Family Helper > Adoption Resource Central

Search this site:

Custom Search

 Adoption Resource Central

PRE-ADOPTION	SPECIAL NEEDS	RAISING CHILDREN
General    Considering    Collecting   Private    Public    Intn'l    Medical  Countries   Agencies   Photolist   Gay   Older   Open   Single   Support	Special needs   Attach  ADD  FAS    Institutions   Learning   Sensory	Parenting    Talking    School    Transracial   Culture   Search

Single parent adoption

Singles consider domestic adoption By Robin Hilborn Increasingly, singles are investigating the options for becoming parents: donor insemination, domestic adoption and international adoption. Those considering adopting internationally face some roadblocks: the high cost, and delays owing to legal impediments -- singles wait longer than couples because some countries put a quota on the number of singles allowed to adopt (e.g. China), or simply do not allow singles to adopt at all. If the international roadblocks are impassable, domestic adoption might be a good choice, especially a public adoption, which is free. Public agencies are used to placing with singles, and find them to be just as good at parenting as couples. The children available for adoption come from foster homes and are typically older, often with some special need. (For more see "Special Needs", www.familyhelper.net/arc/spnd.html, and "Domestic Public Adoption", www.familyhelper.net/arc/pub.html.) The single man or woman may conclude that making a family does not necessarily mean making a baby. There are children already here who need a family. And once your child comes home, will you be ready for a major life adjustment? Andrea Engber writes at www.singlemothers.org: "Prepare yourself for (one of) the biggest transformations of your life. what you miss in sacrifices for your child, you make up in the love for and from her." Here are some questions for the prospective single parent: -- Are you prepared to live with less sleep, less money to spend and fewer social outings? Take up camping, free outdoor concerts, cross-country skiing, potluck dinners with friends and neighbours. Find out about children's community events. -- Will you make the cross-cultural connections that will enable your child to flourish? -- Are you eligible for support for childcare? -- Do you have disability insurance to protect your single source of income? -- Guardianship: who will look after your child in case of your death or disability? Web Adoption Events for Single Parents, www.childrensbridge.com/pages/singleEvents.html. List of events for Canadian singles. Children's Bridge, Ottawa. Our Chinese Daughter's Foundation, www.ocdf.org. Grants to non-profit organizations that provide Chinese Culture Programs that include single-parent families. Many China resources. OCDF Newsletter; China for Children Magazine. Jane Liedtke, Bloomington IL. Responsible Single Fathers, www.singlefather.org. Helping single dads. Vince Regan, Grand Rapids MI. Single Mothers, www.singlemothers.org. Parenting articles. Andrea Engber, National Organization of Single Mothers. Single Mothers by Choice, mattes.home.pipeline.com. Women who have decided to become single parents. Jane Mattes, New York. Single Parent Adoption, adoption.about.com/msubsgl.htm. Articles. About.com. Single Parent Adoption Network, www.members.aol.com/onemomfor2/links.html. Links for single parenting. Single Parent Adoption and Women, adoption.about.com/od/nontraditional/a/singleapar.htm. Preferring international adoption; need to nurture; guilt. Martha Osborne, at About.com. Single Parent Adoption: What You Need to Know, www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_single. Why singles adopt; obstacles; steps; costs; services. CWIG, 1994. Single Parent Adoptions: Why Not?, www.adopting.org/adoptions/single-parent-adoptions-why-not.html. "A single parent can provide a loving and nurturing home for a child." Cake-Hanson-Cormell, 2001 Single Parent Special Needs Adoption, www.spsna.org. A personal story of special needs adoption by a single U.S. father. Single Parents Network, www.singleparentsnetwork.com. Directory of links. Single Parents, singleparents.about.com. Guide to single parenting. Jennifer Wolf. About.com. Email lists China Daughters, groups.yahoo.com/group/chinadaughters. Email list for single adopters of Asian children. 532 members. Single-aparents, www.adopting.com/single-aparents. Email list for single adoptive parents. Articles and books Branham, E. (1970). One-parent adoptions. Children, 17(3), 103-107. Feigelman, W. and Silverman, A.R. (1997). Single parent adoption. In: The Handbook for Single Adoptive Parents, Chevy Chase, MD: National Council for Single Adoptive Parents. 123-129. Groze, V.K. and Rosenthal, J.A. (1991). Single parents and their adopted children: a psychosocial analysis. The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 130-139. Marindin, Hope. The Handbook for Single Adoptive Parents. National Council for Single Adoptive Parents, Box 15084, Chevy Chase, MD 20825. Mattes, Jane. Single Mothers by Choice: A Guidebook for Single Women Who Are Considering or Have Chosen Motherhood. Random House, mattes.home.pipeline.com/book.html.

CONTENTS Web Email lists Articles and books

 Adoption Resource Central

PRE-ADOPTION	SPECIAL NEEDS	RAISING CHILDREN
General    Considering    Collecting   Private    Public    Intn'l    Medical  Countries   Agencies   Photolist   Gay   Older   Open   Single   Support	Special needs   Attach  ADD  FAS    Institutions   Learning   Sensory	Parenting    Talking    School    Transracial   Culture   Search

	Family Helper www.familyhelper.net			A WEB RESOURCE FOR FAMILIES SINCE 1996 VISITS SINCE MAY 5, 2009
				About us    Copyright    Privacy    Disclaimer