COAC is the oldest independent program in New York City that recruits parents for children with special needs and then guides them through the maze of the adoption process.
As such, we are intimately familiar with the barriers to adoption that exist for all special needs children, especially African-American male children, and the adolescents who currently comprise over one-half of New York City's waiting children. COAC's staff is composed of African-American and Hispanic professionals and the agency has strong grass-roots linkages that enable it to successfully recruit large numbers of adoptive parents from the African-American and Hispanic communities. Since its inception, COAC has placed over 2,000 special needs children - a remarkably high number for a small agency and for this field. Most of these children, as well as the parents that have adopted them, have been African-American and Hispanic. Finally, we take great pride in the fact that COAC's interventions have shortened the adoption process.