Post adoption services are available to all families regardless
of where they are in the adoption continuum. When families are first
certified, while they are waiting for children to be placed and
during the period prior to finalization of adoption, there are
requirements set by Community Care Licensing. Those requirements
include being current in First Aid and CPR as well as maintaining
twelve hours of annual training.
After finalization of their adoption, many families continue to
take advantage of training and support group opportunities through
Family Builders. We make a life-long commitment to all our families,
just as our families make permanent commitments to their children.
Parent training and workshops - Families with
children in placement participate in 12 annual hours of training
related to child development and other general parenting topics.
Family Builders regularly offers trainings throughout the year on
topics of interest to adoptive families such as claiming and bonding,
discipline, communication and promoting attachment.
Monthly support groups - Family Builders offers a
variety of support groups which allow families the opportunity to give
and receive support and understanding from each other. Support groups
are organized based upon a specific commonality among families, i.e. a
group in Spanish, an LGBT family group, and a single parents group.
Buddy families - Experienced parents are available
to pair up with new families to create a cohesive and genuine network
of support for each other. Families get together socially to provide
informal respite and share experiences. These are also opportunities
for children to meet and play with other children who have been
adopted.
Case management, crisis intervention and referrals -
Our post adoption support coordinator is available to
families for crisis intervention, short term case management,
counseling and referrals to community therapists and other local
mental health and social service resources.
Community building events – Family Builders
organizes a winter holiday celebration and a summer BBQ to give
families the opportunity to share their wisdom, challenges and advice
with each other in friendly and informal settings.
Adoption and the Schools:
Resources for Patents and Teachers, edited by
Lansing Wood and Nancy Ng
A wonderful compendium of articles, drawings, poetry, and wisdom for
parents and teachers. Helps parents explore the impact of adoption
on their children’s education, and helps teachers to have a positive
influence on the adopted child’s experiences at school. Available
from FAIR, Families Adopting In Response, PO Box 51436, Palo Alto,
CA 94303.
http://www.fairfamilies.org
Adopting the Older Child,
Claudia L. Jewett
A nationally known family counselor and adoptive parent explains what
is in store for those who decide to open their hearts to a waiting
child.
Helping Children Cope with
Separation and Loss, Claudia Jewett Jarratt
Here is compassionate, step-by-step guidance for any concerned adult
who wants to help a child talk about, cope with, and recover from a
loss.
Parenting the Hurt Child:
Helping Adoptive Families Heal and Grow, Gregory C.
Keck and Regina M. Kupecky
The authors explain how to manage a hurting child with loving wisdom
and resolve, and how to preserve your stability while untangling a
thorny heart.
Twenty Things Adopted Kids
Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew, Sherrie Eldridge
This book gives voice to children’s unspoken concerns, and shows
adoptive parents how to free their kids from feelings of fear,
abandonment, and shame.
Twenty Life Transforming
Choices Adoptees Need to Make, Sherrie Eldridge
A celebration of adoption, this book is based on the fact that
adoption raises some of life’s most difficult questions, but also
creates opportunities to truly understand yourself. It invigorates
the healing process by engaging the difficult questions and
emphasizing your ability to take control of your emotions through the
choices you make.
Attaching in Adoption:
Practical Tools for Today’s Parents, Deborah D. Gray
Explaining that attachment forms the template for future adult
relationships, the author stresses how important it is for adoptive
parents to be patient in forging this new bond. She shows how to
create a high structure/high nurture environment for your child. An
invaluable resource.
Siblings Without Rivalry:
How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too,
Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Guides the way to peace and tranquility with humor, compassion and
understanding, making life easier for both siblings and their parents.
Playful Parenting,
Lawrence J. Cohen.
This is an exciting new approach to raising children that will help
you nurture close connections, solve behavior problems, and encourage
confidence. It is a welcome reminder that the serious business of
parenthood can also be fun! A Family Builders favorite.
Lifebooks: Creating a
Treasure for the Adopted Child, Beth O’Malley
Lifebooks help families answer difficult questions and provide a link
between adoptees and their history. This resource will help you
create a treasure for your child.
Being Adopted, The Lifelong
Search for Self, David M. Brodzinsky, Marshall D.
Schechter, and Robin M. Harris.
A very readable discussion of the issues common to all adopted
children and adults.
A Child’s Journey Through
Placement, Vera L. Fahlberg, M.D.
The definitive resource! A look at all the factors which
affect children who are in the child welfare system and who then are
adopted.
The Family of Adoption,
Joyce Maguire Pavao
This is a must read for parents and professionals. Dr. Pavao
illustrates through stories her view that adoption affects all
involved through generations in a predictable and normal way. It
provides a framework for thinking about adoption and adoptive family
life.
Making Sense of Adoption, A
Parent’s Guide, Lois Ruskai Melina
Basic, sound information
The Adoption Life Cycle:
The Children and Their Families Through the Years,
Elinor B. Rosenberg
This book looks at research and theory relating to adoptive families
and the issues they face over the years.
Real Parents, Real Children,
Holly van Gulden and Lisa M. Bartels-Rabb
An adoptive parent and professional brings a wealth of insight and
practical advice to parents.
Helping Children Cope with
Separation and Loss, Claudia Jewett
A classic which addresses the central issue in adoption.
Perspectives on a Grafted
Tree, compiled by Patricia Irwin Johnston
Poems expressing the emotions of adoption. A wonderful gift book.
Parenting Resources Manual
of the Transracial Parenting Project
Available from the North American Council on Adoptable Children,
970 Raymond Ave., Suite 106, St. Paul, MN 55114-1149.
Created as a guide for parents and professionals involved in
transracial adoption.
Inside Transracial Adoption,
Beth Hall and Gail Steinberg
An up-to-date book which covers all of the complexities of transracial
adoption from a personal and well-informed perspective.
Working with Older Adoptees,
Loren Coleman, Karen Tilbor, Helaine Hornby, Carol Boggis, editors
A collection of writings to guide professionals working with
older-child adoptees.
Adoption Nation,
Adam Pertman
A fascinating look at adoption today and how it impacts lives and our
culture.
Raising Adopted Children, A
Manual for Adoptive Parents, Lois Ruskai Melina
An excellent source of sound information.
Adopting the Hurt Child,
Gregory Keck and Regina Kupecky
A realistic, yet hopeful look at children adopted after difficult
beginnings. Useful for parents and the professionals who work with
the children and their families.
Adopted Child,
Vol. 9 No. 8, a special issue for teachers, Lois Ruskai Melina.
PO Box 9362, Moscow, Idaho 83843
A newsletter for the adoption community.
The Open Adoption Experience,
Lois Ruskai Melina and Sharon Kaplan Roszia
A bible for everyone involved in or considering open adoption and for
those who want to learn more about it.
Adopting After Infertility,
Patricia Irwin Johnson
Comprehensive, written with empathy. Includes insights into becoming
an effective adoptive parent.
When Friends Ask About
Adoption, Linda Bothun
Helpful as a gift for extended family members, clergy, teachers,
doctors. Available from Tapestry Books. (see our link section.)
The Adoption Reader,
Susan Wadia-Ellis, ed.
The stories in this collection are told by birth mothers, adoptive
mothers, and adopted daughters. They provide valuable insights into
the adoption experience.
Imagining Adoption: Essays
on Literature and Culture, Marianne Novy, ed.
A collection of essays about literary portrayals of adoption and
adoption themes.
Anti-Bias Curriculum. Tools
for Empowering Young Children, Louise Derman-Sparks
How to create an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance of
differences.
An Educator’s Guide to
Adoption Celebrate Adoption, 1999.
www.celebrateadoption.org
A handy 22 page booklet which provides adoption information and
suggestions to teachers.
There are many wonderful children’s books with adoption related
themes. The following are highly recommended by our families, who
have found them useful for sharing in the classroom or reading at
home. Even though each book will not relate exactly to a particular
child’s story, the components of common adoption experience will
help adopted children identify with the characters.
A Mother for Choco,
Keiko Kasza
Choco is a motherless little bird who sets out to find his mother.
Finally Mrs. Bear reaches out to him, offering to be his mother and
after some difficulty at first, he accepts her as his new mommy.
William is My Brother,
Jane T. Schnitter
This story focuses on families built by both birth and adoption
through the eyes of Tony, who was born to the family.
All Kinds of Families,
Norma Simon
Many different kinds of families are described.
Beginnings: How Families
Come to Be, Virginia Kroll
This is a beautifully illustrated book with six diverse stories of
different types of families, told from the perspective of a child
asking questions of his parents about how they got to become a family,
including single parent, kinship adoption, birth family, etc. Good
for reading to and with parents.
Oliver, Lois
Wickstrom
Oliver, an alligator-like creature, is mischievous and is sent to his
room. He is angry at his adoptive parents and, while confined to his
room, daydreams about his birth parents. He wonders what life would
be like if he lived with them. Expresses the feelings of many young
adopted children.
Horace,
Holly Keller
Little Horace, who looks like a leopard, has spots, while his adoptive
parents, who look like tigers, have stripes. He finds a family that
looks like him in the park one day and has a wonderful time playing
with them, and at the end of the day, realizes that he misses him
family, and, instead of going home with the leopard family, he runs
home to his parents. He learns that being a family has nothing to do
with what you look like.
Why Am I Different,
Norma Simon
Children explain the many things that make them unique. Mentions
adoption, but does not focus on it.
Is That Your Sister? A True
Story of Adoption, Catherine Bunin and Sherry Bunin
A realistic story told by six-year-old Catherine, who is bi-racial and
transracially adopted. Answers adoption related questions.
A Forever Family,
Roslyn Banish
Eight-year-old Jenny tells her story, including living with her
biological parents, foster parents, and finally about being adopted in
a courtroom and having a big celebration. Photos help to make the
story realistic.
And I’m Stuck With Joseph,
Susan Sommer
An eleven year old experiences the difficult behavior of her new three
year old brother.
How it Feels to be Adopted,
Jill Krementz
Interviews with adopted children, ages eight through sixteen. A good
book to help open up discussions.
Lucy’s Family Tree,
Karen Halvorsen Schreck
Lucy, who was born in Mexico and adopted by her blond parents in the
United States, tells about how she handles her family tree
assignment. An excellent book for teachers to use when explaining
variations of the family tree project.
