Center for Foster Parent Training (CFPT) at the Hunter College School of Social Work has created a new website with links to foster parent training workshops offered throughout New York City by a wide variety of organizations devoted to helping parents care for their children.  Click below to learn more about workshops and other training opportunities located in neighborhoods all around the City that can help you meet the needs of your children and network with other parents.  www.nrcfcppp.org/foster-parents

Foster Parent Manual

This manual gives practical information on topics such as medical care, payments, and the role of the court, and also provides guidance on areas like welcoming a child, discipline and parent visits.

 Download it now 
 

Foster Parent Guide to Adoption

This publication is designed to help foster parents understand the adoption process and take an active role in the adoption of their foster children.

 Download it now 

The New York State Citizens Coalition for Children has a wealth of information and resources. Enter through the home page or go right to its comprehensive directory of adoptive and foster parent support and advocacy groups in New York State. www.nysccc.org 

The Adoptive Parents Committee is an adoptive parent membership group with chapters in Long Island, New York City, New Jersey, and the Hudson Region. www.adoptiveparents.org 

The North American Council on Adoptable Children, a national advocacy organization, offers nationwide resources and referrals, including information about post-adoption services and starting parent support groups. Publications also available. www.nacac.org

Partnership for After School Education maintains a geo-coded database of after school programs which can be sorted by type of program, location and other criteria.
www.pasesetter.org

Advocates for Children works on behalf of children from infancy to age 21 who are at greatest risk for school-based discrimination and/or academic failure, including children in foster care. For help with an education related issue, please call our new Educational Helpline: 866-427-6033 from 10:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Thursday.
www.advocatesforchildren.org

Inside Schools provides independent reviews of NYC public schools along with many valuable tips to navigate the NYC educational bureaucracy.
www.insideschools.org

Legal Aid Society
The Legal Aid Society provides a full range of civil legal services as well as criminal defense work, and juvenile rights representation in Family Court. Their core service is to provide free legal assistance to New Yorkers who live at or below the poverty level and cannot afford to hire a lawyer when confronted with a legal problem.
Contact 212-577-3300.
www.legal-aid.org

The Kathryn A. McDonald Education Advocacy Project (EAP) provides specialized legal and social work assistance on domestic violence and educational advocacy. For more, call 212-577-3318 or 3342.

Providing Educational Assistance to Kids (PEAK) also provides specialized legal and social work assistance on domestic violence and educational advocacy. For more, call 718-250-4510.

Partnership for Children's Rights provides free legal assistance on special education issues to disadvantaged children in NYC. Intake hours are between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm, Monday to Friday. For more, call 212-683-7999.
www.kidslaw.org

The New York City Department of Education offers statistical information on all the schools in the City, as well as the Chancellor's Regulations, and a variety of other helpful resources about the public school system. You can also call 212-NEW-YORK (same as "311" from within the City) to determine a child's appropriate zone school or region, obtain DOE phone numbers and request other DOE information.
www.nycenet.edu

Resources for Children with Special Needs provides information, referral, advocacy, training and support for parents of New York City children with special needs and disabilities. For more, call 212-677-4650.
www.resourcesnyc.org

Sinergia, Inc. provides free or low cost legal services and advocacy on special education services and rights. For more, call 212-643-2840 or 866-867-9665.
www.sinergiany.org

The Child Welfare League of America promotes policies and programs with a goal of protecting America’s children and strengthen America’s families.
www.cwla.org 

This Web site of the National Adoption Center brings children “online” through photographs and descriptions and offers information that will help you learn more about adoption.
www.adopt.org 

The site of the New York State Adoption Service of the Office of Children and Family Services offers information about adopting in New York State. It contains in-depth subsidy information, a listing of all licensed adoption agencies in the state, and a database with photos and biographies of children awaiting adoption in New York State.
www.dfa.state.ny.us/adopt 

The National Adoption Information Clearinghouse a service of the Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Administration for Children and Families, and Department of Health and Human Services - is a resource for information on all aspects of adoption, including infant, intercountry and special needs adoption.
www.adoption.org/adopt/national-adoption-clearinghouse.php

The National Foster Parent Association offers online training and many useful links.
www.nfpainc.org

The North American Council on Adoptable Children has a huge array of links useful to both foster and adoptive parents, especially around support groups and resources for parents caring for children with a variety of special needs.
www.nacac.org

Lawyers for Children has a very comprehensive set of links to a wide array of other websites that include information about services for young people, youth development and child welfare. The group also lists a good variety of advocacy groups that would be helpful both to foster and adoptive parents as well as youth living in foster care.
www.lawyersforchildren.org

The National Resource Center for Special Needs Adoption.
The National Resource Center for Adoption is to assists States, Tribes and other federally funded child welfare agencies in building their capacity to ensure the safety, well being, and permanency of abused and neglected children through adoption and post legal adoption services program planning, policy development and practice.
www.nrcadoption.org

The Children’s Bureau Express has information on a broad range of topics based on child welfare news and research. www.cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov

Adoptive Parents Committee ((APC) is a non-profit parent support group comprised of volunteers dedicated to improving all aspects of adoption and interim (foster) care. APC has are more than 2,600 member families who belong to one of its four chapters: Long Island, New York City, New Jersey and the Connecticut/Hudson Region. www.adoptiveparents.org

Foster Family-Based Treatment Association.
(FFTA) is an agency-led organization of treatment foster care providers established in 1988 with an initial purpose of defining and refining Treatment Foster Care practices. The Association's membership is composed of agencies throughout North America currently operating treatment foster care programs. www.ffta.org

National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections at the Hunter College School of Social Work is a training, technical assistance, and information services organization dedicated to help strengthen the capacity of State, local, Tribal and other publicly administered or supported child welfare agencies to: institutionalize a safety-focused, family-centered, and community-based approach to meet the needs of children, youth and families. www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp

The Grandparent Resource Center provides information about services offered and contact information for the organization.
www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/html/caregiver/grandparents.shtml

Resources for Children with Special Needs Database offers information about programs and services for children birth to 26 with disabilities and other special needs in the NYC area. It also includes national organizations and residential programs such as camps and schools that serve children from New York City.
http://www.resourcesnycdatabase.org/

The Child Welfare League of America’s website includes a listing of books and videos about child welfare issues, publications for child welfare professionals and policy makers, and books of interest to parents and adopted children.
www.cwla.org/pubs 

The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute website contains a database of over 1000 abstracts with up-to-date information on various adoption topics.
www.adoptioninstitute.org 

The New York State Citizens Coalition for Children has a wealth of information and resources.
www.nysccc.org 

Tapestry Books has a large online collections of adoption-specific books.
www.tapestrybooks.com 

Arvin Publications offers professional materials to the child welfare community. www.arvinpublications.com

* Note: The listed organizations can help you in your search for information about adoption and foster care. They are not affiliated with the New York City Administration for Children’s Services. Exercise good judgment when making purchases, joining groups, and giving away personal information. ACS is not responsibile for any exchange or agreement you make with these organizations.