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Michelle Weiss is Charlottesville's supported adoption coordinator
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For many years, People Places, Inc. has worked together with numerous Departments of Social Services in Virginia to provide successful adoptive placements for children in the foster care system who are legally available for adoption. Our goal is to promote lasting adoptions for these special needs children for whom adoptive placements historically have been most difficult to achieve and sustain. We serve Virginia's waiting children who have special emotional or behavioral needs, are often older, may be minority children, or belong to a sibling group needing to be placed together.
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Our model is based on the premise that children coming out of the foster care system into adoptive homes have multiple needs that cannot be served in a vacuum, and initially need the same supports that are provided to our therapeutic foster families. We believe that the parent is the primary change agent in our foster homes, and in adoption, this is even more important. Our goal is to prepare our adoptive parents and children through education and training, as well as provide them with intensive support, as we begin the adoption journey.
During the first months of placement, while the adoptive child remains in foster care standing, the impact of adoption on the family system is addressed, allowing time for transition and preparation for a successful adoption. Traditional adoption programs often make the assumption that commitment to a child exists before a relationship has begun. Our model has re-defined this process, by emphasizing the need to first establish a relationship that can then lead to a life time commitment, at the same time a child's transition into an adoptive family is managed. Over time, we have found that the right amount of preparation will empower our adoptive families in their ability to parent these children. After a period of placement stability and signing of the adoptive placement agreement, the legalization process proceeds toward adoption. People Places, Inc. is available to provide post adoption services to our adoptive families. It is our intent, that at the end of our involvement, the adoptive family will feel more confident in their ability to successfully parent the child(ren) adopted into their family.
People Places, Inc. Foster To Adopt program provides:
- Pre-placement training and education
- Completion of an adoptive home study, with no fee
- Careful matching of children with families
- An intentional pre-placement process, including visits prior to placement
- Ongoing professional case management support (includes 24 hr on-call) before, during, and after adoption finalization
- Assistance with developing an informal support network for the adoptive family through community resources
People Places, Inc. holds informal orientation sessions on the first Thursday of every month to offer information about our Foster to Adopt program. Please contact Michelle Weiss, Adoption Coordinator at (434)-979-0335 or mweiss@peopleplaces.org.
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