ABOUT US

Mission

A.D.O.P.T. (Adoption Development Outreach & Planning Team) is a child advocacy group which promotes the collaboration of adoption advocates and professionals from private and public agencies towards the goal of ensuring permanency for youth in the Commonwealth of Virginia

Purpose

A.D.O.P.T. (Adoption Development Outreach & Planning Team) strives to increase access to and awareness of adoption resources through training, networking, legislative advocacy & recruitment efforts.

History

ADOPT was born in February of 1972 as a result of the efforts of a relatively small group of child placement workers representing inter-agency adoption committees in several areas of the state and state Department of Welfare adoption staff and specialists. The group's goal was to coordinate efforts to broaden adoption opportunities for Virginia's "waiting" children.

Our Committees

Legislative and Policy Committee

This committee will educate members on current state legislation and serve as a resource for other committees considering or recommending changes to the state statutes.

This committee will identify problem areas in foster care and adoption policy and recommend appropriate changes and will focus on areas not covered by other committees.

Post Adoption Training Committee

This committee's purpose is to explore, review and promote services to children, families and birth families after adoptive placement.

This committee will be in charge of programs for at least two ADOPT meetings per year related to practice/values of workers in the field of adoption. They will recommend needed areas of training to the State Department of Social Services. They will coordinate any state-wide training ADOPT chooses to sponsor.

Membership, Awards, Communication, and Recognition Committee

This committee recruits new members and promotes ADOPT. Established to recognize Adoption workers and agencies in the field of adoption and maintains listserv and website-www.adopt-va.org

Recruitment Committee

This committee strives to work collaboratively to brainstorm ways in which agencies can recruit and retain resource families for Virginia's population of foster children in need of permanency and normalcy.