Search Results for: blog choosing the type of adoption that is right for you

Single Parent Adoptions

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More and more single people, especially women, are choosing to become single parents. One way for a single person to become a parent is through adoption. Adoption.com defines adoption as “a legal process that creates a new, permanent parent-child relationship where one didn’t exist before.” While many adoption agencies still deem married couples as the best candidates for adoption, many do now allow single people adopt. Domestic Adoption Domestic adoptions are adoptions that take place within the adoptive parent’s own country (in the case of this post, this is the United States). A domestic adoption typically costs between $15,000 and … Continue reading →

International Adoption Options for Single Men

Just as there are women out there who’ve never found their partner but have always wanted a child, there are men in that position also. However, different countries have different criteria for adoptive parents, and most countries either do not allow singles to adopt or allow only single women to do so. Single men can usually adopt from the U.S. child welfare system, probably the most common option for single men. International adoption opportunity are fewer: China, one of the two countries having the largest numbers of children adopted by U.S. parents, used to permit single parents to adopt (including … Continue reading →

What Would You Like to See in the Adoption Blog This Next Year?

What Would You Like to See in the Adoption Blog This Next Year? This blog will be a little different. I’m asking for comments from you, my readers. What has been helpful to you in the adoption blog this year? What would you like to see more of? More personal experience and reflections? More informational blogs? I, for one, would like to see more comments by readers, both in the blog comments and in the forums. The forums are a great tool to ask questions which I can then address in blogs. As many of you know, I have two … Continue reading →

Media Review: Opposing Viewpoints: Adoption

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The Opposing Viewpoints Series from Greenhaven Press is a series I have long admired as a student, citizen and prospective educator. The series contains over 90 books ranging from Abortion to Welfare Reform. The series has been in existence for 25 years but is frequently updated. Each book organizes itself around four or five main questions relating to a topic. The editors seek out both prominent and lesser-known voices on various sides to give opinions from multiple viewpoints. So what is controversial about adoption? More than you might think. Some essays in the book directly oppose each other. The first … Continue reading →

How We Chose the Type of Adoption that was Right for Us

Last week I wrote on “Choosing the Type of Adoption that is Right for You”. Today I’d like to share how we (my husband Charles and I) chose the type of adoption that was right for us. Our biological son was a toddler. We wanted to adopt a child younger than he was. We knew that many of the children in the US child welfare system were older children. I also didn’t think I could handle a legal-risk placement. Regarding domestic US infant adoptions, a couple of agencies wanted “proof of infertility”, and we weren’t infertile. One agency told us … Continue reading →

Choosing the Type of Adoption that is Right for You

What things should you consider in choosing which type of adoption (domestic infant adoption, state child welfare system adoption, or international adoption) is right for you? (Note: each of these three main types of adoption is described in a blog posted by me earlier this week.) Here are some suggested things to think about: 1.What age child do you wish to adopt? 2.What special needs might you be willing to work with? 3.Would you consider siblings? 4.How comfortable are you with the idea of meeting the birthparent(s)? With ongoing contact? 5.How would children of different races be accepted by your … Continue reading →

What Kind of Adoption?

How do you decide what type of adoption is right for you? The options and decisions can appear endless and they are definitely overwhelming. The purpose of this article is to give you a very basic overview of the three main types of adoption. If one of these options spark your interest then you can begin to do more research (don’t forget to check out our blogs on each kind of adoption!) and hopefully feel a little more confident as you head in a specific direction. While there are other categories of adoption, the main areas of adoption that most … Continue reading →

“I’ll Take That One”

“Oh, my, look at all these beautiful babies,” says my eight-year-old daughter Meg, in high-heeled dress-up shoes and a feather boa. “I want THIS beautiful baby,” she coos, swooping her five-year-old sister into her arms. You’ve got to be kidding me, I think. We’ve told you over and over that we decided to adopt you before we ever saw you. You know perfectly well about the 6 a.m. phone call when Mrs. S’s voice said, “you have a daughter”. You’ve seen the video of yourself that the workers sent us from Korea after you’d had your visa medical check at … Continue reading →

Much Ado About a Passport

Thousands of miles away I have a daughter waiting for me. Her name is Laney. She is legally my daughter; she even has my last name. However, I can’t bring her home, at least not yet. The reason seems really simple to an American – all we need is a passport. However, in Liberia, Laney’s country, nothing is simple. Everyone is focused on getting through each day. “Unimportant” things like paperwork often fall to the wayside when people are focused on the basics. Food, water, shelter, safety – these things take precedence. One day, probably in a few months, someone … Continue reading →

Getting Paid To Adopt?

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Many families who adopt special needs children through their state receive a monthly check even after the finalization. Some people become irritated when learning this. I’ve heard the argument, “I don’t get paid to raise my kid,” and frankly, I can understand the feelings behind such comments. There are many parents who give birth to special needs children and don’t get monthly support in the form of a check. As an adoptive parent I’ve struggled with receiving certain assistance for my children. We did not adopt our children as a charity; we didn’t need the money. We wanted to be … Continue reading →