The following is an informal book review by Claudia-Jacqueline Semar, M.Ed. She has granted us permission to reprint it here.
Ms. Semar is the Executive Director of International Child Foundation. She has worked in adoptions for more than 15 years, and as an adoptive mother, she has first-hand experience in the things she writes about.
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Two days ago I blogged about A4everFamily.org, a website put together by adoptive families to provide information about bonding and attachment in adoption. The post elicited this comment:
after reading A4everFamily.org site I am scared. we are looking forward to adopting from an orphanage in Uganda (hopefully being able to pick up our child by early [...]
I was just alerted to this great website for adoptive families and prospective adoptive families that deals with a full range of adoption attachment issues, from “normal” bonding to severe attachment disorders: A4everFamily.org. Pass this on to any families you know that are pursuing an adoption. Being educated about what’s typical and what’s possible is [...]
The following information is adapted from the post-adoption support files here at Carolina Hope. Note that this information is directly applicable only to SC residents who have adopted from overseas. The information provided here should not be construed as legal advice, for which you should see a qualified attorney.
Once you are home with your child, [...]
On January 11 the U.S. Department of State issued a warning (dated January 9) about the status of Guatemala adoptions. (As mentioned in a previous post, Carolina Hope has put its Guatemala adoption program on hold pending new standardized procedures for adoptions in Guatemala. Of course, cases registered under the old system are still being [...]
This week I mail off the last letter and photo updates to the biological mother of my three- and four-year-old daughters. It is the end of a sweet season in my life. I have been writing letters and taking photos with Aris (not her real name) in mind for the past 4 years. [...]
In an earlier post I wrote that we become a ‘city on the hill’ when we adopt trans-racially. Simply put, we look different from most families and we stand out almost anywhere in our culture. But I have encountered another way that people view our family that I never would have guessed in [...]
Dr. Russell Moore, Dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote an excellent article about how rude adoption questions taught him about the gospel. It was published in the May 2007 edition of Touchstone:The Brotherhood of Sons: What Some Rude Questions About Adoption Taught Me About the Gospel of Christ.
The Moores [...]
It is not unusual for adopted children to struggle with a sense of past rejection, particularly if they do not know their birth mother’s story. As a result, some adopted children will wrestle, sometimes intensely, with the thought that they were rejected by their birth parents. This can potentially result in a haunting fear that [...]
Over at her blog, Practicing Theology, Connie Dugas writes about the stigma of being an orphan. She discusses the cultural prejudices often encountered by orphans and former orphans. You can read her helpful blog post here.
:: posted by dan ::
Today Thomas J DiFilipo of JCICS released an update on the Guatemala 5000 initiative, an effort to organize families with a stake or interest in Guatemala adoptions - or in child welfare generally - to advocate for a humane process while Guatemala transitions to a new adoption law. At present, there is no certainty
If you didn’t get the chance to hear our interview today on Calling for Truth, you can stream the audio here or download it here. We first posted about this interview yesterday.
Earlier today Kevin Boling and Paul Dean interviewed Laura Godwin (Director of Carolina Hope and adoptive mother), Dr. Voddie Baucham (conference speaker, adoptive parent [...]
Tomorrow (Thursday, October 18th) from 1 - 2 p.m. (EST) Kevin Boling, host of Calling For Truth, is interviewing Laura Godwin (Director of Carolina Hope), Voddie Baucham (adoptive parent and author of Family Driven Faith), and me about adoption in preparation for National Adoption Awareness Month (November).
You can listen
We are in the midst of a series of interviews that seek to address adoption-related issues from a theological perspective. I am interviewing theologians, authors, adoptive parents, and a few adult adoptees about a number of adoption issues. Carolina Hope is committed to helping Christians think theologically about all things adoption. We believe that this [...]
Recently the Guatemalan Congress approved sweeping changes to the international adoption system in their country. The bill - as passed - had no provision for grandfathering current cases, and (without such a grandfather clause) would certainly interfere with many adoptions that have already begun. The bill is now in committee, and amendments are being proposed, [...]
This is the fourth in our series of interviews about adoption. The purpose of these interviews is to address adoption-related issues from a theological perspective. We are interviewing theologians, authors, adoptive parents, and a few adult adoptees about a number of adoption issues. Carolina Hope is committed to helping Christians in general and both prospective [...]
An important biblical theme often overlooked by Christians is the sonship of Israel. When we hear the expression, son of God, we think of Jesus (as we should), but we forget that the first son of God mentioned in Scripture is the nation of Israel.
Through the correspondence of two of Israel’s privileges listed in Romans [...]
This from the Joint Council on International Children’s Services:
Joint Council Announcement
Program: Professional Enrichment
Announcement Date: September 12, 2007
Regarding: Ethica & Evan B Donaldson Conference on Ethics
Joint Council’s Tom DiFilipo and over 20 Joint Council members will be speaking at the Adoption Ethics and Accountability Conference, sponsored by Joint Council Member Organizations Evan B Donaldson and Ethic [...]
Employers step up with benefits as adoption becomes more difficult
September 2, 2007
BY SUE SCHELLENBARGER The Wall Street Journal
Adopting a child from overseas has never been easy. But new restrictions on overseas adoptions have made the process much tougher, causing added stress and job disruptions for would-be parents.
The changes are demanding more patience on [...]
This article was written by Laura Godwin, Director of Carolina Hope, and originally published by The Greenville News on September 11th, 1997. Since adoption law has not changed too much since then, we thought we would recirculate this thought-provoking article to encourage lawmakers to make state laws more pro-adoption.
Make adoption wonderful choice, not humiliating ordeal
By [...]