Adoption

This course covers the crucial steps of domestic infant adoption, including the home study, locating expectant parents, validating the social medical history form, as well as preparing the hospital plan and post-adoption steps. We cover the total costs, timelines as well as crucial factors post-adoption.

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Adoption
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Experts you'll learn from

Adam Pertman

President
National Center on Adoption & Permanency

Denise Seidelman

Adoption & Reproductive Attorney
Rumbold & Seidelman

Ashley Mitchell

Birth Mom
Founder of Lifetime Healing Foundation

Dr. Amanda Baden

Psychologist & Professor
Montclair State University

Tamekia Swint

Executive Director of Styles 4 Kidz

What you'll learn

In this course we cover the costs for domestic infant adoption, as well as the timelines, crucial steps and major decisions to be weighed. We also focus on post-adoption aspects namely levels of openness with birth parents, coping with microaggressions and how this process can look for single and LGBTQ adoptive parents. Finally, we take a high-level look at the process of intercountry adoption.

Course Syllabus7 Lessons1h 42m

  1. In this lesson we'll cover:
    1. Basic Summary
  2. In this lesson we'll cover:
    1. The 10 Steps of Adoption
    2. Contrasting Agency and Private Adoptions
  3. In this lesson we'll cover:
    1. Getting Started
    2. Establish Preferences for the Adoption Arrangement
    3. Select a Path and Partner
    4. Becoming Eligible to Adopt
    5. Creating a Book or Website
    6. Locating Expectant Parents
    7. Matching and Due Diligence
    8. Verifying the Pregnancy and Social Medical History
    9. Building a Relationship
    10. Arranging for Legal and Emotional Counseling
    11. Ensuring State Laws are Followed
    12. Making a Hospital Plan
    13. Signing the Relinquishment Documents
    14. Obtaining a Court Order of Adoption
  4. Lesson 4 (17 min)
    Openness and Adoption
    In this lesson we'll cover:
    1. A Few Definitions
    2. Open vs Closed Adoptions: Impact on Adoptees
    3. Openness on a Continuum
    4. Openness and Satisfaction
    5. Fluctuations in Openness
    6. Potential Challenges of Openness
    7. Tips for Success in an Open Adoption
  5. In this lesson we'll cover:
    1. What is a Microaggression?
    2. Microaggressions toward Adopted Children and Adoptive Parents
    3. Race-Based Microaggressions
    4. Cultural Socialization
    5. Preparing Children to Deal with Tough Issues
  6. In this lesson we'll cover:
    1. Quick Rundown on Costs
    2. Single People
    3. LGBTQ Individuals and Couples
  7. In this lesson we'll cover:
    1. Quick Summary
    2. Waning Popularity of Intercountry Adoption
    3. Costs
    4. Legal Considerations and Requirements
    5. Demographics and Special Needs
    6. Hague Convention
    7. Transracial and Transcultural Factors
    8. Single and LGBTQ Parents

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