2007 appears to be full of promise and engaging year for the Child Welfare League of America’s (CWLA) Mid Atlantic Region. They will be starting the year with the relase of the Request for Proposals and Save the Date for their upcoming regional conference in September 2007.

The theme for this years conference is Crisis in Child Welfare: Strengthening Public Policy and Practice. The conference will be held at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel in Baltimore, MD.

This is an opportunity for many of us to share and exchange information regarding... more

In my opinion, the term "passive search" is somewhat of a misnomer. A passive search really does not involved any searching. All that a passive search accomplishes is to make it easier if someone comes searching for you.

Some triad members separated by adoption may not feel comfortable searching. Instead they would rather make it easier for their birth family member to locate them. It is a great theory, but often both parties wait for the other party to initiate a search.

A passive search involves mainly leaving a paper or electronic trail... more

Although I have discussed making the decision to search in general, there are some different issues for birth parents who are considering a search. People seem to understand better why birth parents might want to search.

However, in general, I do not believe that people feel that birth parents are as entitled to search as adoptees. I have often heard people say that adoptees should be the ones to search. Even some adoptees say that they believe that they do not believe that birth parents should search.

However, I have also heard many... more

As an adoptive mom - I'd love to also hear what we can do to encourage our children to search if they'd like to. And how we can be supportive of that process (help, sounding board, etc).

The best way that an adoptive mom can encourage their child to search if they decide someday that they want to is let them know that: 1) If they decide to search that you will support them; 2) Searching is entirely normal; 3) You understand their need to search; 4) You will still love them... more

If your child is very young and expresses a need for their birth family, how to handle the situation is more complicated. However, to summarily ignore their desires even at a young age is showing them that their feelings are wrong and do not matter.

When extremely young children talk about wanting to meet birth family, you may not necessarily need to search or attempt a reunion. (Opening a closed adoption is a distinct possibility and a blog post about that subject is coming up in my first parent blog.)However, before proceeding, you need... more

Support them, that's what you do if your child wants to search. Finally, I have a simple, straight forward response for a question! If your child - adult or minor - wants to search, provide all the support and encouragement that you can muster. If the thought of your adopted child searching strikes terror in your heart, keep in mind that it probably hits your child that way too. They will need your support maybe more than any other time in their life.

Wimpy, insecure people rarely search. The whole thought of facing possible rejection is... more

Here are the events for Center For Family Connections for February. Post Adoption Issues and Concerns will be held on Wednesday, January 24, 2007 from 9:00am - 12:00pm. Pre-payment and pre-registration required is required. The fee is $55 per person and LICSW, LCSW, and LMFT CEUs available for an additional fee of $35 per person

What are post adoption issues? Why do we need to know about them? How do we respond to them? This event will focus on the issues and concerns that arise in families created by adoption and foster care. They... more

What do you do? Adoptive parents react to the news that their child is considering a search in a myriad of ways. The ways to respond to the news of a search can vary tremendously. Many factors influence how parents react. Here are a few of those factors:

1) The strength of their relationship with their child. 2) Whether or not they are relaxed and open people. 3) Their personalities in general. 4) Their views on birth parents.

Many thoughts start churning through adoptive parents' heads once they hear about... more

According to Saturday, January 6, 2007article written by David Crary an AP National writer that appeared in the NY Times at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070106/ap_on_re_us/foreign_adoptions_2 foreign adoptions dropped sharply in the United States during 2006. Foreign adoptions have tripled over the past 15 years and due to multiple factors that many would be adoptive parents have reconsidered their options.

The article claims that the declines that were recorded last... more

This is a website for anyone searching in the UK and was launched and hosted by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF). The website is designed for those who wish to trace relatives and highlights national and local records holding institutions, legal guidelines, and agencies. The purpose is to dramatically streamline the search for natural families.

This website officially launched in May 2006 and has become a valuable resource for many. The website... more