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CARA strives to find a family for every child.

CARA works to place children in forever families both domestically and internationally.

Description:
Child Adoption Resource Association, Inc (CARA) works to increase the number of successful adoptions within Southeastern Connecticut, especially adoptions of children who have special needs. The mission of CARA is:

to educate the Southeastern region's community concerning adoption issues
to develop and implement pre-adoption and post-adoption services
to provide outreach to the military community
to serve as an advocate with the Dept. of Children & Families in recruiting adoptive families
to network with other agencies and organizations with similar goals
CARA is dedicated to this mission and to the enrichment of the quality of life for those children waiting for adoption.

Most of the adoptive parents who apply to adopt through CARA live in Connecticut, although we sometimes have adoptive parents who live in other states. The families are of all different races, ethnic backgrounds, and religions. Most of the adoptive parents are married couples who have been unable to have their own children. CARA also helps single parents and alternative families adopt children.

When adoptive parents apply to adopt a child, they must first have a "home study" done. The home study is a thorough evaluation of the family and an assessment of their suitability for adoption. A social worker meets with them at the office and at their home several times. Information is collected about each member of the household. This includes family history, police and child abuse checks, to see if they have any criminal records, and reference letters. Every member of the family must have a physical exam and the home must be inspected for safety. The social worker also spends time educating parents about adoption and parenting adopted children.

History:
CARA was fully licensed as an adoption agency in 1994. We have been matching families and children successfully now for many years. In the beginning, CARA worked primarily with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to find families for foster children. CARA continues to be the only agency in Eastern Connecticut dealing with minority and special needs adoptions. We have, however, expanded our services to provide assistance with all types of adoptions. Our services include the following:

Private and DCF home studies
Assessments of foster homes to determine suitability for adoption or long-term foster care
Birth parent counseling and services to legally free children for private adoption
Educational classes for families adopting special needs children
Recruitment of families to adopt specific children
Post-placement supervision for private and DCF clients
Assistance with creating Life Books
Finalization of private and DCF adoptions, including relative and step-children
Post-finalization counseling
Foreign and domestic adoptions

Contact people:

Sandra Coulliard, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Kerri Charette, Hostess; Families In The Making, (phone), (email)

Address:

2 Union Square Suite 300 New London, CT 06320 (See a map)

Overall Experience   
A agency who is passionate about what they do!

The staff a CARA was fabulous to work with. What a great feeling to know that your helping an agency to find loving homes for children in need. posted on May 5, 2005