Connecticut has recently enacted a law which allows many individuals who had been adopted to obtain copies of their original birth certificates as well as medical records, and the Act also includes contact preferences. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is currently considering a Bill to allow access to original birth certificates. That Bill is still […]

Several months ago a Bill was signed into law expanding the New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act to now include as locations for placement of infants, fire stations and emergency squads as safe havens for parents to give up their newborns. This expands the locations which previously had been limited basically to police stations […]

  According to statistics from the U.S. State Department, the number of children adopted into the United States has dropped dramatically in the last decade. Sources say that there were just under 6,500 international adoptions in 2014, down from the peak of around 23,000 in 2004. Families seeking to adopt are also finding that it’s […]

Though it’s far easier in today’s world to adopt as a single parent than it was 50 year ago (you couldn’t do it then), it’s still not a simple process. Many agencies will simply not work with you and others will give priority to couples seeking to adopt. Here are some tips from single parents […]

According to statistics, there are more than 100,000 children with special needs who are waiting to be adopted. Unfortunately, it’s a much more complicated process to complete a special needs adoption. If you are interested in adopting a special needs child, here are some factors to consider. What Is a “Special Needs” Child? A special […]

On November 23, 2015 the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the first Appellate level before a matter goes to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, issued an opinion confirming the lower Court’s decision and finding that a Gestational Carrier Agreement is enforceable in Pennsylvania. This opinion came from a case which I have discussed in an earlier blog […]

Preparing to Adopt a Child — Some Things You Need to Consider If you are planning or considering adoption as a way of starting or building a family, here are some things you’ll want to factor into your decision, especially if you’ve never had a child before. There’s a lot to learn—Raising a child involves […]

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Representative John Lewis (D-GA) introduced an Act in both Houses of Congress to prohibit any adoption or foster care entity which receives federal assistance from discriminating based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. The purpose of prohibiting discrimination was to also make sure that children would be placed […]

If you’ve been exploring the possibility of adopting a child, you’ve likely discovered that it’s not a simple process. You have lots of choices—domestic vs. international adoption, open vs. closed adoption, and agency vs. private adoption. This blog looks at the differences between private and agency adoptions. With an agency adoption, you hire and pay […]

Times have changed dramatically for individuals seeking to adopt a child in the United States. Fifty years ago, if you had sought to adopt a minor child as a single parent, you would have had no success, and not necessarily because adoption agencies looked with disfavor on the idea. In some states, as recently as […]