Adoption Assistance

The Adoption Assistance program seeks to support the placement of children with Special Needs into permanent adoptive homes. Without such support, these children are at risk of remaining in temporary foster care for long periods of time. In Georgia, children are identified as having “special needs” as it relates to adoption assistance when they meet one of the following criteria at the time of adoptive placement:

• A child who has been in the care of a public or private agency or individual other than the legal or biological parent for more than 24 consecutive months.
• A child with physical, mental, or emotional disability, as validated by a licensed physician or psychologist.
• A child who is a member of a sibling group of 2 or more placed in the same home (for adoption).

Adoption Assistance must be applied for and approved, with an Adoption Assistance agreement signed prior to the finalization of the adoption. In all cases, it must be documented that the adoption would not be possible without adoption assistance.

Types of Adoption Assistance

State of Georgia Post Adoption Resources:

Special Services

Special Services funds are state funds which may be used to provide time-limited or one-time-only funding for a needed service when no other family or community resource is available. Special Services may include, but are not limited to funding for medical services, therapy/counseling services, dental/orthodontic services, respite services, or other services related to the child’s special needs. 

Special Services Adoption Assistance benefits are only available for children who:

• Were in the permanent custody of the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) at the time of being placed on adoptive status or who were transferred from DFCS custody into the permanent custody of a specified individual for the purpose of adoption;
• Are under 18 years of age; and
• Are currently receiving monthly adoption assistance benefits.

Applications for Special Services may be made prior to adoption finalization by contacting the Social Services Case Manager or after adoption finalization by contacting the Regional PAD Manager. Approval or denial of the request is made by the Social Services Administration Unit (SSAU). Approval is for a 12-month period of time and is contingent upon the availability of funds and the appropriateness of the request. Requests for multiple special services may be submitted and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Georgia Center for Resources & Support (GCARS)

The Georgia Center for Resources & Support is available to assist families in locating needed resources. All adoptive families living in Georgia are invited to join the GACRS forever family Facebook group: The Adoptive Family Journey.  This group allows adoptive parents to connect, share, and learn from others about their adoptive family journey. Within the group, families are encouraged to discuss interests and concerns about parenting an adopted child or children. To join, visit the GACRS Facebook page or the GACRS website.

The GACRS website, located at gacrs.org, provides a variety of information and resources for adoptive and foster parents, such as:

• Directory of resources available in Georgia for adoptive and foster parents
• Calendar of upcoming trainings and events that are available throughout Georgia
• Virtual certificate trainings
• Online access to the GACRS lending library which allows parents to request books, articles, and DVDs by e-mail or phone

Regional Resource Advisors are available throughout Georgia to assist adoptive families by providing advice, support, and training. Resource Advisors and GACRS staff can be reached through e-mail at: [email protected] or by phone at: 1-866-A PARENT (1-866-272-7368). Parents need to provide their name, county of residence, and contact information, and a Resource Advisor will respond.

Family Intervention Team (FIT)

Family Intervention Team (FIT) provides services to adoptive families in need of professional help to improve overall family functioning, preserve the family unit, and provide links to community resources. FIT assists adoptive families of special needs children who receive Adoption Assistance benefits.

When a parenting challenge becomes a serious problem, FIT can provide early intervention services designed to prevent disruptions and dissolutions and preserve the family unit. The program consists of Mobile Intervention Teams, including a Team Leader and an Intervention Specialist, who provide in-home family assessments and counseling to families on a statewide basis. All Team members understand the dynamics of the adoption process as well as the unique problems of attachment, trauma and loss which are common in children with multiple placements. They are trained in the prevention of aggressive behaviors, the de-escalation of crisis situations and the development of therapeutic intervention plans to address interpersonal relationships, school performance and physical/emotional health issues.

While FIT is not designed to replace medical or therapeutic care, it helps the child and family identify and resolve problematic issues. Services provided by FIT are for a limited time only. When intervention services are discontinued, families are referred to community resources coordinated by the FIT.

Family Intervention Team (FIT) services are provided by:

Care4All for North Georgia and Region 13; and by

Chris 180 for South Georgia and Region 14

Request for a referral form should be emailed to [email protected].

Teen Adoption and Guardianship Support (TAGS)

TAGS is a statewide post adoption service program designed for adopted teens, 13 to 18.5 years old. TAGS provides teen participants with an opportunity to gain mutual support and self-expression through group interactions with other adopted teens. Meetings are alternately hosted virtually and in-person across the state of Georgia.

Teens who have experienced adoption or guardianship may struggle with complex issues which can affect adolescent development. These teens can benefit from sharing with others who have similar circumstances. Even when teens appear happy and well-adjusted in their adoptive or guardianship families, they may still be dealing with the effects of their early life experience.

With the help of adult mentors, TAGS participants are encouraged to express their feelings openly in a safe environment. For many participants, this type of peer support group is their first opportunity to interact with others who have a shared experience and to learn that their feelings are normal. Participants may benefit from hearing how others have coped with their feelings and may also inspire each other to grow in self-acceptance and self-respect.

TAGS also offers parent support, educational resources, and training materials for adoptive parents. These additional supports are available to help this special population forge even stronger family attachments and enhance their future relationships.

Eligibility

Teens who are currently receiving Adoption Assistance funds and/or have been in the custody of a state agency and are either in an adoptive placement or a finalized adoption may be eligible to participate in TAGS. Teens placed by Georgia DFCS into guardianship homes are also eligible to participate in TAGS. TAGS welcomes adopted and guardianship teens who will benefit from being part of a supportive group where participants may demonstrate mutual respect for and acceptance of others. This program may not be well suited for teens who have significant difficulty interacting within a large group setting.

Pre-registration is required for all participants, as space is limited at each host site.

Contact Carrie Steele-Pitts Home to register online at csph.org/tags.

Together, Inspiring , Engagement, and Support (TIES)

With a focus on the lifelong aspects of adoption, this annual training seminar celebrates, promotes, and explores issues related to adoption, with its primary focus being to support and strengthen adoptive families. Through this event, adoptive parents and foster to adopt parents who have adoptive children placed in their homes are provided an excellent opportunity to increase their knowledge base and skills concerning adoption-related issues, services for adoptive families, and the parenting of adopted children. A wide variety of workshops are offered on topics such as understanding developmental assessments, parenting children with complex medical issues, coping with attachment-related issues, guidance for behavioral concerns, identifying emotional triggers, special educational services, supporting children through developmental stages, and much more. 

The Ties Training Seminar is truly a family centered event, with all ages welcome. In addition to childcare, age-appropriate workshops and fun-filled activities are provided for all children. There is a Teen Leadership Program that provides teen participants with exciting opportunities for personal growth. Teens are offered the opportunity to learn valuable life skills that focus on making positive choices, overcoming obstacles, developing critical thinking, reducing violence, and setting goals. Parents can enjoy the seminar secure in the knowledge that their children are nearby and enjoy a positive and fun learning experience themselves. 

Anyone interested should contact:

The Social Services Administration Unit
Georgia Department of Human Services
47 Trinity Ave. S.W., 1st Floor
Atlanta, GA 30334
Phone: 678-209-8856
E-mail: c[email protected]

Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry

Adoptees, birthparents, or siblings who have been permanently separated through adoption often reach a time in their lives when they want more information about their biological family. This “need to know” may be due to medical, genetic, genealogical, or personal reasons. The Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry provides the following services:

• Assistance to an adult adoptee in order to establish contact with the adoptee’s biological parents with the expressed consent of the biological parent(s).
• Assistance to adult siblings in establishing contact with each other (provided at least one of them is an adoptee) with the expressed consent of the sibling who is being sought.
• Provides an adult adoptee or adoptive parents of an adoptee under age 18 with non-identifying information from the sealed adoption record without having to obtain a court order.
• Assistance to biological parents in registering their consent to contact/release birth family identifying information or to register their desire not to have contact and preventing the release of birth family identifying information from the sealed adoption record.
• Assistance to siblings in registering their consent to have contact or to register their desire not to have contact with the searcher. 

For more information, call the Georgia Adoption Reunion Registry at 470-834-0538 or visit their website at ga-adoptionreunion.com.

Other Community Resources (not offered through DFCS):

ADOPTS Services Program

Bethany Christian Services provides a variety of post adoption services to strengthen adoptive and foster/adopt families in Georgia.  

Services include:

• Trauma-informed counseling (ADOPTS) for children who experienced abuse or neglect prior to adoption
• Coaching for adoptive parents
• Crisis Intervention

Counseling

ADOPTS is a 14 to 19-week therapy program developed by Bethany Christian Services to address the impact of past traumatic experiences such as abuse and neglect on present relationships, feelings, behaviors, and sense of self. ADOPTS serves children between the ages of 4 and 18, and parents and children participate in counseling sessions together. In addition to the family counseling sessions, parents and children also participate in six weeks of groups that reinforce therapeutic skills and offer support.

Parent Coaching

Parenting a child through adoption often comes with a unique set of challenges, especially when a child has experienced abuse or neglect prior to adoption. Parent Coaching offers parents 6 sessions with a Bethany coach who provides individualized support through challenges related to adjustment, attachment, past trauma, parenting skills, behavior management, and self-care.  Current office locations for parent coaching include Atlanta, Powder Springs, Athens, Columbus, and Chattanooga.  For families living outside of these service areas, Parent Coaching services can be provided through video conferencing. 

Crisis Intervention

Crisis intervention services are available for children involved in the ADOPTS Counseling program who need additional therapeutic support or stabilization. These services can take place at the Bethany Atlanta office as well as in the home for families living in the metro Atlanta area. 

Eligibility

• A child/adolescent has been placed in your home for adoption OR you finalized an adoption; and
• Your adopted child/adolescent is (or was) in the legal custody of the State prior to adoptive placement; and
• Your family lives in Georgia

Inquiries or questions should be directed to:

Intake email: [email protected]

Complete an online referral form here.

Siblings Forever

Siblings Forever, formerly known as Camp to Belong-Georgia, is a nonprofit organization which supports family connections by serving siblings who have experienced sibling separation due to foster care, adoption, kinship care, parental custody issues, and more. Siblings Forever primarily serves youth 8 to 18 years of age.

Summer Camps

Siblings Forever hosts a weeklong summer camp that is free for youth to attend with their separated siblings. This camp has specialized programming to support and strengthen sibling connections in a safe setting that creates lifelong memories. Camp activities include:

• Personalized Memory Books with photos from the week
• Gifts from the Heart- crafts that siblings make for each other
• Siblings Give Back- a service project done by siblings
• Party Night- a group birthday party celebration.

Family Connections Events

As part of an expansion of programming, Siblings Forever now offers Family Connections. In addition to hosting separated brothers and sisters at events, Siblings Forever hosts separated siblings and their families at day and weekend events. These events allow the families of separated siblings to connect, creating deeper bonds and connections that can continue into the future.

The camp is located at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge, GA — Siblings Forever provides transportation from bus stops in the Atlanta area.

Siblings Forever   
266 Gladys Lane
Young Harris, Ga 30582
Telephone: 770-296-5070
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: siblingsforever.org

Georgia Independent Living Program (ILP)

The Division of Family and Children Services may deem adopted youth ages 18-21 to be eligible for Independent Living Services if they were in foster care past the age of 14 and for a total of 6 months or more (other ILP criteria may apply).  ILP services may include life skills workshops, financial assistance with secondary and post-secondary expenses such as high school graduation fees and college tuition, opportunities for socialization, and advocacy and support to assist the youth with establishing and pursuing personal goals.  Adoptive parents or youth turning 18 may obtain further information and contact an Independent Living Specialist by going online at garyse-ilp.org.

State of Georgia Adoption Tax Credit

The State of Georgia offers a Tax Credit of $6,000.00 to parents for the adoption of a qualified foster child. A qualified child is defined as a child who is under 18 years of age and is in a foster home or otherwise in the foster care system under the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS).

This credit of $6,000.00 will be available beginning the tax year the adoption becomes final for five (5) taxable years and will change to $2,000.00 per taxable year thereafter. The credit ends in the year the child turns age 18. Adoptive parents should consult with their tax professional before filing.

For Georgia tax information, please visit the website for the Georgia Department of Revenue at: dor.georgia.gov/taxes. GA Form IND-CR is used for claiming this tax credit in Georgia and is required to be enclosed with Form 500.

Federal Adoption Tax Credit

The Federal Adoption Tax Credit is available to families who meet eligibility requirements, which includes the adoption of a child who has been determined to meet “Special Needs” criteria by DFCS.

Adoptive families interested in finding out more information about the Federal Adoption Tax Credit should consult with their tax professional before filing taxes. Families may also go to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website listed below, which has information about the Federal Adoption Tax Credit: irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.

Families Rising, an organization providing education, support, and advocacy for adoptive, foster, and kinship families, has information regarding the Federal Adoption Tax Credit on their website: wearefamiliesrising.org.

Childcare Assistance

Childcare assistance is not available directly through DHS Post Adoption Services.  However, the Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) is responsible for meeting the childcare and early education needs of children in Georgia. For more information on DECAL, visit their website at decal.ga.gov/BftS/About.aspx. In addition, see Section 6100 – Child Care and Programmatic Requirements in the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Manual which is available at odis.dhs.ga.gov under Childcare and Parent Services – MAN3540.                        

Please Note:  Adoptive parents must meet the basic work and income requirements of CAPS.  However, adoptive parents who receive adoption assistance benefits are not required to count those benefits as income when applying for childcare assistance through CAPS.  Also, if an adoptive parent can provide proof from a doctor or other licensed professional that their child has special needs, such as a medical, behavioral, developmental or mental health diagnosis, they may be considered for “priority status”, and not be affected by State or County fund restrictions.

Organizations Supportive of Special Needs Children:

ARCH National Respite Network Respite Locator Service (search by state to locate Georgia’s respite) 
archrespite.org/us-map

Easter Seals:
easterseals.com

Friends of disabled adults and children (FODAC )
fodac.org

March of Dimes:
marchofdimes.org

United Way:
liveunited.org

For more information regarding Adoption Assistance and Post Adoption Services, please contact the Social Services Administration Unit (SSAU) at 404-657-3550.