Meeting the long-term needs of families who adopt children out of foster care: a three-year follow-up study.

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which agency and nonagency supportive resources contributed to the stability and well-being of 34 newly adoptive families over 3 years. Results revealed significant pre- to post-adoption declines in families' contact and satisfaction with formal and informal helping resources. Greater pre-adoption contact with formal adoption agency staff predicted adoption stability and lower levels of family conflict at the 3-year assessment. The results highlight the importance of providing adoptive families with formal and informal support that meets their evolving needs.