May 20, 2013
Monday’s Adoption News Round-up!
Lots of news happening out there! Not only has France made same-sex adoption legal, but Portugal is on that path as well. This week, in particular, there are some very powerful op-eds being written, a few of which we’ve shared here. Enjoy!
RIA Novosti has published an article discussing the actions of a group of adoptive parents who have gone to Washington to present a solution to the adoption ban in Russian. Although there is a great deal of speculation about the political reasons the ban came into play, the oft-cited reason from the Russian government is that Russian children are not safe in the care of American parents. Paying homage to this, the plan calls for increased post-adoption reporting, greater access to adopted children for the Russian Federation and increased post-adoption education for adoptive parents. This is a devastating situation, as around 300 adoptive parents had their adoptions halted when the ban went into action.
MLJ Adoptions penned an interesting article about the support adoptive parents need while they’re traveling. While some may not have to go far to bring home their new baby, some adoptive parents are traveling across the country – or even out of the country – and having to stay for weeks as their adoption process is finalized. This is a time where you and your family need structure the most, and the article shares some incredibly helpful ways for adoptive parents to create comfortable environments for themselves and to seek support, even if they’re far away from home.
This is a very interesting piece on the adoption blog Scary Mommy, written by a mother who adopted a five year-old child and then made the decision to have him re-placed with another family after the five year-old physically harmed her baby. Instances of this are extremely contentious in the adoption world, and we understand why – but Stacey, the adoptive mother, makes some very strong points about not judging mothers who, in public, appear to be “bad mothers.” We encourage checking this article out – it’s always important to hear every side of the story, and whether or not you agree with her decision, her honest, riveting piece is no doubt an important one to read.
There’s a great opinion piece in US News about how the government needs to get involved with all of these children who are left in the system’s limbo, particularly in international adoption. Bills are being proposed to the Senate and the hope is that they get more serious about “communicating to the State Department bureaucracy that children – whether they are part of an international adoption, are being trafficked into the sex trade or have been abducted from the United States by non-custodial parents or guardians and need to be brought back home – are now a priority.” Amen to that.
Are you thinking about adopting a child with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), or have you adopted a child that unknowingly had it, and you’re looking for more information about ways to deal with it? This is a great video produced by the Chicago Adoption Center that shares symptoms, answers questions from prospective parents, and provides general knowledge and information about what FAS is and how it affects your child. Without medical histories, it can be difficult for adoptive families to know what their child was exposed to, so films providing information like this are of particular importance to adoptive families.