Post-Adoption Services in New Brunswick: Support After Finalization

The Adoption Order signed by the Court of King's Bench is the legal milestone, but most adoptive families discover that the real work — helping a child settle, heal, and build permanence — starts after finalization. New Brunswick provides several layers of post-adoption support. Some families need only a fraction of them. Others, particularly those who have adopted children with complex histories, depend on them heavily.

Here's what's actually available and how to access it.

The Adoption Assistance Program for Children with Special Needs

The most financially significant post-adoption support in New Brunswick is the Adoption Assistance Program, which provides ongoing financial help to families who adopted Crown wards (children who were in the permanent care of the Minister of Social Development) with special needs.

"Special needs" in this context doesn't necessarily mean a severe medical condition. The DSD uses the term broadly to include children who:

• Have documented developmental, emotional, or behavioural challenges
• Are part of a sibling group that would otherwise not be placed together
• Are older children for whom financial support helps sustain the placement

The program has two components:

Monthly maintenance subsidies — an ongoing payment based on the child's assessed needs and the family's income. These function similarly to foster care per diems but are calculated differently and are lower on average. They are meant to offset the extraordinary costs of caring for a child with complex needs, not to match income from fostering.

Special services funding — this covers costs that aren't covered by provincial health programs: psychological therapy, specialized medical equipment, dental work for conditions not covered by provincial dental coverage, and educational supports. These are approved case by case.

The critical timing rule: the Adoption Assistance agreement must be negotiated and signed with the DSD before the adoption order is finalized. You cannot go back after the order is signed and add subsidies. If you are adopting a Crown ward and the child has special needs, raise the Adoption Assistance question with your social worker before finalization, not after. Many families don't know to ask and lose access to support they were eligible for.

For a detailed breakdown of the program including current funding levels, see Families Rising's New Brunswick Adoption Assistance Program page or contact your DSD regional office.

Post-Adoption Disclosure Services

For adult adoptees (19+) and birth parents seeking to reconnect or access identity information, the DSD's Post-Adoption Disclosure Services is the primary point of contact. Since New Brunswick's open records legislation came into force on April 1, 2018, adult adoptees can apply for identifying information from their original birth registration — including the names of biological parents registered at birth — subject to any Disclosure Vetoes filed under the Act Respecting the Opening of Sealed Adoption Records.

The Disclosure Services office can:

• Process applications for identifying information
• Provide non-identifying background medical and family history
• Facilitate search and intermediary services (contacting the other party on your behalf)
• Provide referrals to counselling services for families navigating reunion

Contact: DSD central adoption services, 1-833-733-7835 (Option 3) | [email protected]

For a more detailed explanation of how the records access process works — including what Disclosure Vetoes mean and what information is available — see our guide to open adoption records in New Brunswick.

DSD Post-Placement Supervision and Its End

Before finalization, a period of post-placement supervision runs for approximately six months. During this time, a DSD social worker makes regular visits to monitor the child's adjustment and the family's functioning. This is a mandatory step before the adoption can be finalized.

Once the adoption order is signed, the formal DSD involvement in your family's day-to-day life ends — unless you're receiving Adoption Assistance, which involves periodic reviews. Most families find the transition out of DSD oversight a relief. Some find it disorienting: they've been supported and monitored, and suddenly that structure is gone.

Community Support Organizations

The New Brunswick Adoption Foundation (NBAF) is the most active community organization for adoptive families in the province. Through the NB Adoption Support Network, they connect experienced adoptive parents with newer families for peer mentoring. This is particularly valuable in the post-adoption period when challenges are real and immediate — attachment difficulties, school struggles, identity questions — and official DSD support has largely concluded.

NBAF also maintains an ongoing community of families who have adopted from different pathways and at different stages. Their annual events and online networks provide connection in a province where the adoptive family community is small enough that informal networks matter.

Families Rising (formerly NACAC) provides advocacy and educational resources specifically for families who adopted children from foster care, including those with special needs. Their resources on adoption subsidy and post-adoption financial planning are particularly strong.

The Federal Tax Credit: A Post-Finalization Step

One immediately post-adoption financial task that families often miss: claiming the Federal Adoption Expense Tax Credit. This is not automatic — you must claim it on Line 31300 of your CRA return in the tax year your adoption was finalized.

For 2025, the maximum claimable amount is $19,580 per child. Eligible expenses include legal fees, court costs, agency fees, travel, and document translation costs incurred during the adoption process. The timing rule is specific: you claim in the year of finalization, regardless of when the expenses were actually paid. Keep all receipts from throughout the process.

The New Brunswick Adoption Grant ($1,000 per child, one-time) must also be applied for manually — it is not automatically issued for private or international adoptions. Contact the DSD after your finalization order is signed to apply.

Therapeutic Support

Children adopted from care frequently benefit from adoption-competent therapy — therapists who understand attachment disruption, developmental trauma, and identity formation in the context of adoption. Not all therapists have this background.

NBAF maintains referral information for adoption-competent counselling services in the province. The DSD's post-adoption services can also facilitate referrals, particularly for children in families receiving Adoption Assistance.

Provincial health coverage through New Brunswick's Extra-Mural Program covers some home-based services, and the Adoption Assistance special services component can fund therapy for children whose needs are documented in their assistance agreement.

If you're planning your adoption and want to understand the full picture — from application through post-adoption support — including which supports must be arranged before finalization and which are available afterward, the New Brunswick Adoption Process Guide provides a comprehensive map of every stage.

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