Some of the subjects discussed include new adoption opportunities, reaching the decision to adopt, finding a child, transracial and international adoption, independent adoptions versus agencies, adoption by single parents, adoption and the law, and what to do after adoption. An extensive reference section lists citizen adoption groups in each state, family planning resources, counseling services available for adoptive parents, federal and state laws on adoption—both in existence and pending—international agencies and their specific requirements, and a bibliography of books available for reading both before adoption and in the family afterward.

Information in the chapter on the decision to adopt will help parents evaluate their motivations and prepare them for the whole procedure. Special attention is given to homestudies carried out by agencies with prospective parents. Agency procedures and attitudes are explored in detail. Information about adoption and the law includes tax guidelines for adoptive parents.

The Adoption Adviser is a comprehensive, convenient source of information on all aspects of adoption. It is an invaluable aid to everyone involved in this important process.

About the Author: Joan McNamara, who lives in Ossining, New York, is well qualified to write this book. She and her husband have three adopted children and one biological child. She is an assistant director of Operation Outreach and is affiliated and has worked with several national organizations dealing with adoption and its problems.

Compiler’s Note: The posthumously published 1987 revised edition updates the original book with then-current information.

About the Author: Rita Laws is the co-author of Adopting and Advocating for the Special Needs Child (Bergin & Garvey, 1997) and has written hundreds of articles on adopting and parenting. She is a NACAC State Representative. She and her nine sons and two daughters by birth and adoption live in Oklahoma.

Tim O’Hanlon is a former adoption assistance policy specialist and is the author of Accessing Federal Adoption Subsidies After Legalization (1995). Dr. O’Hanlon maintains an adoption advocacy Web site called the “Adoption Policy Resource Center.”

The book addresses such questions as:

• How does an adopted child become a Jew according to Jewish Law?

• How do Jewish adoptees feel upon finding Jewish, or non-Jewish birth parents?

• How are transcultural and transracial adoptees faring in Jewish families?

• How does the Jewish community address the challenges of being a gay or lesbian adoptive parent? A single parent?

Beginning with a chapter on Jewish laws concerning adoption, the book examines the latest medical, psychological, social, and religious wisdom on raising a Jewish adopted child. The author conducted over 100 interviews with those involved in the adoption process, talking to birth parents, adoptive parents, rabbis, social workers, psychologists, and of course, the adoptees themselves.

Adoption and the Jewish Family is an invaluable resource for those families affected by adoption or considering it.

Includes up-to-date listings of resources and organizations to guide the Jewish adoptive family.

About the Author: , an adoptive parent, is a special needs consultant in the Philadelphia Jewish community, and has conducted numerous adoption workshops for parents and educators.

Adoption and the Schools: Resources for Parents and Teachers is a complete guide to understanding the dilemmas faced by adopted children in the school setting. It offers insights into the experiences of young people who are faced with assignments, activities and occasions which make participation difficult or painful simply because of the way they joined their family. Suggestions for expanding assignments, including adoption in every day classroom activities, and honoring differences in children and families are included.

From pre-school through high school, adopted children’s understanding of adoption and the way it is perceived by teachers and classmates shapes their concept of who they are in the world. The book is written to help parents and teachers increase adoption awareness and sensitivity in the school community. Teachers will be able to explore both the impact of adoption on the children they teach and their own influence on the way the adopted child experiences school. Parents will learn more about the impact of adoption on their children’s education and how to educate the educators about adoption. Contributors include experienced parents, professionals, and the students themselves. Their drawings, poems and stories enliven the material and remind us that teaching and parenting is, after all, about the children Recommended for pre-school, elementary and middle school situations.

This book answers these questions and many more:

• How do I decide whether to adopt?

• Can I adopt my stepchild?

• Should I have an open or closed adoption?

• How do I adopt a child from another country?

• What is a home study, and what is the best way to prepare for one?

• What problems might I encounter in the adoption process?

• How much does it cost to adopt a child?

• Once I adopt a child, can the biological parent change his or her mind?

Whether you are thinking about adoption or have already started the process, The Adoption Answer Book has the information you need to reach your dream.

About the Author: Brette McWhorter Sember, received her J.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and practiced in New York state before retiring to become a writer. She is the author of more than thirty books, including How to Parent with Your Ex: Working Together for Your Child’s Best Interest, The Infertility Answer Book, Gay & Lesbian Parenting Choices, Your Plus-Size Pregnancy, Your Practical Pregnancy, The Divorce Organizer & Planner, No-Fight Divorce and many more. She is a member of ASJA (American Society of Journalist and Authors) and AHCJ (Association of Health Care Journalists). She is the recipient of the 1999 Media Award from Family and Home Network (formerly Mothers at Home).

Sember has extensive training in cases involving children and was on the Law Guardian panel in three counties. Her practice included adoptions, which she found to be the happiest cases to take place in Family Court. She is also a trained family mediator and is experienced in a wide variety of family issues. Children have always been her main focus throughout her career. Sember currently provides services as a custody coach, providing support, information, and assistance to parents going through custody cases.

Sember writes and speaks often about children and family. Her work has appeared in over 170 magazines including Conceive, Pregnancy, ePregnancy, Fit Pregnancy, American Baby, Single Mother Magazine, and many others. She is the mother of two children.

By the Same Author: The Complete Adoption and Fertility Legal Guide (2004); The Infertility Answer Book: The Complete Guide to Your Family-Building Choices with Fertility and other Assisted Reproduction Technologies (2005); Gay and Lesbian Parenting Choices: From Adopting or Using a Surrogate to Choosing the Perfect Father (2006, Career Press); Unmarried with Children: The Complete Guide for Unmarried Families (2008, Adams Media); and The Everything Parent’s Guide to Raising Your Adopted Child: A Complete Handbook to Welcoming Your Adopted Child Into Your Heart and Home (with Corrie Lynn Player & Mary C Owen; 2008, Adams Media).

Exploring what Scripture says about adoption and the value of children, Michelle Gardner demonstrates that adoption can be God’s fist choice for some lives. Weaving her own children’s heartwarming adoption stories throughout the book, Michelle presents a new challenge for believers to do something drastic for a child.

Adoption as a Ministry, Adoption as a Blessing explores:

• what the Bible says about ministering to children in need of families;

• how the church can minister to adoptive families;

• whether it is right to spend a great deal of money on one child’s adoption;

• whether domestic or international adoptions are more worthy; and

• the blessings of adoption.

If you are touched by adoption in any way, this book will give you a new perspective on the Biblical significance of this unique relationship.

About the Author: Michelle Gardner, the Director of Kingdom Kids Adoption Ministries, is a graduate of Multnomah Bible College. She and her husband Steve were missionaries with CBInternational for several years. Steve is now Pastor to Children and Families at Fourth Memorial Church in Spokane, Washington. They have six children, three of whom are adopted.

By the Same Author: After the Dream Comes True: Post-Adoption Support for Christian Families (2004).

Adoption isn’t for everyone and this book offers practical guidelines for assessing one’s motivations for adopting and parenting. There is sound advice for coping with social agencies who move slowly (or too fast), or who are reluctant to pass on vital information to adoptive parents.

The world of the adoptee is explored with sensitivity and thoroughness. There is a detailed discussion of search and the right of individuals to know their histories.

Ruth Felker Kolb, a lawyer with special interest in family law, has contributed an easy-to-read-and-understand chapter on the legal aspects of adoption.

A carefully selected and annotated bibliography closes this up-to-date and comprehensive book for Christians who are thinking about adopting a child.

Donald W. Felker is Dean of School of Consumer and Family Sciences at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He is a graduate of Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, and received his Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Evelyn H. Felker is a writer, lecturer, and workshop leader. She received her M.E. in parent education from Purdue University.

Other Books by Evelyn H. Felker: Foster Parenting Young Children: Guidelines from a Foster Parent (1974, CWLA) and Raising Other People’s Kids: Successful Child-Rearing in the Restructured Family (1981, Wm B Eerdmans Publishing Co.).

• How and when to tell your child their adoption story;

• Common fears children have about adoption;

• Advice on sharing particularly difficult information with your child;

• Useful conversation techniques, including naming and identifying feelings;

• How to make a memory book or life story book;

• How to help your child deal with adoption-related grief, sadness and anger;

• How to respond to questions from your child, family and friends, and others in your community.

The author also draws on the experiences of other adoptive parents, who provide a rich resource of case stories, scenarios, experiences and conversations. This invaluable guide contains many practical tips and will give adoptive parents the confidence with which to help children come to terms with their adoption-related grief and discuss the known (or unknown) aspects of their adopted child’s past.

By the Same Author: More Adoption Conversations: What, When and How to Tell (2010) and Healing for Adults Who Grew Up in Adoption or Foster Care: Positive Strategies for Overcoming Emotional Challenges (2015, Jessica Kingsley Publishers).

Have you been thinking about adoption without thinking it through?

It’s easy to plunge right into the many details involved with adoption. First, though, it’s a great idea to step back and take a broader view. How will adopting a child affect your daily life? Your family? Your emotional life?

Laura Christianson—an adoption educator and mentor, and an adoptive mom herself—brings her real-life experience and savvy to help you consider the key issues. You or someone close to you, may have unspoken feelings or crucial questions about...

• loving an adopted child

• extended family’s reaction

• expenses

• openness in adoption

• the role of birth parents

• medical challenges

• emotional/behavioral issues

• racial and cultural prejudices

About the Author: Laura Christianson, a writer, speaker, and adoptive mom, helps people thing through adoption issues on her award-winning “Exploring Adoption” blog. She is also the author of The Adoption Network and writes for numerous publications. She and her family live in Washington state.

This is a true story of an adoption—a story that follows Maria’s and Rob’s adoption of a two-year-old child. Spanning almost four years, this enthralling diary chronicles the highs and lows along the way, until the approved adopters become parents for the very first time.

We follow the story from the heartbreak of infertility to the excitement and anxiety of preparation groups and meetings with social workers, to the moment when the couple first meet Peter, the child who will become their son. But the practicalities of adopting a child who lives over 200 miles away cause strain for everyone, and other, more serious, problems are soon apparent...

This is an inspirational story of one couple’s emotional journey to become a family, which gives a fascinating insight into adoption in Britain today.

About the Author: Maria James was born in Sussex in 1965. She is married to Rob and they live in South East England with their son and three dogs. This is her first book. She is currently working on a novel.

About the Author: In March of 1962, Marcy Oliver-Rehorn was placed in the arms of her adoptive parents. Having already given birth to three sons, and unable to carry another baby to term, they had chosen the path of adoption to fulfill their dream of parenting a girl.

Thirty-three years later, almost to the day, Marcy herself became an adoptive parent. After many disappointments and heartaches while searching for a child, the long wait was finally over. Marcy’s son was placed in her arms on March 9, 1995, and her daughter arrived four months later. Two miraculous events that changed her life forever. The dream of parenting children, that she had been envisioning and longing for, had finally come true.

From that point on, having come full circle from being adopted to being an adoptive parent, she know her life’s work. From these experiences, her passion and dedication is directed towards those individuals who choose the path of adoption. The Adoption Directory is one of the many manifestations in her labor of love. Marcy and her two children live on the central coast of California.

About the Author: Jean K. Douglas is 1st Place Winner! 2006 Royal Palm Literary Award for Why I Left the Church, Why I Came Back, and Why I Just Might Leave Again: Memories of Growing Up African American and Catholic.

The book’s aim is to inform and enlighten professionals, adopters, potential adopters and all those whose lives have in some way been touched by adoption or want to know more about it. In 16 chapters it includes more than 70 real life stories which are all told from the heart sometimes in a moment of crisis and sometimes at a time of joy. They are not analysed, they are true stories about how it feels to be at the centre of adoption. Recounted over the past 10 years, they are reflective of adoption today in Britain.

About the Author: Ann Morris is a journalist, magazine editor and media consultant, and has written a wide range of articles on adoption.

What to expect every step of the way when adopting a child.

Are you ready to adopt? This reassuring guide walks you through the process, from choosing the right form of adoption and finding an agency to filling out forms, meeting with birth parents, and getting through the waiting period. You get tips on surviving the home study, dealing with family members, and sharing the adoption story with your child.

The Dummies Way: Explanations in plain English; “Get in, get out” information; Icons and other navigational aids; Tear-out cheat sheet; Top-ten lists; A dash of humor and fun.

About the Author: Tracy Barr has been a part of the Dummies phenomenon for almost a decade. In that time, she has served as editor, editorial manager, writer, and consultant to the folks who write and edit For Dummies books. Most recently, she helped write World War II For Dummies with Keith D, Dickson, Latin For Dummies with Clifford Hull and Steven Perkins, and Religion For Dummies with Rabbi Marc Gellman and Monsignor Thomas Hartman. Her most challenging and rewarding role, however, is a personal one. She built her family through adoption and is the mother of four rambunctiously wonderful children. Her personal experience with adoption did not begin with her own children, however, but with her family of origin, which itself was built through adoption. As one of six children in an interracial family and as an adoptive mother, she is well aware of the issues that adoptees and their parents face.

Katrina Carlisle, BSW, LSW, is currently the executive director of Coleman Adoption Services, Inc., in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her duties include providing direct services to birthparents prior to placement and post-placement, conducting home studies and post-placement supervision visits for adoptive parents, providing search and reunion services for adult adoptees and birthparents, and leading transracial adoption seminars and other types of community education. She has three years of experience as a social worker in adoption and child welfare agencies. Two of her four children were adopted.