Download the PDF Version Addressing infertility as part of educating, orienting, and assessing prospective adoptive parents is an ongoing part of my clinical practice in adoption.  Whi...

Although important, it is outside the scope of this article to directly address considerations for adoptive parents testing their children who are too young to consent or even understand the implic...

Introduction Heritage travel includes a diverse range of experiences that help individuals, including  adoptees, connect with their cultural roots and ancestral origins. Travel can involve explori...

Birth Parent Grief Most people anticipate experiencing grief around the end of life, typically following the death of a loved one. However, fewer are familiar with grief after a healthy birth of a ...

Lifelong Impacts of Foster Care, Kinship Care, and Adoption Foster care, kinship care, and adoption are significant experiences with lifelong impacts. The American Psychological Association (APA) h...

Introduced in November 2023, and endorsed by NCFA, the ADOPT Act would reform existing law and strengthen ethical practices to better protect everyone involved in a private, domestic infant adoptio...

Introduction The ever-increasing cost and unpredictability of private domestic adoption have recently garnered significant media attention. While responses from members of the adoption community ha...

History and Impacts The Adoption and Safe Families Act, better known as "ASFA," is considered by many to be the most significant child welfare system reform legislation of the 20th century. Pri...

Mental Health and Behavioral Treatment Options The adoption community has made great progress in understanding the impact of trauma on children's mental health and emotional well-being. As more...

The U.S. Department of State has released the FY2022 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption. This covers the period of time from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. In the report, the Depar...

Part of honoring the adoptee voice is recognizing that there is no single adoption narrative. This requires us to hold space and honor the voices of all adoptees and their experiences with adoption...

The impact of prenatal stress and preverbal trauma on developmental trajectories is both a topic of education and area of treatment focus in my clinical practice. As a specialist in infant and earl...

A lawsuit filed in Merrimack County, New Hampshire Superior Court last week makes serious allegations against numerous individuals and organizations, of child abuse, neglect, and failure to protect...

We learned a lot about the characteristics of adoptive parents in the U.S. when we conducted a nationwide survey in 2021 that garnered 4,200+ responses - the largest survey to date of this populati...

Unsuccessful adoptions are markedly complex. Child welfare scholars have attempted to guide and inform social work practice by isolating specific variables that may serve as "predictors" of adoptio...

A Webinar for Adoption Professionals on Preparing, Educating, and Supporting Adoptive Families How many calls from families have you received describing a crisis situation with their child that lea...

A training course for adoption professionals As families prepare to welcome a child through adoption, it is important that they consider the possibility that their child was or will be exposed to s...

Course Registration Studies show that adopted children are referred for special needs support within the school system at twice the rate of non-adopted children. NCFA's recent Profiles ...

Editor's Note: This article is released to inform interested parties of ongoing research and to encourage discussion of work in progress. The views expressed on statistical or methodological issues...

The U.S. Department of State has published its annual report on intercountry adoptions completed between October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. During this time, there were 1,785 intercountry...

With a lunch box in hand and a plaid skirt down to my knees, I entered the gymnasium for my first day of fifth grade. Fifth grade was a big deal at morning arrival and afternoon dismissal-- we got ...

ALEXANDRIA, VA (July 27, 2022) - A new report released by National Council For Adoption (NCFA) highlights the dramatic changes that have taken place in adoption in recent decades and answers key qu...

Introduction While numerous health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control, emphasize the importance of family history in assessing patients' health risk, resources on how medical ...

Thanks to the participation of over 4,200 adoptive parents, NCFA collected an expansive volume of data through our 2021 survey. In our new report, we highlight some of the key findings of our analy...

Little education and training exists on the intersection of addiction and adoption. As the director of Adoption Programming at PACE Recovery, and an adoptee, Dr. Brett Furst offers his expertise on...

ALEXANDRIA, VA (June 21, 2022) - National Council For Adoption was proud to present the 2022 Warren and Mary Alice Babineaux Award to Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, Indiana Department of Chil...

ALEXANDRIA, VA (May 11, 2022) - A new report released by National Council For Adoption (NCFA) highlights the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on adoption within the U.S. Adoption by the Numbers, a r...

Adoptions that take place across state lines often involve the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), an important legislative agreement to facilitate interstate child welfare rela...

Kinship adoption, in one form or another, has been around for centuries. And yet there is a significant lack of training and resources on how to support families navigating this pathway to permanen...

NCFA recently conducted a webinar about supporting people in the adoption community who have roots in Ukraine and Russia. We have compiled a list of resources on this topic below. Supporting Youth ...

Improving the adoption process and long-term outcomes for everyone impacted by adoption will require legislative action by Congress to address key issues. In the January 2022 issue of the Adoption ...

A visual snapshot of NCFA's impact in adoption awareness, education, research, and advocacy in 2021 made possible by the engagement and generosity of our friends and supporters. Loading...

Renewed discussion of racial inequality throughout the U.S. has revitalized attention to racial disproportionalities in the child welfare system and how they might best be addressed. The Multiethni...

October 18, 2021 - Alexandria, VA - National Council For Adoption (NCFA) is pleased to announce Dr. Elizabeth Bartholet as the 2021 inductee to the Adoption Hall of Fame. This award is given annual...

As National Adoption Month approaches - it has been celebrated annually in the U.S. since 1985 - so does NCFA's Adoption Hall of Fame ceremony and reception scheduled for November 2nd in Washington...

In this practical introductory guide to Dr. Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, learn how adoptive parents and professionals can implement the wisdom of the NMT, particularly The S...

  This year ACI is a sponsor, a sponsor of the color gold To NCFA I give tribute and with my highest esteem I do hold. An organization like ours with member support will never fold We're stro...

An increasing number of adoptive families are single parent households where children have found permanency and are thriving with a Mom or Dad only. To learn how to best support these adoptive fami...

Postadoption depression. It's more common than you may think, but it can be an uncomfortable thing for adoptive parents to talk about. Left unaddressed, postadoption depression, sometimes referred ...

On Friday, July 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decided case No. 20-5158, in which National Council For Adoption (NCFA) was appellant. The matter centered ar...

One in 700 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome, the most common occurring chromosomal condition. Individuals with Down syndrome often have cognitive differences, weak muscle tone...

Can military families adopt while a parent is on active duty? Should military families avoid adoption due to deployments and frequent moves? What do adoption professionals need to know and practice...

America's foster care system is in crisis. Despite real efforts to effect change, over 120,000 children remain in the system awaiting a permanent family through adoption. Finding the right families...

Choosing an open adoption is just the first step in a lifelong journey for birth mothers. In this issue of the Adoption Advocate, three birth moms share their stories and offer advice and encourage...

In many adoption processes, prospective adoptive parents are asked to agree in advance to comply with post-adoption reporting requirements. This is especially true for intercountry adoptions, as ma...

Transparent and effective child advocacy requires adoption agencies to weigh important ethical considerations and follow best practices. In this issue of the Adoption Advocate, Jennifer Lanter and ...

What Are Adoption Subsidies? People who are interested in adopting are often worried about their ability to come up with the necessary funds for the adoption process. They may also wonder how they ...

Download PDF At various times throughout the year, we are immersed as a culture in times of annual celebration that are strongly linked to traditions, memories, friends, and family. Whi...

By Crystal Kupper Subtle yet steady, a culture war has been slowly brewing in the child advocacy world. It boasts no herald to announce its merits to the nation, and few outside its fields of battl...

In honor of National Adoption Month 2020, NCFA is featuring various stories and perspectives on adoption. Today we welcome guest writer Jessica, a birth mom, working to raise awareness about the im...

Each November, we recognize National Adoption Month as an opportunity to raise awareness and celebrate adoptive families and their children who have benefitted from both domestic and intercount...

“Cam, you’re fired. I like you, I’m cheering for you, but you broke the rules and I have to fire you.” It was mid-summer, the camp director and I were sitting at a picnic table on the edge o...

A Note from NCFA: Adoption by the Numbers has now been updated! Please visit adoptioncouncil.org/numbers to see the 2022 report. Adoption: By the Numbers National Council For Adoption's Adoption:...

In 2019, 23 percent of all children in foster care were 13-17 years old, and nearly 6 percent of those were adopted that same year.1 While international adoptions have declined overall since 2005,...

Weaving Hope Into Heartache – A Parent’s Perspective If you’re an adoptive parent like me who has had the benefit of training and education rooted in TBRI, then you know how essential Th...

It's not often that you remember exactly where you were when reading a book more than 13 years ago, but I do remember reading a manuscript of Dr. Karyn Purvis' The Connected Child. I was on a...

Uplifting Youth Voices During National Foster Care Month & COVID-19 Entering this new chapter of leadership at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), I am excited to enga...

Home has taken on new meaning the past few weeks. We stay home to protect the broader community. We’re working from home. Having birthdays at home. And for many, a stable place to call home might ...

Breaking Jurisdictional Barriers in Older Child Adoptions from Foster Care​ She scanned the room of the various individuals who came to learn more about adoption from foster care, and after ...

Having followed Tori on social media for awhile, I knew that she would have a unique perspective to share with the adoption community during National Foster Care Month, and she was kind enough ...

In the early 1990s a treaty was drafted, debated, and eventually finalized that would shape the course of international adoption forever. The treaty, later known as The Hague Convention of 29 May 1...

Introduction Now more than ever, adoption agency personnel are being asked to help parents understand pediatric medical and mental health complexities. Whether children are adopted internationally,...

Like all of you, we here at NCFA find ourselves navigating truly unchartered territory as the Coronavirus pandemic creates global uncertainty and societal upheaval. As we come to the end of thi...

Accreditation has long been used by professions to validate the qualifications of providers and the quality of services. This paper examines the accreditation of intercountry adoption service provid...

NCFA is celebrating 40 years of advocating for children, birth families, and adoptive families. We continue to see adoption practice evolve, including new or expanded opportunities for famil...

The start of any New Year is usually considered a milestone for people and organizations alike, but for National Council For Adoption (NCFA), 2020 takes on even more significance than usual. Not on...

I. Introduction The work of intercountry adoption agencies has always been larger than simply the placement of children with families. In addition to the placement of children, these agencies- as a...

Introduction Historically, adoptions in the United States were strictly closed adoptions that entailed sealed legal records and absolutely no contact between the birth parents and the adoptive famil...

Adoption in the U.S., originally focused on placing healthy infants, has evolved to the point that now the majority of children available for placement either have recognized medical problems or ar...

The decision to begin or grow your family through adoption is certainly life-changing and rewarding. This decision can also bring with it a great deal of uncertainty and emotion. One hundred years ...

Over the past century, transracial adoption in America has become more and more common. In this issue of the Adoption Advocate, Alexis Oberdorfer shares about the history of transracial adoption an...

What is Subsidiarity? Subsidiarity is one of the most hotly debated and diversely interpreted principles of intercountry adoption.1 But before diving into an explanation of subsidiarity in the int...

Adoption. The real problem of intercountry adoption is that there is too little of it. Adoption is the only institution whereby unparented children become legal daughters and sons by force of a d...

The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, commonly referred to as the Hague Convention on Adoption, went into force internationally in...

Editor's Note: National Council For Adoption asked Sarah Mraz to write this month’s Adoption Advocate following her presentation at last year’s NCFA conference. When asked her to write this piec...

Lori and Joy met at National Council For Adoption's 2016 National Adoption Conference, where they discovered a shared purpose of building a positive adoption culture within the Black community. Wit...

Words matter so much, especially when we’re speaking about something as deeply personal as adoption. Accurate adoption language can help stop the spread of misconceptions about adoption and reflec...

Ethiopia's parliament has passed legislation banning intercountry adoption. NCFA's Ryan Hanlon joined BBC World Service Radio to discuss how this decision places unparented children at risk. NCFA ...

Curiosity about who we are, where we came from, and our significance in life is universal. Today, opportunities abound to search family history to fill in the missing pieces of the past, whether a f...

The Council on Accreditation (COA) announced today that the organization has notified the U.S. Department of State of their intent to terminate their role as a national accrediting entity-a ...

Military families have the potential to be outstanding adoptive families. They often have an incredible support network of friends. Military families tend to be flexible and adaptable and those are ...

On December 16, 2016, the Department of State temporarily debarred the Hague accredited agency European Adoption Consultants (EAC), citing noncompliance with federal regulations. Less than two month...

“Why don’t you just adopt?” is a go-to question frequently asked by friends and family of people who struggle with infertility. But infertility is a disease that does not have a one-size-fits-...

Over the past ten years, I've received many calls from young adult adoptees pleading with me to send them their adoption or birth records. Most are heartbreaking stories of lost documents due to fir...

Introduction The wait can be challenging for many attempting to grow their families through adoption. Along with this wait, which is oftentimes quite long, come significant emotions—including joy,...

Thirty years of research shows that positive interactions between a child and primary caregiver(s) significantly impacts brain development. Studies show that children raised in family-based care (b...

Introduction Since the mid-1940s, the practice of adopting orphaned children internationally has experienced peaks as well as periods of decline, driven in part by public interest, world wars, chan...

Introduction Professionals involved in making child-placing decisions have a life-changing responsibility. These professionals must be properly qualified, trained, and supervised. There is little s...

Introduction When Andrew1 and his girlfriend Maria chose adoption for their daughter five years ago, Andrew was astounded that he had to sign only one form to terminate his parental rights, while M...

Introduction Historically, private adoption agencies were founded to work on domestic infant and international adoptions. As time has passed and new policies and best practices have been establishe...

When considering intercountry adoption, prospective adoptive parents will hear countries often referred to as "Hague Countries" and "Non-Hague Countries". These can also be called "Convention Count...

Introduction First, let me answer the question on everyone's mind: What is adoption medicine? Children who join families through adoption may have special health, behavioral, and developmental need...

Introduction While adopting a child from another country, you receive word that the in-country court has scheduled the final guardianship or adoption hearing. You make travel plans with your family...

Introduction Adoption. A special way for a family to be formed, and yet born of loss. A journey to navigate, with both joys and challenges. Not a one-time event, but a defining and ongoing experien...

Introduction The increased regulation of adoption agencies and more stringent agency licensing requirements at both the state and federal levels have resulted in agencies being mandated to accept pr...

Editor’s Note: While it is often easier to focus on the majority of successful adoptions, it is important for adoption and child welfare advocates to look closely at the cases in which adoption di...

Disruption or dissolution is something that no one involved with an adoption wants to happen, and much has been written about the prevention of this occurrence. The reality is that some adoptive fam...

Editor's Note: NCFA is committed to protecting the best interests of and advocating for all members of the adoption triad: birthparents, adoptive parents, and children. While it is possible for bir...

Introduction In January 2010, the earthquake in Haiti and its aftermath brought the longstanding debate over intercountry adoption and its place in the wake of an emergency to the public attention. ...

Federally subsidized guardianship would be a positive reform to the foster care financing system and can be achieved without undermining children's interests in adoption. A loving, permanent family...