Be an Adoption Ambassador

I am a little behind on my Adoptive Families reading. I usually read at the gym and my two year old has decided that he is no longer going to the kid's club there. . . sigh. And so my August edition of Adoptive Families is more ragged and beaten than any other edition, as it has been dragged around, here, there and everywhere so I can grab a bit of it now and then.

I'm not finished with it quite yet, but there is such a great article in there entitled "Be an Adoption Ambassador" that I knew I wanted to share. In it, AF puts forth questions that you are likely to encounter from friends and families along the way, then provides you with the "crib sheet" for those occasions.

Each question has a short answer followed by an in depth explanation, so be sure to check out the entire article.

1. "Was the adoption terribly expensive? How did you afford it?"
"The average cost of an adoption last year was $27,000. Grants and reimbursements can reduce the expense."

2. "How long does it take? Did you wait forever?"
"The average wait to adopt is about two years."

3. "Is it really possible to adopt an American child? Even a newborn?"
"The vast majority of adoptees are U.S.-born. Internation adoptees just tend to be more visible."

4. "Doesn't open adoption confuse your child?"
"Research on kids in open adoption shows that there's no such effect."

5. "Aren't most adoptees troubled?"
"A research study that's been going on for a decade shows that adopted children do just as well as kids raised in their biological families."

6. "How do you know that your adoption was legal? Weren't you afraid of being scammed?"
"The best way to avoid problems is to work with a large, nonprofit agency or with an attorney who specializes in adoption, and to do plenty of reserach before you sign up."

7. "I'd love to adopt -- how do you get started?"
"What kind of child do you thin will best fit your family?"

Adoptive Families Magazine- June 2009

I received my first issue of Adoptive Families Magazine in the mail a few days ago. I am very excited about this addition to our family adoption library. What a great resource! I highly recommend a subscription to anyone who is involved in adoption.






Some of my favorites from this issue:

Ask AF
A reader writes in to ask the AF experts how to explain to her daughter why her birth family has chosen to have very limited contact with her, while her brother's birth family has chosen to have a very open adoption.
This is something I have thought about myself. The response from Counselor Joni Mantell is helpful and insightful. She suggests ways to help a child realize that while different people express love in different ways, that doesn't mean that one loves you more than another. Birth families are the same, they may show their love differently, but they love you just the same.

About Time by Christina Clark
About a family who adopts their son out of the foster care system. This quote just melted my heart:

"I told him that I was his mama, not caring whether that was appropriate. Joseph's eyes met mine. He hugged me and beamed as if to say, 'It's about time!'"

Mother's Day Chocolate by Shelley Lowery

One mother-to-be's struggle with the annual Mother's Day celebration and her Mother's Day miracle.

". . .But this time I was crying the happiest tears I'd ever known. And in my arms, I held something sweeter than all the Mother's Day chocolate in the world."

New Resources I want to look into:


Adoption Grants:

giftofadoption.org
helpusadopt.org
nafadopt.org
showhope.org
parenthoodforme.org

Adoption Loans

achildwaits.org
freeloan.org
oxfordadoption.com
abbafund.org

Family Donation Sites

gotchagiftregistry.com
myregistry.com

Books I may want to read:

What Every Adoptive Parent Needs to Know: Healing your Child's Wounded Heart by Kate Cremer-Vogel and Dan and Cassie Richards.

Star of the Week: A Story of Love, Adoption, and Brownies with Sprinkles by Darlene Friedman and Roger Roth

What did you like?