Adoption

Searching for Birth Parents and Relatives
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
While interest among adopted persons in finding their birth families has always been high, the percentage of adult adopted persons who take action to initiate a search appears to be on the rise.

Helping Adopted Children Adjust to Losses
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Adoption experts acknowledge the importance of helping children integrate their previous attachments to important people in their lives in order to be able to transition that emotional attachment to a new family.

Finding Adoptive Parents, Future Contact With Your Child
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Some newspapers carry personal ads from people seeking to adopt. You call the number in the ad and get to know each other over the telephone. If you think you want to work with the couple, have your attorney call their attorney.

Issues Facing Adult Adoptees
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Often when people hear the word 'adoption,' they think of an infertile, childless couple delightedly gazing into the eyes of their recently adopted newborn baby. They are thrilled to finally be parents, and are totally involved in meeting the immediate

Adoption and Child Development : The First and Second Years
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Now that you have adopted a child and life is beginning to settle down, you may find your thoughts moving to the future. When shall I tell my child that s/he is adopted? How will s/he feel about it? At what point will s/he want more information?

People Seeking to Child Adopt
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Most Americans favor adoption, and many have at some point considered adoption. However, relatively few have taken concrete steps toward adopting a child, and fewer still have actually adopted a child.

Kinship Caregivers and the Child Welfare System
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
A number of grandparents and other relatives find themselves serving as parents for children whose own parents are unable to care for them. Sometimes, the arrangement (referred to as 'kinship care') is an informal, private arrangement between the parents

Costs of Adopting a Child
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Prospective adoptive parents may be concerned about the financial costs of adopting an infant or child and their ability to meet these costs. While becoming a parent is rarely free of expenses, even pregnancy and childbirth can be relatively expensive

Foster Parents and Adoption
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
There are a number of significant differences between foster care and adoption for the foster/adoptive family involved, even when a child remains in the same household. Compared to foster care, adoption brings the following changes for the parents:

Understanding The Adoption Home Study
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
The laws of every State and the District of Columbia require all prospective adoptive parents (no matter how they intend to adopt) to participate in a home study. This process has three purposes: to educate and prepare the adoptive family for adoption

Adoption and Child Development : Ages 2 to 6
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
If you thought a lot was happening in your child's development in the first 2 years, you will find that the preschool years are filled with activity and nonstop questions. Once children learn to speak, they need only a partner, and the world becomes

Parenting the Adopted Adolescent
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Most parents worry about their child when he or she reaches adolescence. Will the child who was once easygoing and helpful become moody and disrespectful? Will the child who was fiercely independent when young become a teen who gives in to peer pressure?

Pregnant and Thinking About Adoption?
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
If you are pregnant and not sure that you want to keep the baby, you might be thinking about adoption. Pregnancy causes many changes, both physical and emotional. It can be a very confusing time for a woman, even in the best of circumstances.

Transracial and Transcultural Child Adoption
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Transracial or transcultural adoption means placing a child who is of one race or ethnic group with adoptive parents of another race or ethnic group. In the United States these terms usually refer to the placement of children of color or children

Choosing Adoption: Or did it choose you?
The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Adoption: Everything You Need to Know About Domestic and International Adoption
by Elizabeth Swire Falker, Esq., P.C.
So you've made the decision to adopt. What's next? For starters, how do you know whether domestic or international adoption is right for you? (And what are the real differences between the two?)

Impact of Adoption on Birth Parents
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
It is difficult to generalize about the feelings or experiences of all birth parents. Each has faced a unique experience and coped in his or her own way. A number of birth parents have written personal accounts of their experiences in placing

Is International Adoption Right for You?
The Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step by Step Guide to Finding Your Child
by Dawn Davenport
People come to adoption from many different places. Single women adopt when they want to be a mom, but haven't found the elusive Mr. Right and think a sperm bank is silly when kids are already out there who need a mom.

Postadoption Services for Families
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
It is common for adoptive families to need support and services after adoption. Postadoption services can help families with a wide range of issues. They are available for everything from learning how to explain adoption to a preschooler, to helping

November Is National Adoption Month
by SAMHSA
Have you ever thought about adopting a child? If so, you're not alone. According to the National Adoption Attitudes Survey, nearly 40 percent (4 in 10) of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child. National Adoption Month

Explaining adoption
by Child Welfare Information Gateway
Adoption is a sensitive subject. But approaching the subject, regardless of who is asking the questions, with a clear and comfortable understanding of your own personal feelings will ease in the discussion.