International Adoption

Where to start:

• Check out the following Creating a Family radio shows:

  • May 15, 2013: Talking About Adoption at Different Ages and Developmental Stages (Listen Now)
  • February 26, 2013: Documentary on International Adoption-"Stuck" (Listen Now)
  • February 13, 2013: Latest Research on the Mental Health of Adopted Children (Listen Now)
  • January 16, 2013: Sexual Development in Adopted Children (Listen Now)
  • December 12, 2012: Moving from Infertilty Treatment to Adoption (Listen Now)
  • December 5, 2012: Evaluating Special Needs to See Which One is a Good Fit (Listen Now)
  • November 7, 2012: Promoting Attachment with Your Child While In Country (Listen Now)
  • October 10, 2012: Adopting Internationally as an American Living Abroad (Listen Now)
  • September 5, 2012: Preparing Children for Adoption (Listen Now)
  • August 15, 2012: When Adoption Disruption/Dissolution Becomes Inevitable (Listen Now)
  • June 27, 2012: The Faith Community and Adoption (Listen Now)

  • June 6, 2012: Language Development in Internationally Adopted Children (Listen Now)

  • May 16, 2012: Feeding Issues and Nutrition in Adoption (Listen Now)

  • April 3, 2012: Developing Attachment in Adoptive Families (Listen Now)

  • March 7, 2012: What Adoptive Parents Need to Know about the Primal Wound Theory (Listen Now)

  • February 1, 2012: Preparing Children for the Adoption of a Sibling & Integrating Adopted and Biological Kids Post-Adoption (Listen Now)

  • January 11, 2012: Talking with Your Kids about the Hard Issues with Adoption (Rape, Drugs, Prison, Corruption, Etc.) (Listen Now)

  • January 4, 2012: Adoption Options: What Type of Adoption is Best for You? (Listen Now)

  • December 28, 2011: What do We Mean by “Special Needs” Adoption and Should You Consider this Option? (Listen Now)

  • November 23, 2011: Is Genetics or the Environment Most Important in Determining Who Our Kids Will Be? (Listen Now)

  • November 9, 2011: Adopting from Russia Under the New Bilateral Agreement (Listen Now)

  • November 2, 2011: Preparing Your Extended Family When Adopting a Child (Listen Now)

  • August 3, 2011: Adopting US Children While Living Abroad (Listen Now)

  • June 8, 2011: Adopting from Latin America or Adopting a Latino Child Domestically

  • June 1, 2011: How to Adopt From Africa

  • May 3, 2011: Conversation with Melissa Fay Greene: No Biking in the House (Listen Now)

  • April 6, 2011: Adoption or Infertility Treatment After Cancer (Listen Now)

  • March 30, 2011: Birth Mother Panel Answers Questions from Adoptive Parents (Listen Now)

  • January 5, 2011: Deciding on a Country When Choosing International Adoption (Listen Now)

  • October 28, 2010: Adopting a Child from Ethiopia (Listen Now)

  • October 13, 2010: Homeland Tours(Listen Now)

  • September 29, 2010: The Adoption Home Study: What to Expect and How to Prepare (Listen Now)

  • August 25, 2010: Adoption Disruptions and Dissolutions (Listen Now)

  • May 12, 2010: Happily Ever After? Unexpected Stresses of Newly Adoptive Families (Listen Now)

  • April 21, 2010: What is Happening with Russian Adoptions/Raising a Child with Attachment Issues

  • April 7, 2010: Panel Discussion with Adult Transracial Adoptees (Listen Now)

  • November 11, 2009: Adopting From South Korea

  • September 23, 2009: Adopting from Africa

  • August 5, 2009: Beyond Culture Camps: How to Help Internationally Adopted Kids Develop Cultural Identity (Listen Now)

  • July 29, 2009: Future of International Adoptions from China

  • June 10, 2009: How to Talk with Kids about Adoption (Listen Now)

  • June 3, 2009: Becoming a Multicultural/Transracial Family Through Adoption (Listen Now)

  • May 13, 2009: Guatemala One Year Later and what the future holds

  • April 1, 2009: Corruption in International Adoption

  • February 4, 2009: Should You Accept This Referral or Birth Mother Match?

  • November 26, 2008: How Children Process Adoption at Different Ages

  • October 21, 2008: Panel of Adult Transracially Adoptee

  • August 27, 2008: Adopting for Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, and surrounding Countries

  • June 18, 2008: The Status of International Adoption Around the World

  • June 11, 2008: No-Cry Sleep Solution (Listen Now)

  • March 19, 2008: Adoption 101

  • January 2, 2008: Raising Adopted Kids (Listen Now)
  • December 5, 2007: Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew (Listen Now)

  • November 7, 2007: Answers to common questions at the very beginning of the adoption journey

  • October 12, 2007: Open Forum on International Adoption

• Creating a Family Videos:

  • Future of International Adoptions From China (10 minutes)

  • Adopting a Child with Special Needs from China (10 minutes)

  • Cultural Identity and The Internationally Adopted Child (10 minutes)

  • Adopting from Ethiopia and Other African Countries (9 minutes)

  • Adopting From South Korea (8 minutes)

• Other Creating a Family Resources:

  • Tips for Preparing Children for Adoption

  • Comparison charts for the 25 factors to consider when choosing a country to adopt from

  • Chart comparing domestic, international and foster care adoption

  • Form for Comparing agency cost

  • Questions to Ask Your Child’s Caregiver

  • Creating a Family's Adoption Blogs page

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General Information and Resources on International Adoption:

• Interview by Insider Secrets with Dawn Davenport on adopting a child from China
• The Complete Book of International Adoption: A Step by Step Guide to Finding Your Child by Dawn Davenport (Yours Truly)
• The US State Department has a beginners fact sheet on international adoption and it is FREE.
• Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start? I’m all about free info and this is one of the best. It’s fairly general so it is not the only thing you’ll need to read, but it’s thorough and up to date (published in 2009). This does a good job of explaining the differences between adopting from a country that is a member of the Hague Treaty on Intercountry Adoption.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a guide for pediatricians and adoptive parents on what type of medical care, evaluations, and tests should internationally adopted children receive when they first arrive home. Comprehensive Health Evaluation of the Newly Adopted Child (Dec. 26, 2011).
• Our tax dollars have never been put to better use than with the Child Welfare Information Gateway. They have done it again with another handy and concise fact sheet for parents. Intercountry Adoption from Hague Convention and Non-Hague Convention Countries. (2009) This fact sheet includes a great chart comparing adoptions from Hague and non-Hague countries.
• Arthur: Big Brother Binky is a fantastic DVD on international adoption. Arthur's best friend, Binky, is about to become a big brother. His parents are adopting a baby from China. I just love this DVD.

• International Adoption Research Findings provides a brief summary of the results of some of the research on international adoptions. It includes research on Motor Functioning, Attachment, Physical Growth, Speech & Language, Indiscriminate Friendliness, Cognitive Functioning, and Psychological Adjustment. Although this is only a glimpse into the research, it makes for a good starting place. For a more detailed summary of current adoption research, go to the Adoption Research page of this website.

• Jewish Adoptive Families Looking Forward to Second Camp Outing is an article that relates on how Jewish families handle religion with their adoptive kids.

• State Laws on Adoption: Summary of State laws addressing "State Recognition of Intercountry Adoptions Finalized Abroad" at Child Welfare Information Gateway

• Adopting While Abroad offers information and resources for expats who want to adopt.
• EMK Press has a great new guide titled, Realistic Expectations: The First Year Home. It has a variety of articles that were complied as a great starting point for your education as a new adoptive parent.
• Unveiling the Adoption Process, tells the stories of 7 families as they adopted a total of 12 children. It includes not only details of the process, but also sections outlining what each family did right and what they would do differently if they adopted again. Each chapter also contains information about family and friends' reactions to their decision to adopt.
• Mom at Last.com has several good articles in their category called International Adoption.
• Cultural Identity:
  • My Quest for Cultural Identity by Dawn Davenport
  • What's My Heritage? International adoptions and the culture debate by Martha Nichol in the magazine Brain, Child
• "Adoptees Do Not Lack Self-Esteem: A Meta-Analysis of Studies on Self-Esteem of Transracial, International, and Domestic Adoptees" - study states, "there are no differences in self-esteem between adopted and nonadopted children and no differences in self-esteem between transracial and same-race adopted children." Psychological Bulletin, 2007
• The Wayfarer (Ethiopian Adoption resource blog) - Great information for families adopting from Ethiopia.

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Creating a Family Sponsors With International Adoption Programs

Creating a Family is a nonprofit, and as such, we are dependent on the support of our audience and the professional community for support. The following agencies have chosen to support us and their support allows us to bring you all our resources and radio show/podcast. We truly couldn't do it without them.

• Adoptions from the Heart

• Nightlight Christian Adoptions with programs in Bulgaria, China (and China Special Needs), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Russia, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uganda, United Kingdom
  

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