Adoption

November is National Adoption Awareness Month in the United States. The Child Welfare Information Gateway writes that this year’s theme is adopting teens:

November is National Adoption Month, a month set aside to raise awareness about the adoption of children from foster care. This year’s theme of adopting teens from foster care builds on the Ad Council’s new public service announcement (PSA) campaign of the Children’s Bureau, the Adoption Exchange Association, and The Collaboration to Adopt US Kids.

Christopher Alexander writes that November is National Adoption Awareness Month:

In 1990, November was proclaimed as National Adoption Month. This was seen as an opportunity to raise public awareness about adoption and to acknowledge the importance of adoption in our society. It was also a way to help make people aware of the staggering numbers of children needing permanent placements.

He also comments on some recent articles about relinquishment, “parents who have adopted a child, only to change their mind long after the placement was finalized, usually because the child exhibited significant behavior problems.”

Several studies have shown that adopted children, as a whole, do present higher rates of behavior and emotional problems than the general population. This should not come as a surprise, given that many of these children suffered severe trauma and disruptions to aspects of their developmental attachment in the first few years of their lives.

. . .

Fortunately, the success stories are much greater than the ones that typically make it into print. Every year, many children . . . find permanent homes. Emotionally, academically and behaviorally, they thrive as they finally know what it means to be safe, loved and wanted. To me, this is the topic we should be addressing and celebrating. [There are] many professionals and agencies which are highly trained in working with adopted children and their families.

Fox News reports on the growing number of adoption scams, especially ones that take advantage of the opportunities provided by the internet.

Internet adoptions have gained some momentum in recent years. Birth mothers who want to put their child up for adoption and couples looking for a child to adopt can search for one another on different websites, and the results can be easier, cheaper and faster than a traditional adoption agency.

Unfortunately, adoption websites have also been a target for con artists. . . . The schemes are varied, but always end with broken hearts for the adoptive parents. Some of these criminals promise their unborn child to more than one couple, while some just pretend to be pregnant. All have one goal in mind: extort as much money as possible from trusting couples who desperately want a baby.

The author strongly encourages adopting parents to seek legal advice from an adoption attorney, and details some of the many benefits and assurances that an adoption attorney can provide.

Laura Christianson reports that Working Mother magazine has released its report of the 100 most family friendly companies, including an analysis of those that offer benefits related to adoption, such as adoption leave, adoption assistance, and infertility treatment.

Kevin Mattson reviews Adam Pertman’s book Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution Is Transforming America. He has much good to say about recent trends in adoption practices, especially towards openness and honesty with adopted children, including in many cases the practice of open adoption:

Greater openness for adoptees means an upbringing rooted in self-knowledge and truth rather than equivocation or deception; for birth parents, it helps diminish angst and permits grieving, and therefore increases their comfort levels with their decisions; and for adoptive parents, it eases personal insecurities while establishing a steady stream of information for their children and for making critical parenting decisions (based, for example, on the birth family’s medical history).

He also discusses other issues Pertman addresses, such as necessary changes to adoption law, ways that transracial adoption is helping our country to grow in overcoming entrenched racism, and the problem of the cost of adoption.

Mattson recommends this book with the caveat that Pertman doesn’t sufficiently answer all of the important questions that he raises:

Though he doesn’t come up with all the answers to tough questions, Pertman at the least poses them. For anyone interested in adoption (especially those considering adoption), this is an important book to read. Policy makers who need a brief, readable introduction to adoption would do well by picking it up. They won’t find solutions but will be introduced to the ways in which adoption is changing America.

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute announced the 2006 Angels in Adoption™ awards. The 2006 recipients are:

• Daunte Culpepper
• Invisible Children
• Darryl DMC McDaniels

Family News writes about the selection of Invisible Children:

The group produced a shocking documentary about children in Uganda who were kidnapped and forced to fight in a bloody civil war. Jason Russell thinks its doing some good.

“Because of our awareness campaign throughout the United States, there has been a much greater interest in adopting children in Uganda.”

The US Department of Health and Human Services awarded $11.6 million to the states for increasing adoptions. The award went to states who increased the number of adoptions in 2005, and is to be be used by the states to improve child welfare programs:

States receiving incentive payments completed more adoptions in 2005 than in the baseline year, which is the year with the highest number of adoptions for the period between 2002 through 2004. States get $4,000 for every child adopted beyond their best year’s total, plus a payment of $4,000 for every child aged nine and older and $2,000 for every special needs child adopted above the baseline year.

Twenty-one states increased their adoptions in 2005 and received incentives under this grant.

The press release also mentions AdoptUsKids, which seeks to encourage and promote domestic adoption.

Interestingly, the article also indicates that “the average age of a child waiting to be adopted is 10 years.”

Michigan live writes that the Michigan state house passed two related bills to protect private adoption agencies from being forced to participate in adoption placements that violated their religious convictions.

The two related bills are HB-5908 and HB-5909, and have yet to pass the Michigan senate.

The Michigan house is to be applauded for protecting the rights of private groups to limit themselves according to their religious convictions.

For women with Rokitansky syndrome, adoption or surrogacy has been the only possible means of having children. But the Telegraph reports that womb transplants may be possible soon.

HT: WorldMagBlog

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation reports on adoption scammers, who pose as adoption agencies or even as individuals who are able to facilitate a domestic or international adoption.

The article provides a number of sensible tips on avoiding adoption scams, and points to the FBI’s Office for Victims Assistance for help dealing with an adoption scammer.