Resources

Foster Parents

A Place to Call Home is an Arizona licensing agency with locations in Mesa and Tucson. It helps families become certified to adopt, provides respite services for children and adults, offers training for foster and adoptive families, and licenses families to become foster parents.

Aid to Adoption of Special Kids (AASK) is an Arizona licensing agency and nonprofit organization helping families and children through the foster and adoption process. AASK’s foster care programs include kinship foster care, specialized medical care foster care, foster care DDD, Todos los Niños program, and Tribal program. AASK has 3 locations in the Phoenix area (central Phoenix, Peoria, and Chandler).

“The Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents is a non-profit, statewide organization that serves families who adopt children and provide foster and kinship care.

Working in partnership with child welfare professionals and the community, our purpose is to support, educate, empower and provide a unified voice for Arizona’s foster and adoptive families, with the goal of increasing the well-being and stability of Arizona’s most vulnerable children.”

Arizona Children’s Association (ACA) is one of the oldest and largest statewide comprehensive child welfare and behavioral health not-for-profit agencies in Arizona. The organization serves families with locations in every Arizona County. As an Arizona licensing agency, ACA provides the training and services required to become a licensed foster care home. Additionally, ACA collaborates with adoption placing agencies to help provide adoption-related services for private adoptions, international adoptions, and from the foster care system.

Arizona Family Resources is part of Aid to Adoption of Special Kids and provides basic information on foster care, medical needs for children in care, information on foster children in school, legal information for foster children and parents, external support resources, local resources specific to your Arizona county, what to do in the event of an emergency, and information and support for youth about to age out of the foster care system.

The Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation helps provide funding for foster children to participate in athletic, educational, and social activities. The organization also awards funds to assist foster children to attend a higher learning institution. It helps any foster child in Arizona, regardless of their location.

Arizona Helping Hands provides foster families with the basic essentials for children in the Department of Child Safety system.bArizona Helping Hands offers foster families with basic needs like clothing, toys, furniture, school essentials, diapers, etc., all free for foster parents. AHH also helps make foster kids’ birthdays more special through its “Birthday Dreams” program where foster children are offered birthday gifts for their birthdays. They are located in Phoenix, but serve families all over the state.

The Arizona Ombudsman office is an individual agency within the Arizona Legislature which provides a place for Arizonans to take their concerns concerning Arizona state administrators, agencies, departments, boards or commissions.

“Black Family and Child Services of Arizona (BFCS) is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) community-based social service agency in metropolitan Phoenix. Serving children and families of all ethnic backgrounds since 1984, BFCS is licensed by the State of Arizona to provide Behavioral Health Services, and the agency holds a Child Welfare Placing License to provide adoption and foster care services.”

Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, Inc. offers many resources for families including counseling for children and adults, adoption certification, foster family care, housing counseling, family preservation services, childcare and early childhood education, transitional housing, Alitas (aid for migrant women and children), and many others. Catholic Social Services can help with adoption certification and provides information on foster care training.

Child Crisis Arizona’s programs help support children and strengthen families in need. Child Crisis Arizona runs an Emergency Children’s Shelter for children up to 10 years old suffering from abuse or neglect. It also helps certify families for adoption, provides foster care licensing, offers an early head start preschool program in Phoenix and Mesa, has training opportunities for parents, support groups for foster families and kinship families, and connects families with community resources.

Childhelp is a National organization with a mission of helping victims of child abuse and neglect. It focuses on prevention, intervention, community outreach, and treatment.

Christian Family Care Agency provides information, resources, and counseling services for foster care and adoptive families. The agency offers counseling services, family services, crisis pregnancy, foster care services, and adoption services. CFCA works with birth mothers through pregnancy counseling, as well as adoptive and foster parents through PS MAPP classes and trainings (the state required trainings for foster families). Its counseling programs focus on meeting the needs of children and families in Arizona. CFCA has locations in both Phoenix and Tucson.

CPES serves individuals and families of all ages. CPES helps train child developmental homes as well as provide on-going support for families caring for the children. In addition, it provides traditional foster care training, therapeutic home care training to home care client (short-term foster care providing kids from the ages of 3-17 who have behavioral challenges), adoption certification, medically fragile children, and respite. CPES serves families in Tucson, Phoenix, and Northern Arizona.

The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has one mission: to dramatically increase the number of adoptions from foster care. Founded in 1992 by Wendy’s® founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, the Foundation believes that every child deserves a loving family. "We are North America’s only national nonprofit charity dedicated solely to finding permanent homes for the more than 117,000 children waiting to be adopted in the U.S and 30,000 waiting in Canada.

Devereux is a National licensing agency serving families in Arizona. The agency’s foster care services include traditional foster care, therapeutic foster care, adult therapeutic foster care, respite care, and a parent aid program (providing transportation services, supervised visitation, and parenting support to youth and families involved with the Department of Child Safety). Additionally, the agency provides free trainings and support groups for foster parents.

Family Christian Counseling Center offers counseling services for children and families from a faith based perspective. There are two locations, one in north central Phoenix, and a satellite office in Chandler. Deborah Pettitt’s blog (https://www.familyccc.com/blog/) offers information on many different topics related to children and families. Family CCC offers children’s therapy, play therapy, family therapy, marriage therapy, individual adult therapy, equine assisted therapy, canine assisted therapy, and attachment therapy. In addition, it provides information regarding children and trauma, as well as parenting classes (for a small fee).

“The Family Support Resources Foster Care & Adoption Program is a sub-organization of Family Support Resources, Inc. FSR specializes in licensing foster parents to take in children of all ages that are in DCS (Department of Child Safety) custody. Additionally, FSR also certifies qualified families to adopt these wonderful children. The Foster Care & Adoption Program provides the following supports: 24 hour Crisis Team, On-Call Support, Family-to-Family Support & Mentoring, Regular Support Group Meetings, Family Appreciation Events, and Free Advanced Education Training”

“GAP Ministries is a social service 501c3 nonprofit serving Southern Arizona since 1999. We Stand in the GAP to bring HELP to Children, HEALING to Families, and HOPE to our Community. GAP serves those in need because of our faith, but we serve indiscriminately, regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation because we believe God cares about all people.”

“LFCC was created through the support and collaboration of numerous community members and foster care and adoption professionals. LFCC seeks to help grow and strengthen the families caring for Arizona’s children by providing supportive services, creating an environment to build connections, supporting the recruitment of prospective foster and adoptive parents, and facilitating the collaborative efforts of professionals in the community.”

“WVCCC finds caring families for children who have been removed from their homes because of abuse, neglect or abandonment. With over 15,000 children in foster care and only approximately 9,000 licensed foster family home beds, our foster care system is in crisis. WVCCC trains and supports adults who want to become foster and adoptive parents and assists with matching families with the children and youth. With donations, WVCCC can increase the number of children served through our Foster Care and Adoption Program. Its goal is to provide the children with the services that they need to ensure their safety and well-being while in a family environment. WVCCC saves children’s lives.”

Adoptive Parents

ABC Infant Adoption provides expectant mothers with information regarding placing a child for adoption. It assists expectant mothers through pregnancy with counseling, transportation, and medical appointments. ABC Infant Adoption serves as a resource for expectant mothers before, during, and after an adoption. ABC Infant Adoption Services helps women with life skills, applying for jobs, getting back to school, or applying for scholarship subsidies. ABC Infant Adoption also assists with home studies for both domestic adoptions and international adoptions (Mexico, Burundi, and Burkina Faso).

American Adoptions, an Arizona licensed adoption agency, is one of the largest domestic adoption agencies in the United States. It works with expectant mothers and adoptive families across the nation and throughout Arizona. American Adoptions is a full-service agency, so it performs nearly every stage of the adoption process itself. American Adoptions helps provide counseling for expectant mothers and is a resource throughout the duration of your pregnancy. American Adoption assists adoptive parents with adoption certification, home studies, post placement visits, and adoption finalization.

“The Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents is a non-profit, statewide organization that serves families who adopt children and provide foster and kinship care. Working in partnership with child welfare professionals and the community, our purpose is to support, educate, empower, and provide a unified voice for Arizona’s foster and adoptive families, with the goal of increasing the well-being and stability of Arizona’s most vulnerable children.”

Arizona Children’s Association (ACA) is one of the oldest and largest statewide comprehensive child welfare and behavioral health not-for-profit agencies in Arizona. The organization serves families with locations in every Arizona County. As an Arizona licensing agency, ACA provides the training and services required to become a licensed foster care home. Additionally, ACA collaborates with adoption placing agencies to help provide adoption-related services for private adoptions, international adoptions, and from the foster care system.

Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, Inc. offers many resources for families including counseling for children and adults, adoption certification, foster family care, housing counseling, family preservation services, childcare and early childhood education, transitional housing, Alitas (aid for migrant women and children), and many others. Catholic Social Services can help with adoption certification and provides information on foster care training.

Christian Family Care Agency provides information, resources, and counseling services for foster care and adoptive families.The agency offers counseling services, family services, crisis pregnancy, foster care services, and adoption services. CFCA works with birth mothers through pregnancy counseling, as well as adoptive and foster parents through PS MAPP classes and trainings (the state required trainings for foster families). Its counseling programs focus on meeting the needs of children and families in Arizona. CFCA has locations in both Phoenix and Tucson.

Family Christian Counseling Center offers counseling services for children and families from a faith based perspective. There are two locations, one in north central Phoenix, and a satellite office in Chandler. Deborah Pettitt’s blog (https://www.familyccc.com/blog/) offers information on many different topics related to children and families. Family CCC offers children’s therapy, play therapy, family therapy, marriage therapy, individual adult therapy, equine assisted therapy, canine assisted therapy, and attachment therapy. In addition, it provides information regarding children and trauma, as well as parenting classes (for a small fee).

Families for Private Adoption’s mission is to provide support and education for those seeking to build their families through adoption. Its focus is on assisting families who are hoping to pursue private, domestic adoption (without the assistance of an adoption/child placing agency). FPA serves as an advocate for preserving the rights of adoptive parents, birth parents, and the children.

Oasis Adoption Services counsels birth mothers and provides information and resources regarding the adoption process. The organization also helps adoptive families during the adoption process. It is location in Tucson, Arizona, but serves birth mothers and families throughout Arizona, including Tucson, Phoenix, Yuma, Casa Grande, Flagstaff, Nogales, Chandler, Prescott, and Show Low. Oasis Adoptions helps with home studies, adoption certifications, birth parent counseling, adoption finalization in Tucson, post placement visits and reports, and education on adoption issues.

Foster Children:

“In partnership with DES, AzPaC and its Partner Agencies trains, and assesses families' ability and readiness to become foster parents in Arizona. AzPaC recruits, provides training, assesses, and certifies potential adoptive homes for the Department of Economic Security/Child Protective Service (DES/CPS).”

“The Mission of FostAdopt Connections is to support and empower kinship, foster and adopted children and the people who care for them by providing mentors, connection to resources and the community at large.”

“Young people who come into contact with public systems – especially those who languish in the child welfare and justice systems – have been chronically let down by so many of the adults in their lives. The opportunity to learn has been interrupted by unnecessary home and school moves . . . . We are working to create a reality where all system-involved youth graduate from high school with the widest array of possibilities for their future. We also envision a future where leaders from multiple public systems – child welfare, education, mental health, probation, and judicial agencies – band together with a sense of imperative and persistence to build the conditions at a large scale.”

“Young people who come into contact with public systems – especially those who languish in the child welfare and justice systems – have been chronically let down by so many of the adults in their lives. The opportunity to learn has been interrupted by unnecessary home and school moves . . . . We are working to create a reality where all system-involved youth graduate from high school with the widest array of possibilities for their future. We also envision a future where leaders from multiple public systems – child welfare, education, mental health, probation, and judicial agencies – band together with a sense of imperative and persistence to build the conditions at a large scale.”

“In 2004, Hope & A Future, an Arizona 501(c)(3) nonprofit Christian organization, was formed to continue affecting the lives of foster children who have grown beyond the age limits of other organizations. Not long after – in 2006 – it realized its goal of providing our first summer camp in Arizona designed for kids from twelve to fifteen. Since then, it has grown with every camp and with new programs that provide hope and a future to Arizona’s foster children. Hope & A Future serves abused and neglected children in the Arizona foster care system by helping them reach their potential and achieve their dreams.”

“OCJ Kids (Opportunity Community and Justice for Kids), founded in 1992, is forming an alliance with the business and faith communities to provide services, resources, and caring adults to address the needs of the most vulnerable in our society. OCJ Kids’ mission is to equip foster and at-risk children and youth by providing them tools, resources, and positive role models to succeed and excel in every area of life.”

“Sunshine Angels is a non-profit organization that was founded to support foster children living in group homes within the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan area). Our mission is to make a lasting difference in the lives of these children by instilling self-esteem and showing them that they are loved and valued, and to provide them with a brighter tomorrow.”

“Together We Rise is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization comprised of motivated young adults and former foster youth. Its vision is to improve the lives of children in foster care, who often find themselves forgotten and neglected by the public. It collaborates with individuals, companies, and community partners to bring resources to foster youth, and uses service-learning activities to educate volunteers on issues surrounding the foster care system. TWR works with hundreds of foster agencies, social workers, CASA advocates, and other partners to bring its programs to foster youth across the nation. Its foundation has allowed TWR to provide thousands of foster youth across the country with new bicycles, college supplies, and sweet cases so that children do not have to travel from home to home with their belongings in a trash bag.”

Foster & Adoptive Parent Basic Needs Resources

“Helen’s provides more than just clothes for kids in foster care. It is important that every youth who comes through our doors feels a sense of confidence, acceptance, and dignity. The boutique environment allows kids to choose their favorite items and feel like they are shopping at a regular store. The extensive sorting process guarantees that kids and youth are receiving new and like-new items that are current and stylish.”

I Am You 360's focus is to boost the self-esteem, confidence, and self-awareness of our at-risk youth. We also improve appearance and encourage positive thinking, community compassion, and school attendance. I Am You 360 is passionate in creating awareness and community compassion. Our goal is to develop self-worth and leadership skills, along with the reinvention of self, confidence, and family restoration. In addition, we firmly stand on the fact that hair and skin care education with foster care parents will empower not only themselves, but children of all ethnicities, which will help them to focus on their education and discover their own individuality. I Am You 360 is located in Tucson, Arizona.

iFoster is a national non-profit with over 40,000 members across all 50 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico. An estimated 500 new members join iFoster every month. iFoster’s mission is to ensure that every child growing up outside of their biological home has the resources and opportunities they need to become successful, independent adults.” Its headquarters is in Truckee, California.

A resource center in Apache Junction for foster and adoptive families run by foster and adoptive families. “Its resource center in Apache Junction supplies foster, adoptive, and kinship families with clothes (all ages), strollers, school back backs, toys, formula, diapers, and much more.”

More Than a Bed is a nonprofit organization providing foster and kinship families with the necessary items needed to care for a child in foster care. More Than a Bed’s warehouse (located on 1^st and Prince in Tucson, Arizona) is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday between 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM, as well as on the 2^nd and 4^th Saturday of each month from 8:00 AM – 11:00 AM. During these days and times, foster and kinship families can pick up clothing for kids of all ages, toys, shoes, and other essential items including beds and furniture.

"Spreading Threads Clothing Bank was started as a grassroots, 501 (c)(3) nonprofit clothing bank based in Tucson, Arizona, with the purpose of providing free clothing to youth in foster care in Pima County and Southern Arizona. Launched in 2018, Spreading Threads Clothing Bank was founded by Michele Wright and Michele Bennett, two women who have fostered and adopted several children in Southern Arizona."

Training Opportunities:

“Parent University provides parents and caregivers with information about their vital role in shaping children's lives. Sessions focus on child development, effective parenting skills, and children's academic needs. The classes are presented by national consultants and prominent valley educators. All parents and caregivers are invited. (*No childcare is provided, infants and children are not allowed in the class unless the class description specifically says students are welcomed.*) Residency in Mesa, Arizona is NOT required.”

“Raising Special Kids began in 1979 as a grass-roots effort of families, professionals, and community leaders determined to provide support and information for parents of children with disabilities and special health care needs. Our motto, "families helping families”, reflects our commitment to support families in all forms and from diverse cultures. Today, Raising Special Kids serves as Arizona’s Family-to-Family Health Information Center, and as Arizona’s Parent Training and Information Center. Helping parents access information about health care, community resources, and support services so they can make informed decisions regarding their children’s care has been our mission from the beginning. We support thousands of Arizona families each year through our programs and services.”

Infertility

Lagom Wellness assists women and families through fertility coaching and having healthy pregnancies. The founder of Lagom Wellness, Melissa Furrier, RN, BSN, HWC, has experience both professionally and personally that she has gained over years and years of searching and researching. Her goal is to provide the knowledge to families that might help them conceive and provide support, guidance, and education throughout their fertility journey.

Miscellaneous

“A lifebook brings together a child’s past, present, and future. It is a book to document a child’s history, celebrate accomplishments, and allow his or her talents to shine. It is a record of a child’s life in his or her own words using photos, artwork, and things picked up along the way. It allows a child to honor life, one day and one event at a time. Working together on a lifebook can bring a parent and child closer together. It creates a natural opportunity to talk about the circumstances of the foster care and/or adoptive placement. A lifebook is a useful tool in any stage of foster care or adoption.”

Equine Therapy

Partnering very special horses and compassionate licensed therapists, our mental health professionals and trained Equine Specialists are dedicated to providing therapies that can profoundly improve the lives of those dealing with physical, mental, or emotional challenges. Hoofbeats with Heart works with the Arizona Department of Developmental Disabilities and also accepts private insurance and welcomes referrals from doctors, therapists, physical therapists, other therapy programs, community-based organizations, and courts. Hoofbeats with Heart serves families with children and adults from the Metro Phoenix area with special challenges, including physical and emotional limitations, vision and hearing impairments, Down’s syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Autism.

Through the non-verbal connection with horses, we can begin to create positive changes in our lives. Equine Assisted Growth and Learning can help youths gain personal insight, increase communication skills, overcome challenges and fears, build confidence, increase self-esteem, team building, and form connections and relationships. Equine Assisted Therapy can help with a wide range of issues including autistic spectrum conditions, attention deficit hyper-activity disorder (ADHD), attachment disorder, grief and loss, addiction, PTSD, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, and relationship issues.

“TROT provides equine-assisted activities and therapies for children with physical and developmental disabilities. TROT serves children with autism, cerebral palsy, developmental delay, Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, hearing/vision impairments, and other special needs. Our largest therapeutic riding program is for school aged children (ages 5+). Research shows that therapeutic riding is beneficial to children with disabilities in many ways, including: Improving balance, coordination, motor skills, speech, and communication skills, building confidence and emotional control, improving sensory input and integration, and cultivating empathy.”