I took my child to a well-respected mental health practitioner in the community. We had never met so I had to give the doctor the details about why we where there. We were there for a non adoption-related issue. After we talked about why were there and the relevant background information, the doctor asked […]
On April 2015 Kathy Crissey and I had the opportunity to attend a training on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) put on by ECCPASA, March of Dimes and Northpointe Council. Dr. Luther K. Robinson and Christie Petrenko Ph.D. were the two keynote speakers. We learned quite a bit and thought we might share some […]
Wendy Lane and Tapestry Books Resource Associate Christopher Fancher recently had a chance to share information about their respective initiatives with many child welfare professionals.
As a New York State Authorized non-profit adoption agency, Adoption STAR works closely with the New York State Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS).
As per their website, “OCFS is […]
Regina Kupecky just gave a talk entitled, ‘The Confusing World of Brothers, Sisters and Adoption’. The talk was a good reminder about the importance of talking and thinking about siblings as they relate to adoption. In the adoption community we spend a lot of time talking about birth parents, but not as much time […]
What We Don’t Want To Talk About – But Must
By Michele Fried
I didn’t want to read the article entitled, Suicide and Adoption: We Need to Stop Whispering, but I did. I am glad I did. Yes, I know most adoptees do well. But this one is struggling…
Just a few very powerful words from this […]
Family STAR conducted a workshop entitled Race Matters. The workshop included a panel that addressed topics such as transracial adoption, white privilege, identity and discrimination. There were four short (3-6 minute) videos included in the discussion that many found interesting. Here they are:
http://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000003575589/a-conversation-with-my-black-son.html?smid=fb-share
“A Conversation with my black son”
In this short documentary, parents reveal […]
The holiday season is often a time when families get together to celebrate the season. Aunts, uncles, cousins, greet each other and sit around the kitchen or the living room catching up and marveling at how much has happened since they have last seen each other. It is during these times that phrases like […]
You put together a charming profile that boasts of your loving relationship, your inviting home and the wonderful life that awaits a child. Certainly you don’t envision divorce at the end of such journey. But sadly divorce is a reality for many families, and adoptive families are not immune. However, when adoptive parents divorce, […]
Guest Blogger Jennifer Nickel considers why open adoption is important even under trying and difficult circumstances.
Because he needed to know with his own ears that he was loved BY THEM.
My love, my overabundant, over whelming, huge amount of pure love for my kids cannot erase their need and desire to be loved by their […]
Adoptive parents often make a commitment to send pictures and letters to their child’s birth mother on a regular basis. This blog is intended to give a window into what may happen after you send those pictures and write those letters. Each story is unique but they all speak to the ways in which […]