Japan's adoption law has not seen any significant change since the 1947 Child Welfare Law was created to address issues of orphaned children at the end of WWII. Last month, however, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry drafted a new set of guidelines in response to worries about profiteering by agencies and international trafficking concerns.

Presently, privately run adoption agencies are allowed payment only to cover costs. The list of approved expenses... more

This has been making the internet - emails circuits for a while now, but just in case you haven't seen it:

POSITION: Mother, Mom, Mama, Mommy, Ma

JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment.

Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips... more

I found something neat while surfing the web in the birthparent section of About.com. There is the diary of an expectant mother making an adoption plan and it continues into the first months of birthmotherhood.

Expectant mother and birthmother, Terri Rimmer, began keeping a journal early in her pregnancy. It begins with her moving into the Gladney Maternity Home and she talks about her life there, people in the house,... more

Yesterday I drove to Topeka, the capitol of Kansas. I met with an organization called Children’s Alliance. They are an umbrella organization that arranges trainings for the various private providers who administer the child welfare system in Kansas. I told them about the goals of ADN, and about our conference next August. Apparently I will be provided an opportunity to speak to representatives of the service providers in a meeting or workshop sometime in December or January.

This morning... more

Following up on my previous blog and comments about adopting an infant and the “blank slate” mentality, I spoke today with a social worker who held the belief that infants would not ever have any attachment or bonding issues...because they were adopted as infants! This is a commonly held belief but it is simply not true. While I certainly believe adopting an infant increases one’s chances of forming a strong mother/child bond, there is no guarantee. And even if a child forms a strong attachment to his parents, he will still have adoption... more

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Ok, I was asked to fill you in on “what happened” in regards to the traumatized child who was restrained through her nosebleed at school. And believe it or not, today, I witnessed a mom winning a round with the school system.

I think she totally caught the system off guard. Sadly, I believe... more

Part 1 Who should be allowed at the visits? This is probably something you discussed prior to the finalization of the adoption, but as time wears on it may come up again. It’s basically up to all involved on who they are comfortable with. Nowadays, some adoptive parents may have some sort of arrangements with birth grandparents as well or it may be known that birthparents can bring immediate family members with them to the visits.

And of course... more

I don’t know about any of the rest of you, but I often think in song. I apply songs I know to my life situations. I don’t know how common that is for others to do, so maybe I’m the only one. But songs encourage me, comfort me, inspire me, relax me and diffuse a stressful situation. And sometimes they just run through my head like a soundtrack.

Today was the day I had to go “fight a dragon”. That’s what LuLu calls doing battle with the school. Despite being done with our own court case, I felt the overwhelming need to help the mom from the ... more

Link: White on White

I tend to focus on Asian identity and Korean Adoptee identity because of the topic of my blog. We talk about racism and people almost always associate racism with Caucasians. This, of course, is not fair because because I know my fair share of racist Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Black Americans, etc…

So, when I saw this article about a study about “whiteness,” I thought good for them. Minorities are told to... more

Note that these are MY pet peeves. I don't claim to speak for all birthparents, because I can't...we're a diverse group of people, with different views and opinions. These are just some of the big things that drive ME crazy about contemporary adoption practice, and/or life as a birthparent.

1. Adoptive parents who call their child’s birthmom “OUR birthmom” 2. Non-enforceable open adoption contracts 3. Pictures that don’t arrive when promised 4. "Dear birthmother" letters addressed to expectant mothers 5. Adoption advertising... more