"Family Services", "Human Services", "Protective Services" ... whatever titles agencies may be tagged with ... many reports these days seem to indicate that when it comes to such the emphasis is not anywhere in the general vicinity of "service", and "family", "human" and "protective" are all a bit of a stretch, as well.

Like the well-publisized situation in the UK now where an adoption quota system is said to have inspired almost rampant removals of children from family homes, there appears in the good old USA to be widespread misuses of position and power on the one hand and... more

As always, there are hot-button topics in the adoption world getting a lot of attention, and a couple of them -- completely unrelated on the surface -- are overlapping a bit in a way I find interesting.

One, the case of the Stocklaufer family where the husband was deemed by a judge to be too fat to become father to an adopted child even though he and his wife had been specifically chosen by the mother and are biologically related.

Gary Stocklaufer yesterday underwent... more

Back in the days when I was still allowed to read along on the International Adopt Talk group, a forum primarily for transracial international adoptees now grown and those who care about transracial international adoption ... before they booted me out for addressing an issue of blatant misrepresentation ... I noticed a frequent theme from some of the more strident posters on the list having to do with gratitude.

I've encountered the same tone in other places, in personal blogs most notably,... more

In a surprising move toward reconciliation, two previously antagonistic support groups are merging in an attempt to increase the likelihood of their mutual message being heard outside their spheres.

Both claiming to be severely traumatized by the same process but from opposite sides of the experience, mothers of children delivered through Caesarian Section and children who entered the world that way have often been at loggerheads.

As moderator on one of the Webgroups formed in 2005 said, "Intense focus on resentment and regrets have kept our groups notoriously distant for the past years, and the ranchor... more

In writing a while back about divisions in the adoption world, I mentioned the popular tendency for those of a negative outlook to flock together, given that misery really does love company.

The ubiquitous "support group", of which Yahoo lists somewhere around 30,000 of the online variety, although usually inspired by the concepts of mutual aid and fellowship, is sometimes observed to have morphed into little more than a vent vehicle and rant-fest.

Although venting and ranting can feel good, ... more

There's a fight on in Washington over the State Children's Health Insurance Bill that readers might want to think about weighing in on. (The White House E-mail address: comments@whitehouse.gov)

My first thoughts in reading about the bill ... its benefits and its costs ... run toward an issue near and dear to many hearts here. It's not only children in general and their necessary health care I'm thinking of -- vital, no doubt, as it's far beyond the time in America when any child should suffer for lack of sufficient heath care -- but how much potential difference the peace of mind an assurance of access to proper medical might make to women... more

Continued from here.

I can easily recall the first early and tentative steps in my adoption journey and fully understand the potential impact slanderous allegations, vindictive accusations and well-rehearsed smear tactics can have on a tender, hopeful heart longing for nothing more than to love a child.

Prospective adoptive parents at the beginning of their path may feel compelled to give up before they start when suddenly and surprisingly brought virtually face to face with someone screaming, "Any child is better off dead than adopted!", and insisting that adopted children grow... more

From here ...

Often in the quest to educate themselves early in the adoption process, people come across points of view that seem to suggest that adoption itself is inherently a bad thing. This may present in the form of isolated cases of abuse by adoptive parents being extrapolated out to the nth degree in an attempt to convey an illusion that these are widespread and common, insinuations that the adoption... more

This is the first installment of a long commentary, complete with flourishes, for people new to adoption. The shorter, no-frills version is here.

From the fringes, the adoption world can give the impression of a rarified, rose-tinted Fantasyland of doe-eyed orphans running into the open arms of doting parents, all stage-managed by kismet and blessed from above. Those who will never enter the world may keep those illusions and feed them on sugarcoated Movies-of-the-Week and cherry-picked news accounts of happily-ever-after.

Anyone with the inclination ... or temerity... more

This is continued from the previous post, where I've been writing about a brouhaha presently taking place in Internet adoption-related places.

A combination of factors has resulted in me being barred from International Adopt Talk. First, apparently, I became persona non grata because I pointed to this post from last week where I addressed the issue of blatant misrepresentation being used to entangle international adoption in the sticky, stinky web of human trafficking in response... more