Guide to Adoption in Nevada - Adoption Exchanges: Locating Families for Special Needs Children

The Division of Child and Family Services belongs to The Adoption Exchange, a private nonprofit organization that helps locate adoptive families for children with special needs. The Adoption Exchange recruits families on behalf of eight states and is headquartered in Aurora, Colorado with branch offices in Las Vegas, Nevada; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Salt Lake City, Utah. 

Nevada registers children with special needs who do not have an identified permanent family with The Adoption Exchange. Based on information shared by the caseworker in the child's completed registration form, The Exchange writes a brief description of the child's background and information about the type of family that is being sought for the child (i.e., profile) and posts this information along with the child's photo in the agency's online Children's Gallery ( https://www.adoptex.org/meet-the-children/childrens-gallery/ ). Additionally, The Exchange manages the Nevada Heart Gallery and, for authorized children, posts pictures, profiles and narrative descriptions of children needing permanence on this website as well ( https://nevadaheartgallery.com/ ). This information is used to help locate prospective adoptive parents for a child. Prospective adoptive families may create an online account with The Adoption Exchange to help them in their search for children they wish to adopt.

In Clark County, The Adoption Exchange coordinates the production of weekly television features of waiting children with KLAS-TV Channel 8. In Washoe County, The Exchange provides specialized recruitment services for some of the county's hardest-to-place, longest waiting children using one of the nation's only evidence-based recruitment models, Wendy's Wonderful Kids. The agency hosts an online lending library that can be used free of charge by pre- and post-adoptive parents to obtain information and resources. Lastly, the agency offers monthly online Adoption 101 and Foster Care Adoption 101  webinars as well as a variety of other webinar-based trainings for both pre- and post-adoptive families as well as child welfare professionals ( https://www.adoptex.org/the-adoption-journey/classes-trainings-for-families/ ). 

For more information on adopting children and youth in foster care in Nevada, contact the agency's Las Vegas office at 702-436-6335 or email them at kids@adoptex.org . 

Adoption Exchange Links

County Services

Clark County

(702) 455-0181
Website:http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/adoption

Washoe County

(775) 337-4400 
Website:https://www.washoecounty.us/socsrv/childrens_services/adoptions/

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