There is a cool website for foster and adoptive families that offers adoption classes online that you can take for free. The website is Adoption Learning Partners and currently they have six different classes available.

Conspicuous Families is a 1.5 credit class Let's Talk Adoption is 2 credits The Journey of Attachment 2 credits Finding the Missing Pieces 2 credits Becoming Your Child's Best Advocate 2 credits Understanding the Adoption Tax Credit 1 credit With Eyes Wide Open Lifebooks 1.5 credits

Two more classes are supposed to be available soon: Adopting the Older... more

I know there are readers here eager to get going on the adoption process, but for various reasons you cannot begin just yet. Some of you are fund-raising. Some are still in discussions with spouses. Some maybe are waiting for other children to get a little bigger. In any case, it can be hard to feel mentally ready to get going without being able to send in that application to the adoption agency just yet. There are plenty of things you can do to make your waiting time productive.

BOOKS

First of all, make yourself a reading list of books about adoption, parenting, and Ethiopia. There are tons of great books out there. If I could only read three books,... more

Recently a reader emailed asking for guidance on deciding if adoption is right for her family. I think that the first and most important qualification for an adoptive parent is the desire simply to be a parent. I truly believe that most people with the capacity to be good parents can also be good adoptive parents. People sometimes think of adoptive parenting as some exotic kind of parenting- a tiny bit unnatural, even?

That simply isn't true. The vast majority of the activities that fill a parent's day, like brushing teeth and tying shoes and giving hugs and helping with homework and tucking in at night, are the same whether your kids were born to you or to someone else. Adoptive... more

Perhaps even more important than choosing a good homestudy agency is choosing a good agency to complete the Ethiopia part of your adoption. There are quite a few agencies out there, many with lovely websites and friendly people on the other end of the phone.

How on earth can you sort out which agencies will be able to take good care of you during a stressful adoption process, and even more importantly, be able to successfully help you get your children home?

Make a list of the questions you'll need to ask any agencies you are considering. Here are the ones that are important to me as an adoptive parent. You may have other things you would like to know about any prospective... more

I have been delaying writing on this topic for a very long time. It is an important one, and one I get many questions about. But it can be complicated.

First of all, adoptive families need to be aware that unless you choose an Ethiopian adoption agency that is physically located near your home, you will be actually working with at least two agencies, your homestudy agency, and your Ethiopia agency.

Many factors come into play when considering which agency to hire to do your homestudy.

1. Cost. Prices for a homestudy range anywhere from $1,000 to $3,500 for a homestudy. Some agencies include the post-placement visits into that cost and some don't. We paid... more

In the Beginning- I600A and Fingerprints

Fairly early in the adoption process you’ll want to pick up a copy of the I-600A. This is a BCIS form requesting advance permission to bring an orphan into the US. You can pick it up at your local immigration office--locations listed here. You can also print it off at this website. If you print it off the internet, it is a good idea to... more

Ethiopia Dossier Paperwork -- First Steps

So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and adopt from Ethiopia! If you’re like me, you’re anxious to get going. If you’ve already received your homestudy packet from your homestudy agency, you may be feeling overwhelmed at the sheer volume of items mentioned. What you do next can greatly affect the speed of your dossier assembly. Here are some tips to get you a jump start.

1.) First off, request your birth certificates, marriage licenses, and divorce decrees. You will need to request these items from the state in which each event occurred. http://www.vitalchek.com/ is one... more

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be very blessed.

I got an email from a mom excited to be beginning an adoption from Ethiopia. She had quite a few questions about the best way to move efficiently through paperwork. In response to her questions I decided to re-run a few of my posts from last winter to catch up people who may have begun reading recently and haven't had time to plow through all the archives.

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In The Beginning: Blackbelt Paper-Pushing

I have a confession to make: I am a woman possessed when I am in the midst of an adoption.... more

The other day my toddler came out to the living room clutching a little brown teddy bear. I smiled, because this was the bear that I sent to Ethiopia in her gift bag for her. And this was no ordinary bear. This little guy was equipped with a little microchip recorder.

Before I sent it off, I recorded myself singing 'Jesus loves me' to my little girl. In the months it took for me to get to her, many times I imagined the nuns at her orphanage squeezing that bear's tummy and allowing me to sing to my little girl, even though I was so far away.

Indeed, the nuns must have done just that. When I got to the orphanage, the bear was so tired from singing that my voice had... more

A few days ago I was talking with my sister and a friend, remembering the adoption process for my 4 year old. Before we decided to go with Ethiopia, we waiting on an African American baby in the US.

First we were offered babies whose birthmoms had extensive scary drug history. Then we had a long time where no birth mom picked our profile. And finally when we did get a birth mom who picked us, she changed her mind AFTER we flew across the country to go adopt the baby.

Eventually we decided that our baby must not be in the US after all. We went with Ethiopia. Our agency required that we be open to a baby up to 12 months in age. But I fantasized about being referred a... more