The Private Adoption Handbook

Private adoption--the process by which a couple legally adopts a baby directly from the birth parents--accounts for more than half the adoptions in the U.S. in the last decade. In this supportive guide, the authors dispel the myths and misconceptions that surround the process in order to help childless couples achieve their dream quickly and confidently.

THE INDEPENDENT ADOPTION MANUAL, a 400-page, reader-friendly, how-to book, is the most comprehensive, up-to-date book on independent adoption. This book demonstrates how a couple can adopt an infant in about one year without spending a fortune. The book covers the following topics: choosing an adoption attorney, the legal process, the home study process (including sample home studies), identified agency adoptions, finding a birth mother, & dealing with birth families. This book also covers medical issues including dealing with obstetricians & hospital personnel. Also extensively covered is prenatal exposure to drugs & alcohol & ways a couple can decide if they should go through with an adoption when health risks/problems are involved. Nearly every adoption professional will find the extensive resource lists a great benefit. The references include 700 newspapers that accept adoption ads, plus 3,000 newspapers that are part of statewide networks that run adoption ads; 200 adoption attorneys; & the names, addresses, & telephone numbers for each state's Adoption Specialist, Bar Association & Interstate Compact Personnel. Each state's adoption laws are outlined in a question & answer format. To order call The AdvocatePress at (908) 363-7600 or write to First State Bank Building, 555 Madison Ave., Lakewood, NJ 08701.

For anyone involved in, or thinking about, adopting a child from abroad, The International Adoption Handbook is an essential guide. The process of international adoption can sometimes seem complex, frustrating, and endless. This step-by-step guide, which provides the necessary hard facts and information — as well as support through the experiences of the author and others — will help smooth the way. After a general discussion of who may adopt and what restrictions may apply, the book goes into the nitty-gritty of what the process entails: choosing where to adopt and how to go about it; using an agency or facilitator; initiating the home study; assembling a dossier; working with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service; knowing the topes of expenses that can be anticipated; and many other issues. In addition, the book provides up-to-date information on resources, including what is available today on the Internet, information that was previously difficult for adoptive parents to find out on their own. Equally informative are the author's interviews of a number of adoptive families whose stories are interspersed throughout the book. By sharing their experiences, they help to make the process work for others.

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.

Your dream of being a parent can come true. The Complete Adoption Book is your indispensable resource along the way. Whether you choose to pursue independent, agency, or international adoption, The Complete Adoption Book is the most comprehensive and authoritative adoption book you can use to guide you through the process—from deciding if adoption is right for you to budgeting your expenses and interviewing birth mothers. As adoption professionals and adoptive parents, authors Laura Beauvais-Godwin and Raymond Godwin bring an unparalleled level of expertise and compassion to every situation an adopting parent is likely to encounter. The information provided in The Complete Adoption Book includes: *Information about every kind of adoption—from family adoption to independent and from agency to international *All contact information required for agencies, attorneys, and support groups *State-by-state requirements for completing legal adoptions *A step-by-step guide to the home study The Complete Adoption Book puts control back in your hands and places you on the right track for securing the family you’ve always wanted quickly, legally, and with few complications.

Completely updated to reflect changes in state and federal adoption laws and the rise of nontraditional adoption strategies, The Penguin Adoption Handbook takes readers step-by-step through the adoption process. An essential guide to adopting the child you want.

Tillman, a veteran private investigator with a proven track record for finding and reuniting families and friends, explains the adoption process, adoption laws, public records, and other resources for adoption searchers.

With about 70,000 domestic and international adoptions each year in the United States and Canada, adoption remains a major means of building families in both countries. Its continued success can be inferred not only from the yearly statistics, but from a report issued in 2003 by the U.S. Census Bureau. To the surprise of many, the report announced the existence of 1.6 million adopted children in the U.S. under the age of eighteen. Written by a former social worker who has placed hundreds of children in foster and adoptive homes and a clinical psychologist who has counseled adopted children and parents, this book offers a comprehensive look at the adoption process by merging the best of social work with the best of psychology. Adoption can be a frustrating and intimidating undertaking for the unprepared. This guide provides prospective adoptive parents with the insider information that they need to navigate the process-and it provides students with the sort of expert opinion that they need to grasp the academic theory they receive in the classroom.