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Thinking About Adoption?
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You can also call us at 212-400-8150 for more information.
The Adoption Resource Library contains recomended books and articles by adoption professionals, birth parents, adoptive parents and adopted children, who share their unique insights.
Adoption Without Fear
James L. Gritter James Gritter, a social worker who was a pioneer in the transition from closed to open adoptions, gathers the stories of seventeen couples who tell of their experience with open adoption, ranging from occasional contact, to sharing the birth experience, and their lives beyond. While each relationship has its unique qualities there are also many common threads in these emotion-filled and often complex family stories. Published 20 years ago, this book still has relevance for families today.
Out of the Shadows: Birthfathers' Stories
Mary Martin Mason Based on in-depth interviews, this book profiles a diverse group of men "who have fathered a child whom they are not parenting" including, but not only, through adoption. Common issues emerge in their often painful stories: grief, regret and shame, damage to self-esteem and subsequent relationships, and lasting feelings for the child. Besides the emotional cost to the birthfather, Mason also examines the impact of shutting out birthfathers on adoptive parents and children.
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International FAQWhat makes Spence-Chapin unique?Spence-Chapin has been helping families adopt internationally for more than 30 years, with a strong network of skilled representatives and partners in the countries where we work. Spence-Chapin is a full-service agency, which means that we are here for you before, during and after your adoption. Your international adoption team consists of a home study social worker, program assistant and country coordinator who will work to make your adoption process as smooth and worry-free as possible.
What is the first step in adopting internationally?The first step in adopting internationally is choosing an agency. If you are considering Spence-Chapin, you are welcome to attend one of our free in-person or on-line information sessions, see box at left. When choosing an agency, you might want to consider factors such as licensure and accreditation, agency history, range of services and practice standards. For information on the adoption process please refer to our Step-By-Step page for local and network families.
What is a home study?An adoption home study is a supportive and educational process where you begin to work toward becoming an adoptive parent. Typically included in the homestudy is parent preparation and training as required by The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Through this process you will share information about yourself and the circumstances that have brought you to your adoption. In small group settings and through individual meetings, you and your social worker will discuss topics such as parenting philosophies, forming a family through adoption, transcultural and transracial concerns, talking about adoption with your child, educating friends and family, as well as medical and developmental issues for adopted children. This process results in an actual document — your adoption home study. For an international adoption, this document is then shared with U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, the country from which you have decided to adopt; and for some country programs, with the court that will finalize your adoption.
How do I choose a program?Begin by asking yourself: Is there a particular culture or part of the world that I am/we are drawn to? Are there people from a similar background in my/our family or community? Will I be able to find opportunities to maintain my/our child's cultural heritage? What are the challenges of being a visible adoptive family? Do I meet the requirements/restrictions of a particular country? Do I have the flexibility to adjust to the unpredictability of a particular country and its adoption procedures? Am I prepared to adopt an older child or sibling group? How much information do I need to feel comfortable adopting a child?
Our adoption social workers are available to discuss your program choice and guide you through your decision. What will happen if a country closes its adoption program while I am in the process of an adoption?Change and unpredictability are often inherent in international adoption. Although Spence-Chapin has no control over the adoption process in any foreign country, we will do our best to keep you informed, advocate on your behalf and provide you with support during challenging times. If completing the adoption from the country that you have applied to becomes impossible, we will work with you in order to help find another program that meets your needs, and to amend your home study and other paperwork in order to meet the requirements of that country.
What is a dossier and why do I have to prepare one?A dossier is a collection of documents that prospective parents gather in order to adopt internationally. The dossier is essentially your supporting documents for your adoption application to the foreign country. In many cases, the dossier documents are authenticated or legalized by local and state authorities in the United States before they can be considered legal documents. While dossier preparation can sometimes feel complicated and overwhelming, Spence-Chapin’s international staff members are experts in helping you to prepare your dossier and navigating you through the international adoption process.
I want to adopt a healthy child. Can you assure a child's health?Spence-Chapin always provides families with all available medical information about a child being referred for adoption. However, it is never possible to guarantee any child's health and depending on the birth country, we receive different amounts of information on the child's health status. As part of the preparation process, we will provide you with information about medical issues typically seen in children from particular countries. Once medical information is received on a specific child, we ask that you consult a pediatrician experienced in international adoption medicine, to review that information.
I want to select the gender of my child. Is that possible?Because Spence-Chapin is committed to finding homes for all children, generally do not offer gender choice to families adopting their first child. In some country programs, it might be possible to request a child of a specific gender if you are already parenting; if you adopt a waiting child; or if you select a country where significantly more children of one gender are available.
What will I do if I have a problem while I am overseas?In all of our international programs, Spence-Chapin has skilled representatives or partner agencies that guide our families through their trip overseas. These representatives are the best initial resource for any problems that might arise. They are able to connect to the Spence-Chapin program coordinator as well as in-country sources immediately, in an attempt to resolve any issue that might arise. We also encourage families to build a relationship with a pediatrician who specializes in international adoption who can be available to you while travelling abroad. Families are always able to reach their program coordinator by e-mail and telephone, and can also depend on their social worker to be in touch during the trip.
What resources are available to me once I come home?Spence-Chapin’s post-adoption services are available to you for a lifetime and for no fee for the first year following your adoption. Our Adoption Resource Center offers extensive post-adoption services, from counseling about adoption- and child development-related issues, to social workers who will help you connect with appropriate services beyond Spence-Chapin.
I don't live in Manhattan. Can I still work with Spence-Chapin?Those residing outside of our New York/New Jersey metro area can still adopt through Spence-Chapin’s international placement program. Our network of more than 30 regional agencies enables those seeking to adopt through many of our overseas programs to work with Spence-Chapin in partnership with their local agency.
Can I apply to more than one international program at the same time?Prospective adoptive applicants are encouraged to communicate their interest in a concurrent adoption as early as possible in their process. With wait times in many countries increasing to several years, families may have the option to submit concurrent applications to two international programs (or an international and domestic program) at the same time. However, as each country program, partnering agency, and family’s eligibility differs, concurrent applications are decided upon on a case-by-case basis in collaboration with a family’s social worker. Generally, Spence-Chapin asks that families allow for at least 9 months age difference, and 1 year between placements of children into a family to facilitate healthy bonding, attachment, and ability of the older child to welcome a sibling into his or her new family.
What are the fundamental differences between International and Domestic adoption at Spence-Chapin?While there are many procedural and bureaucratic differences, the fundamental differences include levels of openness, how adoptive families are matched with their children, and ages of children placed. Spence-Chapin’s domestic adoption program encourages open adoption whenever possible, while in international adoption it is not always possible to know about the child’s birth family. When children are matched with their families through international adoption, this is often done through a government body overseas or through the agency facilitators. In domestic adoption, birth parents are given the opportunity to select a family for their baby. Lastly, Spence-Chapin’s domestic adoption program places children who range in age from newborn to a few months old. In international adoption, children tend to be at least 7 months old, and more commonly are in the 12 month and up age range. Depending on the country program, we place young toddlers all the way up to school aged children. In addition, there are varying wait times and fee structures between the two programs. Please visit the international and domestic sections on this website for more information.
I don’t see answers to my questions.How can I get more information? We welcome families to contact us with any specific questions or concerns, and offer several options to do so. To request more information, click here. To speak with us by phone, please call the International Inquiry line at 212-400-8150.
To get an overview of the international adoption process, attend one of our free in-person or on-line information meetings, see box at left. For families thinking about international adoption but who are not sure if it is the right choice for them, Spence-Chapin offers a Pre-Adoption Consultation Service. This service is designed to help individuals and couples explore their options for adoption and feelings about building their family through adoption. Possible topics for discussion are: Understanding the adoption process; Considering if adoption is right for your family; Navigating differences in readiness for adoption between partners; Preparing for the unique challenges and rewards of adoption; Thinking about readiness to be a single parent; Making the transition from infertility to adoptive parenting; Parenting both adoptive and biological children; Thinking about the challenges of transracial and transcultural adoption; Exploring domestic versus international adoption; Assessing eligibility and program options. To schedule an appointment with one of our adoption professionals please call 212-400-8150. Consultations are available at our Manhattan, Long Island and New Jersey offices. The one hour consultation fee is $125, the total of which is applied to the initial registration fee, if a family chooses to submit an application to Spence-Chapin. |
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