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 […]

The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act or FFMLA was passed a number of years ago to help families who have a new child with them. This also covered adoption maternity and paternity leave for adoptive or foster parents. This Act applies to all businesses with at least 50 employees as well as all state […]

  Twenty years ago, if you wanted to adopt an infant from China, you could almost get in line, wait 12-15 months and travel to the Orient to pick up your child. The chances were about 99-to-1 that you’d bring home a girl, unless you were willing to adopt a special needs boy, but the […]

When you’ve decided to adopt a child, and you know you want to work through an agency, one of the most challenging tasks can be selecting the appropriate agency to handle your adoption. It can be a complicated and daunting process, but here are some tips for making certain that the agency you choose will […]

The recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States establishing that same sex couples have a constitutionally protected right to marry has a direct and beneficial effect on children. Specifically, the decision recognizes the dignity of all families and provides for the protection of children who are adopted or born into gay and […]

Whether your child is biological or adopted, it’s important that they have a strong sense of their family history and cultural identity. When your child comes from a foreign country, the customs and practices of their native land are a part of their cultural makeup. By embracing their native culture, you can help assure that […]

On March 7, 2016 the US Supreme Court ruled that a Judgment of Adoption entered in one state must be recognized and respected in any other state in the country. Between 2002 and 2004 a woman who was identified as E.L. gave birth to three children, a single birth and a twin birth. She was […]

In August of 2015 Governor Christie vetoed a Bill which had passed the New Jersey House and Senate that would have allowed individuals to obtain an amended birth certificate due to a change in sex. Under the current law, in order to obtain an amended birth certificate an individual must have undergone sex reassignment surgery. […]

In 2000 the Child Citizenship Act was passed which granted automatic US citizenship to children who were adopted abroad. Unfortunately the Act did not apply retroactively and therefore children who were already 18 when the Act went into effect would not obtain automatic US citizenship. This had many negative effects and as such Senators Jeff […]