EASTON, Md. — I often am asked which resources I found to be especially helpful when I began our family’s adoption process. The truth is, my initial approach was rather scattershot and not always the most effective. Over time, I learned that there’s seemingly endless material available on adoption. The trick is sorting through it.
With that in mind, I have uncovered a few great (free!) resources to share with readers, places to hunt for real information, helpful tips and practical how-tos that will help you navigate any stage of adoption. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but it’s a good one that will hopefully lead to more. Please e-mail me if you have favorite links you’d like the share.
The National Council for Adoption
This adoption advocacy group has been around since 1980 and knows the adoption landscape well — from foster care to domestic adoption to international to special needs. The site is chock-full of useful information and is especially good for people looking for up-to-date governmental and legal information. In fact, the group regularly posts changes in embassy regulations and funds its own in-house research on topics as wide-ranging as health issues and legislative matters.
The Adoption Guide
Although this site also sells a comprehensive adoption handbook called, yep, "The Adoption Guide," for $14.95, you need not purchase it to get some good information. Basic facts, including financing options, are laid out clearly on this site. It’s a great place to start if you are still unsure about which country you’d like to adopt from since it offers a comprehensive list of countries with statistics, basic guidelines, country requirements and updated status as to whether the country is currently processing adoptions.
Child Welfare Information Gateway
This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services site is thorough and user-friendly. Important updates on federal, state and international laws are detailed here. You also can access White Papers on a variety of topics, such as what to expect from a home study, how to prepare for a child in your home, where to find resources for gay and lesbian parents, and which states offer adoption tax credits. There also are post-placement resources for parents on a wide range of issues from dealing with fetal alcohol syndrome to applying for grants for special-needs children.
Realistic Expectations
emkpress.com/realisticexpectations.html
Produced by Carrie Kitze, an author and speaker on adoption issues, Realistic Expectations is a 50-page guide that is free when you provide your e-mail address for the download. Although it is written for parents during the first year after their children come home, it’s also useful for those in the queue waiting for a referral who’d like a jump start on the issues that await them as well as those who have been parenting longer. Contributions by a variety of experts cover topics as diverse as strategies for building attachment, combating the effects of life in an orphanage, and handling post-adoption depression.
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