Foster Adoption

Great news for waiting children in Oregon just in time for National Adoption Month! The Adoption.com Photolisting is excited to announce that the State of Oregon is now featuring it's waiting children right here on Adoption.com. Now, the children in Oregon can be viewed by potential families from anywhere in the United States at any time of the day or night. Families who are homestudy ready and certified to adopt in their state can submit inquiries via the Adoption.com Photolisting Inquiry Form. Those not currently homestudy ready can submit a Homestudy Assistance Form and get matched with a caseworker in their area who can help them get started on the journey to adopting from the U.S. foster care system. National Adoption

So you've read about National Adoption Month some place or you've seen a child featured on a local broadcast that talks about children in need of homes in the US Foster Care system and you're wanting to learn more. Depending on where you are in the education process, you may or may not know what the next steps are. Let's assume, for a minute, you're brand new and you're looking for guidance or advice on what the first steps are when deciding to move forward, that's easy enough, right? First, you'll want to find out how your state agency for children's issues is operated. Are you in a privatized state? Are all matters related to foster care or adopting from foster care handled through… [more]

My top ten intrusive question number three is pretty basic but I find it entirely irritating. "Are they brothers?" Many of the questions that bother me have to do with alienating my children. We work hard every day to make a life for our boys where they feel at ease and comfortable with themselves. We want them to feel like normal kids. We do things like other families do, trying to have as routine a life as possible. We try to put the boys on meds that don't need to be taken during the school day. We try to make sure that the kids have moderately "cool" clothes and shoes. We try to help them blend in as much as possible. Our kids stick out plenty… [more]

As we continue the countdown, I'd like to address one of the more interesting questions we've gotten over the course of our journey. "Are those kids going to turn out to be thugs?" Really. I mean it. Really. Maybe we just live in hickville but this was a serious question. It was as if children who have been in care are predisposed to the "thug life". I'm honestly not even sure what was meant by the question. Through more thorough examination we discovered the inquiry had to do with whether or not our new son would wear his pants above or below his behind. Now we ALL know that the location of one's pants has a great deal to do with identifying a possible thug. I hope… [more]

Continuing in the top ten intrusive questions rigmarole, I have another fun statement for you. Time and time again people would begin their insanity with something along the lines of this: "I know this guy who knows a guy whose sister adopted from foster care and..." Off they would plummet into insane stories, all horrible, of kids who had ruined the lives of their parents, their neighbors, and every living thing within a 10 mile radius. Many people were the brilliant masterminds of these types of comments but I must say, my in-laws were the best. They know this one family, ONE family I say, who adopted a kiddo who turned out to be a disaster. He actually burned the house down. This family lives across… [more]

Number six in my top ten intrusive questions list is actually more of a statement than a question. It comes in many forms but it always comes down to one basic idea: "All that kid needs is a good whoopin'." This lovely little bit of input can come from strangers, relatives, men, and women. It knows no socioeconomic or age boundaries and is not deterred by basic common sense. Maybe it is because we live in the 30-years-behind-the-times State of Kansas or maybe it is just because people have no ability to think before speaking but this statement is so common. So many people believe that all children are alike and there is one formula for raising them. Most of these people are actual parents which makes… [more]

Intrusive question number seven is: "I would be so worried about the safety of 'my' children. Aren't you worried about 'those' kids hurting 'your' kids?" Time and time again the stereotype that foster kids are monsters rears its ugly head. I think there are many things that perpetuate this myth. I think the media, as with many other things, over-accentuates the dramatic. Often I read articles about violent, traumatic events happening to a family and the "adopted" child is blamed. Adopted Son Kills Parents. Adopted Child Sets Fire. Adopted Man On Criminal Rampage. Have you ever seen an headline that shouted "Biological Child Plots Murder"? When something bad happens and an adopted person is involved, it is the nature of society to point out the adoption. It… [more]

The next question in my installment of intrusive questions is: "Do you know anything about their 'real' parents?" Hmmmmm. The sticky part of this intrusive question is how one would define the word 'real'. When my kids refer to someone other than me and hubby as their 'real' parents, I make them pinch my arm. Then I ask them if they think I am a 'real' person. They usually respond with the rolling of the eyes and a "Yes Mom, you're real." Point made. Point taken. However, I don't think the pinching thing would work as well with strangers. It might be a bit odd to ask a person in line at the post office to pinch me and then mock them. Fun, but definitely odd… [more]

Top Ten Intrusive Question Number Ten: Can't you have your "own" children? I have never, in my entire life, felt that it was appropriate to ask a complete stranger about their reproductive status. What goes on, or for that matter, doesn't go on in my uterus is my business. Is that not completely apparent? The thing I find most ridiculous about this question is the obvious lack of prior planning when asking this question. I'm assuming it is common knowledge that if a woman is having reproductive issues that she will be at least a little bit upset by the situation. It seems to me that if I were quite interested in having a baby and we tried and tried but it wasn't working, that it… [more]

Hello everyone! My name is Renee Eaton and I am one of your brand new bloggers. I am so excited to be here at AdoptionBlogs.com blogging about the amazing journey of foster-adoption. My husband and I have been blessed with two beautiful boys, both of whom we found in the foster care system. Our first son, T, was eleven when we first met him and had been waiting nearly ten years for a family to commit to him. He is now twelve and his adoption was finalized eight months ago. Our second son, Z, is nine and has been in our home for two and a half months at this point. We should be going to court to legally adopt him in May or June of… [more]