Services For Adoptive Families
For families, we provide:
• Pre-adoption consultations regarding countries, fees and risks associated with international adoption
• Home Study and Post Placement services
• International adoption programs, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Guatemala and China
• Complete dossier support services
• On-line adoption education for prospective parents
• Referrals to international doctors for adoption risk evaluations
• Travel orientation and professional overseas support personnel
• Escort services for single parents wishing professional assistance
• Post-adoption counseling and support; referrals to experts in child development
• Re-adoption services, to formalize your adoption in your state of residence
• Disruption intervention and re-placement services
Education For Families & Adoption Professionals
We are committed to educating parents and professionals about current issues in international adoption. For families and adoption professionals, we provide:
• Educational Conferences with representatives from the medical, social work and adoptive family communities
• Adoption Orientation sessions that review different kinds of adoption and explore how these differences may influence your family's goals and dreams
• Dossier Workshops for families in the adoption process with assistance in assembling required documentation
• Resource Catalog of adoption educational materials
We have reviewed the materials that are available for pre-adoptive families from a wide variety of sources. We recommend the following:
Adoption Learning Partners offers web-based e-learning courses on adoption topics that satisfy pre-adoption
training requirements and serve as a continuing resource to families after adoption. Courses are offered free of charge and Certificates of Completion are available for a $25 fee.
Courses currently available:
Conspicuous Families: Race, Culture and Adoption (1.5 credit hours)
The Journey of Attachment: (2 hours)
Let's Talk Adoption: A Lifetime of Family Conversations (2 hours)
Finding the Missing Pieces: Helping Adopted Children Cope with Grief and Loss (2 hours)
Understanding the Adoption Tax Credit (2 hours)
With Eyes Wide Open: A Preparation Guide to International Adoption (10-20 hours) Note: There is a $25 fee
to enroll. No additional charge for Certificate of Completion. http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org
• The US Department of State has a comprehensive website on international adoption, with links to information on specific countries. http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_473.html
• Adoption.com provides information about all facets of adoption. We especially recommend their section on international adoption and child health and development. http://international.adoption.com/foreign/child-health-development.html
Community based classes on adoption are one of the best ways to acquaint your families with both the pre-adoption process and the post-adoption adjustment. We
offer informational and instructional meetings regularly in Arizona, California, Missouri, Texas and Utah, and offer international adoption seminars across the country throughout the year. Please call us for dates and see our calendar of events.
General adoption reading
Adoption Resource Book by Lois Gilman. A guide to what you need to know to create an adoptive family.
Raising Adopted Children by Lois Melina. Looks at the special circumstances of adoptive parenting including adjustment of the family, bonding & attachment, talking to your child about adoption and behavior problems.
Twenty
Things Adopted Kids Want their Adopted Parents to Know
by Sherrie Eldridge
Making Sense of Adoption by Lois Melina. Help for parents on how to talk with their children about adoption.
Adoptive Families of America Magazine a bi-monthly magazine. To subscribe, call 1-800-372-3300
Adopting After Infertility by Patricia Irwin Johnston. Guides couples with infertility problems through 3 stages of adoption process.
International adoption
• Are These Kids Yours? by Cheri Register. Affirms the normality of families formed through inter-country adoption & explores the special challenges these families face. Ethical issues are also addressed.
• With Eyes Wide Open. Workbook for families adopting children over age one.
• Our Own, Adopting and Parenting the Older Child by Trish Maskew.
• Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft by Mary Hopkins Best. All aspects of adopting and parenting toddler children.
Older child and special needs adoptions
• Adopting the Older Child by Claudia Jewett. Introduces people to the adoption of older children, follows the history of several children & their adoptive families, starting before the adoption & continuing through to the post-placement period.
• Holding Time by Martha Welch. Central message is that regular sessions of mother-child holding decreases anger, conflict, temper tantrums, & sibling rivalry & increases self-esteem, self-confidence, & contentment in infants through preteens.
• Adopting the Hurt Child: Hope for Families with Special Needs Kids by Gregory Keck & Regina
Kupecky. Case studies on toll of impermanence on children and common symptoms of attachment disorder.
• Helping Children Cope with Separation and Loss by Claudia Jewett. Explains the grieving process children go through, whether from adoption, separation from family or foster family, death or divorce. Practical advice.
• Attaching in Adoption by
Deborah Gray. Explains issues relation toe motional development and provides practical tools to enhance attachment.
For families adoption from Eastern Europe
• Russian Adoption Handbook: How to Adopt a Child from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan by John H. Maclean.
• Russka: The Novel of Russia by Edward Rutherford. A fascinating fictionalized narrative of the history of Russia.
