BULLETIN FOR 

PROFESSIONALS

December 2010

Working With 

Military Families 

as They Pursue 

Adoption 

Many military service members add to their 

families through adoption. Adoption workers 

who advise these families need to know of the 

many resources available inside and outside 

of the military support structure.

What’s Inside:

• Benefits of using military 

families as adoptive 

resources for children

• Challenges and 

solutions in working 

with military families 

• Military resources 

that assist families in 

adoption efforts

• Organizations with 

resources for military 

families 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau

Child Welfare Information Gateway

Children’s Bureau/ACYF

1250 Maryland Avenue, SW

Eighth Floor

Washington, DC 20024

800.394.3366

Email: info@childwelfare.gov

www.childwelfare.gov
Working With Military Families as They Pursue Adoption www.childwelfare.gov

2 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/militarybulletin.cfm

 Benefits of Using 

Military Families as 

Adoptive Resources 

for Children

Military families can make excellent adoptive 

families for children in foster care. They have 

experience with adaptation and flexibility, are 

more likely to come from a variety of races and 

cultures, and have access to military benefits.

For a comprehensive view of what military 

families face in considering adoption, read 

Wherever My Family Is: That’s Home! from 

AdoptUSKids at: www.adoptuskids.org/

images/resourcecenter/militaryguide.pdf

Flexibility

Military families know how to be flexible and 

organized in multiple moves and how to 

deal with adversity and separations. They are 

experienced in adjusting to new surroundings, 

building new connections, and supporting 

each other all over the world.

Ethnic Diversity 

Racial diversity within the military exceeds that 

of the general population.1

 Thirty-six percent 

of active duty military identify themselves as 

African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and other 

1	 According	to	the	2000	census,	minorities	account	for	

approximately	29	percent	of	the	total	U.S.	population.	U.S.	

Census	Bureau,	Statistical Abstract of the United States, 2001

(No.	15.	Resident	Population	by	Hispanic	Origin	Status,	1980	to	

2000,	and	projections,	2005	to	2050).

races.2 The diversity of military communities 

and environments reflects the racial and ethnic 

diversity of children in foster care who need 

families.

Military Support Networks

Military installations have many built-in 

support networks for military families, 

including substantial health-care and housing 

benefits and “ready-made” communities. 

More benefits for adoptive families include 

adoption reimbursements (see page 5 

for more information), Exceptional Family 

Member Programs for children with special 

needs (see page 5), and New Parent Support 

Programs (see page 6) on many installations.

 Challenges and Solutions 

in Working with Military 

Families

Working with military families presents 

adoption social workers with distinct 

challenges:

• Possibility of a parent’s permanent change 

of station (PCS), deployment, or overseas 

assignment 

• Increased involvement of the Interstate 

Compact on the Placement of Children 

(ICPC)

• Preconceptions about military families and 

lack of knowledge of available resources 

2	 U.S.	Department	of	Defense Demographics 2008.
Working With Military Families as They Pursue Adoption www.childwelfare.gov

3 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/militarybulletin.cfm

Transfer or Deployment

If a family has already started the process of 

adoption and receives orders for a PCS or 

deployment, the family may be able to have 

their home study documents transferred to 

an agency near the new home or installation; 

however, many agencies require their own 

forms and protocols for the home study. In 

case of deployment, it is important that the 

military parent keeps his or her command 

informed about the adoption process 

to ensure that essential documents are 

completed and delivered.

If you’re stationed overseas, licensed adoption 

agencies with social workers that can help U.S. 

military service members include the following 

nonprofit agencies:

• The International Social Service has social 

workers in 140 of the countries where the 

United States has military installations: 

www.iss-usa.org 

• Adopt Abroad has representatives in 

Europe, Japan, Korea, and the Middle East: 

http://adopt-abroad.com

• VIDA (Voice for International Development 

and Adoption) is a not-for-profit agency 

with programs that span four continents: 

www.vidaadoptions.org

The Interstate Compact on the 

Placement of Children (ICPC)

Moving waiting children across State and 

county lines to join their adoptive families 

can add complexity to the adoption process. 

The ICPC establishes procedures for ensuring 

the safety and stability of placements across 

State lines. It is an agreement that applies 

when a child travels from one State to another 

for the purpose of adoption. All 50 States, 

the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands have signed this agreement, which 

requires an application for approval before 

a child can be transferred into the receiving 

State for placement. Parties must comply 

with the law of the sending State (the State 

where the child originated) before the sending 

State’s ICPC office will approve the child’s 

transfer. Also, home studies in the receiving 

State, where the family resides, cannot be 

initiated until ICPC receives the request from 

the sending State and gives permission to 

initiate the home study. For more information 

on interjurisdictional placement, go to: 

www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/

preplacement/interjurisdictional.cfm

The Association of Administrators of the 

Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical 

Assistance (AAICAMA) officials will look at 

the State where the adoption is finalized to 

determine the appropriate receiving State 

(e.g., if a family is adopting a child from 

Kansas but is finalizing its adoption in Virginia, 

an ICPC referral would be necessary from 

Kansas to file in Virginia). AAICAMA has a 

map for users that shows how to access ICPC 

contacts, administrators, information, and 

more for each State. For military families 

stationed overseas, ICPC may not apply. Find 

out about specific States here: 

http://icpc.aphsa.org/Home/states.asp

Preconceptions and Lack of 

Knowledge of Resources 

Working with military families may challenge 

some child welfare workers’ beliefs or 

negative stereotypes about military families. 

The AdoptUSKids booklet Answering the 

Call: Wherever My Family Is: That’s Home! 

Adoption Services for Military Families lists 

and refutes a number of myths having to do 
Working With Military Families as They Pursue Adoption www.childwelfare.gov

4 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/militarybulletin.cfm

with military life or characteristics that may 

prevent child welfare workers from viewing 

military families as good potential adoptive 

families.3

All families, military or civilian, should be 

evaluated on their abilities to meet a particular 

child’s needs. Social workers can learn about 

issues in military families and the available 

support services by availing themselves 

of resources listed in this bulletin. To find 

services the Department of Defense (DoD) 

offers families, visit the Military HOMEFRONT 

website: www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/tf/

adoption

Finding Solutions to Challenges 

In the 1990s, the Children’s Bureau funded 

five Adoption Opportunities grant projects 

exploring the recruitment of military families 

for the adoption of children from foster care.4

The grantees found the military to be a largely 

untapped resource for children waiting for 

families, and the benefits of placing children 

with military families included ethnic diversity, 

family structure, and the military support 

network available for families and children. 

The grantees used creativity to overcome 

potential barriers to adoption by military 

families by:

• Training military personnel on installations 

(e.g., social workers, chaplains) to recruit 

families, complete home studies, and 

conduct postplacement follow-up visits for 

families stationed overseas

3	 McKenzie,	J.	K.,	McKenzie,	J.	L.,	&	Jackson,	R.	(2006).	

Answering the Call: Wherever My Family Is: That’s Home! 

Adoption Services for Military Families.	www.adoptuskids.org/

images/resourceCenter/militaryGuide.pdf

4	 Humerickhouse,	S.	(1996).	Adoption: A Guide for Military 

Family Service Center Staff and Civilian Social Workers.

www.adoptea.org/Publications/index.html#military

• Learning the cultural standards, protocol, 

and communication styles of military 

personnel to better appreciate the unique 

culture of many military families

• Offering flexibility in scheduling education 

and home study processes

• Providing the final court hearing 

by telephone after completing the 

postplacement services

Successful recruitment campaigns and 

adoption processes with military families 

depend on cooperative relationships among 

military services and agency personnel. 

Adoption workers need to understand and 

respect the military command structure and 

lifestyle, and military personnel may need to 

learn about the adoption process.

 Military Resources 

That Assist Families in 

Adoption Efforts

In addition to the suggestions listed above, 

adoption professionals can help families draw 

on the resources available to military families. 

These include:

DoD’s updated Adoption Reimbursement 

Policy (Instruction 1341.9) describes the policy 

and responsibilities for the reimbursement of 

qualifying adoption expenses. Up to $2,000 

per child or up to $5,000 per year can be 

reimbursed for qualifying expenses and is 

available to military families whose adoptions 

were arranged by a qualified adoption 

agency. Benefits are paid after the adoption is 

complete. Find the Instruction here:
Working With Military Families as They Pursue Adoption www.childwelfare.gov

5 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/militarybulletin.cfm

www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/

pdf/134109p.pdf 

The Exceptional Family Member Program 

helps families with a special needs family 

member before, during, and after transfer 

or PCS orders. It should be noted that the 

military defines “special needs” to mean 

“physical or mental disabilities or severe 

illness.” This differs from what adoption 

professionals often refer to as “children with 

special needs”—more broadly defined to 

include children who may be healthy but are 

older than 3 to 8 years, members of sibling 

groups, or children of color. For information 

on how “special needs” is defined in 

adoption, read Information Gateway’s “Special 

Needs” Adoption: What Does It Mean?: www.

childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/specialneeds

More details about the Exceptional Family 

Member Program are provided on the 

MilitaryHOMEFRONT website: 

www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/portal/

page/mhf/MHF/MHF_DETAIL_1?section_

id=20.40.500.570.0.0.0.0.0&curr

ent_id=20.40.500.570.500.20.0.0.0

Affordable child development centers 

provide child care at many DoD locations. 

DoD requires the centers to provide highquality services that are consistent from 

one installation to another, although not 

all services are available at all installations. 

More information is available on the Military 

OneSource website: www.militaryonesource.

com/MOS/FindInformation/Category/Topic/

Issue/Material.aspx?MaterialTypeID=9&Materi

alID=16232#section_3

Family service centers are located on most 

major military installations and provide military 

families with information about adoption 

reimbursements and other familial benefits. 

Each branch of the service has a different 

name for these centers. 

Medical Care, Benefits, and Eligibility

Medical care is available to military families 

at military treatment facilities. Health-care 

benefits are provided under TRICARE in 

civilian medical facilities if access to care is not 

available at an installation. 

An adopted child, including a child placed in 

the home of a service member by a placement 

agency, is eligible for benefits after the child is 

enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility 

Reporting System (DEERS) (800.538.9552).

Specific information on access and eligibility 

is available by calling the DoD Worldwide 

TRICARE Information Center at 888.363.2273 

and online at www.tricare.mil/mybenefit/index.

jsp.

Each branch of the military has a Family 

Advocacy Program, which provides individual 

and family counseling services for military 

families. Most of the programs are geared 

toward spousal and child abuse prevention 

as well as the development of a healthy 

lifestyle. New Parent Support Programs at 

some installations are one component of the 

Family Advocacy Program. DoD Instruction 

No. 6400-05 and MilitaryHOMEFRONT 

provide more information: www.dtic.mil/whs/

directives/corres/pdf/640005p.pdf; 

www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil/sp/fap

Adoption Tax Credit 

Military families are eligible for an adoption 

tax credit. For more information, go to the 

Information Gateway webpage that lists 

grants, loans, and tax credits for adoption: 
Working With Military Families as They Pursue Adoption www.childwelfare.gov

6 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/militarybulletin.cfm

www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adoptive/

grants_loans.cfm

 Organizations With 

Resources for Military 

Families

AdoptUSKids

www.adoptuskids.org

The Children’s Bureau funds AdoptUSKids, 

a comprehensive multifaceted project that 

houses an online photolisting service that 

provides pictures and brief descriptions of 

U.S. children in foster care waiting for families 

as well as a registry of waiting families. For 

answers to questions about adoption and 

the military, go to: www.adoptuskids.org/

resourcecenter/rrtpackets/military.aspx

American Academy of Adoption 

Attorneys (AAAA)

www.adoptionattorneys.org

AAAA is a national association of attorneys 

who practice adoption law or who have 

otherwise distinguished themselves in the 

field. AAAA’s work includes promoting the 

reform of adoption laws and disseminating 

information on ethical adoption practices.

Association of Administrators of the 

Interstate Compact on Adoption 

and Medical Assistance (AAICAMA)

www.aaicama.org/cms/

AAICAMA is a source of technical and 

legal assistance, training, and information 

on interstate and intrastate adoption. The 

website is designed for State and local agency 

adoption professionals to work effectively 

with families who have adoption assistance 

agreements and move from one State to 

another. 

Intercountry Adoption, 

U.S. Department of State 

www.adoption.state.gov

The Office of Children’s Issues formulates, 

develops, and coordinates policies and 

programs and provides direction to Foreign 

Service posts on intercountry adoption. 

Caseworkers can refer families to the website, 

which offers notices, alerts, statistics, and 

information about the Hague Convention and 

visas.

International Social Service (ISS), 

United States of America Branch, Inc.

www.iss-usa.org

ISS is a network of social workers in 146 

countries. It is a nonsectarian, nonprofit 

agency that expedites sociolegal 

communication among social service agencies 

internationally. Services include arranging 

home studies and home study certifications, 

background checks, repatriations, and more. 

Social work professionals can find out if ISS 

can serve a family in a particular country.

Interstate Compact on the 

Placement of Children (ICPC)

http://icpc.aphsa.org/Home/states.asp

ICPC is a membership organization that 

does not work directly with families. From 

its website, caseworkers can access names 
Working With Military Families as They Pursue Adoption www.childwelfare.gov

7 This material may be freely reproduced and distributed. However, when doing so, please credit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway. Available online at www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/militarybulletin.cfm

and contact information of the compact 

administrators who facilitate activities and 

placements under ICPC in their States.

Military Adoption Support Group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/

AdoptionSupportGroupForMilitaryFamilies

This is an example of an online support group 

for military families at some stage of the 

adoption process.

MilitaryHOMEFRONT

www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil

The MilitaryHOMEFRONT web portal is a 

central, trusted, and up-to-date source for 

service members and their families to obtain 

information about all DoD Quality of Life 

programs and services. The Troops & Families 

section offers information and resources about 

adoption, children, teens, and parenting.

Military OneSource 

www.militaryonesource.com

Military OneSource is an online, phone, and 

face-to-face resource for military members, 

spouses, and families. The Children & Youth 

section offers general resources on parenting 

and on adoption.

National Military Family 

Association (NMFA)

www.militaryfamily.org

NMFA is dedicated to identifying and 

resolving issues of concern to military families 

through education, information, and advocacy. 

It offers information on benefits for adoption 

reimbursement and health care but not on 

placement.

U.S. Department of Justice, 

Citizenship and Immigration 

Services (USCIS)

www.uscis.gov

USCIS administers the nation’s immigration 

laws, including laws about adoption from 

foreign countries. Its website provides a list of 

USCIS offices, online forms, and answers to 

frequently asked questions about adoption.

For the latest resources in adoption issues 

that apply to military families, visit Child 

Welfare Information Gateway: 

www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adoptive/

military_families.cfm

Suggested Citation

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2010). 

Working with military families as they 

pursue adoption. Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services, 

Children’s Bureau.