National Service Information Links

foster care, kinship and adoption infomation and websites national AFFCNY

Begin exploring an array of websites with comprehensive information and links to online resources to inform and support foster, kinship and adoptive families and advocates in understanding  and obtaining helping services and resources to meet children’s needs.

Child Welfare

American Humane Association American Humane Association is a network of individuals and organizations working to prevent cruelty, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of children and animals and to assure that their interests and well-being are fully, effectively, and humanely guaranteed by an aware and caring society. http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer

American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) APSAC works to ensure that everyone affected by child maltreatment receives a professional response by providing scholarly and clinical materials. This site includes information on state chapters, legislation, and additional resources. http://www.apsac.org 

Child Abuse Prevention Network – This site is for professionals in the field of child abuse and neglect. Child maltreatment, physical abuse, psychological maltreatment, neglect, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse and neglect are their key areas of concern. They provide unique and powerful tools for all workers to support the identification, investigation, treatment, adjudication, and prevention of child abuse and neglect.  http://child-abuse.com/

Child Welfare Information Gateway – A service of the  Children’s Bureau, the Gateway consolidates and expands upon the services formerly provided by the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse to provide easy access to programs, research, statistics, laws and policies, and training resources all in one place. Find essential information and resources on a wide range of topics, including child abuse prevention, family preservation and support, domestic and intercountry adoption, search and reunion, and much more. http://www.childwelfare.gov/

Child Trauma Academy –  Organizational mission to improve the systems that educate, nurture, protect, and enrich children. Current research projects, training, and publicationsfor families and professionals are included in this site. www.childtrauma.org

Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) – An association of public and private nonprofit agencies that assist abused and neglected children and families through a wide range of services. Site offers information on their programs, publications, and upcoming conferences and trainings. www.cwla.org

Healthy Foster Care America – A web site from the American Academy of Pediatrics developed as a place where professionals and partner organizations can find the latest tools, resources, facts, and figures on the health and well-being of children and teens in foster care. Includes Expert information on the health issues and customizable forms for health care professionals. http://www2.aap.org/fostercare/index.html

Kempe Center – This site was designed to provide a clinically based resource for training, consultation, program development and evaluation, and research regarding all forms of child abuse and neglect. The center is committed to multidisciplinary approaches to improving the recognition, treatment, and prevention of all forms of abuse and neglect. www.kempecenter.org

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children – offers success stories, educational resources, and current events. Resources section has a list of topics varying from child pornography to services for law enforcement. www.missingkids.org

National Children’s Advocacy Center – Internet safety resources and child abuse prevention tips for Kids, Teens, Parents and Professionals who work with children http://www.nationalcac.org/

National Center for Child Welfare Excellence – Information services to support the safety, permanency, and well-being of children while meeting the needs of their families. Site contain hundreds of articles, fact sheets, and resources on a multitude of issues related to foster care and adoption. http://www.nccwe.org/index.html  

 National Sex Offender Public Website—coordinated by the Department of Justice—enables every citizen to search the latest information from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and numerous Indian tribes for the identity and location of known sex offenders. https://www.fbi.gov/scams-and-safety/sex-offender-registry

Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) PCA is a nationally recognized organization for the prevention of child abuse through media, training, and technical assistance. The site has several links/resources, along with child abuse facts and special events. http://www.preventchildabuse.org

Child Development and Parenting Support

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) – AAP offers materials for professionals working in the field of child abuse, including policy statements, a program on the visual diagnosis of child physical abuse, and resources for prevention, recognition, and treatment. http://www.aap.org/

The ARCH National Resource Centerhttp://archrespite.org/ – Provides a variety of informational resources to the general public: a National Respite Locator Service. an informative website with downloadable fact sheets on respite and a list of upcoming conferences on respite and family support

CDC School Violence Prevention Tools and Resources – The CDC also uses the latest knowledge to develop tools and resources that help state and local education agencies and schools create safe places for students to learn. http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/youthviolence/schoolviolence/tools.html

Center for Health and Health Care in Schools – The Parents’ Resource Center provides two types of information: Learn Now — a web portal that provides valuable links to parent-friendly resources on child and adolescent health issues, and Act Now — a guide written by CHHCS to help parents assess health-related services and programs at their child’s school. http://www.healthinschools.org/

Hand to Hand – Resources, training, and lots of support for parents of young children and professionals who work with them. Resources include articles on parenting issues, an online discussion group, fee-for-service one on one parent consultation, tools for parent support groups,  and online training opportunities.  http://www.handinhandparenting.org/

HealthFinder.gov -US Department of HHS site containing an encyclopedia of  resources on over 1,600 health topics. Provides a tool by which families can search for health care providers, health centers, and other services and supports in their community by entering their zip code. http://www.healthfinder.gov/findservices/default.aspx

HealthyChildren.org – A treasure trove of articles, videos and communication/advocacy tools from the American Academy of Pediatricians. Includes an extensive and section on foster care and adoption issues. A great place to start exploring resources “powered by pediatricians and trusted by parents. ” http://www.healthychildren.org/english/Pages/default.aspx

Kids Health – Doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence. Created by The Nemours Foundation with accurate, up-to-date, and jargon-free health information. Has separate areas for kids, teens, and parents, including Positive Parenting with information on discipline, homework help, and how to talk to your child about tough subjects, like sex, tobacco, and alcohol and where you can turn for help and support. http://kidshealth.org/

KidSource Online – This information service for parents and educators who focus on health, education, and recreation includes useful books, articles on learning disabilities, and links. http://www.kidsource.com/

Parents Action for Children – The “I Am Your Child” campaign has involved the nation’s leading experts in early childhood and neurodevelopment in an ongoing effort to educate families, professionals, and policymakers about the crucial role of early childhood in creating healthy children. This site has a wealth of information about early childhood and brain development. http://www.iamyourchild.org

Medline Plus – A service of the US national Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, Contains interactive tutorials, provider directories and on online medical dictionary. This resource allows you to search for information on any medical term through a wide search and can also link you to a multilingual dictionary and a drug database.  http://medlineplus.gov/

National Center for Education Statistics –  NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.  Site contains easy to use data base of  data from 19,000 educational programs at 2,240 universities throughout  the nation. http://nces.ed.gov

National Network for Child Care – Support and assistance from experts in child care and child development. Extension staff at each state’s land grant university who are working in the area of children and youth are identified. provides information about children with disabilities and offers tips on how to care for children with disabilities. http://www.nncc.org/

Disability Resources

The Arc – This organization is devoted to advocacy for all people with disabilities, originally focused on mental retardation. The site includes topics such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, managed care, fetal alcohol syndrome, and the human genome project.  http://www.thearc.org

Center for Cerebral Palsy Symptoms: Your Brain Injury Guide – Provides the public with accurate and up to date information on the many aspects of cerebral palsy and other birth injury complications. A comprehensive free resource to empower those interested or concerned about their children to take actions to protect them. http://www.cerebralpalsysymptoms.com

The Center for Parent Information and Resources – (CPIR) serves as a central resource of information and products to the community of Parent Training Information (PTI) Centers and the Community Parent Resource Centers (CPRCs). New home for former NICHY resources about disabilities in infants, toddlers, children, and youth, IDEA special education law, No Child Left Behind (as it relates to children with disabilities), and research-based information on effective educational practices. Contains handy A to Z listing of dozens of topics. Includes spanish language resources.  http://www.parentcenterhub.org

Family Fun and Disability Support for Families with Special Needs – An information packed family friendly and kid safe website that is filled with family fun activities, wellness tips for family health, and special needs support for families with disabilities. Includes an online newsletter; family community egroup to share stories, questions, concerns, and support.  http://www.family-friendly-fun.com/

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) – This site provides information on fetal alcohol syndrome, fetal alcohol effects, and alcohol-related birth defects, as well as information on prevention methods and teaching students with these problems. http://www.nofas.org/

Ideas that Work – Toolkits for Teaching Kids with Developmental Disabilities from the US Department of Education.  http://www.osepideasthatwork.org/toolkit/index.asp

Learning Disability Resource Guide – An interactive learning disability resource guide for parents, teachers, and students, this site provides a wealth of recent articles and legislation. http://www.ldonline.org

National Center for Learning Disabilities – NCLD accomplishes its mission by increasing public awareness and understanding of learning disabilities, conducting educational programs and services that promote research-based knowledge, and providing national leadership in shaping public policy. Site includes information on types of learning disabilities and how to obtain and advocate for appropriate services. http://www.ncld.org/

National Resource Center on AD/HD -Funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NRC was created to meet the information needs of both professionals and the general public. http://www.help4adhd.org/

National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – Extensive National and State directory of FAS information and support services. http://www.nofas.org/resource/directory.asp

One Place for Special Needs: Register by zip code and  search for services, workshops and special needs families/groups in your neighborhood. Plus view products and nearly 3,000 web resources on a variety of disability topics.  http://www.oneplaceforspecialneeds.com/

Children with Special Needs– This site is written for parents and caregivers of children with special needs, and contains a great list of ipad/iphone apps geared toward people with special needs/ communication issues, as well as those geared towards babies/toddlers/pre-k that work well for kids with special needs. http://www.childrenwithspecialneeds.com/

Wrightslaw – Information about special education law and advocacy for children with disabilities. Articles, cases, newsletters, and resources about dozens of topics in the Advocacy and Law Libraries. http://www.wrightslaw.com/

Domestic Violence

Futures Without Violence (FVPF) – Futures Without Violence, formerly the Family Violence Prevention Fund, works to prevent and end violence against women and children around the world and focuses on domestic violence education, prevention, and public policy reform. This site includes fact sheets on the effects of domestic violence on children, full text articles, and other relevant links. http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/

The Minnesota Center Against Violence & Abuse (MINCAVA) – MINCAVA operates an electronic clearinghouse that provides scholarly papers on battered spouses and their children, a searchable database on the link between child maltreatment and woman battering, and links to additional resources. http://www.mincava.umn.edu

Safe Start Center – The goal of the Safe Start Initiative is to broaden the knowledge of and promote community investment in evidence-based strategies for reducing the impact of children’s exposure to violence. The website contains an extensive collection of tip sheets, research articles, hlep line links, training curriculum’s, and more for both parents and professionals.  https://safestartcenter.wordpress.com/

LGTBQ Resources

Coalition for Positive Sexuality – This site offers information about sexuality for teens, both homosexual and heterosexual. http://www.positive.org

Family Pride Coalition –  Advances the well-being of LGBT families through parenting groups and family events, a listserv, technical assistance and information packets. http://www.familypride.org/

Human Rights Campaign – The largest national lesbian and gay political organization, the HRC envisions an America where lesbian and gay people are ensured of their basic equal rights. They lobby the federal government on gay, lesbian, and AIDS issues; educate the public; participate in election campaigns; organize volunteers; and provide expertise and training at the state and local level. This site has upcoming legislation and informational material. http://www.hrcusa.org

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) – NGLTF is a national progressive organization working for the civil rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Their site contains updated information on GLBT law and current issues. http://www.thetaskforce.org/

Mental Health Support

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry – The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry works to assist parents and families in understanding developmental, behavioral, emotional, and mental disorders affecting children and adolescents. The website includes journal information, facts, resources, and information on legislation.  http://www.aacap.org

Attachment and Trauma Network – Mission is to promote healing of families through support, education and advocacy. Website contains resources and information about understanding attachment and trauma issues, ATN warm line , webinars, films,  recommended books and facilitated online support groups.  Some resources only available to members for small annual fee. http://www.attachmenttraumanetwork.org

The Barr-Harris Children’s Grief Center – The center offers help for children facing the pain of death, divorce, separation, or abandonment, and provides a list of books/links for school professionals, parents, and advocates who deal with children’s grief. http://www.barrharris.org

HelpPro Therapist Finder – Find counselling services to meet your needs. Use Basic Search to select location, specialty, age group served and/or payment options.  Advanced Search allows you to select additional criteria from areas such as specific populations, cultural and religous groups served, accessibilty, credentials, certifications, and languages spoken. http://www.helppro.com/default.aspx

Internet Mental Health – This site contains links for common disorders, organizations, search engines, and medical sites. http://mentalhealth.com

 Juvenile Firesetting Intervention Resource Site – The goal of this site is to prevent youth fire tragedy through education, intervention, and mental health support, and to facilitate the exchange of information on the topic of youth firesetting. https://yfires.com/

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill – This organization provides resources to improve the lives of people with mental illnesses and their families. Legal issues, medical information, and many other fact sheets are included in the website. http://www.nami.org

The National Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children’s Mental Health: A huge site dedicated to promoting effective services for families and children with emotional, behavioral or mental health disorders. Resources for kids, parents and advocates.  https://www.pathwaysrtc.pdx.edu/

The National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – This program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offers a broad range of activities, including research, training, and public information. The site includes an index of worldwide literature on PTSD. http://www.ptsd.va.gov

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network – The mission of NCTSN is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities.  throughout the United States. The website has a huge collection of publications and articles for families and professionals on identifying, understanding, and helping children overcome trauma and exposure to violence. http://www.nctsn.org/

Think Kids: Rethinking Challenging Kids – a program in the Department of Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) which uses the “Collaborative Problem Solving Approach.”  for helping children with behavioral challenges. Website contains newsletters, blogs, forums, videos, and tools for parents, clinicians, and educators.  Will assist families to locate resources in their area.  http://www.thinkkids.org/

Trauma Information Pages – Dr. David Baldwin’s Trauma Pages focus primarily on emotional trauma and traumatic stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder, whether following individual traumatic experience(s) or a large-scale disaster. The site includes information on trauma resources, bookstore, articles, and links. http://www.trauma-pages.com

Substance Abuse, Addition and Recovery

Addiction Answers.com – Comprehensive site with question and answers about many types of addictions.  Alcohol, Drugs, Gambling, Food, etc. ect. http://www.answers.com/Q/FAQ/4028

Addiction Links Page (Directory) – This comprehensive site provides links to virtually every relevant topic on substance abuse, as well as links to fact sheets and statistics. http://www.drugnet.net/metaview.htm#general

Addiction Center- National listings of addiction recovery facilities, addiction information, treatment options. an intervention or connect them with a recovery center. Help line manned 24/7 and addiction specialists. https://www.addictioncenter.com

All Treatment – An online Drug Rehab Center directory and information resource dedicated to educating users about drug and alcohol addiction. Huge site that includes extensive resources and articles with definitions/descriptions of commonly abused drugs, addiction stories, treatment options,  and much much more.  http://www.alltreatment.com

SAMHSA: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; Center for Substance Abuse Treatment – general information, and publications, latest research, facts and figure, an online catalog of materials, and treatment locator.  http://www.samhsa.gov

Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University – This site includes the latest research, facts and figures, upcoming conferences, an online catalog of materials, and other linksTopics on this site include the economic and social costs of substance abuse and its impact on lives; what works in prevention, treatment, and law enforcement; individual and institutional responsibility for combating substance abuse and addiction; the tools helpers need to succeed; and the goal of removing the stigma of abuse and replacing shame and despair with hope. http://www.casacolumbia.org/

National Association of Children of Alcoholics – The mission of NACA is to advocate for all children and families affected by alcoholism and other drug dependencies. This mission drives all of their programs and materials to help children of alcoholics. http://www.nacoa.org/

(Also see Disability Resources for FAS Resources)

Cultural Information

Center for the Study of Biracial Children – The Center for the Study of Biracial Children produces and disseminates materials for and about interracial families and biracial children. The center provides advocacy, training, and consulting. Its primary mission is to advocate for the rights of interracial families, biracial children, and multiracial people. http://csbchome.org/

International Children’s Digital Library – A digital library of outstanding children’s books from around the world to support communities of children and adults in exploring literature  so that every child can know and have access to the books of their culture, as well as the majority culture ( regardless of where they live,)  and appreciate the riches of children’s literature from the world  community. http://www.icdlbooks.org/

Peace Corps: Culture Matters Workbook – This cross-cultural workbook is fully accessible from the Internet and was designed for Peace Corps volunteers, but provides an excellent resource for cross-cultural awareness in America as well as learning how to interact with people of other cultures in a respectful and successful manner. The workbook contains such chapters as “Understanding Culture,” “American Culture and Diversity,” and “Styles of Communication.” Each chapter contains many resources.  http://www.peacecorps.gov/wws/interactives/culture-matters-workbook/   Also see World Wise Schools.

The Smithsonian Institution – Explore and Learn: Interactive site with resources on major world regions and cultures. https://www.si.edu/

African American Children and Families 

Footsteps: Celebrating African American History and Achievement – This online magazine celebrates the heritage of African Americans and explores their contributions to our culture. http://www.footstepsmagazine.com

National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI) – NBCDI’s website includes information on membership, public policy, resources, and a calendar of upcoming events. http://www.nbcdi.org

Asian American Children and Families

Asian Nation – This site contains multiple resources concerning Asian history, culture, immigration, and contemporary issues in America. http://www.asian-nation.org

National Korean American Service and Education Consortium – This national organization seeks to educate and empower Korean American communities nationwide. http://www.nakasec.org

English as a Second Language Resources

Center for Applied Linguistics – This site provides resources for a better understanding of culture through language. There are many professional articles addressing such topics as adult ESL, bilingual education, dialects and Ebonics, immigrant education, and heritage language. You can also access several links and databases. http://www.cal.org

ESL Magazine Online – This online magazine is written for teachers or other members of the community who work with ESL students. The site provides current articles, back issues, and links to resources for people who work with ESL students. http://www.eslmag.com

Center for Multilingual Multicultural Research – Maintained by the University of Southern California, this website contains a extensive links to bilingual and ESL educational resources. http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/BEResources.html

American Immigration Resources on the Internet – This site provides many links to reference materials on legal issues, resources, and organizations on immigrant issues in America. http://www.immigration-usa.com/resource.html

Center for Immigration Studies – An excellent resource for many current immigrant issues, this site contains informative articles explaining important topics that arise in U.S. immigration and a forum for asking questions about immigration. http://www.cis.org

The Immigration & Naturalization Service – This site provides resources on the legal aspects of immigration and naturalization. There is also a glossary of immigration and naturalization legal terms available. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

Latino Culture

CLA Chicano Studies Resarch Center – UCLA’s Latino website offers a great library and links to all aspects of Chicano and Latino culture. http://www.chicano.ucla.edu .

Native American Culture

National Indian Child Welfare Association – The public policy section of NICWA’s website provides information on how specific child welfare laws impact Indian children. The site also provides links to other information on Native American culture. http://www.nicwa.org

NativeWeb – This site contains over three thousand links to various aspects of Native American culture and history. http://www.nativeweb.org

WWW Virtual Library – This is a virtual library of the Indian culture with an index of resources on the web, including culture, history, language, health, and art. http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources//

Please note: These links are provided for your convenience only. Listing does not necessarily imply endorsement by the Coalition. Readers should verify the accuracy of any information found at websites.