Click on other tabs above for information about legal aid providers and courts in your area. Below is legal information on this sub-topic. You can localize this information by clicking on the"Choose Another Location" link in the right column and selecting the area where you live.
Online Applications, Benefit Screening, Resources and Forms
Adoption Information and Forms
(Separate Website)
General information about the adoption process, post adoption information and available forms.
By: Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange
Information from the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network
Adoption
(Separate Website)
Information on what has to be done before a child can be adopted.
By: Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Adoption - Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights
(Separate Website)
Information about the role of involuntary termination of parental rights in adoption proceedings.
By: Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Voluntary Relinquishment to Adult Intending to Adopt Child
(Separate Website)
Information on voluntarily relinquishing parental rights to a child.
By: Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Voluntary Relinquishment to Agency
(Separate Website)
Information on the process for voluntarily reliquishing parental rights to a child to an agency.
By: Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange
(Separate Website)
The Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange, which is part of the Department of Public Welfare, focuses on connecting Pennsylvania's waiting children and families who want to adopt. (adoptpakids.org)
By: Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Frequently Asked Questions about the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange
(Separate Website)
Lisring of the most commonly asked questions about the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange.
By: Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange
Eight Steps To Adoption
(Separate Website)
General information to help you understand the steps involved in adopting a child.
By: Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange
Pennsylvania's Adoption Medical History Registry
(Separate Website)
Information on the registry, which is operated by the Department of Public Welfare. The registry serves as a central repository for collecting and storing birth family medical information and adoptee requests. Registry services are available for all adoptions of Pennsylvania-born adoptees.
By: Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange
Adoption in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Information on the Pennsylvania Adoption Exchange and the Statewide Adoption Network (SWAN), a partnership among public and private agencies, which serves children in the custody of county children and youth agencies, who have a goal of adoption.
By: Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
AdoptUSKids.org
(Separate Website)
AdoptUSKids.org is a national photo listing service for children awaiting adoption across the United States.
By: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Adoption Information
(Separate Website)
Resources on all aspects of domestic and intercountry adoption, including adoption from foster care. Includes information for prospective and adoptive parents; information about searching for birth relatives; and resources for professionals on recruiting adoptive families, preparing children and youth, supporting birth parents, and providing postadoption services.
By: Child Welfare Information Gateway
National Foster Care & Adoption Directory Search
(Separate Website)
The National Foster Care & Adoption Directory (formerly the National Adoption Directory) offers adoption and foster care resources by State.
By: Child Welfare Information Gateway
Adoption
(Separate Website)
Information on the intercountry adoption process, where U.S. Citizens adopt children from overseas.
By: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Search and Reunion - Adoptions
(Separate Website)
Find information and resources on searching for birth relatives, reunion, obtaining birth and adoption records, support groups, and relevant laws and policies.
By: Child Welfare Information Gateway
Related Organizations Search
(Separate Website)
The Related Organizations database contains information for organizations with a primary focus on adoption, child abuse and neglect, child welfare, or related issues.
By: Child Welfare Information Gateway
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(Separate Website)
Child Welfare Information Gateway connects professionals and concerned citizens to timely, essential information and resources targeted to the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families.
By: Child Welfare Information Gateway
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Inter-Country Adoptions
(Separate Website)
An overview of resources, materials and immigration benefits available to prospective adoptive parents of foreign-born orphans.
By: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Call to Report Child Abuse!!! - ChildLine and Abuse Registry
(Separate Website)
Reporting Child Abuse - Call 800-932-0313
The ChildLine and Abuse Registry Intake Unit is available 24 hours to receive reports of suspected child abuse.
Each call is answered by a trained intake specialist who will interview the caller to determine the most appropriate course of action.
By: Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
Child Abuse & Neglect
(Separate Website)
Resources about child maltreatment, including definitions, signs and symptoms, statistics and prevalence, types of child abuse and neglect, risk and protective factors, the impact on individuals and society, and child fatalities.
By: Child Welfare Information Gateway
Pennsylvania Complaint for Custody
This custody form is for PARENTS only. Click this link to go to a website where you can create a "Complaint for Custody" that you can use to start a NEW custody case. The site will ask you a series of questions about your custody situation and then create a custody complaint for YOU based on YOUR ANSWERS. This complaint can then be printed and filed in your local court. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a fill-in-the-blank form.
IMPORTANT: To use this form, you must use Internet Explorer as your browser and Microsoft Word as your word processor.
By: North Penn Legal Services
Other Formats:
Separate Website
Pennsylvania Petition for Modification or Contempt of a Custody Order
(Separate Website)
This custody form is for PARENTS only. Click this link to go to a website where you can create a "Petition for Modification or Contempt of a Custody Order" that can be used to ask a court to change or enforce a custody order that is ALREADY IN EFFECT. The site will ask you a series of questions regarding your custody situation and existing order and then create a petition for YOU based on YOUR ANSWERS. This petition can then be printed and filed in your local court. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a fill-in-the-blank form.
IMPORTANT: To use this form, you must use Internet Explorer as your browser and Microsoft Word as your word processor.
By: North Penn Legal Services
Allegheny County: Family Law Forms for Download
(Separate Website)
Family Law Forms available for download from the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County.
By: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
Dauphin County Pro Se Litigant Self Help Center
(Separate Website)
Information on the Dauphin County Pro Se Litigant Self Help Center where forms and instructions are available.
By: Dauphin County
Lancaster Court Self-Help Center
(Separate Website)
The Lancaster County Court Self Help Center opened in July, 2004. The main purpose of the Center is to provide one central location where self-represented litigants can obtain some of the information and forms that they may need to represent themselves in certain types of court actions.
By: Court of Common Pleas of Lancaster County
Forms Center - Philadelphia Courts, First Judicial District
(Separate Website)
Forms for a variety of cases, including Family Division cases, that may be used in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas
By: Philadelphia Courts, First Judicial District of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Custody Forms
Forms with instructions from the Philadelphia Bar Association's Family Law Section for use in custody proceedings taking place in Philadelphia courts.
By: Philadelphia Bar Association
Information from the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network
Custody and Visitation of Children Information on rights relating to custody and visitation of chlidren.
By: Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc.
General Pennsylvania Law About Custody
(Separate Website)
General information on custody law in Pennsylvania
By: Neighborhood Legal Services Association
Custody - Myths & Facts
Informational Brochure
By: MidPenn Legal Services
Other Formats:
PDF File
Overview of Custody - Guidelines of Conduct
Informational brochure on the guidelines of conduct surrounding child custody.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
General Information On Custody and Visitation
Informational Brochure
By: Northwestern Legal Services
General Custody Information
(Separate Website)
General information about custody, custody terms and custody procedures.
By: Laurel Legal Services, Inc.
Child Custody
(Separate Website)
Information on child custody proceedings and the child custody process.
By: Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Custody and Visitation in PA (Audio-MP3)
(Separate Website)
Episode of Northwestern Legal Services' "Access to Justice" Radio show broadcast on JET 1400 AM in Erie, PA.
5/22/2008 - Robert Oakley, NWLS Director interviews Judge Stephanie Domitrovitch, Erie County, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, and Karen Klapsinos, NWLS Staff Attorney regarding custody in Pennsylvania. Information is provided on what a Custody Order is, what it means, how to obtain one, and issues to consider when pursuing custody or visitation. (24:06)
Click on the title above to listen to the program.
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Grandparents - Partial Custody or Visitation
(Separate Website)
Information on the custody rights of grandparents.
By: Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Grandparents' Custody/Visitation Rights in Pennsylvania
(Separate Website)
Information about the rights of grandparents in relation to the custody and visitation of their grandchildren.
By: Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania
Read this in:
Spanish / Español
Subsidized Child Care Program - Improved Changes
Fact sheet outling the new and improved changes to DPW's Subsidized Child Care Program
By: Northwestern Legal Services
Simplified Outline of Basic PA Family Law Procedure in Allegheny County
(Separate Website)
Outline of family law procedure in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas
By: Neighborhood Legal Services Association
Adobe Acrobat Reader required. (If you are using a screen reader that does not support PDF format, copy the PDF link, and use the Access Adobe online form to convert this file to HMTL text.)
PALawHELP.org is provided as a public service by the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Legal Services Corporation.
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