Table of Contents: Fall 2015 Issue

Features

The Big Pictures

See the nine photos that stood out from the field of more than 2,000 submitted by readers to our tenth annual Cover Photo Contest.

How to Adopt from Foster Care

Every one of the 107,918 children currently waiting in U.S. foster care deserves a stable, loving, permanent home. What about yours?

Letting Her Go: Chinese Birth Parent Search and Reunions

The first study on this topic provides fascinating insights about adoptees’ and parents’ motivations to search, search methods used, and ongoing contact.

First Person: “My Daughter’s Baby Picture”

Personal Essays

“Famous Last Words…“

During a wait that could stretch to a year or longer, what were the chances this family would be selected for a last-minute placement the one week they didn’t have back-up child care?

“Should I Play the ‘Adoption Card’?“

This high-schooler had always assumed she’d write her college application essay about adoption—but should she have to share her story for a college to want her as a student?

“The Love That Stayed“

As foster parents, you hope that the love and security you offer will stay in a child’s heart. When this mom reconnected with a boy she fostered 14 years earlier, she found that it had.

“Adoption Day“

“My nephew has been in the foster care system for most of his life—10 years, a lot of childhood. Today, 17 of us crowd into the courtroom to watch him become a permanent member of our family.”