Hope for the children: A community-based approach to supporting families who adopt children with special needs

This study explored the need for and use of support by preadoptive families of children with special needs in the Hope for the Children program. The f amilies live in a community alongside other foster and adoptive parents, se nior citizen volunteers, tutors, therapists, mentors, and family advocates, and receive extensive community supports. Descriptive results from the stu dy provide a basis for recommendations about the use of coordinated service delivery systems to promote adoption success.