Melinda Lis

 

Melinda Lis, MSW
Post-Adoption Center Director

Celebrating National Adoption Month

National Adoption Month began in 1984 as a single week of recognition and has since grown into a month-long celebration dedicated to raising awareness about adoption, honoring adoptive families, and highlighting the urgent need for permanent, loving homes for children and youth in foster care.

At the Post-Adoption Center, we believe this month is also a time for child welfare systems to reaffirm their commitment to supporting adoptive and guardianship families. Forming a family through adoption or guardianship is not a one-time event—it’s a lifelong journey. These families and the children they embrace deserve ongoing support, resources, and understanding as they navigate that path.

Adoption must be an intentional, enduring commitment—not only from the families who open their hearts and homes, but also from the child welfare systems that help bring them together, and the community services that walk alongside them.

As we observe National Adoption Month, let us remember our collective responsibility to the more than 700,000 children who have been adopted or placed in guardianship and continue to receive support. Their stories are not over—and neither is our role in supporting them.

Cross Site Meeting Connections

The Post-Adoption Center held its second cross-site meeting on July 17th, 2025, for sites currently receiving on-site technical assistance. This meeting bought together child welfare professionals from California, Arizona, Oregon, Kentucky, Montana, Louisiana, North Carolina and Wisconsin to learn from one another on how post-permanency services are provided in their states as well as to develop a network of professionals they can connect with for support and to share ideas. A few of the participants shared how they define success with the Post-Adoption Center team.    

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      Success would be wide-spread understanding of a comprehensive model of post-permanency services and a set of best practices for counties to continue to strive towards.

Kaytie Speziale, Post-Permanency Services Unit Manager
Team Kentucky Logo

     Kentucky would like to have an adoption competent system that supports caregivers across the continuum of their journey. We would like to have a comprehensive service array that meets the needs of the families in their communities. 

Kelli Root, Adoption Services Branch Manager
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    An overall success would be a shared statewide understanding of the unique needs for youth and families caring for children that they are growing outside of their 1st families and may be impacted by trauma and loss and knowledge of where to turn when needing support or even just community.  A successful post-permanency program would be having services that are diverse, accepting and allowing flexibility for the individual needs of each youth and family, while having community services that are training in post-permanency competency.

Kelly Ingles, Oregon Post-Permanency Program Analyst

We Are Recruiting

The Post-Adoption Center is currently recruiting a tribal nation to receive on-site technical assistance. We are also recruiting for states and territories to receive on-site technical assistance in year 3. For more information, complete this form.  

Monthly Spotlights

Using Data to Guide Post-Permanency Programming: Lessons from Delaware

How to Track Instability: Identifying Children who Re-enter Foster Care after Adoption or Guardianship

Assessing the Agency’s or Organizations Ability to Provide Kinship Services Post-Permanency

Quarterly InfoBlast

InfoBlast Volume 2 | Issue 2

Pre-Permanency Support Services Strengthening Adoptive and Guardianship Families

InfoBlast Volume 2 | Issue 1

Post-Permanency Support for Tribal Nations

InfoBlast Volume 1 | Issue 2

Lifelong Connections, Lasting Support: Together We Thrive

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