California post-adoption support

Below are post-adoption support services available to families who live in California. Services may not be available in all areas and/or may be dependent upon the circumstances of the placement. Please check with your post-adoption services provider about the availability of specific post-adoption or guardianship support services for your family. You can also visit Child Welfare Information Gateway for information on Adoption and Guardianship Assistance, as well as additional information on post-adoption support.

Post-adoption/guardianship support services

In California, adoptive families have access to the following services through a post-adoption support program:

Child and youth assessments
Information (websites, fact sheets, articles, etc.)
Referral to services
Training/other development
Birth family mediation
Peer support for parents
Peer support for children/teens
Mentoring for parents
Mentoring for children/teens
Case management
Educational support
Respite care
Camps, retreats, or other events
Financial/material support
Community-based therapeutic services
In-home therapeutic services
Residential therapeutic services
Crisis intervention

The specific services available may vary by county and depend on the needs of the child and the circumstances of the placement.

Who is eligible for these services?

Families who have adopted from the state’s foster care system
Families who have adopted from another state’s foster care system
Families who have adopted internationally or privately

Who provides these services?

Post-adoption services in California are provided through each county’s Department of Health and Human Services. The county public agency may provide services directly, or may contract with a private agency to provide support services to families. Find a list of county department websites at the County Welfare Directors Association website. You can find more information about available services at California Kids Connection and the California Department of Social Services, Adoption Resources website. The California Association of Adoption Agencies also has additional information on post-adoption services.

Parent support groups

Below are support groups for adoptive, kinship, and foster families. Support groups may be offered as part of a state’s post-adoption/guardianship support program, through a statewide or regional foster or adoptive parent association, through specific agencies, or may be run independently. If we have additional information about the group’s purpose or the community served, it’s provided under the group’s contact information.

To add a group or make a suggestion, email the AdoptUSKids family support team.

Statewide association

California State Foster Parent Association

Parent groups

Adopt Salon Constellation Support Group - Los Angeles, Adoptive Parent Support Group
[email protected]
310-351-8113
Location: Los Angeles

Adoption Connection/Jewish Family Services
[email protected]
Location: San Francisco

Adoption Horizons
[email protected]
707-476-9210
Location: Eureka

Adoptive Families Support Group
661-722-4220
Location: Lancaster

all for KIDS
[email protected]
Location: Los Angeles

Alternative Family Services
[email protected]
Location: Oakland

Aspiranet Foster & Family Services – Adoption Agency
[email protected]
Location: Clovis

Bay Area Adoption Services
[email protected]
Location: Mountain View

Bethany Christian Services - North
[email protected]
Location: Modesto

Capital Adoptive Families Alliance
[email protected]
Location: Granite Bay
Region served: Sacramento

Child SHARE/South Bay Parent Support Group
[email protected]
Location: Hermosa Beach
Region served: Los Angeles

Children's System of Care - Placer County
[email protected]
Location: Auburn

Chrysalis House, Inc.
[email protected]
Location: Fresno

EMQ Families First
[email protected]
Location: Fresno

EMQ Families First
[email protected]
Location: Sacramento

Extraordinary Families
[email protected]
Location: Los Angeles

Families Adopting In Response (FAIR)
[email protected]
Location: Palo Alto
Region served: Bay Area

Family Connections Christian Adoptions
[email protected]
Location: Modesto

FASD Network of Southern California
[email protected]

Five Acres The Boys' & Girls' Aid Society of Los Angeles
[email protected]
Location: Altadena

Foster Care and Adoptive Community
Location: Chatsworth

Foster VC Kids
[email protected]
Location: Oxnard

Fresno County Department of Social Services
Location: Fresno

Guardians of Love
[email protected]
Location: Los Angeles

Hannah's Children's Homes
[email protected]
Location: Orange

Heart to Heart Post Adoption Support and Education
[email protected]
916-788-0199
Location: Roseville
Region served: Sacramento

Help One Child
[email protected]
Location: Los Altos
Region served: Bay Area

Holy Family Services – Counseling and Adoption
[email protected]
Location: Los Angeles

Inner Circle Foster Care and Adoption Services
[email protected]
Location: Van Nuys

International Christian Adoptions
[email protected]
Location: Temecula

Jewish Family Service of Orange County
[email protected]
Location: Irvine

Kern Bridges Youth Homes
[email protected]
661-396-2301
Location: Bakersfield

Kids & Families Together
[email protected]
805-643-1446
Location: Ventura

Kinship Center, Member of Seneca Family of Agencies
[email protected]
Location: Salinas

Latino Family Institute, Inc.
[email protected]
Location: West Covina

Life Adoption Services, Inc.
[email protected]
Location: Tustin

Lifetime Adoption Inc.
[email protected]
Location: New Port Richey

Lilliput Children's Services
Region served: Amador, Calaveras, Yolo, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Trinity, Del Norte, Butte, Shasta, and San Joaquin Counties

Little People of America Adoption Committee
Location: Sonoma

McKinley Children's Center
Location: San Dimas

Mountain Circle Family Services, Inc.
[email protected]
Location: Greenville

Olive Crest Adoption Services
[email protected]
Location: Santa Ana

Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services
[email protected]
Location: Palmdale

Pact, an Adoption Alliance
[email protected]
Location: Emeryville

Parents Anonymous Inc.
[email protected]
Location: Claremont

San Mateo Co Adoption Education Group
[email protected]
650-802-7631
Location: Belmont
Region served: Bay Area

Serenity Foster Care & Adoption
[email protected]
Location: Covina

Share Homes
Location: Lodi

Shasta County Health & Human Service Agency
Location: Redding

Stanford Sierra Youth & Families
Location: El Dorado, Sacramento