School, and how to handle school with a newly adopted older child is a topic that comes up frequently on email groups and adoption forums. So today, under the letter "S" in my Transracial Adoption ABCs, I am going to write about school.

School - Choosing how to educate your children is a very personal decision. There are parents who find success in quality public schools, there are parents who choose great private schools and there are parents who find homeschooling to be the perfect way to educate their children.

When... more

Adoption involves risk for adoptive parents. There are emotional risks as well as financial risks.

There are many emotions involved in choosing to adopt, and adoptive parents often start off the process feeling a combination of hopeful, nervous, excited and other emotions. Because adoption involves children, many do not look at it as "business", but adoption is a big business, and one where a lot of money changes hands.

Many adoptive parents feel vulnerable, and start the process hoping that the agency will approve them and will allow... more

If you take only one thing away from reading this blog, I hope that it will be that before you set out to adopt transracially that you research, research, research. Today in my Transracial Adoption ABCs, "R" is for research.

Research - Often times, deciding to adopt is a process. Sometimes it comes after a struggle with infertility. Sometimes it is something that the parents "have always wanted to do". Sometimes it is something one parent really wants... more

Continuing on in the letter "R" in my Transracial Adoption ABCs, I am going to write about "RAD" and "referral".

RAD - RAD stands for Reactive Attachment Disorder. RAD is a condition in which children are unable (or have a very difficult time) forming age-appropriate bonds, attachments and relationships with the people in their lives. RAD is often seen in children who have suffered through neglect and abuse, or who have had multiple changes in care givers in their early years.

Children with RAD can be extremely challenging to parent (and RAD is one of the most common causes of adoptions... more

We are up to the letter "R" in my Transracial Adoption ABCs series and today I am going to write about race.

Race - Race is a often a controversial topic. While when people use the word "race" as a way of grouping people by the color of their skin and their physical characteristics (and sometimes also by where they were born), most scientists agree that the idea of humans being broken into groups by race is merely a social construct, and... more

In my last post I wrote about questions that adoptive parents should ask. In this post, I am going to talk about the questions that adoptive parents are going to be asked.

Questions you will get - Early in your adoption process you will have to answer lots of questions. During the homestudy process, your social worker will likely ask you many of the questions that were in my last post. When you choose an adoption agency and choose a program, they... more

In my Transracial Adoption ABCs, the letter "Q" is for questions. There are lots of questions involved in adoption. For the adoptive parents, there are many questions that they should ask (both themselves and others) and there are questions that they are going to be asked. In this post, I will write about the questions that transracial adoptive parents should be asking.

Questions to ask - Deciding to adopt transracially is a big deal, and it is not a decision that should be made light-heartedly. It is one that a lot of... more

My last topic under the letter "P" in my Transracial Adoption ABCs is post-placement reports.

Post-Placement Reports - Post-placement reports are an important part of the ongoing paperwork that you must accomplish after your child is placed with you, whether through domestic adoption or through international adoption.

In the first few months that... more

"Photolistings" is the topic of this post in my Transracial Adoption ABCs.

Photolistings - A photolisting is a list (online or on paper) of pictures and brief summaries of information of children who are available for adoption. There are people out there who think photolistings are a wonderful thing and a useful tool to help find homes for waiting children, and there are people who think that photolistings are wrong and intrude on children's privacy. I have also heard from some people who say that photolistings make them uncomfortable because when they looked at a photolisting of children available... more

Continuing on in the letter "P" in my Transracial Adoption ABCs, I am going to write about parents.

Parents - While parents, both adoptive parents and birth parents, are important parts of the adoption triad, the focus of any adoption should be on the child involved. Adoption as a big picture should be about finding homes for children that need them. Adoption should only occur when it is taking a child that is a true orphan, a child that has been neglected and/or abused or a child whose parents are choosing to place that child for adoption because that is what they feel is best for their child,... more