Adoption Promotion and Support Services is federally funded through the Promoting Safe and Stable Families Act. APSS provides support to children and adoptive families to nurture lifetime commitments, ensure permanency for children, expedite the adoption process and reduce disruption of adoption.
The expected outcome of APSS is a decrease in the number of children remaining in out-of-home care and an increase in the number of finalized adoptions. Parents and children are empowered through information, support and skills to be involved partners in directing their own permanency planning and decision making.
APSS service providers have adoption expertise and are trained to focus on adoption-related issues. Five Acres is one of two agencies located in Service Planning Area 3 to provide these coordinated services. Services include individual, group and family therapy, mentors, and support groups for children and adults. Referrals for linkage services can include childcare, health care, mental health, physical and developmental services, Regional Center Services, special education, substitute adult role model, income support and transportation services. Services are available when the primary focus or concern of the child or family is adoption related.
Targeted population:
• Children with an alternative permanent plan of adoption for whom adoption recruitment efforts are underway
• Children in long-term foster care who could benefit from a more permanent plan of adoption
• Children who are hesitant about being adopted
• Families pursuing adoptions by becoming a resource family through participation in Partnering for Safety and Permanence - Model Approach for Partnership in Parenting
• Families involved in the adoption process including pre-adoption activities and the adoption home study
• Children and families in need of support and services before, during and following adoptive placement.
• Families in need of support services due to risk of adoption disruption after adoption finalization
• Families adopting a sibling group
In 2001, Five Acres became a licensed, full-service adoption agency for Los Angeles County. Adoption services to families include individual, joint and home-visit interviews as part of the family study, pre- and post-placement counseling services through finalization, and post-legal adoption counseling and information services to adoptive families seeking assistance. For more information email
To be referred for the Five Acres APSS
service, children must be less than 18-years of age and the
child/family must be referred by their Children's social worker to the APSS
program manager or, once they are receiving APSS services, are referred by
another APSS service provider.
For more information contact Marianne
Guilfoyle at (626) 798-6793 Fax 797-7722.
