Adoption doesn't happen in a vacuum, but those new to the experience may get the idea that reinventing the wheel is required -- no matter which angle they come from.

This lack of familiarity with the adoption world ... an innocence, if you like, of unimagined complexities ... is a set-up.

With the real-world situation of lives literally at stake, blind trust that everything will go as it should and everyone involved is compassionate, caring and ethical is just plain silly. I can think of few circumstances that have less business prompting sheepish following , but that can be exactly the case when people are afraid, desperate and easily intimidated.

Although ... more

I've been wondering lately: is it just me experiencing far too much of the dark side of humanity, or is the whole world going through a phase where extreme nastiness is popping up.

This story out of Montana would indicate that, at least in the adoption world a few determined people are pretty darned determined to be horrid.

In Bozeman, a pleasant community fundraiser for an organization that helps local families adopt orphans from overseas was protested by a guy holding up a sign that read, "Stop Immigration, Keep America White."

The group has plans to bring seven... more

I was just writing this morning on the Older Parent Blog about parental concerns over toxic substances coming anywhere near close enough to contaminate children, so this news item is timely in many ways:

THIS JUST OUT for any parents with children into the Thomas the Tank Engine Toys:

The NYTimes just announced that Thomas the Tank Engine Toys are being recalled because of lead paint used in the manufacture that could... more

An article in the LA Times about Christian groups launching a "massive adoption campaign" has been getting buzz over the past few weeks, and my gut reaction to the story's subhead, "Thousands of churches will urge members to find homes with 'a mommy and a daddy' for the nation's 115,000 orphans", was a bit of a stomach lurch.

Adoption was portrayed as a tool for evangelism.

Urging families to adopt? Hmmm.

Much like China's "One Child Policy", or pressuring single women to relinquish their children to two-parent families,... more

Natasha Sky, multiracial mom to four kids ... two by adoption ... writer, artist and activist, and creator of the very popular transracial parenting blog Multiracial Sky, this week announced the launch of a new website providing resources for multiracial families.

MultiracialSky.com is a cheerful, pleasant site full of information, with pages on creating a multiracial home environment, talking about race, multiracial identity, hair and skin care, transracial adoption and finding and creating a multiracial community.

Attractive and easy to navigate,... more

News from the US ...

LOCAL legislators in Massachusetts are sponsoring new legislation to aid families with adopted children.

The bill will insert language into the state's General Law that will allow mental health professionals to attain, after intensive special training earning continuing education credits, certification as "adoption specialists".

Designed to help families easily locate appropriate and effective professionals, one sponsor says, "It is important that we have the right services available to the child and these families to handle this transition and... more

With a drum roll and a flourish ... ba doomp ba, Ta Daaaaa! ... Adoption.com's News Blog is launched.

Welcome one and all to what is destined to be the web's premium one-stop delivery spot for all the news that is the news in the adoption world.

I'm starting it off, and others will be joining in, determined to graze every corner and crevice ... in addition to the miles of column inches that present daily ... in a continuing quest to provide information on and directions to every adoption-related story, film, book, review, critique, tale, song and dance (the Adoption Reel ... not a square dance, but a cooperative triangle?) that pops into the public forum of press.

Like... more