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

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

If you are a regular reader here, you know that I found a grave at the end of my search a little over 13 years ago. When I found a grave, I didn’t know anyone else that this had happened to nor did I feel as if I could reach out to seek the support of others who may have found a grave.

It wasn’t until several years after I found a grave that I actually met another person who also found a grave and since then I have unfortunately, met several whose searches ended with the devastating realization of a grave.

Just today, I was going through my... more

America’s Multi-Billion Dollar Unregulated Adoption Industry by Mirah Riben Foreword by Evelyn Robinson. The projected release date is February 15, 2007.

Stork mar•ket. (stôrk märkt) n. 1. an in-depth exposé of the corruption in the adoption industry; the fine line between black and gray market adoption; scams, coercion and exploitation. 2. an in-depth report on the international market where children are the commodity being bought and sold to the highest bidders including pedophiles with prices based on quality (i.e. age, skin color) of... more

There are many adoptees who didn’t learn that they were adopted until later in life. Some may be in their late 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, or even older. These adoptees are referred to as Late Discovery Adoptees. Often times these adoptees learn of their adoption after the death of their adoptive parents. One of the challenges facing these adoptees is the dearth of information on discovering one is adopted later in life.

Ron Morgan is an adoptee who found out he was adopted in 1991 at the age of 36. In the past 15 years he has been in contact with hundreds... more

Visit http://members.cox.net/patrickm/enter.html to view the coming year's calendar as well as a selection of greeting cards.

The calendar and cards capture in words and images some of the unique ideas, thoughts, and feelings involved in adoption which are so often difficult to express, and they feature some excellent photography, as well as a caption for each photo for each month. The calendar is 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 folded, 8 1/2 x 11 hanging and is priced at $14 each.

They make... more

Searching and waiting seem to go hand in hand. Waiting really is the hardest thing to do. One example is that when you contact the adoption agency that handled your adoption you have to wait to hear back from them. If you are a natural parent you are waiting to hear if your child has been in contact with them and if you are an adoptee you are waiting to hear if your natural parent has been in contact with them but also your non identifying information. If you are a natural parent who can initiate a search or an adoptee who is making contact through the agency... more

There are many search angels out there and I applaud each and everyone for the amount of time they volunteer to the search efforts that they do. On the flip side though I have seen search angels doing all the searching and making contact and then things go up in some because it was all done for them.

It is so important that triad members searching be involved in their own search and not just turn it over to a search angel. The reason I say this is because it helps the person who is searching to be aware of what is involved and appreciate the work the... more

Twice Born: Memoirs of an Adopted Daughter by Betty Jean Lifton is being reissued of the classic 1975 memoir with a new Afterward.

The following is a press release received from the editor.

In this significant and lasting account, Betty Jean Lifton, acclaimed author of several books on the psychology of the adopted, tells her own story of growing up at a time when adoptees were still in the closet. Twice Born recounts her early struggle with the loneliness and isolation of not knowing her birth parents, her identification, as a journalist... more

I received the following correspondence from Carol Schaefer earlier this week regarding her new book Grandmothers Council the World. Carol has authored and/or co-edited a few books the most popular and well known being The Other Mother: A Woman’s Love for the Child She Gave Up for Adoption.

Carol Schaefer is a natural mother, and an awesome person. I have read all of her books as well as seen her off broadway play a few years ago called A Sacred Virgin. She also presents at conferences for the American Adoption Congress,... more