discontinuing the AdoptUsKids blog

A Message to All Who Have Used This Blog:

Thank you for your enthusiastic participation in our blog over this past year. The support that you have offered your peers and the insight you have provided to professionals has been invaluable.

We are discontinuing the AdoptUsKids blog effective immediately, now turning the efforts of our small staff to working more closely with the States and Tribes to resolve the systemic barriers that you, our bloggers, have helped us to better know and understand. Effective immediately with this posting, no new comments can be posted here, but the existing posts can still be viewed on this space.

We have heard and have learned from the concerns you have expressed about the challenges you have encountered as you have worked to become foster or adoptive parents, as well as the things that you have told us that work. After much consideration, AdoptUsKids will now work to translate what you have told us into action on a macro, or systemic, level. The staff who have administered our blog will add their efforts to those of other staff as AdoptUsKids redoubles our efforts to support States and Tribes to address concerns that have been identified in this space and by the University of Texas (Barriers and Success Factors in Adoption from Foster Care: Perspectives of Families & Staff. For a 15 minute video presentation and the full report on CD-rom, send your complete mailing address to info@adoptuskids.org).

We understand that your experiences with adoption and foster care are not always positive. If you are having difficulty with the adoption and foster care process in your state, please contact your State Adoption Program Manager or State Foster Care Manager. Their contact information is located at childwelfare.gov.

As we designed our plan to discontinue the AdoptUsKids blog, we researched other sites where you can continue your conversations, connect with your peers and seek professional support. Two that we have identified are: www.AdoptiveFamiliesMagazine.com and www.Families.com. Both of these websites link to blogs. Although neither is exactly the same as the AdoptUsKids blog, both offer information and resources that may be helpful to you.

It has been our pleasure talking with you on the blog! If you need further support or assistance from AdoptUsKids, you can find us at 1-888-200-4005 or info@adoptuskids.org. Our best wishes are with you all, and remember, no matter what stage of fostering, adopting or parenting you are in, You don’t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent!