Adoption Identity Race Exploration (AIRE)
AIRE was created out of the need for an inclusive space for BIPOC adoptees (of all genders, identities, and experiences) to build and collaborate. AIRE…
Resource Age: Adult
Child Mind Institute: “Trauma & Grief”
This webpage features countless articles about the basics of recognizing and addressing trauma in children. It includes topics like the effects, causes, and treatments of…
CNN: “How to talk to your children about protests and racism”
This article explains how to discuss racism and protests with children. The article breaks down how to lead discussions by age group (toddler, tweens, teens).
EmbraceRace: “‘I [STILL] Can’t Breathe!’: Supporting Kids of Color Amid Racialized Violence”
This conversation and Q&A led by child psychologist Dr. Allison Briscoe-Smith explores policing, violence, safety, justice, and race. She also considers how to approach conversations…
Nursing License Map with edX: “Anti-Racism Resources for Students and Professionals in Healthcare”
This article explores the history of mistreatment and discrimination in healthcare that puts people of color at a disadvantage. It also discusses the changes that…
Today: “What Black adoptees want white parents to know about transracial adoption”
This article features the voices of Black adults who were adopted by white families. The adoptees share their perspectives on identity, culture, and their sense…
RESilience: Books About Race and Ethnicity
This is a directory of books about race, organized by age. It features books for young children, elementary school-age children, teens, and adults, as well…
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC): “I Am a Parent or Caregiver”
The NMAAHC’s purpose is to help children understand what race is, how it operates in society, and why it’s important (particularly in the US). This…
“Daddy Why Am I Brown?”: A healthy conversation about skin color and family
This is a children’s book meant to start a conversation about how kids can learn to talk about skin color in a way that’s kind,…
Resilience – “Reading and RES: Parent Tip Tool: Choosing and Using Books to Discuss Race and Ethnicity”
This brief article explains how reading books with your child is a key way to start and continue conversations about race and ethnicity. It also…
Beynd the Golden Rule
This illustrated book serves as a parent’s guide to preventing and responding to prejudice. This book explores how to discuss racism and tolerance depending on…
American Academy of Pediatrics: “Talking to Children About Racial Bias”
This article explains how children learn racial bias, strategies to help children deal with these biases, and how parents can confront their own racial biases.…
RESilience – Engaging My Child: “Parent Tip Tool: Uplifting Families Through Healthy Communication About Race”
This is a brief parent tip tool that explains what RES (racial and ethnic socialization)is, who participates in RES, and suggestions for engaging in RES.
ChildTrends: “Resources to Support Children’s Emotional Well-Being Amid Anti-Black Racism, Racial Violence, and Trauma”
This article discusses how to talk to children about racism, racial violence, and trauma. It also features books and other resource compilations for parents and…
American Psychological Association RESilience – “Resources for Parents: Uplifting Youth Through Healthy Communication About Race”
This website features tip tools, books, blogs, and other resources about creating healthy and safe conversations about race between children and parents. This initiative focuses…
Yale University Open Yale Courses – African American History: From Emancipation to the Present (2010)
This archive provides all of the course materials for one of Yale’s Open Courses which examines the African American experience in the US from the…
Online MSW Programs with edX: “How to Teach Kids About Race”
This article discusses how to teach children about the concepts of race, privilege, and racial and ethnic socialization (RES). Though this resource is primarily for…
Gladney University – reFRAMED Bonus: “Continuing the Conversation with Ebony Mack, MSW”
This conversation is a continuation of the discussion “Bridging the Gap: Strengthening Competencies of Transracial Adoptive Parents” led by Ebony Mack. This training considers many…
Gladney University – Bridging the Gap: “Competencies of Transracial Adoptive Parents”
A presentation led by Ebony Mack (MSW, adoptee, adoptive parent, and more) about white parents who have adopted transracially. Mack discusses how they (parents) often…
Adoption Reconnect
The Adoption Reconnect Facebook page focuses on partners of adoptees. It validates their feelings, examines adoptees’ feelings, and explains how to care for their adoptee…
Transfiguring Adoption: “A Spouse’s Love for an Adoptee”
This blog article shares the author’s experiences and perspective about what it’s like to be the spouse of an adoptee. He empathizes with his wife’s…
Adoption.com: Spouse of adoptee issues/support
This forum is dedicated to supporting spouses of adoptees. It addresses attachment issues, self-blaming, and trust and commitment issues. These perspectives are not universally true…
Colorado Marriage Retreats: “Do People Who Are Adopted Have Trouble Loving?”
This article answers whether adoptees have trouble with trust, intimacy, and attachment in romantic relationships. The author is the partner of an adoptee and a…
CCI Birth Parent Searching and Reunion Group
This private Facebook group provides information, resources, and encouragement for adult Chinese adoptees who are seeking their birth family or are already in reunion. They…
Birth Parents Only: Our Journey to Heal
This is a private Facebook group that was formed by and for birth parents. It’s a place to freely share thoughts and feelings about adoption…
Parents of Boys Adopted From China
This is a private Facebook group for adoptive parents of boys adopted from China. It’s a place of support and connection for adoptive and waiting…
Korean American Adoptees (KAA)
The KAA Facebook group is a private page for Korean adoptees to create community and discuss whatever topics they’d like.
Adoptee Restoration: “Adoptees and Trust Issues with Spouses and Significant Others”
This blog article shares the author’s experiences about how she overcame trust issues with her spouse. The center of the story is about how she…
Adoptee Restoration: “Trusting & Fully Loving Your Spouse or Significant Other (10 Important Choices adoptees Can Make)”
This blog article shares the author’s experiences with creating trust and love with her spouse. She lists ten choices that adoptees can make in their…
Creating a Family: “Adopting or Fostering a Child Who Identifies as LGBTQ”
This is a $20 course for adoptive and foster parents about providing a healthy environment to discuss emotional topics with LGBTQ+ youth. The curriculum covers…
Movement Advancement Project (MAP): “Child Welfare Nondiscrimination Laws”
This is an interactive map of child welfare nondiscrimination laws in the United States. Users can examine laws and equity scores by state. Policies regarding…
National Library of Medicine: “Achieving permanency for LGBTQ youth”
This journal article discusses achieving permanence for youth in out-of-home care and meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ youth. It offers models of permanence and practices…
Taylor & Frances: Online Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services
This online journal publishes empirical knowledge and conceptual information about sexual minorities and their social environment. It has innovative ideas and resources for the design,…
APA PsycNet: “Basic premises, guiding principles and competent practices for a positive youth development approach to working with gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths in out-of-home care”
This academic journal article discusses working with LGBTQ+ youth in out-of-home care. It outlines five core premises to guide youth development. It also models how…
NPR It’s Been a Minute: “Joel Kim Booster on making a queer, Asian American ‘Pride and Prejudice'”
This is a podcast featuring a conversation with gay, Korean adoptee Joel Kim Booster (comedian and actor). This episode explores how the film Fire Island…
Talkspace: “The History of the LGBTQ Community and Mental Health Treatment”
This article is for anybody seeking information about the history of the LGBTQ+ community and mental health treatment. It briefly explains LGBTQ+ history, classification of…
LGBT National Help Center: LGBT National Youth Talkline
The LGBT National Youth Talkline is for LGBT youth (age 25 and younger) who need free and confidential peer support. Their webpage features their Talkline,…
PFLAG NYC: API Parents & Caregivers Group
This group meets twice a month for a lunchtime discussion for API parents and caregivers whose children are part of the LGBTQ+ community. They are…
Creating a Family: “Tips for Raising an LGBTQ Foster or Adopted Child”
This article provides ten tips for raising LGBTQ+ foster or adopted kids. It emphasizes the importance of supporting children by using their preferred pronouns, employing…
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
The Human Rights Campaign serves the queer community and their allies. The mission of the organization is to “end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and realize…
American Civil Liberties Union
The ACLU serves the queer community and their allies. This organization advocates for equality and has a long history of providing legal defense for the…
Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
PFLAG is an organization that serves the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. It’s the “first and largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for…
Free Mom Hugs
Free Mom Hugs is an organization that encourages education, visibility, and conversation about the LGBTQ+ community. Their webpage offers education opportunities for everyone through speaking…
The Real Mama Bears
The Real Mama Bears is a resource that serves the LGBTQ+ community. The organization supports, educates, and empowers families with LGBTQ+ members. They offer private…
University of Michigan Center for Sexuality & Health Disparities: “All About Gender”
This guide will benefit parents who have transgender, questioning, gender expansive, gender nonconforming, or non-binary child. The guide explains gender terms, answers FAQs, explains transitioning,…
PA Parent an Family Alliance
This LGBTQ+ Tip Sheet is a great resource for parents who have an LGBTQ+ child. The guide goes over tips on what to do immediately…
healthychildren.org: “Coming Out: Information for Parents of LGBTQ Teens”
This article is a great resource for parents who have LGBTQ+ teenagers. The article gives explanations of and tips for how to answer common questions.…
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): “Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents”
This academic journal article explains how pediatric providers are ensuring comprehensive care for LGBTQ+ patients. It reviews the ways to improve health care access and…
Planned Parenthood: “What should I teach my high school-aged teen about identity?”
This article is a great resource for parents and guardians who want to teach their teenage children about identity. It provides detailed explanations for questions…
Rise Magazine: “Resources for LGBTQ Parents and Parents of LGBTQ Children and Youth”
This magazine article benefits LGBTQ+ parents and parents with LGBTQ+ children. It article explains the importance of acceptance and provides a list of resources about…
Johns Hopkins Medicine: “Tips for Parents of LGBTQ Youth”
This article is a resource for parents who have LGBTQ+ children. In the article, Johns Hopkins’ pediatric and adolescent medicine specialists share their tips on…
The Trevor Project: “Behaviors of Supportive Parents and Caregivers for LGBTQ Youth”
This is a resource for parents of LGBTQ+ children about how best to support queer youth. The importance of supporting gender expression, understanding LGBTQ+ issues,…
Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI)
This organization was established to address the unique and neglected health needs of Asian Americans in Maryland. AAHI assists with many programs, projects, and activities…
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World)
ILGA is a resource for everybody in the queer community. The organization supports LGBTI civil society worldwide through “advocacy and research projects, and gives grassroots…
William James College: “Guide for Parents of Asian/Asian American Adolescents”
This guide benefits parents of Asian and Asian American adolescents. The guide and accompanying video is available in six languages. It covers the history of…
CDC: Children’s Mental Health
This article can help those interested in learning about therapy for their children. It explains what therapy is, mental illness in children, and benefits of…
Medical News Today: “8 of the best online therapy programs for kids”
This article is for parents who are interested in learning about therapy for their children. It explains types of child therapy, identifying if a child…
Nemours Children’s Health: “Taking Your Child to a Therapist”
This is another great resource for parents to learn about therapy for their children. It explains what therapy is, what problems they help with, how…
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP): Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Finder
This therapist locator can help parents who are interested in searching for a therapist for their child. Users can filter results by location and can…
Adoption Stories: Excerpts from Adoption Books for Adults
This book emphasizes that adoptees have varying backgrounds. It argues that adoptees have the right to ask questions about their background (adoption documents, agency, etc.).…
Attaching in Adoption: Practical Tools for Today’s Parents
This is a comprehensive guide for adoptive parents on how to care for adopted children and promote healthy attachment. It explains what attachment is, how…
The Primal Wound
This book clarifies the effects of separating babies from their birth mothers as a primal loss, affecting the relationships of the adopted person throughout life.…
Child Welfare Information Gateway: “Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State”
This article answers the question: “Does your State provide additional finances or services for medical or therapeutic needs not covered under your State medical plan…
The Special Needs Parent Handbook – 2nd Edition
This book provides practical advice for parents of children with special needs and disabilities. It discusses hiring babysitters and free respite help, finding the best…
Wrightslaw Yellow Pages for Kids with Disabilities
This is a directory for resources for kids with disabilities across the United States. It lists consultants, psychologists, tutors, therapists, coaches, and other professionals who…
Child Welfare Information Gateway: “Parenting Your Child With Developmental Delays and Disabilities”
A brief overview on how to identify a disability in a child, the first steps parents can take to address their child’s needs, and parenting…
Family Resource Center on Disabilities
This center is dedicated to providing parents of children with disabilities with information, training, and assistance. Their resource page features many websites and tools for…
Supportiv: “Mental Health Resources For Disabled People”
This is an ever-growing menu of free resources and ideas for maintaining health with a disability. It discusses insurance, therapy, government programs, and nature programs…
NACAC: Find a Parent Group
This organization has a search directory that allows users to filter through countless adoption support groups in North America. There are many support group categories,…
Adoption Network: “How to Find Support Groups for Adoptive Parents”
This article explains the benefits of parent support groups for parents of adoptees. It discusses single parents’ and couples’ challenges and provides some resources for…
Capital Adoptive Families Alliance (CAFA): Support Groups
This alliance explains the importance of support groups and provides information about their own support group. CAFA’s support group offers general support to parents and…
NCFA: “A Guide to Adoption Subsidies and Assistance for Adoptive Parents”
This article discusses subsidies that provide additional support for adoptees and their families. It explains what they are, which entities provides them, who is eligible,…
America World Adoption: “Adoption Training”
This Christian adoption agency offers curriculum designed to help families prepare for the placement and care of a child. They also offer courses for post-adoption…
Adoption Training Online
This resource is from the Children’s Aid Society of Alabama and offers several adoption trainings. Trainings cover domestic adoption, international adoption, medical courses, and more.
Gladney Center for Adoption: “Why Are Foster Care and Adoption Training Required?”
This article explains why foster care and adoption training are required. It discusses pre-service training, foster parent in-service training, post-adoption training, kinship-specific training, and more.…
Gladney Center for Adoption: “Adopting a Child With Special Needs and Disabilities”
This article discusses considerations for prospective parents when adopting a child with special needs or disabilities. It explains how to understanding children with special needs,…
Love Without Boundaries: “Adopting a Child With Special Needs”
This organization provides reference information for common special needs, including craniofacial conditions, digestive system conditions, infectious diseases, and more. There’s also a family stories page,…
No Hands But Ours
This organization focuses on waiting children in China with medical needs. They have resources for prospective adoptive parents, adoptive parents, and about special needs. It…
Utah’s Adoption Connection: Children with Special Needs
This digital lending library allows prospective adoptive families, foster parents, and adoptive parents to rent books for free. Users can check out up to three…
Gladney Center for Adoption: “How We Decided Which Special Needs Boxes to Check on Our Preference Checklist”
This article by an adoptive mother discusses the considerations that go into the preference checklist adoptive parents must complete. She offers advice about how to…
RainbowKids: “Special Needs in Children”
This adoption advocacy website is a resource for families considering special needs adoption. It has information about special needs, adoption agencies and professionals, hosting, and…
Medical Home Portal: “Adoption of Children with Special Needs”
An article covering general preparation advice for parents adopting a child with special needs. It discusses adoption of children with special needs, getting ready for…
Gladney Center for Adoption: “Special Needs Adoption Guide: What you need to know when considering special needs adoption”
An article explaining what parents need to know regarding special needs adoption. It clarifies special needs adoption, the medical conditions checklist, file reviews, setting up…
U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs: “Health Considerations”
An article about the differences between convention requirements (which normally have an Article 16 requirement) and non-convention requirements. It also explains the expectations for accredited…
CDC: “International Adoption”
An article on vaccinations and disease for parents adopting internationally. It gives recommendations and information for pre-adoption procedures, overseas medical examination processes, vaccinations, finding a…
Adoption Support Alliance
The ASA offers a beginner’s adoption course designed for prospective adoptive families. The class discusses various aspects of adoption, including logistical challenges, managing grief and…
lowcosthealthinsurance.com: “Will my health insurance cover an adopted child?”
This article explains how health insurance works with adopted children. It mentions that while most insurance plans covering biological children must also cover adopted children,…
Child Welfare Information Gateway: “Preadoption Training”
A brief article regarding different types of adoption training for prospective and adoptive parents. There’s also a list of trainings that are required or useful…
U.S. Department of Labor: “Protections for Newborns, Adopted Children, and New Parents…The Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act of 1996”
An article on protections for newborns, adopted children, and new parents in the context of a health protection act passed in 1996. It explains how…
Holt International: “Parenting Adoptees”
This is a Christian organization that offers programs including Post-Adoption Coaching & Education (PACE) and Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI). Both programs help parents better understand…
Therapist Locator
A search engine that locates marriage and family therapists. Users can search using zip codes or a city name for therapists in the US, Canada,…
Healthgrades: Family and Marriage Counselors Near Me
A search engine that allows users to search for family and marriage counselors. Users can filter by state and browse therapists’ profiles by rating, testimonial,…
OnlineTherapy: “Marriage and Family Therapist Online”
An article and search directory, this source discusses the decision to find a marriage and family therapist online. It also links to a directory that…
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy: “Adoption”
This article explains how adoption and the attitudes surrounding it have changed. It explains different reasonings behind the decision to adopt, and how adoptive parents,…
North American Council on Adoptable Children: “Therapy Plays an Important Role in Adoptive Families’ Lives”
This article discusses the role that family therapy plays in adoptive families’ lives. It explains why therapy is important and encourages readers to choose a…
No Hands But Ours: “Preparing for Adoption: A Family Therapist’s Perspective”
An article on preparing for adoption by Ashley Yeager — a family therapist and Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) practitioner. She offers five pieces of advice…
The Dark Matter of Love (2012)
A documentary on the psychological aspects of growing up with and without parental love. The story follows the Diaz family, who chooses to adopt three…
Stuck (2013)
A documentary about children on their journeys from orphanages to homes in the United States. This explores the corruption and greed behind the adoption process.…
Unlocking the Heart of Adoption (2002)
This is an hour-long documentary revealing the filmmaker’s journey as a birthmother. It also features the stories of adoptees, birthparents, and adoptive parents. A wide…
Lion (2016)
A movie about a birth family search based on a true story. A child from India gets lost, taken thousands of miles away from home,…
