June 27, 2007

Report on the Policies and Procedures Related to Expediting Adoptions

This report which describes the policies and procedures related to expediting the adoption process in Virginia was written by Anthony Conyers, Jr. and published on November 5, 2009. The purpose of adoption is to place children who have been permanently and legally separated from their birth parents with adoptive families and to prevent adoption dissolution by providing services to strengthen and support families after the adoption is finalized. This report is in response to the legislative mandate to study policies and procedures related to expediting adoptions for children in the foster care system as well as those children who are adopted but not placed in foster care. The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) in collaboration with a vested group of stakeholders made recommendations for expediting adoptions after much discussion, a review of state and national data and research, and a survey of practice and policy issues of the 120 local departments of social services (LDSS).