JulieC asked the big question, Adoption Photo Listings: Good or Bad? We all look at photo listings now and then. People can and do recognize children on the internet especially those of us who have done a lot of respite care. However, it certainly has made placements possible that never were before. Personally, when I see children I know, I feel an obligation to help recruit for them. I send emails to everyone I know who may be looking to adopt a child. People are matching with children all over the country. The alternative, those children could have aged out of foster care, never having a forever family.

 Enough of that though, which states have all the young children listed for adoption and why? Which states have big sibling groups, young sibling groups, or the cutest sibling groups? The number one place to look for young children is NWAE. They have the cutest little toddlers and beautiful sibling groups. Why do they have so many young children available for adoption when other states do not? I hate to break it to you all, but they have the lowest adoption subsidies.

When should you ask your foster care worker to remove a foster child from your home? Most agencies, including mine, require a written two-week notice of intent. Sometimes, the thought of waiting two weeks can be a little scary if the child is acting out severely. Therefore, if you notice behaviors and attitude starting to escalate, it might be a good idea to go ahead and submit your notice. If things calm down, you can always withdraw your request to have the child moved.

I realize that it sounds like I am advocating for having a child moved. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I do realize that it is rarely

There are days that I just want to say, "What the heck? Another new syndrome, issue, label?" Human beings can be waaaaaaaaaaaay too focused on naming something.

This morning I read Study says kids conceived through reproductive technology are functioning well. I discovered a new label... genealogical bewilderment. The phrase was first used in the 1960s and was used for adoptees. Google finds this phrase 266 times, so it isn't that common.

The phrase seems to mean... I don't feel like I fit into this family. I don't see my hair or eyes or style of walking in the Jones family. I am the oddball.

My grand-grandmother must have had genealogical

Who Am I?: Experiences of Donor Conception author: Alexina McWhinnie asin: 0955403103

 DCF is celebrating a victory, nearly 3600 adoptions completed for the fiscal year of 2007-2008.  That number is more than 800 over the goal that the state had set for itself.  But while the government is patting itself on the back for a job obviously well done, some citizens of Florida are crying out for help.

Complaints of corruption are not new to the foster care system, but families in Florida are screaming for attention, accusing DCF of fabricating false allegations against families, in order to place their children for adoption, and meet, or perhaps exceed in record amount, the set adoption goals.

You thought that you could change a child with severe behaviors by your love and interventions so you went ahead with the adoption. Now a year has gone by and you have seen no improvement. You are at your wits end with the erratic behavior and damage. You have tried several medications but usually just one or two at a time. Nothing seems to help and you fear for the child’s safety as well as other family members. You explain this to the psychiatrist who has been working with this child for the past year. He finally recommends using a high dose of Lithium or Haloperidol because high doses of medication like Zyprexa and Risperdal did not work.

U.S foster care systems aren't allowed to prevent or delay a child's foster or adoptive placement because race, color or national origin. This is mandated by law... more specifically by the  Multiethnic Placement Act.

Recently there has been blogspere noise about a Evan B Donaldson Adoption Institute report. The 58 page report was released in May 2008. It is an attempt to answer 5 questions that were asked during a September 2007 U.S. Civil Rights Commission meeting.

Many people got stirred up because this report recommends that race should be used as one factor in selecting a foster