In early 2014, President Obama signed into law the Accuracy for Adoptees act, which will help remove bureaucracy and red tape for individuals who were given inaccurate birth dates in their birth countries, and their adoptive families.
What Drives Intercountry Adoption?
What changes the “demand” for adopted children around the world? Are market forces to blame?
State Adoption Laws Update, May 2015
Has your state recently changed its adoption laws? Check out AF’s condensed list here.
Proposed Law Would Make Adoption Tax Credit Refundable
A bipartisan bill seeks to make the adoption tax credit refundable, helping lower-income families.
[Book Review] In My Heart
Molly Bang’s warm, reassuring children’s book provides a tender reminder of the bond between parent and child, even when they are apart all day long. In My Heart doesn’t mention adoption, but the illustrations led my son to say, “Look, Mom! He’s adopted, like me!”
[Book Review] Telling The Truth To Your Adopted Or Foster Child: Making Sense Of The Past
Betsy Keefer Smalley and Jayne E. Schooler’s book will help parents who are struggling to find the right words to tell an adoption story in a positive and realistic way.
Foster Youth Becomes Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen
A foster youth living in a group home defied the odds to become Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen.
Improving College Graduation Rates for Foster Children
Foster children in the US graduate college at shockingly low rates. One study tries to find out why.
Cost & Timing of Adoptions in 2013-2014
Each year, Adoptive Families polls newly formed adoptive families across the country. Here are the average expenses and timelines reported by families who completed international or domestic adoptions in 2013 or 2014.
Davion’s Forever Family
The story of Davion Navar Henry Only may have finally come to an end.
View the Open Adoption Webinar Replay
View the replay of a webinar with Lori Holden to learn about open adoption and hear answers to commonly asked questions from adoptive parents.
International Adoption in 2014 at Lowest Level Since 1982
The most recent State Department figures show that the number of foreign children adopted by United States parents declined by nine percent in 2014, bringing the number to its lowest in thirty three years – only 692 adoptions from the record low of 1982. There were 6,441 international adoptions – 653 less than in 2013.…
Ohio Law Gives Adoptees Access to Birth Certificates
On Friday, Ohio became the 12th state to provide access to original birth certificates for adoptees. Hundreds of adoptees lined up at the Ohio State Department in Columbus to request copies of their state-held birth certificates, newly available thanks to a law that went into effect that day. The legislation, signed into law in 2013,…
View the Adoption Home Study Webinar Replay
View the replay of a webinar with social worker Stella Gilgur-Cook, LCSW, to learn about the adoption home study process and hear answers to commonly asked questions from prospective adoptive parents.
2015 Adoption Tax Credit Maximum Increases
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has raised the maximum adoption tax credit 2015 to $13,400, to account for inflation.
New York Considers Legalizing Compensated Surrogacy
The Child-Parent Security Act addresses the legal rights of families formed in non-traditional ways, and through compensated surrogacy.
Korean Adoptee Wins Grammy Music Educator Award
Jared Cassedy, a Korean adoptee, was awarded the second annual Grammy Music Educator title from The Recording Academy and Grammy Foundation.
View the Sound Sleep Strategies Webinar Replay
View the replay of a webinar with adoption medicine specialist Sarah Springer, M.D., FAAP, to learn why sleep problems are common in children after adoption, and get her advice and solutions.
Korean Adoptee Is a Top Yankees Prospect
Robert Refsnyder, a Korean adoptee, hopes to become the Yankees’ starting second baseman after playing in the minor leagues.
2015 Open Records Initiatives
Several states have proposed legislation that would grant adoptee rights to access their original birth certificates and other records in 2015.