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​Statewide Adoption and
Permanency Network (SWAN)

The SWAN Helpline assists families interested in adoption. Call 800-585-SWAN.

We Believe:

  • Every child in foster care deserves to achieve permanency in a timely manner.
  • Every child with a goal of adoption deserves a permanent family.
  • County agencies must be supported to prioritize and provide permanency services.
  • Delays in achieving permanency must not be due to race, culture, color, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, geography, level of ability, or case priority level.
  • Permanent families must be developed for every waiting child.
  • Resource families that step forward to provide the continuum of care to children in the child welfare system must be supported to remain intact.

The Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (SWAN) is a partnership among the Department of Human Services (DHS), the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange, public and private adoption agencies, organizations, advocates, judges, the legal community, and foster and adoptive parents. The network is administered by DHS through a prime contractor. As the mission statement reflects, the purpose is to build a better collaborative adoption process in Pennsylvania.

The SWAN program serves children in the custody of county children and youth agencies. The design of the network is to support the work of county agencies in expediting permanency services. The children featured in the Photo Album are some of our children waiting to be adopted.

Pennsylvania's prime contractor assigns county requests for adoption services to affiliate agencies for completion. Adoption services include:

The SWAN Helpline assists families interested in adoption. Call 800-585-SWAN.


Content Editor

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), which is in part comprised of the Office of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex.