Rhode Island
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Pre-service Training

All prospective foster and adoptive parents receive preservice training through a 10-week, 30-hour TIPS-MAPP course (Trauma Informed Partnering for Safety and Permanence Model Approach to Partnerships and Parenting). Relative foster and adoptive parents complete a six-hour kinship-specific training program, also based on TIPS-MAPP.  

 There is no additional training requirement for families transitioning to adoption or guardianship.  

Services Offered Through the State’s Post-Permanency Support Program

Post-permanency services in Rhode Island are administered by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), Division of Family Services, and provided through a contract with Adoption Rhode Island

Services include:

Adoption Rhode Island’s services are available to families prior to finalization. The agency also provides bridge to permanency services to support families during a child’s transition from foster care to any type of permanency (including reunification). 

Adoption Rhode Island provides a trauma-informed, strengths-based assessment for children and families. The initial clinical assessment overviews the identity, needs, medical information, developmental history, family functioning, and behavior risk assessment of each family member. After the assessment is completed, staff develop a treatment plan that is carefully tailored to meet the specific needs of the child and family. Assessments can be completed in home or at the agency office. 

Adoption Rhode Island offers in-home case management services to adoptive and guardianship families. The length and intensity of services vary based on families’ needs. 

Adoption Rhode Island offers adoption– and permanency-competent, trauma-informed counseling services for adopted children, adult adoptees, kinship caregivers and adoptive parents. Counseling services can be for an individual, family, or group. Services are provided in home, in the community, or at the agency. Virtual counseling services are also available. Some of the evidence-based and promising practices used by Adoption Rhode Island’s team of clinicians and practitioners include Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Collaborative Problem Solving, Attachment Regulation and Competency, 3-5-7® Model, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, Motivational Interviewing, Mental Health First Aid, Theraplay®, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, and Child Centered Play Therapy. 

Adoption Rhode Island has staff on call 24/7 to respond to the families they are serving.

 Adoption Rhode Island offers more intensive case management and counseling services to support families who are in crisis.  

Adoption Rhode Island provides a monthly virtual support group for kinship caregivers and an in-person adoptive family support group. Adoption Rhode Island also offers other groups, at different times throughout the year based on identified needs. Groups are facilitated by staff with clinical and/or lived experience.  

Adoption Rhode Island provides adoptive and guardianship families with consultation, advocacy, information, and referral.  

Adoption Rhode Island also offers parent education and support. Parent resource advocates connect families to resources, coach parents through difficult situations, and help them plan and strategize, rather than internalize, the parenting challenges they are facing.  

Adoption Rhode Island provides numerous events. Art workshops are provided throughout the year, and are for children and youth affected by foster care, adoption, and guardianship. Sibling reunion events include a four-day overnight summer camp program that brings siblings together who have been separated in care.  

For more information, visit https://adoptionri.org/behavioral-health-and-wellness/. 

Geographic Area Covered

Post-permanency services in Rhode Island are offered statewide. 

Eligible Population for the Overall Post-Permanency Program

  • Only families receiving adoption assistance 

  • Only families receiving guardianship assistance 

Variations in Eligibility for the Post-Permanency Program

None.  

Families who adopt from other states’ foster care system may receive services from Adoption Rhode Island using their insurance or the agency’s general funds. 

Outreach and Engagement

DCYF provides information about post-permanency services to new adoptive and guardianship families in several ways, including conversations at the time the assistance agreement is completed, discussion at pre-service training, and a one-page handout from Adoption Rhode Island provided with a welcome letter the family receives before finalizing the adoption or guardianship. In addition, the agency sends information about the post-permanency services with its recertification letters to families receiving adoption and guardianship assistance. 

How the Post-Permanency Program Is Operated

  • Through a contract or grant with one private agency 

Notes About Who Provides Which Service(s)

All services are provided by Adoption Rhode Island. 

Adoption/Guardianship Assistance/Subsidy Review and Changes

The state sends a recertification letter every two years to check in with families receiving adoption and guardianship assistance. Families do not have to respond to the letter to maintain their assistance. 

 Families with existing subsidies can request a rate review in writing through the Permanency Support Unit. All requests are reviewed within 30 days. 

Tracking Adoption/Guardianship Discontinuity

Information not available 

Post-Permanency Program Spending (FY 2023)

Information not available 

Funding Sources for the Post-Permanency Program (FY 2023)

Information not available 

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