How much does it cost to adopt from foster care?
Adopting from US foster care is generally free or near free, with costs often reimbursable up to $2,000. What the figures actually are, and what is not covered.
Author: Imole
Coercive attachment therapies: what to avoid, and why
Practices involving enforced holding or restraint have no empirical support and have been associated with serious harm, including death. How to recognise them.
The first two weeks after a child arrives
Routines, belongings, introductions and sleep. What actually helps in the first fortnight of a placement, and what commonly goes wrong.
Contact with birth family: what the evidence actually says
Most adoptive parents fear contact will unsettle a child. Sustained contact with birth relatives is linked to better adjustment in adulthood.
When a placement ends: grief that nobody warns you about
Success in foster parenting usually means a loss for the foster family. Why carers need preparing for that, and what helps.
Secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and asking for respite
Living alongside someone else’s trauma has a measurable effect on carers. The symptoms, what protects against it, and why families do not ask for respite.
Can you adopt if you are single?
Single people adopt from foster care in every US state and Canadian province. What agencies actually assess, and the one province with a marital status rule.
Can you adopt if you rent instead of owning your home?
Home ownership is not a requirement anywhere we could verify. What is assessed is space and safety. What that means in practice.
Adopting with a criminal record: what actually disqualifies you
US federal law sets a specific list of permanent and five-year bars. An old conviction outside those categories is not automatically disqualifying.
Why a child who has been in care may not respond to normal discipline
Trauma responses are reflexive, not deliberate. Why ordinary consequences can make things worse for a child who has been in care, and what helps instead.
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