e-mail
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 Child
Medical Issues in International Adoption
You’ll find course descriptions on the website. Here is what the site has to say about two of the courses.
The Journey of Attachment
Attachment is a critical component in the adoption process – and of successful relationships in general.
The course will help you:
See attachment as a lifelong mutual process
Identify the factors that promote and impede attachment
See how a child’s behavior can be a sign of attachment
Learn strategies to foster attachment
Develop a personal plan for building attachment with your child
Identify when and where to seek helpConspicuous Families
If you are involved in or considering adoption of a child of a different race or ethnicity, then Conspicuous Families: Race, Culture and Adoption is a course for you and for those who are a part of your world.
This course will help you:
Think about the prejudice and attitudes that are a part of our society.
Learn new skills for responding to hurtful and insensitive comments and model answers for your child.
Examine the diversity in your life and learn strategies for coloring your world.
Share in the wisdom and collective experiences of adopted persons and adoptive parents.
If you would like a certificate of completion or credits for the course, for example if you are a foster parent in need of continuing education, you’ll need to pay $30 per class. But otherwise these classes are completely free. I completed the Conspicuous Families course a couple years back and thought it was worthwhile. If you like to learn online in an interactive way, these courses may help you prepare to become an adoptive parent.
Wow, I haven’t ever heard of this resource. Fantastic. Thanks for sharing with us!
We did some of these for our education portion of the homestudy. I did conspicuous families, lifebooks, and with eyes wide open. I really thought they were great. Especially conspicuous families and with eyes wide open. Definitely worth the time!
mary – do you recommend any of these for people who are at the VERY early stages of just thinking and “exploring” time…?
jcn– I’ve only gone thru one of the classes myself, but I would be inclined towards either “Eyes Wide Open” or “The Journey of Attachment.” Early bonding/settling in is so very important. Not all kids will have trouble with it. But a child struggling with attachment requires specific help, and it is good for adoptive parents to understand attachment and have a plan in mind right from the start.