Search Results for: blog top 20 countries for international adoption

International vs Domestic Adoption

We have friends that are in China adopting a beautiful baby girl right now. The journey for them to adopt a baby from China started over five years ago. They knew since they got married that they wanted to adopt a baby girl from China they just did not realize how long the process would take. When you do an international adoption there are rules and guidelines that the country of origin requires for international adoption. It does not happen as fast as you see when some famous celebrity goes to a country and comes right home with a baby. … Continue reading →

Adoption in the News this Week: from ER to Madonna to the Hague

Posted on by

Adoption has certainly been in the media this week. As my fellow blogger Michelle has noted in the popular culture blog, Madonna’s petition to adopt a second child from Malawi was denied by a judge in Malawian court. Madonna, who has said she plans to appeal, left the country Sunday without three-year-old Chifundo “Mercy” James, the child she had planned to make her daughter. The judge said she fears that waiving the country’s residency requirements for adoptive parents would open the door to traffickers. Other possible reasons for the different outcome in this case from Madonna’s previous adoption are being … Continue reading →

April Fools: Three Things You Thought You Knew About Adoption

Posted on by

There are some things that “everybody knows” about adoption. This “knowledge” is so well-known, of course, that facts and first-person testimonies, even the evidence of one’s own eyes, apparently aren’t effective. One couple was showing off their new baby, whom they had adopted at birth here in the U.S., at at a large family-and-friends picnic last summer. When the new parents told the story of their recent adoption, another guest asserted “Well-Known Fact Number One” confidently: “That’s impossible. There are no babies to adopt in the United States.” April Fools! The truth: In the U.S., in-country adoptions outnumbered international adoptions … Continue reading →

Top Twelve Adoption Books of 2008 Part Two: Nonfiction

This blog is the second part of my “Top Twelve” of the books I’ve reviewed this year. My last blog reviewed picture books, including three from my Adoption Books with Great Art series, and also fictional offerings for pre-teens and early teens. This blog is on my favorite nonfiction about adoption. The Adoption Guide 2008 stands out as a compact yet comprehensive resource. It contains articles on infant adoption, international adoption, and foster-adoption. It has a summary of adoption trends and current regulations for twelve countries, a state-by-state listing of agencies and attorneys, guides for choosing an agency and/or attorney, … Continue reading →

My Favorite Book Reviews of 2008

Most of my readers won’t be surprised to learn that I love to read—kids’ books, adult books, nonfiction, picture books—anything. But even I was surprised to learn that I’ve reviewed over 45 books this year. Since many bookstores have post-holiday sales, and since many of us were fortunate enough to receive bookstore gift cards, I’m challenging myself to pick my favorite “top twelve” of the adoption books I’ve reviewed this year. I began the year by starting a series: Adoption Books with Great Art. Although I’m a “word person”, I’ve become increasingly moved by the beautiful ways some artists can … Continue reading →

The 2008 Adoption Guide

Initially I thought $14.95 was a steep price for what looked like a magazine issue. But the 2008 Adoption Guide is in fact more informative than many books. It is a combination news digest, workbook, telephone and website directory, statistics almanac, and collection of personal essays. The annual guide, from the publisher of Adoptive Families Magazine, is a concise introduction to adoption topics, but it also provides the insight from personal experiences that people exploring adoption crave (and that experienced adoptive parents can’t seem to resist reading either). The guide covers the four major types of adoption: domestic infant adoption … Continue reading →

Landmark Dates in Adoption History

Posted on by

Two notable dates in adoption history were the 1955 adoption of eight Korean War orphans by Harry and Bertha Holt, who later facilitated the adoptions of many Korean children. Although later accused of automatically assuming life in America was better for the children and of not doing proper background checks or follow-up on their adoptive families, still the Holts were absolutely instrumental in publicizing the needs of children around the world, especially in Korea. Another landmark date in international adoption was April 1975. At the order of U.S. President Gerald Ford, military planes and jumbo jets loaded with hundreds of … Continue reading →

Upcoming Issues in Adoption for 2008

There will be many developments in adoption in the coming year. Not only are countries’ adoption policies continually changing, but the face of international adoption itself may be changed by implementation of the Hague Convention on International Adoptions. (I once thought I’d write a blog about this treaty, but now realize it’s an immense topic that we’ll work our way through together as I share bits of my research.) States continue to search for ways to deal with the exploding foster care population. Some organizations and individuals are founding innovative programs to help teens in foster care. I’ll write about … Continue reading →

Books for Adults on Adoption from China and Korea

Posted on by

I recently published a series of blogs on children’s books dealing with adoption, including books specifically featuring kids adopted from different countries. Here, I will present books for adults on adoption from China and Korea. Many are memoirs which tell of adoptive families’ experiences. Others are memoirs of adoptees and even of birthmothers and an adoption worker. Others are serious looks at the topics of preserving heritage and the reasons children are available for adoption. Books for adults on Korean adoption: A Single Square Picture tells the story of a girl adopted at age 7 who returns to search for … Continue reading →

Top 20 Countries for International Adoption

Choosing a country is one of the first decisions that those adopting internationally have to make. There are a number of reasons why you need to decide on a country. First of all, the country you choose determines the agency that you choose. Not all agencies work in all countries. Instead, agencies tend to focus on just a few nations. Secondly, you need to have a country selected in order to have your homestudy done. If you change your mind, you can have the homestudy rewritten, but you will have to pay an extra fee and it will also take … Continue reading →