Spaulding Adoption Program

The Children Who Wait

In a nation where people may wait years to adopt an infant, there are thousands of children who also wait. These children are in desperate need of adoptive families, and their numbers are growing.

In Cuyahoga County alone, more than 1,400 children need permanent homes and families. If not adopted, these children will spend the remainder of their childhoods in foster care or institutions. At age 18, they'll be on their own for life.

Since 1976, Beech Brook's Spaulding Adoption Program has been seeking families who are willing to provide the special kind of parenting these children need.

Who Are These Children?

Most are age 8 or older. They may be members of sibling groups hoping to grow up together in one family. Many have been traumatized by abuse, neglect or multiple moves. Often they require ongoing therapy and support to overcome the emotional scars of their pasts.

Who Are the Families?

There is no typical Spaulding family. Children may be placed with single or two-parent families, with parents who have other children and with those who do not. The ideal family, whatever its form or lifestyle, must be willing to make a long-term commitment to meeting the needs of their special child with unconditional love and support.

Support for the Lifelong Journey

The Spaulding Adoption Program offers the most comprehensive services available for these adoptive families, from pre-placement through the post-legalization period. Foster-to-adoption assistance is also available.

Families who adopt a child through Spaulding have access to many Beech Brook services to help them through the process. This continuum of care includes intensive preparation of parents and children before placement, support and treatment throughout the process and special adoption-sensitive services after the adoption is finalized.

Pre-Placement

The successful placement of a child with special needs is a complex process, beginning long before that child moves into an adoptive home. The Spaulding Adoption Program offers many different types of services to help children and families make decisions and prepare for the next step in their journey, including:

• educational programs to help prospective parents understand children with special needs;
• intensive preparation of the child and family for the actual placement;
• life book groups to help the children deal with past experiences and prepare emotionally for their new family.

Placement

During the critical period when the child is in the home, but the adoption is not yet final, the Spaulding Adoption staff works closely with the whole family to help them move successfully through this major transition.

Children and families may participate in various services at Beech Brook, including:

• attachment/bonding therapy;
• support groups for adoptive parents;
• experiential support groups for children;
• in-home treatment;
• adoption sensitive family preservation;
• attachment therapy;
• music and art therapy;
• psychiatric and medical consultation;
• case management.

Post-Legalization

Families who adopt children with special needs face unique challenges, which do not end with the legalization of the adoption. Problems may arise months or even years later as children continue to struggle with the emotional scars of their pasts.

Spaulding offers a full range of adoptive family support services, including:

• in-home intervention by a team of adoption-sensitive professionals skilled in family preservation;
• an extensive collection of literature through the Adoption/Attachment Resource Center;
• information and referral services for finalized families;
• specialized treatment in attachment and bonding;
• training in Parenting with Love and Logic techniques;
• parent/child support groups.

The Attachment Center at Beech Brook

Children with attachment disorders resulting from abuse, neglect or other trauma during their first two years exhibit behaviors that are difficult to manage and generally do not respond to traditional therapy or parenting. Beech Brook's Center of Excellence on Attachment provides effective treatment strategies for children with attachment disorders. The Attachment Center has been nationally recognized for its work in this emerging treatment field.

For more information about the Spaulding Adoption Program, contact: adoption@beechbrook.org