The Adoption Resource Guide

Geographical listing by states of agencies licensed as of October 1989, to provide adoption services. Entries give such information as program description, cost, waiting period, requirements, procedure, and description of children for placement. Appendixes cover information about private agencies, agencies providing nationwide services, national regional exchange programs, additional agencies, and national child welfare and triad support organizations.

For the millions of couples who are unable to conceive a child but are unwilling to give up their dreams of parenthood, Adamec has written an indispensable, thoroughly researched guidebook that takes readers step-by-step through the adoption process and provides all the information needed to make empowered choices about lawyers, agencies, and more.

This comprehensive, accessible guide leads you with confidence through every decision you'll have to make during the adoption process -- including the ones that you'd never know to expect. So you've made the decision to adopt. What's next? For starters, how do you know whether domestic or international adoption is right for you? (And what are the real differences between the two?) Adoption insider Elizabeth Swire Falker answers these questions and many more. As an attorney who practices in the area of adoption and has worked with hundreds of families, and as an adoptive parent herself, she offers expert advice on each stage of the process. Complete with checklists, tips, sidebars, and plenty of advice, it shows you how to: Identify which adoption experts you do and don't need Find the right birth mother or choose the right country for your family-and how to spot red flags in potential situations Select an attorney or agency and prepare for your home visit Finance an adoption on a budget, manage the red tape, and get around the roadblocks Navigate all of the complex emotions that surface along the way With Elizabeth Swire Falker's warm yet been-there-done-that voice, The Insider's Guide to Adoption is sure to become a tried-and-true resource for adoptive parents everywhere.

A consistent adoption bestseller since the publication of the first edition, The Adoption Resource Book contains all the information a couple or individual needs to investigate adoption alternatives and arrange for and complete a successful adoption. An essential guide for anyone considering adoption.

The process of adoption - be it an open or a closed adoption, domestic or international - is seldom simple, short, or standardized. It can often take many years of frustrating and expensive searching before parents can bring an infant or child home, and once they do, they face a whole new set of challenges as they learn together to be a family. The Unofficial Guide to Adopting a Child gives prospective adoptive parents the inside scoop on: * How long it will really take to adopt, and how much it will cost * What the challelnges are for single people, older couples, and gay lesbian couples seeking to adopt * What the all-important home study entails -- from writing the autobiographical statement to creating a child-friendly atmosphere * What questions to ask agency personnel and birth parents -- and what questions to refuse to answer

Addresses questions and concerns of prospective single adoptive parents, and provides information on transracial and international adoption and the rights of gays and lesbians to adopt.