Adoption Through Collaborative Partnerships (ATCP)
Families formed by adoption almost always experience unique and stressful challenges. Our team of dedicated, knowledgeable, and caring professionals is available to help you promote and sustain positive family dynamics and relationships in a variety of ways.
The DePaul Community Resources Adoption program was built on the belief that every child is adoptable and deserves to grow up in a permanent, loving family. It is our mission to provide the services and support necessary for each waiting child to achieve permanency through adoption and continue to thrive after permanency is accomplished.
Adoption Services for adoptive families:
- Adoption support, education, and advocacy for the child and adoptive family
- Lifebook work
- Adoption books and resources for child and family
- Information on Tax info/ Tax credit
- Information on Post-Adoption Services
Adoption Services available for Local Department of Social Services:
Adoption Permanency Specialists are trained to complete all adoption paperwork. DSS workers can identify what assistance they require on a case-by-case basis.
- Case File Review
- Full Disclosure of Child Information form
- Screening Tool for Adoption Assistance
- Application for Adoption Assistance
- Negotiation Referral and Packet
- Adoption Assistance Agreement
- Adoptive Placement Agreement
- Board Consent to Adopt packet
- Case information to Adoption Attorney
- Report of Investigation
- Recruitment services (child specific)
Some of the goals of Adoption Through Collaborative Partnerships (ATCP) are to:
- Increase the number of timely finalized adoptions for children who have had their parental rights terminated and who have the goal of adoption.
- Increase the number of youth achieving permanency by utilizing child-specific recruitment services or the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids (WWK) focused recruitment model.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption recruitment model (Wendy’s Wonderful Kids) is an evidence-based model that has been proven up to 3x more effective at serving children who have been in foster care the longest, including teenagers, children with special needs and siblings.
- The ATCP Recruiters are trained to collaborate with a youth’s team of caseworkers and begin searching the youth’s network of existing relationships. Additionally, help youth with the goal of Adoption, Relative Placement, Permanent Foster Care or Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA) achieve legal permanency and decreases the number of youth who age out of foster care.”
Referrals may be made by the local departments of social services for ATCP/WWK recruitment once the youth has a goal of permanency other than Return Home, with or without Termination of Parental Rights.
Referrals may be made by the local department of social services for adoption preparation, child specific recruitment, and paperwork once the youth has a goal of adoption and Termination of Parental Rights has been achieved.
To begin the referral process or for further information, please contact the Adoption Team at atcp@depaulcr.org or contact the Adoption Permanency Manager, Tonya Muncy at tmuncy@depaulcr.org or 276.242.5159.
