For adoptive parents: The first phone call with a birth mother, who is considering adoption and placing her baby with you, can be somewhat nerve-racking! However, many birth mothers share the same fears as you when it comes to this initial conversation. Putting yourself in the birth mother’s shoes and having empathy towards what she …Read More about Tips to Consider for Your First Conversation with…
If you are looking to adopt a child, you will quickly learn that there are many different organizations to assist you with this process. But how do you know which adoption professional is best for you and your needs? Here are several important questions to ask before hiring an adoption professional: What is the average …Read More about 10 Things to Know Before Hiring an Adoption…
AdoptHelp welcomes anyone who wants to become a parent and we don’t have age restrictions within our program. AdoptHelp believes that this is may be the best time for single parents to adopt domestically. Statistics reveal that nearly one-quarter of children are growing up in single-parent households, while almost 25% of adoptions are single-parent adoptions. …Read More about What You Should Know About Single Parent Adoption
As birthmothers working with AdoptHelp to place our children in the loving arms of another, we are a unique group of women. We come from different places with different backgrounds and different lifestyles. We are different in many respects yet each share one common dream. We want the miracle we created to be loved and …Read More about A Birth Mother’s Point Of View
Choosing the right adoption attorney, agency, or facilitator is a critical first step in creating your adoption plan. The following is a list of questions I have created to assist prospective adoptive parents with their investigation. I recommend that you fully research and interview the professionals you seek to hire and be sure not to …Read More about Questions For Adoptive Parents To Ask When Interviewing…
Did you know that your employer may have an adoption benefit program to help you with the costs of your adoption? Indeed, in an effort to offer competitive employee benefits, more and more companies are implementing employee adoption benefit programs to help their employees defray adoption costs. Employer-based adoption benefit programs take different forms. Typical …Read More about Employer Adoption Benefit Programs and the Federal Family…
The federal Indian Child Welfare Act (“ICWA”) is an important law that needs to be considered and evaluated in every domestic adoption. The ICWA was passed by the United States Congress more than 30 years ago and is codified in 25 U.S.C. 1901 et seq. California codified ICWA in its Family Code and Welfare and …Read More about What You Should Know About The Federal “Indian…
I have fielded many questions from adopting parents regarding the procedures to obtain a passport for their adopted child (U.S.-born only) when they are in the process of adopting or shortly after their adoption has been “finalized” but prior to receiving the child’s amended birth certificate. The good news is that prospective adoptive parents can …Read More about How to Obtain a Passport for the Child…
In 2007, the National Survey of Adopted Parents (NSAP) published a nationally representative survey measuring a variety of attributes related to adoption and adopted children in the United States. The study focused on the personality characteristics of adopted children, general adoption experiences, and the well-being of adopted children and their families. Overall, the study found …Read More about Study of Adopted Children Shows They Thrive
Studies show that healthy and positive sibling relationships lead to many benefits that help children develop and mature in unique and important ways. These benefits include, increased ability to make and maintain friendships, increased ability to get along with people from different backgrounds, increased ability to comfort and help others, and increased emotional awareness. In …Read More about Positive Effects of Sibling Relationships Remain Strong Between…
Adoptive parents can be reassured that under federal and California law, their health insurance plan must treat an adoptive child the same as a “natural” child and must provide coverage at the time the adoptive child is legally placed in their custody prior to finalization of the adoption. Section 609(c) of the Employee Retirement Income …Read More about Federal And State Law Require Health Care Insurers…
In order to obtain a Social Security number for your adopted child, your adoption must be finalized and the court must sign a final order of adoption or adoption decree. If the adoption is finalized in California, the final order is called an Adoption Order. The Social Security office requires you to bring proof of …Read More about How to obtain Social Security Card