Connecting With Families

Adoption Resources Databank

The Adoption Resources Databank is a key element of the AdoptOntario program. Designed to support opportunities for targeted matching between a child or youth and prospective adoptive families, the Databank provides the tools and information needed to initiate connections between families and adoption professionals in a safe and secure way. To ensure that the child/youth’s voice and needs remain at the centre of all recruitment efforts, their adoption professional will have age and stage appropriate conversations with them about the Databank, obtaining their consent where they are able.

Who completes the Databank registration? What information is included?

The child’s adoption worker will engage the child/youth in the registration and recruitment process, gathering their views on who they are, what’s important to them, what their interests are, what their personality is like, and so on.

Information on the Databank also helps identify the day-to-day resources needed to care for and support the child or youth through a permanency lens.

Approved AdoptReady families are able to refer themselves to be registered on the Databank, sharing information about their strengths and interests, as well as an overview of their skills and ability to meet various needs. You can find the registration form here. Once a registration has been completed, the family’s adoption professional will review the family’s profile for accuracy and to confirm that the family is AdoptReady.

How does the Databank work?

When registering a child or youth on the Databank, their adoption professional inputs information about the child’s strengths and identified needs.

Family registrations on the Databank include family’s areas of strength and capacity to meet the needs of children or youth. The Databank includes a matching algorithm which helps identify potential families who have the capacity to provide an adoptive family to a child on a permanency journey.

Who can view the Databank?

Only approved adoption professional and AdoptOntario staff have access to the Databank.

When a family is identified as a potential match, the Adoption Professionals will connect to learn more. The child’s worker may then request permission from the family’s adoption professional to review their homestudy.

How can I be registered on the databank?

A family must be AdoptReady in order to be registered on the Databank.

This occurs when a family has completed the adoption homestudy and PRIDE training. When you have completed both, please be sure to let us know at [email protected] so that we can update your public user account. You can also complete this form.