Building effective post-adoption services: What is the empirical foundation?

While adoptions in general are highly successful, families do experience di sappointment and disruption, outcomes that may be reduced by provision of p ost-adoption services. Studies show that adoptive parents request a variety of services, yet few demonstration projects have been done to evaluate the ir effectiveness. in this paper, we recognize the predominance of attachmen t theory in post-adoptive services and identify alternative approaches that may have a better fit with the needs and preferences identified by familie s. We also identify service adaptations for adoptive families that may ampl ify the power of existing service programs.