Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC)

About This Program

Target Population: Oregon Department of Human Services Adoptive families, Oregon Guardianship families, and Oregon families who have adopted children through any state foster care system

For parents/caregivers of children ages: 0 – 17

Program Overview

ORPARC’s mission is to provide ongoing support, education, information, assistance, and referral services to Oregon Department of Human Services’ post-adoptive families and assisted guardianship families statewide, and foster parents via the library and trainings.

Program Goals

The goals of the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) are:

  • Enhance child and family functioning
  • Reduce incidents of crisis and unnecessary out-of-home placements
  • Provide access to a support network responsive to varying family needs

Logic Model

The program representative did not provide information about a Logic Model for Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC).

Essential Components

The essential components of the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) include:

  • Information, assistance and referral - Receive incoming phone calls, emails, or contacts regarding post-adoption support resources:
    • Adoption-competent counseling referral
    • Community resources
    • Respite or support resources
    • Lending library materials on topics of concern
    • Systems navigation
  • Consultation, advocacy, support, and crisis intervention - Provide phone-based, email, and occasional in-person services:
    • Crisis management
    • Trauma-informed therapeutic listening
    • Educational advocacy
    • Problem-solving
    • Clinical analysis of key issues
  • Parent education and trainings - Provide and partner with other agencies offering parent education opportunities focused on issues specific to adoptive/guardianship/foster families and children with special needs:
    • Kinship care
    • Adaptive parenting in response to trauma/neglect
    • Impact of prenatal substance exposure
    • Issues of attachment, grief, and loss
    • Openness in adoption
  • Connect families to systems of support - Identify and continually update existing resources and initiate new opportunities for adoptive/guardian parents to connect with:
    • Peer support
    • Community-based groups
    • Respite care options
    • Parent mentors
  • Support group start up and consultation - Assist new groups across the region to become established through:
    • Training
    • Mentorship
    • Ongoing first-year support with organizational and administrative structures
    • Technical Assistance
  • Library lending - Establish and maintain a dynamic resource collection to be accessible by State adoptive/guardianship parents, foster parents, child welfare workers, and community partners supporting these families
    • Books
    • CDs/Audio and Digital materials
    • Information packets
    • DVDs/Videos
  • Outreach to Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Staff - Identify and initiate opportunities for child welfare staff to receive advanced training on issues facing adoptive/guardianship/foster families and children
  • Participation in collaboration with Portland State University's (PSU) Child Welfare Partnership on "The Adoptive and Foster Family Therapy Certificate Program" - Collaborate to provide advanced certification and support emerging best practices in the areas of foster and adoption preparation, post permanency support, and foster care services

Program Delivery

Parent/Caregiver Services

Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:

  • Parents who have adopted or are guardians of their children through the child welfare system, or foster parents utilizing the library or training services

Recommended Intensity:

Parents are assisted on an individual basis, according to need request, ranging from several minutes up to one hour or more for more intense calls and/or contacts.

Recommended Duration:

There is no limit on duration. Families may contact the center until they feel they have received the needed assistance.

Delivery Setting

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

  • Virtual (Online, Telephone, Video, Zoom, etc.)

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) has materials available in languages other than English:

Russian, Spanish

For information on which materials are available in these languages, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed at the bottom of this page).

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

  • Office and lending library space
  • Computer and internet access
  • Approximately five permanent staff including director, office management, coordinator/librarian, and family support specialists

Manuals and Training

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

Family Support Specialists typically have a Master's Degree in Social Work, Psychology, or Counseling with case management experience, knowledge of adoption/guardianship issues and processes, knowledge of child welfare services and protocols, and knowledge of clinical issues and mental health/social work practice. Family Support Specialists are also certified in Therapeutic Life Story Work (TLSW), earn ongoing LGBTQ competency, complete Trust Based Relational Intervention 101 (TBRI), and receive training in Collaborative Problem Solving, Diversity, Race & Equity issues, and more.

Manual Information

There is not a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact:
Training Type/Location:

Limited consultation via phone

Number of days/hours:

Limited consultation via phone

Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research

Currently, there are no published, peer-reviewed research studies for Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC).

Additional References

Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. (2010). Keeping the promise: The critical need for post-adoption services to enable children and families to succeed: Policy & practice perspective. https://go.usa.gov/xPhDy

Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. (2014). Supporting and preserving adoptive families: Profiles of publicly funded post-adoption services. https://go.usa.gov/xEpSg

Contact Information

Kendra Morris-Jacobson
Agency/Affiliation: Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center
Website: www.orparc.org
Email:
Phone: (800) 764-8367
Fax: (503) 241-0925

Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed by CEBC: February 2015

Date Program Content Last Reviewed by Program Staff: March 2021

Date Program Originally Loaded onto CEBC: February 2009