The Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center

About the Colorado Post-Adoption Resource Center

 

Since September 2003, COPARC has assisted more than 4,700 Colorado families with training and financial aid for services such as respite, dental care, and access to adoption-competent therapists and local support groups.  COPARC is a division of The Adoption Exchange, which, along with the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program and the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Early Childhood helps fund COPARC.

 

COPARC Achievements from September 2003 through September 2014

 

• Served 4,717 Colorado families who have adopted through the child welfare system.

 

• Provided more than $723,384 in funding directly to families for respite care, orthodontics, therapy, tutoring, and other programs and services. 

 

• Provided more than $371,000 in funding to counties and non-profits to offer direct services to adoptive families.

 

• Provided more than $6,900 in funding for support group start-up assistance. COPARC also put together a statewide listing of support groups, and offers to send representatives to group meetings.

 

• Conducted nine COPARC Annual Conferences. These focused on support groups, meeting the mental health needs of adoptive families, developmental stages and issues, recognizing and supporting the varied needs of adoptive families, creating healing families and resolving childhood trauma, and the importance of community and working together to help children thrive.  In addition, COPARC earmarked $36,000 to send adoptive families to major conferences.

 

• Conducted 152 seminars throughout the state on issues ranging from transracial adoption and parenting teens to promoting attachment and dealing with grief and loss issues. Through September 2014, nearly 2,600 people attended the seminars. 

 

• Conducted 31 AdoptCare Network trainings for service providers throughout the state to increase their ability to meet the needs of adoptive families.

 

• Provided respite care training in 18 communities throughout the state and two “Respite Programs that Work” trainings highlighting “Fundango” and Parents’ Night Out programs, and developed a guide to respite care. 

 

• Provided information services via a monthly e-newsletters to adoptive families, professionals and others and mailed a published newsletter to 3,275 individuals twice a year.

 

• Developed a curriculum entitled, “Family Diversity in Education: Foster Care, Kinship Care, Adoption and Schools,” to increase awareness of adoption issues in Colorado school systems. This has been presented seven times at several state-wide conferences on adoption, foster parenting, and school counseling.

 

• Participated in area National Adoption Month and Wait No More events, and in advocacy efforts focused on adoption issues and mental health planning.

 

• Partnered with Colorado Coalition of Adoptive Families, North American Council on Adoptable Children and Jockey International to implement Community Champions Network (CCN) in Colorado. CCN is a network of community-based coalitions that helps train and empower advocates for post-adoption services for foster and adoptive families throughout North America.