The information in this program outline is provided by the program representative and edited by the CEBC staff. The Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) program has been reviewed by the CEBC in the area of: Post-Permanency Services, but lacks the necessary research evidence to be given a Scientific Rating.

• Types of Maltreatment: Does not target any specific kind of maltreatment
• Target Population: Oregon Department of Human Services Adoptive families, Oregon Assisted Guardianship families, and Oregon families who have adopted children through any state foster care system.

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. Our strategic intent is to:

• Enhance child and family functioning.
• Reduce incidents of crisis and unnecessary out of home placements.
• Provide a support network responsive to varying needs of families.
• Increase the professional capacity of the state’s mental health providers to serve families with children other than those born to them, especially special needs children placed by public child welfare agencies.

Information, assistance and referral - Receive incoming phone calls regarding post-adoption support resources:

• Adoption-competent counseling referral
• Community resources
• Respite care
• Lending library materials on topics of concern
• Referral to legal services.

Consultation, advocacy, support, and crisis intervention - Provide phone-based and email-assisted services:

• Crisis management
• Educational assistance
• 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 families:

• Kinship care
• Adaptive parenting in response to trauma/neglect
• Consequences of prenatal substance exposure
• Issues of attachment
• Legal issues.

Connect families to systems of support - Identify and continually update existing resources and initiate new opportunities for adoptive 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.

Library lending - Establish and maintain a dynamic resource collection to be accessible by child welfare professionals, therapists, adoptive parents, and case workers:

• Books
• CDs
• Audio materials
• Videos.

Outreach to Department of Health Services, Child Welfare Staff - Identify and initiate opportunities for child welfare staff to receive advanced training on issues facing adoptive families and children, including family therapy for adoptive parents.

Participation in Collaboration for Portland State University’s (PSU) Certificate in Adoption Therapy - Collaborate to provide advanced certification and support emerging best practices in the areas of adoption preparation, support, and post-adoption services.

Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) was not designed with a child component.

Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) was designed with a parent/caregiver component that addresses the following presenting problems and symptoms:

• Parents who have adopted their children through the child welfare system.

Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC) was not designed to be conducted in a group setting, and has not been tested for use in a group setting.

Recommended Intensity:

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

Recommended Duration:

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

Not Specified

This program does not include a homework component.

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

Spanish

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

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

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

Family support specialists typically have a masters in Social Work with case management experience, knowledge of adoption issues and processes, knowledge of child welfare services and protocols, and knowledge of clinical issues and mental health/social work practice.

There is not a manual that describes how to implement this program; but there is training available for this program.

Training Contact:

• Audrey Riggs
  ariggs@nwresource.org
  phone: (503) 241-0799 x20 or (800) 764-8367

Training is obtained:

Limited consultation via phone.

Number of days/hours:

Limited consultation via phone.

This program has been reviewed and it was determined that this program lacks the type of published, peer-reviewed research that meets the CEBC criteria for a scientific rating of 1 – 5. Therefore, the program has been given the classification of "NR - Not able to be Rated." It was reviewed because it was identified by the topic expert as a program being used in the field, or it is being marketed and/or used in California with children receiving services from child welfare or related systems and their parents/caregivers. Some programs that are not rated may have published, peer-reviewed research that does not meet the above stated criteria or may have eligible studies that have not yet been published in the peer-reviewed literature. For more information on the "NR - Not able to be Rated" classification, please see the Scientific Rating Scale.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Not Specified

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

No reference materials are currently available for Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC).