Considering an adoption search and reunion as an adult adopted person? Here are a few options for you as you get started. With adoption search and reunion stories popping up in the media recently, as in the hit TV show This is Us or movies like Lion, adult adoptees may find themselves considering (most likely …
by Ellen G., an Adoption Connection Praent A touching reflection on one family’s adoption journey – written following their son’s 10th birthday. Some families might come to the decision to adopt as a natural idea that was their first choice and no other options have to be pursued. Others arrive at the adoption threshold after a …
As families gather during the holidays, our thoughts are with birth parents – sending you peace, love and good will. The holidays can be a difficult time for some individuals and families as they gather together and take stock of the year and what has been gained and what has been lost. Sometimes the absence of a …
The holidays can be stressful enough, but can be especially hard for parents waiting to adopt a baby. For many among us, including those waiting and hoping to become parents, the holiday season does not lead to automatic cheer, joy or peace. The season, with its emphasis on children and family, can bring loneliness and …
Naming a baby is so elemental and so often the first mark of parenthood—of course people have really big feelings about it. At Adoption Connection’s Preparation for Adoption workshops, few topics set people wanting to be parents more on edge than the naming question… Whose “right” is it to name this child? Most prospective parents …
“Am I black?” My seven year old daughter asked me this last summer. We had just returned from our annual week at a social justice-oriented camp run by our faith community and this summer the focus was on the Black Lives Matter movement. The director and counselors are amazing, creating a safe forum where challenging, …
When I think of National Adoption Month the word “family” comes to mind. Its definition has changed significantly for me through the years, becoming broader to include relatives gained through biology, marriage, adoption, and friendship. Celebrating the spectrum of family models that exist in our society not only validates them, but also validates the experiences …
Everything is going smoothly. The birth family and adoptive family are communicating about the birth, ongoing contact, and even baby names! And then suddenly there’s an unintended hiccup, tears are shed by both families, and there is confusion and hurt feelings. Can the adoption be saved? Even in adoptions where there is significant openness and the …
When Adoption Connection opened its doors over 30 years ago, open adoption was starting to blossom, but still in its infancy. As one of the first adoption agencies focused on open adoption, we found ourselves working to correct three common misperceptions, many of which are still common today. They are: that the adopted child would …
You’ve written out your answers to a thousand intrusive questions during your adoption homestudy. You’ve submitted your fingerprints, seen your doctor, put up the extra smoke detectors, and swept up all the dust bunnies in a panic before the homestudy caseworker arrives. You’ve presented your finances for scrutiny and started an aggressive plan of setting …
