Family Resources

• The Adoptee Film Channel: A selection of short films by Jean Strauss focusing on the adoptees which help many understand the issues adoptees face. 

• Cuyahoga County Adoption Subsidy Information: Adoption Subsidies are financial and service assistance given to the adoptive family to assist with meeting the child’s special needs. Subsidies are available for children with special needs or circumstances who meet the eligibility criteria. For further information, please contact Andrea Ginter with the Post Adoption/Subsidies Unit at 216-881-4090 or Andrea.Ginter@jfs.ohio.gov. 

• Ohio Foster Care and Adoption:  Office of Families and Children is part of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Provides resources and training for potential foster and/or adoptive parents. 

• Open Adoption Fact Sheet for Families: Provides adoptive families with information for understanding and maintaining open adoption.  Describes various levels of openness, potential benefits, important considerations, and tips for building and strengthening open relationships.

• Post Adopt for Intercountry Adoption: Information for obtaining citizenship, post-adoption and post-placement Reporting, and post adopt services. 

• Post Adoption Special Services Subsidy (PASSS): PASSS is a subsidy designed to help Ohio families after adoptions are finalized and is available to all adoptive families, with the exception of stepparent adoptions. More information can be found starting on page 12.

• The American Society for the Positive Care of Children: Provides a collection of free online parenting resources and a Learning Center which focuses on helping every child have the chance to become an outstanding adult.  

Counseling Resources 

• Finding a Therapist in Northeast Ohio: For help in finding a therapist, contact us at (216) 325-1000. See this article on the importance of using an adoption competent therapist. 

• Selecting and Working With a Therapist Skilled in Adoption: This fact sheet provides guidance in selecting a therapist skilled in adoption.

• Therapy for Adopted Children and Youth: Provides guidance for types of therapy, determining when to see therapy, and guidance on choosing a therapist. 

Transracial Adoptive Family Resources

• The Adopted Life: A blog whose mission is “strengthening the adoption community by empowering adoptees.” The blog includes both essays from the founder Angela Tucker and also includes a series of videos with Ms. Tucker interviewing adoptees. Ms. Tucker has also created a documentary, Closure, that details her search for her first family. 

• Code Switch:  An NPR weekly podcast about race has an episode about transracial adoption titled Our Homeland is Each Other.

• NACAC Transracial Resources:  A comprehensive list of adoptee perspective resources including blogs and books.

• My Mind on Paper:  Speaker and author Kevin Hofmann shines a light on race relations and transracial adoption.

Kinship Resources

• Child Welfare Information Gateway Resources for Relative and Kinship Caregivers: This section provides resources for kinship caregivers and outlines where relatives can go to find the support they need to be successful, including guidance on changing family dynamics and establishing permanency. Resources include handbooks and information about legal, financial, and other issues common to kinship families. 

• Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services:  Information to help kinship caregivers - including grandparents, aunts and uncles, other relatives, and family friends caring for children - work effectively with the child welfare system.

• Greater Cleveland Kinship Care Support Groups: A list of support groups compiled by the membership of the Kinship Care Service Provider Coalition. 

• Ohio Office for Children and Families: The Kinship Permanency Incentive (KPI) program was created to support children in the homes of family or friends who have committed to caring for them when birth parents cannot. 

• Public Children Services Association of Ohio:  Information about the broad continuum of family arrangements and governmental financial support when a child is placed out of the parents’ home.