Adoption (since 1983)

Reunification with a child's birth parents, when appropriate, is a primary goal of foster care. However, when reunification is not appropriate, the child's case will be transferred to Ennis Center's Adoption program to assist in identifying families to provide a "forever" family for that child. The Adoption program will complete the home study cycle from orientation to finalization. Services to children and families involved in adoption include:

• Adoptive evaluation of children, including those with special needs.
• Recruitment, orientation and training of adoptive families, including special-needs adoptive families
• Certification of adoptive homes
• Adoptive placement and support services
• Supervision during the post-adoption period
• Advocacy for special needs resources for children and families

Service Population: Adoption services are provided for Permanent State Wards, ages birth through 18 years, for whom the plan is adoption. Services are provided to youth from Wayne, Macomb, Oakland and Genesee Counties, as well as surrounding areas in southeast Michigan. In 1993, with support from The Skillman Foundation and a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Minority Adoption grant, Ennis Center places 79 children with adoptive families, almost all of whom were special-needs children. In 2000, Ennis Center placed 89 children with adoptive families.