance programs are available through the State of Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR). For example, you can receive up to $1,000 in one-time assistance to finalize your adoption. And, if your child is receiving counseling from a provider that doesn’t accept Medicaid at the time they’re adopted, there are financial assistance programs to make sure this benefit doesn’t lapse once your adoption is finalized. APAC will help you navigate these assistance programs to ensure your child integrates into your family successfully with financial burden minimized.
Emotional Support and Community
Medical needs can be demanding at times for a child with special needs, but APAC knows care for a child with special needs and their family goes far beyond the physical for them to truly thrive. This is why APAC has become a regional leader in emotional, behavioral, and community support.
Counseling services (either in your home, offices across the state, or virtually) are available with life-giving, adoption-competent, licensed providers. You and your adopted child, as well as other members of your family, are eligible to receive these services at no cost. This is a service that’s truly invaluable—100% of families who received adjustment counseling reported improvements in their family dynamics, according to a recent survey.
While we plan for success, sometimes the unforeseen or urgent still happens. But the unexpected doesn’t need to usher in despair, thanks to APAC’s crisis intervention services. Other care coordination resources including respite care are also available. In addition, APAC therapists moderate support groups across the state. Your navigator can help you get plugged in with a group in your region.
Seasonal events provide other ways to get to know other families like yours. Camp APAC is a place to get both your adopted child and their siblings connected to a greater community through an annual, classic summer camp experience sure to spur on acceptance and friendship. In fact, a recent survey found an astounding 100% of children would deem Camp APAC a positive experience.
APAC also provides resources that you can discover as your schedule allows. A Private Facebook group, “The Adoption Adventure: For Adoptive Parents in Alabama” connects you with families who might be geographically further away. They also house the state’s largest lending library on adoption-related resources. These products ship to you and return to the library free of cost.
Educational Advocacy
School may also be more intricate to orchestrate when you adopt a child with special needs, especially if this is your first experience. APAC will be your go-to as you advocate for your child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) and 504 plan to provide the specific accommodations they need during the school day. APAC counselors can even attend school meetings with you to make sure every detail is properly addressed.
Professional Training
APAC strives to keep adoptive families educated at every step of the adoption process, continuing to each stage of your child’s life. But APAC also believes that they cannot provide the best education to adoptive families without doing the same for their staff and other professionals in our state. They are continually innovating their educational programs to reflect most recent trauma-responsive, adoption data. In fact, APAC is the only Training for Adoption Competency (TAC)-accredited program in the state, meaning they’re renowned experts on grief, loss, attachment, and other emotionally rich dynamics. As pioneers in the professional educational space on adoption, APAC also provides CEU-accredited events, such as the annual Permanency Conference (with over 300 providers attending in years past). They also are at the helm of the Trained Therapist Network that provides adoption-related training to professionals who serve adoptive families and adoptive parents. Numerous webinars, seminars, and on-demand trainings on topics such as bullying and PTSD for both families and professionals are also hosted throughout the year.
APAC additionally teaches the Trauma-Informed Parenting Strategies (TIPS) training. This course is required for adoptions in Alabama; it will equip you with a primer on relational tools to proactively parent and nurture a child who might need healing from a hurtful past. All of these educational offerings will help you become a therapeutic resource for your adopted child so that they in turn will develop resilience and emotional regulation from your example.
Adopting a Special Needs Child: Truly a Special Opportunity
Adopting a child is one of the most inspiring, life-changing commitments for the next generation. Adopting a child with special needs is particularly courageous with its unique challenges. By engaging APAC, you’ll have all the tools and support you need to confidently provide a wonderful environment for your child. When you’re ready to provide a stable forever home to a child awaiting their new family, click here to learn more about the specific support structures APAC provides.
