TIES for Families

Training, Intervention, Education, and Services for Families

Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, Department of Pediatrics

GETTING STARTED: Eligibility

ELIGIBILITY

Support Group
To obtain services from TIES for Families, parents must be adopting a child or children through Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and they must attend TIES Preparation classes prior to having a child placed. The only exception is for families who live in the West Los Angeles area (Service Provider Area 5; SPA 5). They can be in any stage of the adoptive process, can have had their home study done by an FFA, and do not have to have taken the TIES preparation sessions (see APSS section below). All referrals must be made through DCFS, but returning clients with a finalized adoption can self-refer.

To attend a nine hour TIES for Families Preparation Class, prospective adoptive parents attending Los Angeles County’s Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) must contact TIES for Families’s DCFS Liaison, Kimmey Howard, to schedule participation. Classes are scheduled regularly and are held on three consecutive Monday evenings from 6-9 pm at DCFS’s offices.

If you live in West Los Angeles and are adopting or have adopted a child from foster care, you may be eligible to receive TIES for Families services through DCFS’s Adoption Promotion and Support Services (APSS) program. APSS is a countywide program that provides case management, mentoring and mental health services to families that include a child or children adopted through Los Angeles County DCFS. You must be referred by your child’s DCFS social worker or a Post Adoptions Services (PAS) worker (800/735-4984).

To determine whether you qualify for services, contact Elma Forrest Stewart, APSS Program Manager (213/639-4032).