Resources

• Ethica, an Independent Voice for Ethical Adoptions  "Ethica is a nonprofit corporation that seeks to be an impartial voice for ethical adoption practices worldwide, and provides education, assistance, and advocacy to the adoption and foster care communities." Ethica is the best voice we currently have for ethical adoptions. Their site is chock full of information and news.This is a great starting point for research and adoption news. You might want to bookmark this site as you may make frequent visits.
• Ths US Department of State site on International Adoption  The US State Department has something to say about International Adoption.
• The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute  The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute is a very worthwhile organization with a very useful and informative website.
• Child Welfare Information Gateway This encompasses the old National Adoption Information Clearinghouse is one of the best resources available with a wealth of information.
• Guidestar  You can use Guidestar to check the finances and tax returns of not-for-profit organizations. As such, you can see how your favorite adoption agency director paid for his/her mansion with money you obtained by taking out a second mortgage to pay exhorbitant agency fees.
• The Internet Archive  The Internet Archive contains "The Wayback Machine," a tool that you can use to look up archived old web pages that have been taken down. This is especially useful for a variety of reasons.
• Karen's Adoption Links  Karen Holt has maintained a site containing a page of adoption links for many years. It is an extensive and worthwhile resource.
• International Adoption News  Dr. Ellen Fitzenrider has written about the adoption of her daughter Katherine in Vietnam in her book, "Finding Katherine...A Spiritual Journey to Vietnam and Motherhood." Now she's started a site that should prove to be both a valuable resource and a place to voice your adoption thoughts. Its magazine style format makes it both informative and entertaining.
• Guatadopt  A good Guatemala adoption resource.
• Guatemala Adoptive Families Network  Another good Guatemala adoption resource.
• Guatemala Adopt Links  Nancy Hoffman is an American ex-patriate who lives in Angtigua, Guatemala. She runs a travel service and has been involved in facilitating adoptions. I make no reccomendations as to any adoption service provider, but her travel services always get great reviews and her links page has great info.
• Adopting Guatemala  Another good resource for Guatemala adoptions, although I have no comment on the agencies listed.
• Family Helper  An incredible resource site out of Canada. I especially like the section on adoption and he schools with the Teacher's Guide to Adoption.
• American Association of Open Adoption Agencies  A good domestic adoption resource. It even contains a checklist for selecting a domestic adoption agency.
• Adoption Agency Ratings is a newer, agency ratings site featuring consumer ratings of their agencies.
• Adoption Agency Reviews.com  is another relatively new site where consumers rate their agencies.
• Pound Pup Legacy  This site presents an wealth of resources, blogs and informational groups as seen from teh viewpoint of adopted and fostered persons.

Adoption Stories

• When You Wish Upon a Star, an Adoption Story  This is our adoption story with all the convolutions and characters. Our story, my family and this website will be featured on an episode of the new TV News Documentary series entitled, "Fraud Squad TV," sometime in 2008. Stay tuned for more details.
• Beware of BBAS  This site, known to some as the, "Filth and the Fury," details the horrific and heartbreaking tale of a Russian adoption using Building Blocks Adoption Services (BBAS). Dan and Elizabeth Case had their son Cyril, die in their arms in Russia while waiting to bring him home. You will cry, you will be enraged and you will get a glimpse into the underbelly of an out of control and unregulated adoption industry. The linkages revealed by the Cases research between various adoption entities will astonish you.
• Justice for Ethan   The Cases had company as another Russian baby died in a hotel. Automne Heather's story of her nightmare has been taken down and modified into a memorial due to a monetary settlement of an undisclosed amount with stipulations (hush money). I make no judgment on this type of settlement and Automne's modified site makes the case for moving on. Still, it's worth a look as much as for what it doesn't say as for what it does say.
• Adopting Internationally  David and Desiree Smolin's site. More than just another adoption story nightmare. A home base from which to explore what's wrong with international adoption and why reforms are needed. Read the Analysis links after you read the Stories. If you don't, you'll mis sthe point.
• The Porter's Story  The Porter's Guatemalan adoption nightmare has some striking similarities to both our story and the Case's story. Like the Cases, Heather Automne and Lora Cullipher, it involves the death of a young adoptee. The actions of the agency, especially in terms of the misinformation they pass on along with how they blame the Guatemalan attorney they chose for problems exemplifies how the less stellar agencies blame the people they hire for problems instaed of taking responsibility for them.
• Alicia Mandigo's Story  This is yet another tragic tale about a failed adoption attempt. This time it's from Peru. Alicia Mandigo's learning curve is quick and steep and her background as a journalist shows in this combined website and blog. This is another tear-jerker story.
• Connie McKenzie's Story  This is where Connie McKenzie posted her good doemstic adoption story. She constructed a site around her experience that is quite useful and helpful to those about to embark on an adoption journey.

Blogs

• Fleas Biting  Desiree Smolin's excellent blog. A good way to keep up on adoption in the news.
• China Adoption Heartbreak  Jen, a.k.a. Vintage Uterus, details her China Adoption Nightmare with Great Wall China Agency on her blog and deals with lots of flack and a bunch of other issues. Great links here too.
• Plaintiff PAP  Paula was screwed in an attempt at a domestic adoption. Paula is a paralegal who is a research machine. Paula is suing her former agency. She is an inspiration to PAP's everywhere who are being wronged by their agencies. This blog is just being assembled but it promises to be a good one.
• Adoption Ethics and Issues  Dale Edmonds put up a site that originally focused on Cambodian adoption issues, but it now encompasses far more than that.
• Shishur Sevay  Some of Dr. Michelle Harrison's writing is featured on this site.  She is one of my heroes and she has moved to India to truly give back and help children in need there. Check out her blog.
• Musings of the Lame  Claudia Corrigan Sheely's (a.k.a. Claud and FauxClaud) blog. Claudia is a birth mother who has been turned anti-adoption by her experience, the adoption industry and the system. She's appeared on Montel. She has the Soul of Adoption Forum. She is trying to get the National Infant Adoption Reform Act  passed into law and she does public relations for Origins USA. Here's another woman who acts upon her words.
• ChildLaw is James Marsh's blog about adoption in general and the Masha Allen case in particular. A must see for those who want to know why I believe Jeannene Smith belongs in jail.
• The Daily Bastardette  Bastrad Nation's Marley Greiner is always both informative and entertaining here.
• ResearchChina.org is Brian Stuy's extensive blog exposing all that needs exposing regarding China adoptions.

Essays and Papers

• David M. Smolin  David M. Smolin is the parent of two girls stolen from India for adoption. See the Stories section for that. Here, the Professor of Law at Samford University's Cumberland School of Law and Director, Center for Biotechnology, Law, and Ethics, posts his three law review article and one unpublished paper on Inter-country Adoption.
• My Sister’s Adoption Essay  An eighth-grader and Trans-Racial Adoptee gets space on her big brother's blog for her incredibly insightful and well-researched essay. A must read for every adoptive parent of children of different ethnicities.
  

Groups

There are e-mail discussion groups and forums on the Internet for every topic imaginable and unimaginable. By far, Yahoo Groups has the biggest number and greatest variety but there are others as well. Here are some links to ones I particularly like:

• Adoption Agency Research  Mike Smith's brainchild has quickly become one of the premier resources for researching adoption agencies. Particularly impressive are the databases that members are building. For Adoptive Parents and Prospective Adoptive Parents only. Agency workers and spies are not welcome nor tolerated.
• PEAR Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform. A new and impressive group that is a grassroots group of adoptive and prospective adoptive parents who have come together to discuss the lack of a unified, respected voice for adoptive families. Their following statement, says it all:  We believe that the existing system needs strong reforms because it does not represent the best interest of the people most impacted by the system: the children and their families
• Guatemala-adopt  The ICORS hosted 'Big List' for Guatemalan adoptions. Anything and everything related to adoption and Guatemalan politics is allowed with the only banned topics being religion and abortion. Arguably one of the best adoption lists on the Internet and it should be a model for other lists.
• International-Adopt-Talk A forum for adoptive parents to listen and learn from adult international adoptees.
• Adoption Parenting  A Topic driven discussion group to share ideas and offer help and support for those parenting adopted children.

Got a link you want me to add? E-mail me