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CHILDREN SERVICES Permanency in safe, stable, loving homes is the agency's goal for children who cannot return to their birth families. Washington County Children Services Adoption Unit Mission Statement states: Because we believe each child deserves and needs a safe and stable home which can meet his or her physical, emotional, and developmental needs, we strive to identify and develop homes to achieve "one placement for each child." Striving to offer a quality continuum of care, we seek to provide temporary foster homes for children awaiting birth family reunification and forever homes for the child awaiting adoption. Permanency for every child is our goal. Washington County Children Services' first priority is to serve children and their birth families to improve family dynamics so that children can be protected in their birth family's home or, in the case of children in foster care, so that the children can be reunited with their families. However, there are some circumstances that cannot be resolved in order to safeguard children in their birth homes. In these instances, a permanency plan must be considered in order to best meet the children's needs. Adoptive homes or long-term Kinship homes are then considered. In these types of homes, the adoptive or Kinship parents are given custody of the children through court proceedings. Kinship families are long term or possibly adoptive parents that are relatives or nonrelatives of the child and that have a familiar relationship or bond with the child and birth family. Prospective or waiting adoptive families are families who are in the process of an adoptive home assessment or who have an approved adoptive assessment, but do not have an adoptive child placed in their home. For more information regarding Kinship or Adoptive Homes please click on the buttons below. Prevention | Protection | Placement | Permanency | Washington County Children Services ©2006 Washington County |