by Jennifer Hall | Nov 17, 2017 | Adoption
Typically celebrated on the Saturday before the week of Thanksgiving, National Adoption Day is designed to raise awareness of the more than 110,000 children in foster care throughout the U.S. who are waiting to find permanent and loving families. National Adoption Day...
by Jennifer Hall | Nov 9, 2017 | step parent adoptions
Stepparent adoptions are a beautiful expression of love and commitment. They are the most common form of adoption. They are often motivated by the desire to unify the family’s last name and for the parent/child relationship to be formally recognized. Many of the other...
by Jennifer Hall | Nov 1, 2017 | Adoption
Adoption has been a common practice among people in a wide variety of cultures throughout the world for thousands of years. But its history in the U.S. is much more recent. While individual and “unrecognized” cases of adoption likely occurred much earlier in the...
by Jennifer Hall | Oct 25, 2017 | Adoption
When there’s an adoption plan for an infant, usually the birth mother will sign a Power of Attorney allowing the prospective adoptive parent(s) to care for the child, access medical records, and make medical decisions. If the child is born premature, the birth mother...
by Jennifer Hall | Oct 12, 2017 | Adoption
No adoption is without risk. Every family considering adoption must consider the level of risk they are able to tolerate. If you are not factoring in the rights of the legal, biological, and/or putative father(s), you are not accurately assessing the risk involved....
by Jennifer Hall | Oct 4, 2017 | Adoption, adult adoption
Adult adoptions are the quintessential act of love and commitment. There is nothing necessary about them. Families (or families of choice) can demonstrate their feelings through their words and actions and account for their loved ones in their wills. Adult adoptions...
by Jennifer Hall | Sep 19, 2017 | Adoption
Adoption is an extremely sensitive matter for families. And when it comes to sensitive issues, it’s important to be aware of word choice and usage, especially around children. Unfortunately, many words that are commonly used to describe virtually every aspect of the...
by Jennifer Hall | Sep 14, 2017 | Adoption
Every family that considers adoption goes through a discernment process to explore their comfort with and capacity for caring for a child with special needs. Some families feel called to adopt a child with disabilities. If you adopt through an agency or foster care,...
by Jennifer Hall | Aug 28, 2017 | Adoption
The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is a uniform law that has been enacted in every State in the United States. The purpose of the Compact is to keep up with vulnerable children that are traveling from one State to another for purposes of foster...
by Jennifer Hall | Jul 19, 2017 | Adoption
When children get new siblings, it can be simultaneously joyful, confusing, and even frightening for them—especially if they were used to being the sole focus of their parents’ attention. A child may react in a variety of different ways when a new child is added to...
