Missouri post-adoption support
Below are post-adoption and guardianship support services available to families who live in Missouri. 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.
On this page:
Post-adoption/guardianship support services
In Missouri, adoptive and guardianship families have access to the following services through a post-adoption/guardianship support program:
- Information (websites, fact sheets, articles, etc.)
- Referral to services or advocacy
- Training/other development
- Peer support for parents
- Peer support for children/teens
- Respite care
- Educational support/advocacy
- Community-based therapeutic services
- In-home therapeutic services
- Crisis intervention
In addition, the following services may be available to families if they are negotiated as part of the adoption/guardianship assistance agreement:
- Residential therapeutic services
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 took guardianship of a child from foster care
Who provides these services?
The Missouri Department of Social Services contracts with private providers to operate five regional Adoption Resource Centers. Services provided by each center vary slightly.
For more information about the providers and services, including support groups, visit the state’s Adoption Resource Center website.
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.
Adoption Triad Support Network KC
GAPMOTHER@aol.com
Location: Liberty
Annie Malone Children and Family Service Center
Location: St. Louis
Attachment and Integration Methods
kmbenckendorf@gmail.com
Location: Saint Louis
Boone County Foster/Adoptive Parent Support Group
kbanderson6@gmail.com
Location: Hartsburg
Central Missouri Foster Care & Adoption Association
Deanna@mofosteradopt.com
573-298-0258
Location: Jefferson City
Cherish Kids
info@cherishkids.org
Location: Ozark
Children's Home Society of Missouri
Location: Brentwood
Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition
melaniescheetz@foster-adopt.org
Location: Saint Louis
Foster Adoption Support Team (FAST)
fast@fosteradoptscc.org
Location: Saint Charles
Foster and Adoptive Parent Support Group
nickiesteinhoff@foster-adopt.org
Location: Saint Louis
FosterAdopt Connect
info@fosteradopt.org
816-350-0215
Location: Independence
Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri
Location: St. Louis
Parents As Teachers
Location: St. Louis
Parkland Foster and Adoptive Families Support Group
573-358-3512
Location: Bonne Terre
St. Louis Attachment Network
Location: St. Louis
The LIGHT House, Inc.
Location: Kansas City