Private adoption--the process by which a couple legally adopts a baby directly from the birth parents--accounts for more than half the adoptions in the U.S. in the last decade. In this supportive guide, the authors dispel the myths and misconceptions that surround the process in order to help childless couples achieve their dream quickly and confidently.

Your dream of being a parent can come true. The Complete Adoption Book is your indispensable resource along the way. Whether you choose to pursue independent, agency, or international adoption, The Complete Adoption Book is the most comprehensive and authoritative adoption book you can use to guide you through the process—from deciding if adoption is right for you to budgeting your expenses and interviewing birth mothers. As adoption professionals and adoptive parents, authors Laura Beauvais-Godwin and Raymond Godwin bring an unparalleled level of expertise and compassion to every situation an adopting parent is likely to encounter. The information provided in The Complete Adoption Book includes: *Information about every kind of adoption—from family adoption to independent and from agency to international *All contact information required for agencies, attorneys, and support groups *State-by-state requirements for completing legal adoptions *A step-by-step guide to the home study The Complete Adoption Book puts control back in your hands and places you on the right track for securing the family you’ve always wanted quickly, legally, and with few complications.

'Handbook of Adoption' addresses topics in adoption that reflect the many dimensions of theory, research, development, race adjustment and clinical practice which can affect adoption triad members.

For: Stephen & Mary Perch.

For anyone involved in, or thinking about, adopting a child from abroad, The International Adoption Handbook is an essential guide. The process of international adoption can sometimes seem complex, frustrating, and endless. This step-by-step guide, which provides the necessary hard facts and information — as well as support through the experiences of the author and others — will help smooth the way. After a general discussion of who may adopt and what restrictions may apply, the book goes into the nitty-gritty of what the process entails: choosing where to adopt and how to go about it; using an agency or facilitator; initiating the home study; assembling a dossier; working with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service; knowing the topes of expenses that can be anticipated; and many other issues. In addition, the book provides up-to-date information on resources, including what is available today on the Internet, information that was previously difficult for adoptive parents to find out on their own. Equally informative are the author's interviews of a number of adoptive families whose stories are interspersed throughout the book. By sharing their experiences, they help to make the process work for others.

The 'Handbook of International Adoption Medicine' presents an overview of the specialized medical & developmental issues that affect internationally adopted children, offering guidelines to physicians caring for these children before, during & after adoption.

Bringing together scholars from a wide range of disciplines, this captivating and judicious Research Handbook provides diverse perspectives on the law and practice of adoption. It examines how adoption laws differ between countries and cultures, and the ongoing effects of adoption on the child, the birth parent(s), and the adoptive parent(s).

"In the Oxford Handbook of Developmental Psychology and the Law, eminent scholars from varied disciplines detail how developmental science and the law shape one another across the lifespan. The chapters address fundamental questions about how human development influences laws and practices in the legal system and how the law and its practices influence development. The chapters, as well, reveal how the potential for, and consequences of, victimization and perpetration-whether they be criminal or civil acts-are impacted by and impact development. The diversity of topics, range of influences across the lifespan, and complexities of developmental and legal influences are on display throughout the volume. In Section I, which spanned Infancy and Childhood to Adolescence, authors covered such topics as prenatal and infant abuse; the development of antisocial behavior in children and adolescents; questioning of minor victims, witnesses, and suspects; treatment of youth in juvenile, criminal, and specialty courts but also in immigration, custody, and adoption hearings, and finally in schools and prisons. In Section II, which spanned Adulthood to Aging, authors addressed some of the same topics, but here from the perspective of younger and older adults. These include antisocial behavior in adults, the experiences of elder adults as victim/witnesses, and experiences in prison, especially among parents and the elderly. Other topics were covered as well, including persons with developmental disabilities involvement in the courts, reentry transitions after incarceration, and reproductive and end-of-life legal rights. Across this comprehensive volume, authors demonstrate the immense value of research for policy and practice and viewing legal involvement through the lens of lifespan development"--

Adoption is practiced globally yielding a multidimensional area of study that cannot be characterized by a single movement or discipline. This handbook provides a central source of contemporary scholarship from a variety of disciplines with an international perspective and uses a multifaceted and interdisciplinary approach to ground adoption practices and activities in scientific research. Perspectives of birth/first parents, adoptive parents, and adopted persons are brought forth through a range of disciplinary and theoretical lenses. Beginning with background and context of adoption, including sociocultural and political contexts, the handbook then addresses the diversity of adoptive families in terms of family forms, attitudes about adoption, and characteristics of adopted children. Next, research examining the lived experience of adoption for birth parents, adoptive parents, and adopted individuals is presented. A variety of outcomes for internationally and domestically adopted children and adoptive families is then discussed and the handbook concludes by addressing the development, training, and implementation of adoption competent clinical practice. With cutting-edge research from top international scholars in a diversity of fields, The Routledge Handbook of Adoption should be considered essential reading for students, researchers, and practitioners across the fields of social work, sociology, psychology, medicine, family science, education, and demography. Interviews with chapter authors can be accessed as podcasts (https://anchor.fm/emily-helder) or as videos (https://bit.ly/2FIoi0a).

Authors Jayne E. Schooler and Thomas C. Atwood share insights into every aspect of adoption. This powerful resource addresses the needs and concerns facing adoptive parents, while offering encouragement for the journey ahead.