AdoptUSKids publications

AdoptUSKids resource guides, developed by experts in the child welfare field, are provided free of charge to professionals working to find safe, permanent homes for children in foster care.

Find additional publications at the website of the National Resource Center for Diligent Recruitment at AdoptUSKids.

Resource guides available to be downloaded

Barriers & Success Factors in Adoption from Foster Care: Perspectives of Families & Staff Report (21 MB PDF). Outlines the findings of two national research studies conducted in 2007.

Dollars and Sense: A Guide to Achieving Adoptions Through Public-Private Contracting (264 KB PDF). Provides public and private agency program managers, supervisors, and contract managers with information that can help make the purchase of interjurisdictional adoption services truly work.

Finding a Fit That Will Last a Lifetime: A Guide to Connecting Adoptive Families with Waiting Children (225 KB PDF). Written for child and family caseworkers, the guide focuses on best practices in matching and provides step-by-step guidance to evaluate possible choices and select a family for a child.

Finding Common Ground—A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies Working with Communities of Faith (1.3 MB PDF). Shares the “art and the science” involved in building effective partnerships with communities of faith and includes examples of promising practices in collaboration.

ICPC: Receiving State Checklist (210 KB PDF). Outlines the basic steps for caseworkers to complete to receive a child coming from another state.

ICPC: Sending State Checklist (241 KB PDF). Outlines the basic steps for caseworkers to complete the interstate placement process for a child or youth being sent to another state.

Lasting Impressions: A Guide for Photolisting Children (810 KB PDF). Outlines tips for using a child-centered approach when preparing photos and narratives when photolisting children and youth. Includes worksheets and sample photolistings.

Nuestra Familia, Nuestra Cultura (Our Family, Our Culture): Promoting and Supporting Latino Families in Adoption and Foster Care (406 KB PDF). Provides information about family cultural values and tips and techniques for increasing effectiveness in working with parents of Hispanic and Latino heritage.

Practitioner's Guide: Getting More Parents for Children from Your Recruitment Efforts (294 KB PDF). Contains tips that teams and individuals can use to improve recruitment results and helps professionals take a comprehensive look at the local response process—from the first call to when a child is placed.

Support Matters: Lessons from the Field on Services for Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship Care Families (2 MB PDF). Highlights successful family support efforts of 31 programs throughout the country and features information gathered from research and from leaders in the field about implementing support services.

Taking a Break: Creating Foster, Adoptive and Kinship Respite Care in Your Community (2 MB PDF). Helps parent group leaders partner with public agencies to successfully develop and implement respite care programs in their communities.

Wherever My Family Is: That's Home - Adoption Services for Military Families (1.8 MB PDF). Focuses on what adoption agencies and military personnel can do to prepare and help families to adopt children, including their relatives’ children, from foster care.

Working with African American Adoptive, Foster and Kinship Families (2.5 MB PDF). Assists public and private child welfare staff in their work with prospective and current African American foster, adoptive, and kinship families.