California Association of Adoption Agencies

WELCOME,
The California Association of Adoption Agencies is a nonprofit, professional organization representing licensed county and private adoption agencies who recognize the importance of comprehensive and lifelong services to adopted children, adult adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents. CAAA was founded in 1955 and has 68 member agencies.

There are now 79,747 children in Foster Care in California (72,147 Social Services and 7,600 Probation), - most recent data as of April 2007)

OUR GOALS ARE TO:

Assure every child the right to an appropriate permanent home.

Establish standards for California's adoption agencies.

Advocate for legislation that protects children and families.

Please click here to get our brochure.

Recent Site Updates: Monday September 22, 2008

Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Act Will Improve Outcomes for Children and Youth in Foster Care (word doc click here)
Useful links to Child Welfare sites and resources
Our Bylaws and Constitution (word doc)
The Child Welfare Career Center, where agencies can advertise job opportunities, and job seekers can search for a position. Try it out! Early Data Shows Statewide Improvements for Children and Families

Legislation Updates
The Adoption Institute has released a report condemning "safe haven" laws as ill-considered and harmful. Full Report (pdf 6,100kb), Brief commentary.

The CDSS Telephone Directory
Florida has the only state legislature to enact a law which prohibits adoption of children by homosexual adults
Voice For Adoption's Newsletter.
In re Lily G. : Important Appeals Court decision re Indian Child Welfare Act.
See the progress our Counties are making complying with the requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act.
Search for Post-Adoption Resources in California, (thanks to the Adoptions Training Project of the California Institute on Human Services at Sonoma State University).
Former Updates:
STATE LAW ADAPTING TO NEW KINDS OF FAMILIES; RULING IMMINENT ON MAN CLAIMING 'EQUITABLE ADOPTION'.

- The Adoption Promotion Act of 2003. On December 2nd, George Bush signed t he Adoption Promotion Act of 2003. The legislation extends the ASFA-created Adoption Incentive Program for another five years and focus greater attention on finding adoptive families for older children in foster care. (more...)
- Child Welfare Stakeholders Group - REDESIGN FINAL REPORT. CAAA has been represented as a Stakeholder organization throughout this three-year redesign process. NOTE: This is a very large (9.06 MB) PDF file. We strongly advise you to download the file to your computer prior to attempting to view or print it. It may take a long time to download this file if you have a slow Internet connection, and you might want to do it overnight. - Click here for the Executive Summary, and here for the Press Release
- Overview of the Child Welfare Services Redesign: Click on each slide to make it work for you. This power point presentation can assist all stakeholders, counties, child welfare advocates and other champions for children to discuss the elements of the Redesign, how it will be implemented, and how outcomes and our progress will be measured.
- "Finding Permanent Homes for Children", Issues raised by Kinship Care. Good article from the Urban League
- The list of CAAA's Elected Officers for 2006-2008
- New York University's Database for Social Workers - try it out.
- California's Child Welfare & Adoption Report Card
- The Court of Appeals decision in Sharon. S. Who can adopt?
- California's Child and Family Service Review: (Executive Version) or (Full Version)
- Important new Appeal decision re siblings relationship in TPR.
- See the Visitor Activity on this site.
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CAAA Features and Links		CAAA Members provide:

Click the heart to see our new "Celebrate Adoption" pin, available for purchase. A pack of ten pins is $25, or $2.50 each for eleven or more. Checks preferred. Click here to order and email your information.		* Identified/Designated Adoption: Where birth parents and adoptive parents have chosen each other and want the safety of a licensed agency adoption.
County listings of our Adoption Agency Members. Select your county from a map of California and print the page for your reference, also List of County Dept. of Social Servies web sites.		* Open Adoptions: between adoptive parents and birth parents, facilitated by licensed agencies rather than attorneys or unlicensed persons.
Child Welfare Data from CWS/CMS at UC Berkeley. Timely and useful data about children in the California Child Welfare System.		* Foster Care Adoption: Adoption for children in foster care who may have emotional, medical, develop-mental, or physical needs, including siblings who need to remain together.
Recruitment Forum for agencies, where ideas and strategies for recruiting families are discussed, at fosteradoptrecruiter.org		* Non-identified Adoption: Adoption for birth parents or adoptive parents preferring complete confidentiality at time of placement.
Legislative Page updated for the new 2003-2004 Session, and now including new California Appellate Court decisions.		* Intercountry Adoption : Adoption for abandoned, orphaned and special needs children born in another country and adopted by California families.
California's Adoption Calendar: Members are invited to list events happening in their area. California's Waiting Children: A searchable database of publicly available children at California Kids Connection.		* Counseling and Education Services : Birth parent counseling to discuss available options. Workshops for adoptive parents to understand the impact of adoption.
California Department of Social Services The official site of the California Department of Social Services. ALSO, online Adoption Forms. AND, Regulations		* Post Adoptive Services: Counseling, information and referral to supportive services for adoptees, birth parents and adoptive parents related to the lifelong issues of adoption.
All-County Letters and Information Notices Policy statements and explanation, both current and from the past several years.		AFTER - the first Regional Post-Adoption Center is open in the South Bay, Peninsula and Monterey Bay Areas. See their comprehensive award-winning site (and especially the Research Center).
CWDA - County Welfare Director's Association. News, positions, advisories and resources. AFSA-The Adoption and Safe Families Act - full version.		The Adoption Stamp from the USPS. Click on the stamp to see the full-size original, and a photo of the designer at work on it's production (bio too).
Updated on Monday September 22, 2008

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