Post-Permanency Support for Tribal Nations
Post-Permanency Support for Tribal Nations is provided through the National Center for Enhanced Post-Adoption Support (the Center). The Center is funded by the Children’s Bureau, an office of the Administration for Children & Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Spaulding for Children leads this initiative in partnership with five child welfare agencies that have expertise in post-permanency services.
Permanency for Native Children in Tribal Communities
The Center recognizes that termination of parental rights and formal adoption is not often the preferred permanency option for children served by tribal child welfare systems. Instead, guardianship or customary adoption, often with relatives, are more frequently the choice to achieve permanency for children who are unable to return to their parents.
Benefits of Post-Permanency Services
Achieving permanency is only part of the cycle of the child welfare system. Child welfare agencies, including tribal programs, have made great strides to increase permanency for children in their care. As more children and youth find permanence, it has become even more important to offer a comprehensive array of post-permanency services within all child welfare systems. Research has shown that post-permanency services have led to:
Fewer placement disruptions
Improved parenting skills and understanding of children and youth’s challenges
Higher levels of family functioning and connectedness
Fewer emotional and behavioral problems of children and youth
Increased parental ability to cope with those challenges if they persist
What We Offer
The Center provides access to various resources that will enable tribal nations to provide practical, accessible services to families that have achieved permanency through adoption or guardianship. Services provided by the Center are free of charge, collaborative and driven by community engagement.
The Center offers a unique opportunity for Tribal child welfare programs to develop services for families who are accepting a lifelong journey of permanence with a child. Tribes are encouraged to participate with on-site technical assistance that can support the development and implementation of supportive post-permanency services.
Who We Serve
The Center is a hub for universal and on-site technical assistance and other resources to support tribal nations, states, and territories (sites) as they develop and implement comprehensive, community centered and accessible post-permanency services.
A Tribal Guide for Resource Families
Raising Our Relatives is a downloadable, no-cost, customizable guide designed as a supportive tool for Tribal Nations that want to work with resource families and caregivers who are not affiliated with the Tribal Nation, but who are raising children from the Tribal Nation. Designed as a starting point, the guide offers suggested topics and adaptable language to help families nurture meaningful connections between the child and their Tribal Nation.
Tribal Nations Receiving Technical Assistance
Kenaitze Indian Tribe
The Post-Adoption Center is honored to join with Na’ini Family Services of the Kenaitze Indian Tribe. This partnership is born from a shared commitment to strengthen kinship, guardianship, and adoptive families. The partnership and the work are grounded in Kenaitze’s traditional values and draws strength from these timeless principles that have guided and empowered the Kahtnuht’ana Dena’ina for ages.
News and Annoucements
Recent legislation has expanded the rights of Tribal Nations in adoption proceedings. Section 70403 now recognizes Indian Tribal governments' authority to determine whether a child qualifies as having "special needs" for the purposes of the federal adoption tax credit. This change allows families adopting through Tribal courts to access the full adoption tax credit (up to $17,280 in 2025) even if no expenses were incurred. For more information on this new legislation, please review this memo from the Department of the Treasury.
