I saw a thread on one of the adoption boards that asked about good adoption stories. The poster said that all she read were scary stories. Well, most of the people who post on the boards have some kind of problem that they need help with, or need to vent some frustrations. Most people don’t post too often to say that life is wonderful.

There are good adoption stories. We are living one with Hannah, although her story did not start well. She was adopted into a family who loved her tremendously and worked very hard for her to open up her heart and be able... more

In my previous blog I said that I would address the foster care licensing paperwork as a separate blog. The application that I have is fourteen pages long in itself, in addition to all the other paperwork that we need to fill out just to get the home study started.

The licensing checklist also doubles as an informative paper. It lists several different areas of licensing, statutes and regulations and asks that you acknowledge that have read and understand... more

Part 1

As you can tell by the fact that this is a two part blog, the initial paperwork is quite extensive. Here is a continuation of the paperwork that you can expect to fill out.

Releases – if you have worked with any counselors in the past (or currently) the agency may want to contact the counselor and make sure that any condition has been resolved or is currently handled with medication. If the counseling has been related... more

Since our family is going through the home study process ourselves right now, I thought I’d share exactly what’s going on, not just a theoretical version.

We received our application packet from the adoption agency that is doing the home study. It is full of paperwork to be filled out, releases to sign, and other information that we need to provide.

Here is what we have to fill out: The adoption application itself – This asks for general information about residents of the household, contact information, education,... more

One of the worst forms of child abuse, in my opinion, is emotional abuse. I’m not saying that other forms of abuse are “easier” or “better” but dealing with emotional abuse is very hard for a child and can be one of the hardest to ever get over, but many people downplay it saying that they’re only words, how can they hurt?

The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect defines emotional abuse as:

"acts or omissions by the parents or other caregivers that have caused, or could cause, serious behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental... more

In the final installment of my summary of this amazing report, the last section deals with educating adoptive parents.

Interestingly, the first bullet point under this section is to educate adoption PROFESSIONALS. I love that. Not only do they feel that adoption professionals need to be educated, but they list out sixteen specific bullet points, including:

• Role of racial and adoptive identity • Mental health issues in adoption • Role of loss and grief... more

Our family is in a similar situation as some of your reading this blog. We are starting our home study process to finalize Hannah’s adoption. Ours will progress slightly differently than yours will, since hers is considered a private adoption, but most of it will be the same.

For us, the first hurdle was finding an agency that is willing to do our home study. Because of the complexities of our case, I sent out e-mails to every licensed adoption agency within a 200 mile radius. Here is what I wrote:

We are trying to get some information... more

Part 1

There is a fantastic report out by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. If you are not familiar with them, take the time to check out their website.

One of the portions of this report is sure to set a few people on edge, but having been one of the parents that they are talking about in the report, I know... more

Kentucky is offering the first license plate that actively supports and promotes adoption.

The license plate has the logo of Kentucky’s Special Needs Adoption Program (SNAP) along with their motto of “Be A Forever Family – Adopt.”

The license plate is not a guaranteed issue yet, but if it receives a commitment, or request for at least 900 plates within the... more

There is a fantastic report out by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. If you are not familiar with them, take the time to check out their website.

The report calls adoption agencies, post adoptions services, social workers, mental health providers and many other adoption professionals on the carpet for not adequately helping kids and families alike. I was blown away. It’s not often that you see a report this honest... more