Tag Archives: foster adoption

Prospective Parents’ Health Status: What Effect on Chances of Adoption?

A reader recently asked two excellent questions about persons with serious health conditions adopting. I am paraphrasing the essence of her questions here, as I understand them. 1) Are agencies really allowed to ask about all this? What about health privacy laws? Most, if not all, of the forms I’ve seen will ask this question. (As well as questions about your debts, your marital communication, amount in your bank account, how you get along with your parents and many other things that wouldn’t be legal in a job interview, at least not in the U.S.) 2)Does having a serious medical … Continue reading →

Types of Adoption Part Two: Adoption From the Child Welfare System

There are three main types of adoption: domestic U.S. infant adoption, adoption from foster care/state welfare agencies, and international adoption. Adoption through the child welfare system also involves completing a homestudy. The homestudy is circulated among caseworkers looking for families for children. Information about children who are waiting for adoption is also often available through photolistings or directories sometimes called “blue books” which give a basic synopsis of the child’s age, situation, and needs. These are generally children who are in foster care. When a match is made, there is usually a period of transition when the child begins to … Continue reading →

Changing Your Child’s Name

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A common question I hear among families that are adopting an older child is; should they change their child’s name? I believe there is a degree of claiming that happens upon naming your child, therefore there are some benefits. Some children who have been adopted feel like their entire original identity has been removed from them when their name is changed. So it’s important to consider the big picture when making such a decision. Our first son came to us at 13 mo. For his safety, his name needed to be changed. We slowly changed his name, first by calling … Continue reading →

The Call for a Sibling

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I was warned that it would happen, and eventually it did! When our oldest son came to us, he was the sixth baby born to his birth mother. We figured our second child would be a biological sibling of our son’s as a result. Years passed and we hadn’t been called about any new baby. So, after our son’s adoption finalized, we decided to go ahead and just try to adopt a child through our state. A couple months after getting our home recertified, we got a call about a little boy who needed a new foster home. We were … Continue reading →