Author Archives: Jess Alanis

Placing My Child for Adoption: An Act of Love and Hope

If you are considering placing your baby or child for adoption, it is important that you start off by speaking to a social worker, adoption agency, or other adoption professional. It is important that you know your rights as a birth mother or birth father and that as a birth parent, you are making the… (Read More)

Can Birth Parents Change Their Mind?

  By: Julia K. Porter, PhD   When I talk to individuals about adoption, one of the first things that people ask is about birth parents changing their mind after making an adoption plan. In some instances, birth parents that have chosen adoptive parents, do decide to parent–as is their right. For those seeking to… (Read More)

LGTBQ+ Adoption & Pride Month

  As we get ready to celebrate Pride Month, it’s not only important to recognize those in the LGTBQ community, but to understand equality in adoption. We know that the LGTBQ+ community, now more often referred to as LGTBQIA+  (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning, and asexual) have struggled to adopt legally.    In fact,… (Read More)

Foster Care Awareness

  According to ChildWelfare.gov, there are “over 407,000 children and youth in foster care, and 34 percent were placed with relatives or kin.” In many cases, a family member is the first person that agencies seek when they’re looking to home a child in the foster care system. However, this is not always possible.  May… (Read More)

Can Being Adopted at Birth Cause Abandonment Issues?

We adopted my daughter at infancy and though I was prepared for trauma and other issues that stem from being an adoptee, I wasn’t fully prepared for how early on in a child’s life they have such big emotions about their adoption.  We have a semi-open adoption and though we have exchanged letters, my daughter… (Read More)

How long is the Adoption Process?

  I often get referred to people interested in the adoption process by friends and family to talk with them about our own journey. Many people want to know how long it takes right away. The reality is that no situation is alike and depending on how you go about building your family and various… (Read More)

What Is Involved in Adoption Home Studies?

  One of the most important aspects of preparing for adoption is the home study or home visit. I talk to a lot of couples who are planning to adopt or are starting the process and this is one thing that makes people nervous. To them, it seems overwhelming to have a stranger come into… (Read More)

Adoption Budgeting: Why Is Adoption So Expensive?

When people start to talk about adoption and making decisions about building their family that way, one of the conversations that come to the forefront is the costs that come with adopting. Adoption costs and creating a budget are important facets of the process and is one that many people have questions about when they… (Read More)

The Benefits of Adoption

According to Adoption Network, around 140,000 children are adopted each year in the United States. Though there are no definite statistics on how many couples are waiting to adopt, it is thought that there is no shortage on Americans hoping to adopt and that there are potentially one to two million couples waiting to be… (Read More)

Registration is Open | 2019 Trauma-Informed Care Workshop for Parents & Professionals

  You are invited to participate in a FREE Trauma-informed workshop presented by Foundations Health & Wholeness, Brown County Health & Human Services in collaboration with Brown County United Way, Howe Community Resource Center & MediCoping LLC. The training series will provide information and tools to help recognize and respond to behaviors that result from… (Read More)