Adoptive Family Support Network

Specialties

Adoptive Family Support Network (AFSN) supports the lifelong well being of all adoptive families. Adoption is a unique way to form a family so it stands to reason that these families often need a unique kind of support to make it work and build strong, healthy, loving families.

Adoptive parents are looking for guidance, for reassurance, and for resources. AFSN provides reliable direction for families who are considering adoption or who have already adopted. We give adoptive parents access to a network of people who can provide answers, and share experiences. This gives parents the confidence to adopt, and helps keep adoptive families together. A confident parent is a successful parent.

Many children who have been adopted from foster care or from international orphanages often have experienced abuse and neglect in their early years. AFSN helps families understand how those experiences can inform a child’s understanding and perception of the world around them.

History

Established in 1991.

AFSN was founded in 1991 in response to a community need for post-​adoption support services. A group of parents and child welfare professionals came together to make sure that adoptive families were getting the services, support and encouragement they needed.

Today, AFSN employs three full-​time and eight part-​time staff members and has an office located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan. AFSN’s Board of Directors is made up of adoptive parents, adoptees, community members and child welfare professionals who all have a deep commitment to strengthening adoptive families.

AFSN is not an adoption placement agency. Rather, AFSN supports and strengthens families once they’ve been formed through adoption.

Most important, AFSN maintains ties with adoptive parent support services and professional service providers throughout Michigan in order to refer families to the resources that best fit their needs. AFSN has one of the best resource guides for adoptive families in West MI!