We are moving right along in learning our Transracial Adoption ABCs, and now we are up to the letter “J”.

There is not a whole bunch of stuff that starts with the letter “J”, but I came up with a few ideas.

JCICS - JCICS stands for “Joint Council on International Children’s Services” and it is one of the oldest and largest child welfare agencies that focuses it’s attention on intercountry children’s services.

They advocate for adoption for children in need of families, promote ethical adoption practices and standards, and provide education for adoptive parents and professionals alike.

From the JCICS website -

International child welfare agencies, child advocacy groups, parent support groups and international medical clinics choose membership in Joint Council as a means to address the critical issue of parentless children and creating permanent solutions.

For adoptive parents, the JCICS website has lots of valuable information on international adoption and loads of resources. There is a database of agencies that are members of the JCICS, information on adoption for specific countries, resources for choosing an agency and investigating agencies and much more.

There is also information on the Hague Treaty and other government issues that affect adoption.

JCICS is a wonderful resource for parents concerned about ethics in adoption.

Jewish Adoption Blog - This is not one of the Adoption.com blogs that I link to very often, but it is a wonderful resource for Jewish adoptive families (and many posts are helpful for any adoptive parent). It is very well written and has tons of great information.

Here is the link to go check out Naomi at the Jewish Adoption Blog.

Just Adopted - The period of time after you first bring home your new child can be a wild one. It is obviously a time of great excitement, joy and emotions for the adoptive parents.

It is a time of big change for the entire family, and especially for the child. It is a time of adjusting, adapting, “getting to know you”, grieving, learning, loving, bonding and again, change, for the adopted child.

Newly adopted children can have eating troubles, sleep issues, tantrums, meltdowns and many other behavioral challenges for the parents.

However, some kids do come to their new homes and settle in without a whole lot of fuss. While all kids are going to have to go through a period of adjustment, each one will handle all of the life changes differently.

It is important to remember that it is also a time of change and adjustment for the adoptive parents and for any other children in the home.

During the “just adopted” period of time, there are many unique concerns and issues for adoptive parents. I have written about sleep, eating, sibling relationships, setting limits and other topics in my “New Additions” category, which you can find here.

Adoption.com has lots of helpful information and resources for families who have just brought home a new child through adoption on their “New Parents” page, which you can find here.