Some international adoption regulations require pre-adoption education for prospective adopters. Do you think this is a good idea? What kind of preparation did you have? Would you do anything differently?
When Should You Schedule Surgery?
You may want to postpone elective surgery until your child has been home for four to six months.
“And Now We Are Three”
Mix one American couple, one preteen Russian boy, and one summer program…and what do you get? Family.
“You’ve Got to Have Friends”
My daughter’s fascination with China was matched by her pleasure at sharing the return trip with friends who’d made the same journey.
Ask AF: Adoption Visa Clarification
We finalized our daughter’s international adoption a few years ago, but haven’t gone through the naturalization process yet.
Poland Adoption Fast Facts
Wondering how to adopt from Poland? Find statistics, prospective parent requirements, and an average budget and timeline.
Ghana Adoption Fast Facts
Wondering how to adopt from Ghana? Find statistics, prospective parent requirements, personal stories, and more resources.
Nigeria Adoption Fast Facts
Wondering how to adopt from Nigeria? Find statistics, prospective parent requirements, and an average budget and timeline.
“Our Agonizing Decision to Decline a Referral”
We thought accepting a referral would be the easy part. It wasn’t.
Bulgaria Adoption Fast Facts
Wondering how to adopt from Bulgaria? Find statistics, prospective parent requirements, personal stories, and more resources.
News Brief: Further Decline in International Adoption in 2015
In 2015, parents in the United States adopted 5,648 children from 89 different countries. The number of intercountry adoptions completed by parents in the U.S. has steadily dropped since 22,884 children were adopted in 2004.
How Can you Help Your International Adoption Succeed?
What goes wrong in international adoptions — and how can you help yours go through?
“My So-Called Friends”
The other day, I mentioned to a coworker that my husband and I were looking into international adoption. You’d have thought I said we were thinking of becoming terrorists. “What do you mean, you’re going to adopt from Russia? What about all the kids in Milwaukee who need good homes?” she demanded indignantly.
Adopting Internationally: The Basics
If this is your first adoption, choose a country with a long-standing, stable adoption process, and work with an agency licensed by the U.S. and by the sending country. International adoption can be complicated enough; don’t add extra uncertainty to the process.
International Adoption Facts — What You Need to Know
Every year more American families include a child adopted from another part of the world.
“Choosing Which Country to Adopt From (Twice)”
Growing up in a mostly white, Midwestern town in the late 1970s and early 80s, watching reruns of The Donna Reed Show and Leave It to Beaver, I figured I would finish school, find a girl to marry, buy a little house with a white picket fence, and have a couple of kids who looked like me. This was the middle-class American dream, and at the time it never occurred to me that life would turn out any other way.
What Drives Intercountry Adoption?
What changes the “demand” for adopted children around the world? Are market forces to blame?
“Our First Choice”
I always knew I wanted to grow my family through adoption.
“What Plans?”
Adoption can be an unpredictable journey. We never realized just how unpredictable.
“Journey Into Our Son’s Culture”
Visiting our son in the orphanage where he lived revealed the humbling truth that he’ll leave behind a lovely way of life.