Publications & Research

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...

Three Shifts to Bridge the Gap Between Birth Families and Adoptive Families for the Adoptees We Love Adoption creates a split between a person's biology and biography, and openness is an essent...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

Access to adoption and birth records for adoptees sits at the intersection of ethics, privacy, confidentiality, and adoptee rights. Carefully navigating these delicate topics requires an understand...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

“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...

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,...

My life changed completely when adoption became part of my story. Adoption encouraged me to become more empathetic, compassionate, understanding, and mature. Adoption led me to a life lived intimat...

The decision to become a parent brings one of life's greatest joys and carries with it a whole host of commitments and responsibilities to provide for the many needs children have: from the basics ...

View and Download PDF Tricia loved being a mom. When she and Sam married after college graduation, they had dreamed of having a large family. By their tenth anniversary, they had two da...

Editors’ Note: This month’s Adoption Advocate is intended to be a resource to adoptive parent couples. It is not intended to send a message that adoption is only for couples. Whether always sing...

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,...

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's "Choosing an Adoption Agency" from 2014 has been one of our most popular Adoption Advocates1. It's been recommended as a resource by the Today Show, NBC Dateline, and RESOLVE: The Nationa...

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...

This article is designed for families who have adopted or are preparing to adopt. Speech delays and communication challenges are among the most common issues that families encounter following an ado...

“Adopted or foster children will only ask their caregivers the questions they feel they have the permission to ask.” —Jane Hoyt-Oliver, LISW-S, Ph.D. Emerita Professor of Social Work, Malone U...

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...

Why were you adopted? What do you know about his real mom? Why did his real mom and dad give him up for adoption? Is he from another country? Was she abandoned? Do you have any kids of your own? Wh...

The media often presents the dramatic and heartwarming aspects of search and reunion, but for those involved, the reality is much more complex. This article explores the common questions and concern...

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...

Editor's Note: Adoption Advocate No. 152, issued in February 2021, provides updated information on the Adoption Tax Credit and is available here. While Americans have a very positive view of adopti...

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 ...

Before children enter the family via birth, step-parenting, foster care, or adoption, it is natural for parents to dream of what family life will be like: family activities like meal time, sharing g...

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...

The choice of adoption for an expectant parent experiencing unintended pregnancy is a beautiful and viable option. As adoption professionals, we all have story after story we can share with the wor...

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 statistics are revealing. A third of adolescents referred for psychotherapy are adopted. Adolescence is the peak period for psychiatric referrals in the life of the adoptee. Approximately 5–17...

Feeding and mealtimes are rich with opportunities for families to build trust and attachment, but when things aren’t going well, those opportunities are lost. From hoarding to picky eating, worr...

Open adoptions have steadily increased over the years. As a result, the post-adoption contact agreement, and its enforceability, is an issue all adoption professionals face. The overriding principl...

From simple education activities to implementing a robust adoption benefits program, workplace support of adoption not only increases awareness about the issues confronting our most vulnerable child...

Adoption professionals have certain goals in mind when working with prospective adoptive families. The first goal for all involved is preparing for placement of the child(ren). This can be a joyous,...

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...

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...

November is National Adoption Month, a time when our nation commits an entire month to focus attention on the institution of adoption. For many, it's a time of celebrating the good that adoption ac...

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...

The November 2016 issue of the Adoption Advocate, "A Call for a More Ethical and Professional Adoption Practice,"1 was born out of a presentation I delivered at National Council For Adoption's (N...

“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,...

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: Decisions, Choices and Options As an adoptive parent and former high school teacher-turned-adoption educator, even I sometimes find it difficult to believe that there are still so man...

“The camps are a lot of fun for me because I grew up in a pretty small town where there was not a huge Asian population, so it was a very special experience to get together with so many other Asia...

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...

Notice: This article is for general information only and is not to be construed as legal advice. National Council For Adoption recommends that you consult an attorney with expertise in adoption and...

The word “adoption” often conjures up joyful images of families coming together, created out of an abundance of love. Adoptive parents are ecstatic welcoming their new child or children into the...

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...

Every adoptee has their own personal and unique adoption story. That history is a part of who they are, and remains a part of them as they move from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood....

Thirteen years ago, I left the hospital as a proud new mom. Unlike most new moms, though, I also left the hospital with empty arms and a broken heart, as I had just placed my newborn baby boy into t...

Introduction Over the years, I’ve had a number of parents question me about what they should say to their child when that child asks about his or her biological parents. Adoptive families may have...

Introduction Attachment is the glue that establishes the connection between a child and a parent. When a child is born and remains with a biological parent, bonding and attachment begin immediately....

Introduction The adoption community needs a fresh vision of intercountry adoption that will restore both reputation and momentum to the practice. This requires a fundamental reworking of our identit...

I found out I was pregnant shortly after I began my senior year of high school. At the time, I was in serious relationship with my boyfriend Robbie. Although we were very surprised and completely u...

May is National Foster Care Month. In this month's issue of NCFA's Adoption Advocate, Dr. Wayne Sharp lays out the enormous social and economic cost when youth age out of foster care - as approxim...

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one." – Leo J. Burke The Problem Dr. Sears: "Thou shalt cosleep, unless you don't really want that special bond we like to call attachmen...

Introduction This is Part II of a two-part series that provides an overview of the most common perils and pitfalls involved in designating a child as an orphan under U.S. law, and emphasizes best p...

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 Parenting adopted children brings with it unique challenges and rewards. Children adopted at older ages—especially those from the U.S. foster care system—typically come to their new...

Early research from our lab assessed the neurotransmitters of at-risk adopted and foster children during the summer, and then again during the early weeks of school. Not surprisingly, data showed a...

I am always struck by how much adoption has changed since the 1980s, when I first began working as an intern at an adoption agency. At that time, most prospective adoptive families would have chose...

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...

Introduction The landscape of adoption has changed dramatically in recent years. In the past, an expectant parent would most likely connect with an adoption agency in her area through print adverti...

Introduction Many researchers have documented heavy use of clinical services by adoptees,1 but little is known about how much training mental health professionals actually receive about adoption, o...

When my best friend heard that my wife and I were planning to adopt, he asked, “Do you think you will be able to love your child as much as you would if she were your own?” Those of us who have ...

Introduction Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is a syndrome that causes great controversy. Rather than a clinical diagnosis, it is an umbrella term for the range of neurological, cognitive, de...

Family is not about blood, it’s about who is willing to hold your hand when you need it most. –Unknown National Adoption Month: An Anniversary Month of Reflection I’m always grateful that Doro...

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...

If she is born into a nurturing family, an infant quickly discovers the power of her voice: she cries, and someone comes to her. Consistently, affectionately, and attentively, her needs are met, and...

When considering an adoption, you may wonder how the adoption of another child is going to affect your other children in the home. There are many factors – including your children’s ages, and th...

Introduction: Factors that Can Influence How an Individual Deals with Loss One of the paradoxes of adoption is that, for all its potential benefits, it is nonetheless born of loss – including the ...

This article, which is based on a working paper presented at the Ninth Annual Adoption Law and Policy Conference in March 2012, utilizes the 2006-2008 National Survey on Family Growth (conducted by...

I imagine that when an older child meets his parents for the first time in preparation for a foster-to-adoption or adoption placement, his feelings might be similar to that of an astronaut about to ...

In 1989, when the Ceausescu regime fell in Romania, foreign families streamed in to adopt many of the nation’s children that had been abandoned in institutions. This was the start of an era of sig...

For many adoptive parents, it is easy to talk about their first meeting with their child, the first day they brought her home, or their early memories of her; these times are usually joyful to recal...

I grew up in southwest Pennsylvania, in a small suburb of Pittsburgh called Moon Township. Sandwiched between an older and younger sister, I was surrounded by supportive family and friends growing u...

Download PDF Introduction Transracial adoption, once rare in this country, has grown significantly since the 1950s, primarily due to the rise of intercountry adoption. Intercountry adop...

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 The National Survey of Adoptive Parents (NSAP) is a new source of data available to those interested in learning more about adopted children and their families. The first nationally rep...

Introduction The 2008 National Survey of Adoptive Parents of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NSAP-SN) provides nationally representative information about the health and well being of adopt...

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...