Health is often a big issue and a major concern when it comes to adoption, especially when a family is adopting a child internationally.

Depending on where you are adopting from, you may get a great deal of medical information on the child you are adopting, or you may get very limited and basic information. The information you get may be up to date and "on par" with U.S. standards, or it may be somewhat unreliable because of the conditions of where the care was given or the quality... more

Virginia has initiated a new law “Putative Father Registry” this month. It allows men that have had sexual relations with a woman other than his wife if married, to record the encounter in case a pregnancy happens. This allows him to block any adoptions in the future without his knowledge.

A man can go file a report about their relations with their girlfriend, mistress, their one night stand, etc. online with the state. There is no limit to how many times he reports encounters.... more

Adoptees, Birth and Adoptive Parents and Everyone Else

The adoptive parents need to know that they will always have a place in our life for them. They are our parents no matter what. They do not what to be shut out of part of our life. They want to protect us from possible hurt, etc. which is all realistic for them to feel. We also know that our adoptive parents have their own fears about our relationship with our birth families and we do realize it even when they try... more

It can be difficult for adoptees to navigate through the adoption journey when so many people are added to the mix. We are the person standing in the middle of it all. Everyone wants or needs something from the adoptees. Which is not a bad thing but it can be overwhelming at times. I am not saying what they want or need is wrong or bad in anyway for anybody involved.

Adoptees (most) carry around baggage throughout their lives, some more than others while others have very minimal baggage. Could this be why adoptees have such strong feelings about adoption and... more

So your friend or relative is celebrating the adoption of their child and you'd like to get them an appropriate gift, but you're not sure where to start. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

-- Are they registered? Many (though not all) families decide to register for the arrival of a baby - it's okay to ask or ask around to see if they've registered. Quite often, people prefer to buy something that is really needed or wanted rather than guess.

-- Is this a first child? Or first child of that gender? If so, go with clothes. Clothes are always good. Actually, when we first met Anna (on a Friday - she came to live with us that Monday) one of the first things I did was to check... more

Where is it? Chelyabinsk Oblast is at the crossroads of the European and Asian sides of Russia, at the foot of the Urals mountains. Chelyabinsk is two hours ahead of Moscow and you can find the local time here.

What's the biggest city? Chelyabinsk, whose population includes some 1 million of the region's 3.6 million people, according to the 2002 census.

Who lives here? Ethnic Russians account for more than... more

My early morning flight out of Tampa yesterday was more invigorating that a cup of coffee. Squeezed in like sardines (the flight was FULL), I sat in the same row as a woman from Paris headed to Baltimore and a grandfather headed to Maine. As we all chatted about where we were going and why, the conversation casually turned to children. When the man asked our seat mate how old her son was, she responded that he was 28.

“Twenty-eight was how old my son was when he died.” And this began the story of how this man’s son had died of an overdose of Methadone,... more

“Are we there yet?” was yesterday’s mantra. Up at 5:00 am, I caught the shuttle to the Tampa airport. Then Delta home to Atlanta, and now on my way north in the family SUV...Missouri bound.

Yes, we’re on the road, headed back to our home state for a few days of visiting family and friends before plopping down in The Elms resort in Excelsior Springs, for ATN's Parenting Traumatized Children conference.

It’s been a whirlwind week for this stay-at-home mom. First the NACAC conference and now off on my next adventure. Overall... more

Our children’s foster parents asked that they have Saturday (our arrival day) as a day of private family celebration time with the kids. Thus, after landing, when our social worker called, I knew something big was up.

The kids’ foster parents run two of the biggest businesses in this small Southern town of about 2,500 – a flower shop and a funeral home. They were called upon to do a large funeral, so the family had their celebration on Friday,... more

“What do I do? It seems like that instead of being appreciated for taking on kids no one wants, I get looked down on like I'm at fault for doing the best I can with no help. I'm happy to be his mom, to stick with him no matter what, to be supportive, hold him accountable, whatever it takes, but I don't know what to do with him now, not even while I'm looking for help. If you, or some of the other adoptive parents out there, who have been there and done this, have got some advice or suggestions…”

I often receive emails from acutely distressed parents... more