Adoption Travel Tips

Traveling To Meet Your Child: Written by Debbie Schwartz, who is a tremendous asset to our adoption forum and is the Program Coordinator for Adoption Connection at Jewish Family Services of Greenwich in Connecticut. Congratulations!  After all of your hard work, the time to travel to meet your child is finally here (or almost here).  Since you can expect to be overtired, a little anxious, and, quite possibly,...

Adoption Myths

A few months ago, we had a conversation on the adoption forums about what we felt were the most common myths about adoption, specifically about those of us who adopt a child. One of the myths that was posted several times was about adoption being a “last resort” or something we HAVE TO do: “All adoptive parents “have to” adopt because they can’t “have their own” children....

Paying For Adoption Costs

A blog visitor asked: I have been looking into adoption recently, and was discouraged about the costs. I would love any kind of advice, or information about making it more affordable. How can a lower income family afford it? I took the question to our adoption forum members and this is what they suggested: >>>>>>> This is tough. I have to say it seems to be getting harder to do each time we pursue it. Further, adoption costs...

Things To Think About Before Adopting A Sibling Gr...

One of the members at our adoption forums is considering adopting a sibling group of older children. She asked for some advice and I wanted to share her questions, and my answers here for our readers that may have the same questions. What makes that difference between good and horrible? With my kids (half bio. siblings), the difference was what age they were removed from their abuser, how many foster homes they were in and...

Adoption: Getting The Word Out

Networking and communication is an important part of getting out the word that you’re looking to adopt. You never know how, or where you’ll connect with someone seeking an adoption plan for their unborn child. We asked our forum members how they go about spreading the word and we’d love to hear from our blog readers as well. Here’s what some of them suggested: We had spread our desire to adopt through...

Debbie Schwartz Honored By The Congressional Coali...

All of us at Forever Parents are so proud of our friend Debbie Schwartz aka DebbieJFSG on our adoption forums, for being named one of this years Angels in Adoption. Congressman Jim Himes has selected Jewish Family Services Adoption Connection Program Coordinator Debbie Schwartz as a 2010 Angel in Adoption (TM) for her outstanding advocacy of adoption.  The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which...

Watch The Adoption Angles Webcast Tonight

Debbie Schwartz, program coordinator for Adoption Connection: Jewish Family Services of Greenwich, and a valued member of our adoption forums, is the guest for tonight’s Adoption Angle’s webcast at 9 pm EST /6 pm PST. Click here to watch live . You can login, watch Debbie, and type in questions and comments for her. Click here to watch the archived interview (Click on the May 19 episode to watch the 60 minute...

Adoption Support on Facebook

Are you on facebook? Stop by and join our facebook group and become a fan of our facebook page . You’ll make connections with our blog readers and our adoption forum members. After you join, you can share the link to your adoption blog or business as long as it’s adoption friendly and not spam. While you’re there, feel free to friend me! I’m also on twitter! See you around the ‘net!...

In Praise Of Foster Parents

The weekend before Christmas has become the time when we host our annual get together with my children’s former foster parents.  I’ve posted about them before but for those of you that are new to our blog or adoption forum, let me backtrack a bit. When we adopted our children, they were 5, 8 and 11 and had been in the foster system for 4 years, the last three being spent with foster parents Pat & Bill.  Over...

Children’s Books On Adoption

Written by Debbie Schwartz, who is a source of inspiration at our adoption forum and is the Program Coordinator for Adoption Connection at Jewish Family Services of Greenwich in Connecticut. Click any of the titles to purchase them through amazon.com. When you think of the books you loved as a child, what images come to your mind? Many of us remember bedtime rituals that included Goodnight, Moon and Pat the Bunny or a...

Adoption Forum Contest

We’re starting a new contest! Check it out in the adoption forums. If you’re already a forum member, you can head over there to get started right now. If you’re not a member, you can join here: Adoption Forums One winner will receive: 1. A copy of 97 Ways To Make A Baby Laugh. AND *drum roll please* 2. An adoption profile review by our own Lori (Best Light) of  Best Light Adoption Profile Review....

Adoption As A First Option (pt. 1)

I know many couples come to adoption after being involved in fertility treatments. What about those, like myself, who decided to adopt before exploring other options? Tell us about your experience in the comment section. Here’s what some of our adoption forums members had to say; “Years ago I was in a serious relationship with someone who, for political reasons, felt very strongly that he would never want to bring...

New Contest In The Adoption Forums

Update: A winner has been picked! Congratulations to Goddess Danu!! We’re having a new contest in the adoption forums! It’s been a while since we had one (I think the last one was here at the blog) so I decided it was time. If you’re already a member, you can head over there to read about it. If you’re not a member, you can join here: Adoption Forums Good luck!! ...

Florida Adoption Support Group

If you’re here from the adoption support group held on July 23, welcome!! It was nice to meet all of you tonight and I’m looking forward to the next meeting. This blog has lots of information for parents who’ve adopted and those who are starting the process. Take a look at the “Posts Of Interest” in the right sidebar or you can use the tags in the left sidebar. If you’re interested in...

How To Join Our Adoption Forums

Forever Parents was created in 2002, to support and encourage parents of adoptees and those who are on the path to becoming one. Along with this community blog and our adoption store, the heart of Forever Parents has always been our adoption forum. It’s important for those of us who adopted our children to interact (online or off) with others who understand and can empathize with us. Equally as important is for...

Adoption Community Protest Movie “OrphanR...

Update: Debbie, one of our adoption forum members shared a sample letter. I posted it at the bottom. Update #2: A list of email addresses has been added at the bottom of this post. One of our adoption forum members brought this to our attention (thanks Debbie!) and I am passing it along to anyone who may be interested. I’m also adding my personal thoughts, which I shared on our adoption forum, at the end of this...

Thoughts on Transracial Adoption

Two of my children are biracial. Even though my three children are biological siblings (actually half biological siblings), one of the is white, while the other two are brown. I think because they’ve always been a multiracial sibling group and have always accepted each other as family, we’ve never had any of the situations I hear some families talk about. Actually, the only situation that has come up regarding...

Open Adoption – Pros And Cons

We have a diverse group of parents (and those in the pre-parent stage) at our wonderful adoption forum. Some are in open adoptions and others, like myself are in closed adoptions. Still others are in alternative arrangements that work best for them and their children. As parents of this generations adoptees, we all know what works for one family may not work for another family. What are your thoughts on open adoption? What...

Adoption Interviews #5

Here is the fifth installment of the adoption interviews we’ve been doing with parents who’ve adopted and those who are still in the process. If you’d like to be included, please leave a comment and I’ll send you the information. This one is from Linny, who is the co-administrator at our adoption forum. People decide to adopt for many different reasons. What led you to adoption? As a young child I...

Celebrating Your Adoption Finalization Day

Adoption is a special experience and a great reason to celebrate! Here are some adoption celebration ideas that we hope help make the day a treasured memory for you and your family.   If you’re looking for adoption finalization gifts, please scroll down or check out our favorite adoption gift ideas.   Finalizing an adoption: Have someone pass around a book, with blank pages ,where your guests can share...

10 Adoption Profile Tips

One of our adoption forums members, Lori from Best Light Adoption Profile Reviews shares these ten useful tips for anyone putting together their adoption profile. So what makes a profile work? I gathered anecdotal research from birthparents and adoption counselors. While each birthparent comes with a viewpoint as unique as a fingerprint, here are some commonalities I found in what attracts and what doesn’t in a...