Adoption and Foster Care Resources

The following are descriptions of gay-friendly adoption & foster care agencies and businesses that can assist you in building or nurturing your family.

Barker Adoption Foundation, Logo

THE BARKER ADOPTION FOUNDATION

301-664-9664
www.barkerfoundation.org

The Barker Adoption Foundation is a non-profit adoption agency licensed in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Since 1945, we have been providing comprehensive adoption services and have placed over 7,000 children in permanent, loving homes. Our mission is to serve all participants in the adoption circle – birth parents, adoptive parents, and persons who have been adopted.

Project Wait No Longer is Barker’s older child adoption program. This comprehensive program works with couples and single individuals regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and marital status to assist them with the adoption of older children whose circumstances resulted in their being placed into public foster care. Most of the children are between the ages of 10 -17 years old and some are part of sibling groups. The children have often been abused and neglected and are in urgent need of a permanent, loving and stable family. There are an estimated 400,000 children in foster care with slightly over 100,000 children currently awaiting adoption.

To learn more about the services offered by The Barker Foundation, please visit our website at www.barkerfoundation.org or give us a call at 301-664-9664.


CFS Logo

CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES OF NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN

www.cfsnwmi.org/foster-care

At CFS, we believe that kids grow best in families. CFS has provided foster care and adoption services to northern Michigan for 83 years. We license foster homes and connect foster parents with children who need them. When foster care is not an option, we also provide adoption services, creating new families each year. CFS supports the LGTBQ community and licenses all types of families who can provide a loving home for children. We frequently offer free, ongoing training, referrals, education, support groups, and mentoring to make foster care and adoption the most beneficial to the children and families we serve.


Children's Home and Aid

CHILDREN'S HOME AND AID

https://www.childrenshomeandaid.org/child-welfare/
(630) 824-3630
fosterinquiry@childrenshomeandaid.org

Children's Home and Aid is the leading private Illinois child welfare agency serving over 1200 children who receive foster care services while 20% identify as LGBT+. For 2021, the Human Rights Campaign awarded the Seal of Recognition for creating a Solid Foundation for Inclusion for the rigorous measures we take for allyship and representation. Children's Home and Aid is at the center of activism work by supporting legislation that benefits diverse foster families and reforms the child welfare system, as well as demonstrating LGBT+ diversity from our executive leadership to our foster families. The exemplary resources we provide include affirming parenting mentors, supplemental trainings for parents and staff, and gender-affirming medical support.

Our organization works together with caregivers to nurture displaced children and help heal families with the goal of reunification – while offering support and resources along the way. The need for individuals or families willing to welcome a child into the home is great, especially for older children. We are searching for caring and open-minded individuals – including all diversity of age, race, creed, gender identity/gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, or educational level – to support families in need.


THE CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY OF NEW JERSEY

www.chsofnj.org/adoption

CHS of NJ is a licensed, non-profit adoption agency in NJ and PA. With more than a century of experience and expertise in the field, The Children’s Home Society of New Jersey offers many paths to building a family through adoption.

Contact information: Kimberly Thompson, Adoption Specialist, 609-695-6274 Ext. 176 or kthompson@chsofnj.org.


Children’s Home Society of Virginia

CHILDREN’S HOME SOCIETY OF VIRGINIA

https://chsva.org

Children’s Home Society of Virginia is a full-service, private, nonprofit 501(c)(3), non-sectarian licensed child-placing agency. Established in 1900, CHS has been guided by the fundamental belief that every child deserves a home. CHS welcomes, values and serves multicultural and multiracial individuals and families, LGBTQ individuals and families, single parents, married and unmarried couples, and families with children that can provide a loving and caring home environment.

Our program, My Path Forward, provides housing, life skills training, counseling and case management for youth who have aged out of the foster care system in Virginia at 18 years of age. Developed in collaboration with our partner The Better Housing Coalition, this program delivers on our goal of offering a continuum of services to provide permanence for all of Virginia’s at-risk youth.

In addition, CHS offers family support groups, activities for adoptive families and children, and heritage and search services for adult adoptees. CHS is also proud to be one of only three Virginia recruiters for Wendy’s Wonderful Kids®, a signature program of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption® – a national, nonprofit public charity dedicated exclusively to finding permanent homes for the more than 150,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems.


FAMILIES UNITED NETWORK

https://www.families4kids.org/ 

Since 1996 Families United Network has prided itself on being a support to local children and families and is dedicated to strengthening families by providing children and youth with a safe, nurturing, community environment through a continuum of services, which focuses on reunification or permanency. Throughout the years, we have expanded to serve most of Pennsylvania, but have maintained our local roots and impacted families through adoption and foster care services to children in need. When times are tough, our foster families step in the gap and provide a safe and loving home for a child for as long as needed. We encourage prospective foster parents, support and direct care staff, as well as our county colleagues, to learn more about our agency and mission at families4kids.org.


Giampolo Law Group

GIAMPOLO LAW GROUP

info@giampololaw.com
www.giampololaw.com

Angela, the founder of Giampolo Law Group, is an LGBTQ+ attorney dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community, and those who love us, for all of their legal needs.  One of our most fundamental legal needs as LGBTQ+ folks is assistance in creating and protecting our families. Look no further, Giampolo Law Group is the go-to law firm for our community. We are driven, focused and passionate in serving the LGBTQ+ community and being a valuable resource to everyone.

Whether you're adopting a child, drafting a premarital agreement, updating your estate plan, negotiating a parenting plan or deciding whether to get married, you deserve an empathetic attorney by your side, and Angela is just that.

Angela helps you cut through the overwhelming noise involved in navigating family and estate planning.

Angela D. Giampolo, principal of Giampolo Law Group, is licensed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Arizona and specializes in LGBT law, business law, real estate law, and civil rights. Her website is www.giampololaw.com and you can contact her at info@giampololaw.com. 


Saint Dominic's Family Services

ST. DOMINIC’S FAMILY SERVICES FOSTER BOARDING HOME

(917) 645-9157
WWW.SDFS.ORG

Saint Dominic's Family Services is a licensed, accredited, non-profit organization providing an array of services to children and families in New York State. SDFS’ Family Foster Care program is located in the Bronx; however, we work with families throughout New York City.

SDFS strongly believes that every child should have a safe, loving, nurturing, and permanent home. SDFS recruits, trains, and certifies foster homes to provide care for children who have been abused, neglected, or maltreated. The goal of foster care is to work towards reunification with birth families. Sometimes children cannot be reunified with their parents. In such cases, adoption is an option that provides a child with a permanent home.

Children who enter foster care range in age from birth to young adults. Homes are urgently needed for LGBTQIA+ youth, teens, and large sibling groups. Children entering foster care have experienced trauma and as a result may have emotional, behavioral and/or medical needs. At SDFS, we recognize the need for ongoing support by offering free trainings and linkages to community supports for our foster/adoptive parents.

If you have a big heart to care for children, please visit our website at WWW.SDFS.ORG or call us at (917) 645-9157.


SCO Family of Services

SCO FAMILY OF SERVICES

It’s All About Caring

For over 50 years, SCO Family of Services’ Foster Care program has been helping children and their families grow, heal and thrive. See our Foster Care video.

Become a Foster Parent
SCO Family of Services finds safe homes and caring families for children and teens throughout New York City and Long Island.

Who Can Be a Foster Parent?

Foster parents are dedicated to the child, their family, and the SCO mission. Anyone 21 years or older with a steady income and room in your heart and home to provide a stable and caring home for a child is a great applicant.

We provide comprehensive FREE services:

Foster Parents:
• Ongoing training
• Extensive support
• 24-hour assistance

Children in Foster Care:
• Medical services
• Mental health services
• Educational and vocational services
• College readiness and financial aid planning

If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, we will work closely with you to match you with a child in need.

Ready to get involved? Please create an application account here. We’ll be in touch shortly.

Need more information? Contact us at fpinquiry@sco.org to speak with an agency representative.


Spence-Chapin

SPENCE-CHAPIN

212-400-8150
www.spence-chapin.org

Spence-Chapin is a licensed and accredited nonprofit organization offering quality adoption services for more than 100 years. Our mission is to help find loving families for children whatever their needs or circumstances and provide counseling and support for all children and the families to whom they have been born or entrusted. Our mission is driven by the belief that every child deserves a family.

Spence-Chapin focuses on finding permanent homes for children who need families; promoting the understanding of adoption through counseling and public education; and improving adoption's image and practice. Through our post-adoption support services and community programs, we help each family member navigate their individual adoption stories with clarity and confidence. Spence-Chapin's roots can be traced to the early 1900s and the pioneering work of Clara Spence, and Dr. and Mrs. Henry Chapin, who independently established nurseries out of concern for homeless infants abandoned in hospitals and shelters.

Today, Spence-Chapin is proud of our role as a prominent voice and leading advocate for adoption, and of our commitment to the wellbeing of birth parents, adoptive parents, and their children.

To learn more about adoption programs as well as post-adoption support, visit our website at www.spence-chapin.org or call us at 212-400-8150.


VISHNICK MCGOVERN MILIZIO LLP

vmmlegal.com

Comprehensive Legal Service Tailored to All Your Personal and Business Needs

For over 50 years, Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP has been providing dedicated and compassionate legal support for all people.

One of the first law firms in the U.S. to establish an LGBTQ Representation practice, we continue to advocate tirelessly on behalf of our clients.

The legal landscape of LGBTQ rights is constantly changing. Our seasoned attorneys are at the forefront of both the state and federal levels, with a strong track record in small personal matters as well as landmark cases.

Whichever your case, we provide dedicated, passionate, and resourceful representation strategically tailored to all your personal and business needs.

Our Services
• Workplace discrimination and harassment
• Spousal and domestic partner rights
• Prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements
• Separation, divorce, and custody
• Surrogacy, adoption, and assisted reproduction
• Estate planning
• Estate distribution and inheritance
• Customized trusts and probate alternatives
• Healthcare proxies, living wills, and powers of attorney
• Fiduciary appointments
• Elder law
• Name changes and gender marker changes
• Real estate transactions and litigation
• Co-owner agreements
• Pro bono legal training for organizations and groups


YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!

www.yougottabelieve.org

You Gotta Believe (YGB) exists for one reason... to work toward the day when no young person leaves foster care without the unconditional lifetime commitment of a family. Our goal is for every kid to experience love, hope, and a sense of belonging. We recruit parents, train and certify families, and provide crucial ongoing therapeutic support services to families. We believe no child should leave the foster care system without a lifelong support network in place (family). Everyone deserves a family – and that family is a critical element to human health and prosperity. That's why we ask all parents to make an unconditional lifetime commitment to their child. In turn, we make an unconditional commitment to always be there to support our families.