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Heritage is licensed in
Alaska!!
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We
are so excited to announce that after 15 years of working with families in
Alaska, Heritage is now fully licensed and accredited as a non-profit child
placement agency in Alaska!!
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- We applied for licensure
in Alaska in spring of 2007 and were very happy to successfully achieve
licensing following our review in Palmer in August of 2007. We are excited to
now be able to provide the full range of services for families and children;
domestic and international adoptions and home study and post placement/post
adoption services!
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- HERITAGE STAFF IN
ALASKA
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- We now have a local
administrator based in Palmer and a number of home study writers living within
the state. These home study writers will work closely with the main office of
Heritage to assist you throughout the adoption process. Two of our home study
writer social workers are retired special educators with many years experience
in working with families throughout Alaska. As long term residents of Alaska,
they bring familiarity with families and travel in all areas of Alaska.
Carolyn has been doing
home studies in Alaska since 1993 and Lynne since 2004. We have worked with
families living on sailboats, in logging camps, in Dutch Harbor, in Mat-Su and the
Anchorage bowl as well as on the Yukon and the Kuskokwim.
HERITAGE FAMILIES IN
ALASKA
There
are Heritage families in Southeastern from Sitka to Ketchikan. Many of these
families stay in contact with each other and with Heritage to provide
continuing support as they raise their children. We appreciate the
opportunity to work with those who live in a variety of Alaskan life styles
and family constellations who are interested in expanding their family through
adoption. There are programs for single people, people with biological kids,
people over 40, people who have previously adopted, and people with no
children. We enjoy helping you decide what kind of adoption is best for you.
We can also refer you to Heritage families throughout Alaska who are happily
parenting adopted children.
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- HERITAGE PROGRAMS
- We have been working to
place children born in the US, Guatemala, and China since the early 1990s.
Our founder, Deborah Aronson, MSW, is our Executive Director and brings an
enormous amount of wisdom to our programs and staff.
Since Heritage’s early years, the agency has grown to have excellent programs
in China, (including our renowned Waiting Child aka: Special Needs Program),
Guatemala, Haiti and Kazakhstan in addition to domestic programs.
We love our Alaska families and hope that our licensure means we can help many
more children to find wonderful families in Alaska.
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More information about
each of Heritage’s programs, including requirements, a description of the
process, and much more, can be found by following these links:
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- Want more information?
- Call
907-745-0258 or
503-233-1099, also e-mail:

JUST NEED A HOME STUDY
OR POST ADOPTION REPORT?
- If you’re working with
another out-of-state placement agency, we’re happy to complete your home study
and post placement/post adoption supervision and reporting, as required by
Alaska, your placement agency, and the country from which you are adopting.
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- Home studies are reports
required for almost all adoptions. They include lots of information about your
family’s background and preparation for adoption (which can be ongoing) and
give a recommendation for the type of child who would be appropriate for your
family (and which you would like to adopt). Most adoption programs require
that follow up reports be completed as well – called post placement or post
adoption reports, usually within the first year or so after you are home with
your new child. Different states and countries have different requirements for
both home studies and post placement reports. We are very familiar with the
home study requirements of Alaska as well as for many other countries which
allow international adoption.
If you are adopting with another agency, or independently, Heritage can
provide home study, post placement, post adoption, updates, and addendums, as
needed. For a home study, you will need to complete a set of paperwork we call
the interagency/independent home study packet, which can be found below under
“Forms!”. We will usually assign a home study writer once ALL required
paperwork and payment are submitted (please mail paperwork to our office in
Portland).
Our fee for most home studies in Alaska is $1200 and for most post
placement reports is $350, although occasionally this amount may be
adjusted for the work required. Families should plan to cover the costs of
bringing a social worker to their home at least one time. Heritage will
always assign the social worker closest to the family’s home. In the
Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula, or Fairbanks areas, transportation costs are
mileage at the federal mileage rate (currently $.485/mile) and $20/hour
travel time from the social worker’s office to the family’s home. Travel
expenses should be paid to the social worker at the time of the home visit
when the worker drives.
In outlying areas where transportation is by plane, the family will be
asked to provide a ticket for the social worker to fly to their home. Home
studies for China and some other countries require additional visits, so
in outlying areas the social worker will need to stay overnight and visit
with family again the next day. In these cases, the family will need to
provide meals and accommodations for the worker.
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- Forms for Alaskans!
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- Domestic programs: application and other forms,
please call 503-233-1099
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- International Application Packet
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- International Interagency/Independent Home Study Packet
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* Call us for region specific instructions & forms for obtaining criminal
history clearances
CONTACT INFORMATION FOR
HERITAGE
Families in Alaska will
work directly with program coordinators in our main office in Portland Oregon,
and have a home study writer who lives and works in Alaska. It is best
to contact our Portland office for more information about any of our programs.
Portland office: 503-233-1099
- Here’s the address:
- Heritage Adoption Services
- 10011 SE Division St., Ste 314
- Portland, OR 97266
- (503) 233-1099
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- Here’s our address in Palmer (please send application
and dossier materials to Portland)
- 412 East Gold Key Lane
- Palmer, AK 99645
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- LOCAL RESOURCES FOR ADOPTIVE FAMILIES IN ALASKA
- Alaska Attachment & Bonding Associates (AABA)
- AABA’s
mission is to support healthy family attachments and bonds through
education, training, and advocacy.
- PO Box 872188
- Wasilla, AK 99687-2188
- Phone: 907-376-0366
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- Alaska Center for Resource Families (ACRF) and
Alaska Adoption Support Center (AASC)
- Contact: Betsy Woodin,
Trainer/Adoption Support: 907-376-4678
- Staff in Juneau, Anchorage, and
Fairbanks, and telephone consultations and referrals available throughout
the state. AASC services area available free
of charge to families involved in state, tribal, relative, private, &
international adoptions, as well as guardianships.
Providing assessments, case management,
and resource access including online courses.
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- Anchorage Adoptive Parents Association
- 9321 Flintlock Street
- Anchorage, AK 99507
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- Alaska Families with Kids from Korea
- Contact: Sandy Camery
907-345-9309
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- Families with Children from China: Alaska
- Contact: Marsha Callaway 907-349-4907
- Anchorage Contact: Robin Taylor 907-276-1466 or Sam
Penney 907-563-0474
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- Rhein
Neckar Adoption Support Group
- MES
- Unit 29938
- APO, AK 09086
RAVEN Respite (Mat-Su
valley)
Resources for parents
raising traumatized children including a support group, resource library,
parent hot line, online group, & workshops; Contact Melissa 907-376-0506 for
more information
Anchorage Support
Groups
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AYFN Support Group, 2nd
and 4th Friday of each month at Gateway Learning Center, 801
Karluk. Call Alaska Youth and Family Network
for more information
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FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorders) Play Days – call Stone Soup Group at 561*3701 or email Cheri at
cheris@stonesoupgroup.org for more information
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No Empty Nest (NEN) – run by
Volunteers of America at 1675 C. Street, Ste 201, Anchorage, for
grandparents raising grandchildren. Call Tami at 522-9866 for more
information
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Adoptive Parent Embracing
Sanity (APES) for parents who adopted children as toddlers or older –
contact Joe or Mary at
moonshine@gci.inet or 243-6561
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NAMI Alaska meetings for
families and children with emotional, behavioral, and psychiatric disorders,
call Tracy at 277-1300 or 277-2245 for more information
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Autism &
Asperger Support Group – email
ayfn@yafn.org or call 770-4979
Mat-Su Support Groups
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Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren Support Groups in Palmer (third Thursday every month from
12noon – 1pm in Palmer Senior Center boardroom) & Wasilla (first Thursday of
every month from 6:30 – 8pm at Wasilla Senior Center)
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Mom 2 Mom, A Project of
Alaska Attachment and Bonding Associates; Contact Melissa 907-376-0506 for
more information
Juneau Groups
Do you know of a resource
we should add to this list? Please let us know:
info@heritageadoption.org or 503-233-1099
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