Birth Family and Entitlement in State Adoptions

I just wanted to touch on some thoughts I had relating to birth family, entitlement and communication. These are mostly things I wanted to get off my chest, but I hope someone who needs to hear them will have a better understanding of one adoptive mother’s perspective anyway. Allowing Contact with Birth Family Most parents I know would agree there is often a sense of loyalty within family—even within birth family. Whether or not this is true in any specific case, it’s because of this many adoptive parents are leery to allow much contact—if any, fearing some information, out of … Continue reading

Request of Medical Information from Birth Father

As child number 7 born to my son’s birth mother is currently in state custody, I have decided to take the opportunity to inquire about medical information on the birth father that is allegedly the birth father for 6 of the 7 children. In the past, the state has been unable to obtain reliable information on him. As our son is getting older, we are having more questions about the medical history and hope we may get some of these questions answered soon. Dear (Birth Father’s name withheld), I am the mother by adoption to your 4th son (our son’s … Continue reading

What Does the Hague Convention Agreement Actually Say?

Adoption periodicals and websites often refer to the “Hague Convention”, to “Hague requirements” and to countries being “Hague” or “non-Hague”. What does that mean? I gave a brief overview and shared some potential concerns. But what exactly does the Hague Convention say? “Hague” refers to the international courts at the Hague in Holland. The adoption agreement referred to is formally titled “Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect to Intercountry Adoption”. The introduction states that “the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere … Continue reading

Week in Review Jan. 22-28

Week in Review Jan. 22-28 This week the adoption blog has moved from personal stories,to practical tips, to questions about our society, and back again. Monday, January 22 Services Provided for Former Foster Children Ed tells us that many foster care children age out of the system at age 18, suddenly homeless without means of support. He shares a model of a center set up in Texas to provide them with counseling and referrals and suggests that other states look into this. He also notes that, with all the material needs foster children have, the number-one request many have at … Continue reading

Making Contact: Setting Comfortable Limits with Our Child’s Adopted Siblings’ Families

One of my fears in preparing to meet my either of my sons’ siblings or adoptive families was what if they’re hopes for the degree of contact differs greatly from ours? I thought quite a bit about this and played out different scenarios in my mind. Part of me worried the families would rather not have any contact. When we first became a family, we had the constant reminder of adoption. We wanted to move on with life and feel normal. For this reason, I certainly would have understood my childrens’ birth siblings’ family wanting to move forward or have … Continue reading

Making Contact: Finding My Child’s Adopted Siblings

After three years of playing amateur private investigator, I finally found the rest of my son’s birth siblings’ adoptive families. I desperately wanted more information on my son’s family medical background than I was given by our state. I wanted to know if the other families got more information on my son’s birth parents character as well. Here is the story on how we made contact. For easier reference and safety purposes, I will refer to my son’s birth siblings by their maternal birth order rather than their names. My son is the 6th child of 8 by his birthmother. … Continue reading

My Savior Knows Adoption

I’ve surrounded my boys with other adopted children in hopes they will never feel alone. I stay active in a local adoption support group, involved in online adoption forums and read books on adoption. As much as I try to learn about what it’s like to be an adoptee with a different genetic makeup from my parents, I will never fully know. I’ve tried to relate to my boys’ adoption by looking to what the Bible says about me as a child of God. As a Bible believing Christian I have been adopted into God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ. In … Continue reading