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,...

The Perception Of Adoption In History

Back in prior centuries, families were intentionally made large to assure that some children would reach adulthood. Many died of disease, hardship, or injuries. Likewise, mothers died in childbirth, contracted disease, or were injured. Motherless children were cared for by relatives, by a new wife, or by servants. When this was not possible, they became wards of society. There were many children living in poor farms among...

Haitian Adoptions Jeopardized By Disaster

Tuesday’s earthquake has thrown U.S. families trying to bring home their children into a state of uncertainty. Many are finding themselves in a desperate search for answers about how their children, that they are in the process of adopting, are faring. Some fear that paperwork, which can take months or years, may be buried or lost in crumpled buildings, stalling or halting the adoption. Unlike adoptions in many other...

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...

Families For Orphans Act

Anshula has recently come into an orphanage. She is four years old and alone. Where should she spend her childhood? In an orphanage? In temporary foster care? Or in a permanent and loving family? The answer should be obvious: a safe, permanent and loving family. Unfortunately, the U.S. government and many aide organizations do not seem to agree. In fact, the U.S. sometimes spends millions of dollars, ensuring just the...

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...

Adoption Options

Adoption Options At-a-Glance : A Companion Guide for Families Year Published: 2003 This guide focuses on one way to think about how choices in adoption may flow from one another: There are two types of adoption: domestic and intercountry. Domestic Adoption: Agency Oversight: Agency oversight varies from licensed and accredited agencies to unregulated facilitators. Voluntary Surrender or Termination of Parental Rights (TPR):...