Summit Adoption Home Studies - Newsletter

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A MINNESOTA LICENSED, NONPROFIT ADOPTION AGENCY

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Newsletter: February 2010

Summit Adoption Home Studies
Humanitarian Efforts

Charitable Contributions

1995 - International Rescue Committee
1996 - Paraguay Children's hospital
1997 - Limiar Orphanage in Brazil
1998 -1999 Group Foster Home in Guatemala
2000 - Anonymous donor gave funds to adopt
Guatemalan child with heart disease
2005 to 2009 - Resolve Midwest donations
2001 to 2009 - Designated to individual, special needs children
2009 - Spoon Foundation (Kazakhstan)

Preparing for Older Child Adoptions

older child

For parents considering older child adoption, Summit Adoption Home Studies believes in realistic preparation and viewpoints regarding the challenges as well as the rewards of parenting of children of all ages and backgrounds.

We walk the talk in terms of first hand knowledge of adoption and parenting issues with special needs of an older child, if that is your adoption plan, as we know that child has not had your love and care from an early age.

There are many helpful sources on the topic as well as you will be discussing this in-depth with your social worker during the home study process and as you learn about the child referral process with your child referral agency.

No children come with guarantees, whether born to parents or arriving to parents through adoption. However, better preparation and knowledge will increase your ability to assess your situation both before you proceed with the adoption and after you have made the commitment to a particular child. Your education before adoption will support you in coping with challenges that may or may not arise after your child has arrived.

http://www.olderchildadoption.com/

http://www.peds.umn.edu/IAC/

Preparing for Special Needs Adoptions

Summit Adoption Home Studies has experience in families who are adopting children with special needs, whether this is known ahead of time or discovered after the child arrives. The University of Minnesota International Adoption Clinic or medical personnel in the U.S. in the situation of domestically born children are valuable resources in obtaining as much information as you can about the child.

Many children arrive healthy or with transient treatable conditions but many families choose to become the parent to a child with an identified need. Life has no guarantees and just as with birth parents, adoptive parents will realize not all medical or behavioral needs are recognized until your child is home. Children who have been adopted have conditions such as:

Cleft lip/cleft palate
Club foot
Cerebral palsy
Spina bifida
Down's syndrome
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Hearing Impaired/Deaf
Burns
Heart conditions
HIV
Cancer
Missing digits
Orthopedic conditions
Prematurity
Developmental delays
Diabetes
Thyroid conditions
Abuse, neglect
Emotional disturbances
Sensory integration disorder
Lead exposure
Hepatitis B
Galactosemia
Genetic conditions
Positive for Tuberculosis
Scabies
Malaria
Underweight/malnourished

There is a special preparation that is needed to know and manage your child's condition. There are many resources to help you deal with the many challenges of your child's needs, and Summit Adoption Home Studies can be one of those resources.

http://www.peds.umn.edu/IAC/

ICPC for Domestic Adoptions

ICPC baby

What is Interstate Compact for Domestic Adoptions?

For domestic adoptions, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) is an agreement among all fifty states that coordinates the movement of children across state lines for the purpose of placement in foster care, adoptive homes, group homes, residential treatment centers, or on a trial basis with a parent. This uniform law was enacted by all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to ensure the children placed across state lines have the same protections that children within state lines have. You can be a Minnesota resident where your home study is done and your child can be born in a different state. The ICPC office of the sending state (where your child is born) sends documents including your home study, your agency application form and your family fact sheets as well as the child's documents to Minnesota ICPC office (receiving state) and Minnesota gives approval so you can come home with your child after the legal process is in place for your adoption. Summit Adoption Home Studies can assist in explaining this process as well as your child referral service if your child is born in another U.S. state. If your child is born in Minnesota, this is not needed. For both adoptions, other legal steps may require the assistance of legal counsel knowledgeable about the laws of the child's state and Minnesota 's laws. There are many domestic adoptions involving ICPC throughout the U.S.

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1389 Summit Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
Phone: 651-645-6657
Fax: 651-645-6713
E-mail: summitadopt@uswest.net

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