Over the years, I’ve been honored to help countless families expand through adoption. One thing they all have in common is being overwhelmed with the adoption process. When you compile all the costs, legalities, and invasive requirements for adoption, it’s completely...
When performing a simple Google search, you’ll find that there aren’t too many statistics yet about the percentage of failed domestic adoptions. According to my own research, I found that about 75% of domestic adoptions are successful and only about 25% of domestic...
I was adopted at birth from Catholic Charities in Des Moines, Iowa. My birth mother was from a small town in Illinois, and was hiding her pregnancy from her parents- well actually- hiding it from all except a very small circle of sisters and best friends. She called...
When working with families looking to adopt, one of the most common and deeply held fears they have is that they’ll never be matched with expecting parents. The reality is: that’s a valid fear.They might not be matched with expecting parents. But I am a firm...
Many families come to us asking what the education requirements are for adopting. The easy answer to this question is that it depends. Here are the education requirements for the three most common avenues of adoption: Foster care adoption – The training is...
A question I get asked often is if single parents can adopt and, even more specifically, if single males can adopt. While the answer is yes, there are some limitations and particular avenues that a single parent may want to consider over others. In an earlier blog, I...
Are you considering adoption? If you’re ready to take the next steps in growing your family, the first thing to do is to prepare your home. The amount of preparation that needs to be done can quickly become overwhelming to new adoptive parents. The most...
Adoption is one of those pursuits that has, over time, developed its own language and terms to help adoptive parents understand different aspects of their adoption journey. It’s important to have clarity on what exactly some of these terms mean, and today I’d like to...
There is a lot to consider when entering into the adoption process. There are so many steps, relationships, and assumptions to consider and negotiate, and it can sometimes feel overwhelming. Today I want to focus especially on the part of the process that relates to...
Approximately 17% of the school-age population in the United States has at least one developmental disability. The parents of these children are often looking for ways to connect with and help their kids learn, grow, and engage with the world in healthy ways. Arts...