Preparing to Adopt

Please find some of our best articles, essays and reviews on this topic.

For more topics and articles, check out our full listing on our Resource Library.

Waiting for a baby to join your family can be an anxious process. It is important to understand not only the legal and financial aspects of the process but also the emotional and human side of what is going on. While you are waiting for a baby you are “pregnant by adoption" and like all expectant parents your job is to get ready for the lifetime of parenting. These articles will help you understand the system of adoption as well as its meaning as you get ready to welcome a new child into your family.

If you prefer, you can use our Library Search Tool to search by title or author. All the material in this section is copyrighted by Pact; for permission to reproduce or re-post it, please contact us at education@pactadopt.org.

• 5 Stages of the Adoption Process
  by Pact (2011 | 536 KB | )
  
• A Father From the Beginning
  by George Harrar (2011 | 111 KB | )
  
• Adoption Realities-Myths
  by Pact (2010 | 59 KB | )
  
• An Entrustment Journey
  by Fran Cooper Materra (1995 | 312 KB | )
  
• Arrival Adjustment: The Post-Adoption Blues
  by Patricia Irwin Johnston (2008 | 326 KB | )
  
• Ask Pact: Our Family Doesn’t Want Us To Adopt
  by Pact (2004 | 114 KB | )
  
• Assistance and Tax Benefits for Foster and Adoptive Parents
  by Pact (2011 | 533 KB | )
  
• Beginnings
  by Susan Ito (2005 | 88 KB | )
  
• Bonding and Attachment: How Does Adoption Affect a Newborn?
  by Gail Steinberg & Beth Hall (1998 | 406 KB | )
  
• Book Review: Brothers and Sisters in Adoption
  by Arleta James (2009 | 473 KB | )
  
• Book Review: Post Adoption Blues
  by Karen Foli & John Thompson (2007 | 95 KB | )
  
• Book Review: The Third Choice
  by Leslie Foge and Gail Mosconi (2004 | 933 KB | )
  
• Choosing Adoption-Understanding Terms
  by Pact (2010 | 89 KB | )
  
• Climbing Mount Adoption
  by Shane Salter (1992 | 320 KB | )
  
• Deciding About Decisions
  by Becca Martinson  (1994 | 96 KB | )
  
• Developing Cultural Competence
  by Linda Whitfield (1995 | 105 KB | )
  
• Director’s Corner: The Balancing Act Talking with Extended Family and Friends
  by Beth Hall (2007 | 150 KB | )
  
• Executive Parenting Strategies that Work
  by Jim Manhoney (1995 | 341 KB | )
  
• Family Resemblance in Transracial Adoption
  by Jana Wolff (1998 | 329 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: Carnegie & Sons
  by Pact (2009 | 130 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: Eddie Junior: Becoming a Family
  by Pact (2008 | 125 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: Juantia, Lucas & LuzMari: Latino Culture
  by Pact (2008 | 123 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: Long Distance Adoption - The McMullens
  by Pact (2009 | 132 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: Surprise Adoption
  by Jill Rege (2008 | 956 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: While You Wait -- A Chance to Learn & Grow
  by Pact (2010 | 1,011 KB | )
  
• Family Stories: Zora’s and Ezra’s Families Connected by Blood ... and Love
  by Pact (2010 | 162 KB | )
  
• Gender Wars in Adoption - The Myth of Choosing in Adoption ? The Myth of Choosing
  by Pact (2011 | 506 KB | )
  
• Gentle Transitions: A Newborn Baby’s Point of View about Adoption
  by Michael Trout (1997 | 101 KB | )
  
• How Do We Measure Potential for Success in Adoptive Parents?
  by Beth Hall (2010 | 59 KB | )
  
• I Am an Adoptive Parent to Be -- We Are an Adoptive Family to Me
  by Desiree Corbett Korelich (2005 | 81 KB | )
  
• Laughter, Attachment and Adopting Older Kids
  by Pat O’Brien (1996 | 340 KB | )
  
• Losing Lauren
  by Rachel Angeline (1994 | 324 KB | )
  
• Open Adoptions Navigating Our Differences
  by Jim Gritter (2004 | 95 KB | )
  
• Pact Family Stories
  (2012 | 2.54 MB | )
  
• Racial Politics: The "Business" of Domestic Private Adoption
  by Beth Hall, Joe Kroll and Ruth McRoy (2010 | 308 KB | )
  
• Selecting An Adoption Professional
  by Pact (2010 | 65 KB | )
  
• Shared Fate in Gay & Lesbian Families
  by Julie Randolph (2004 | 94 KB | )
  
• Supporting Transracial Families: Start From Where They Are
  by Gail Steinberg and Beth Hall (1994 | 99 KB | )
  
• The Benefits of Co-Sleeping
  by Molly Brannigan (2009 | 350 KB | )
  
• The Decision Makers?
  by Barbara Termitiere (1995 | 324 KB | )
  
• The Optimal Adoptive Launch
  by Michael D. Trout (1994 | 346 KB | )
  
• What, me worry? or How I Learned to Embrace My Inner Worrier
  by Robin Lisa Sewell (2006 | 97 KB | )
  

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