Exploring Adoption

Adopting Children With Down Syndrome

This week, we’re taking a look back at the hottest adoption-related topics of 2007. So far, we’ve reviewed adoption statistics, adoption financing, and celebrity adoptions.

Adopting children who have Down syndrome is rapidly gaining popularity; I receive regular inquiries about the topic and my posts on Down syndrome adoption get hundreds of hits every week. Here are some great resources for exploring Down syndrome adoption:

Adopting a Child with Down Syndrome: Visit Reece’s Rainbow

Down Syndrome Adoption Q & A

Resources About Down Syndrome

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.

Barbara & Tripp Curtis: Parents of Four Sons with Down Syndrome

If you're thinking of adopting a child who has Down syndrome, read "Rebels With a Cause," a profile I wrote about Barbara and Tripp Curtis for Marriage Partnership magazine (Fall 2007).

Barbara (pictured) and Tripp are parents of 12 children, including four sons who have Down syndrome (three of them, adopted). The profile focuses on their unconventional, colorful courtship and marriage and on their commitment to raising a stable family together.

Barbara and Tripp are two of the most interesting people I've ever interviewed; I think you'll enjoy learning more about them.

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.

 

Inspirational Story About Children With Down Syndrome

I was doing some research for a profile I'm writing about Barbara and Tripp Curtis for Marriage Partnership magazine when I ran across a beautiful story Barbara wrote about her son, who has Down syndrome.

The story, called, "A Little Extra," is a timeless slice-of-life vignette that I think you'll enjoy.

In addition to giving birth to a son with Down syndrome, Barbara and Tripp have adopted three sons, all of whom have Down syndrome. Their (adopted) sons are now 7, 11, and 12. Jonny, who Barbara writes about in "A Little Extra," is now 15 and heading into 9th grade this fall.

Laura's book, The Adoption Network, has just been released. Click here to learn more about a limited-time offer:  Buy 1, Get 1 FREE! Only $12.95 for TWO books (including USPS first-class shipping anywhere in the U.S.). Buy one for yourself and give the other one to a friend, colleague, clergyperson, or adoption professional.

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.

 

Single Women Adopting Children With Special Needs - Finding Childcare

One of my readers, who has a great deal of experience working with children with disabilities, is considering adopting a child who has Down syndrome.

As a high-level professional, she needs to travel for work from time to time. Her question:

What do single, professional moms do for long-term child care?

Readers, let's hear your suggestions!

Adopting a Child with Down Syndrome: Visit Reece’s Rainbow

This morning I chatted with Andrea Roberts, executive director of Reece’s Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry. She had just returned from the vet, where she adopted a pair of 8-week-old kittens.

In addition to the kittens, Andrea and her husband are in the process of adopting sibling boys, ages 6 and 4, from Estonia. Andrea is also the mother of two birth children, Reece, age 5, who has Down syndrome, and a 2 ½-year-old. “Better busy than bored,” is Andrea’s motto.

Andrea, who founded the non-profit, all-volunteer Reece’s Rainbow, donates 60 hours a week of her “free time” to the ministry. Reece’s Rainbow is not an adoption agency. They do not complete adoption home studies. “We are a connecting point,” says Andrea.

Reece’s Rainbow connects:

• U.S. families who seek to adopt a child with Down syndrome internationally
• U.S. families who seek an adoptive family for their child with Down syndrome
• International families who seek an adoptive family for their child with Down syndrome
• Birth families of children with Down syndrome who seek counseling

Reece’s Rainbow works with about 15 adoption agencies and has programs in 27 countries. Those countries include:

• Armenia
• Bulgaria
• China
• Eastern Europe
• Estonia
• Ethiopia
• Republic of Georgia
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• Hong Kong
• Hungary
• India
• Korea
• Latin America
• Latvia
• Moldova
• Peru
• Poland
• Russia
• Taiwan
• Ukraine
• Uzbekistan
• Vietnam

They are in the process of adding Liberia and Philippines.

During the past 11 months, Reece’s Rainbow has helped find adoptive families for 37 children who have Down syndrome. Their Web site features more than 115 children with Down syndrome who are waiting for adoptive families.

Here’s how Reece’s Rainbow connects adoptive families with children who have Down syndrome:

• Adoption agencies who have waiting children with Down syndrome contact Andrea.
• Andrea posts profiles (and oftentimes, photos) of those children at the Reece’s Rainbow Website (agencies do not pay any fees to post the profiles).
• Families interested in adopting a child with Down syndrome visit “The International Adoption Process” page at Reece’s Rainbow.
• After acquainting themselves with the adoption process, families compare the requirements for each country’s adoption program.
• After choosing a country that seems like the best fit, families choose a child from the gallery for that country. Not all the country pages display photos of the children available for adoption, but Andrea notes that there are many children waiting (particularly in Ukraine) who are not listed on the Web site.
• Andrea creates a private gallery page for each family, customized by country, the child’s age, the family’s travel abilities, number of children at home, etc. These private pages include both the profiles and photos of children who are waiting to be adopted.
• Once the adopting family chooses a particular child, the family works directly with the agency who referred that child (noted on the child’s profile page) to complete the adoption.

Helping make international adoption more affordable for families who want to adopt a child with Down syndrome is a huge part of the Reece’s Rainbow ministry. Andrea notes that many of the agencies significantly reduce agency fees and/or make grants available for children with special needs.

Andrea sets up a donation account for each child who is featured on the site. “That becomes the child’s grant fund,” she explains. All tax-deductible contributions to a child’s grant fund are disbursed to the referring adoption agency after a family commits to adopt the child, submits their dossier, and has been given an appointment to travel.

Adopting families can also apply to join the Family Sponsorship Program.  Families who are members of this program post information about themselves and the child they are hoping to adopt. Friends, colleagues, church members, and total strangers can make a tax-deductible donation, via Paypal, towards the adoption. This grant money is also disbursed to the referring adoption agency.

“This money has been the key to giving potential adoptive families the strength and courage they need to step forward in faith,” says Andrea. “International adoptions are very expensive, even for children with special needs, so to see available grant money really makes a big difference.”

In the next post:
Q & A with Andrea Roberts, executive director of Reece’s Rainbow

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.

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Resources About Down Syndrome

For those interested in adopting a child with Down syndrome, here are a couple of resources. They're not specifically about adoption, but they provide helpful information about Down syndrome:

K12 Academics: Information page contains an overview, medical research, sociology, notable individuals with Down syndrome, DS in fiction, support services, special education schools, camps, articles, books, videos, magazines & DVDs. This site's Home page also contains information about a huge variety of other disabilities/disorders.

National Geographic Kids: "I Have Down Syndrome--Know Me Before You Judge Me," by Melissa Riggio as told to Rachel Buchholtz. (A neat story from the perspective of a teenager who has Down syndrome).

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.

CHASK: Connecting Special Needs Kids With Christian Adoptive Families

Christian Homes And Special Kids (CHASK)  is a non-profit organization that serves as a contact point for those pregnant with a child with medical challenges, for (birth) mothers with special needs, or for families whose baby is born with a challenge that prevents the birth family from parenting the child.

A friend of a friend alerted me that the CHASK process works as follows:

• Someone contacts CHASK and asks for help.
• CHASK broadcasts the need in the geographical area first in hopes of finding a Christian family willing to adopt. 
• If a family is interested, they apply with CHASK.
• CHASK then provides the birth family with three profiles from those who have offered to adopt. 
• The individuals involved then contact the interested family directly after examining their profile.

Here are the particulars of a current situation:

The baby’s grandma, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, contacted CHASK.  Her 18-year-old, mildly disabled daughter was raped by a man quite a bit older. The man is currently being charged with this crime.

The baby is due to be born on Valentine’s Day. Ultrasounds indicate all is well with the child.  The ethnic background is Spanish/French for the dad and Caucasian for the mother.  The reason that they won’t be able to keep the baby is that the birth mother is mentally more like an 11-year-old than an 18-year-old, and the grandmother works full time. 

To contact CHASK:
Birth Parent’s Line 1-800-266-9837
Adoptive Parents 208-267-6246
E-mail: chaskinfo@aol.com

Related Posts:
CHASK: Adoption Agency for Special Needs Infants

Resources for People Adopting a Child with Down Syndrome

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.

Resources for People Adopting a Child with Down Syndrome

I get over 100 inquires per week for information about adopting children with Down syndrome. At a writers' conference I attended last month, I met Nina Fuller, mother of two daughters with Down syndrome. Nina birthed one of her daughters who has Down syndrome and adopted the other one.

She recently published a devotional book, Special Strength For Special Parents; I'll be reviewing her book at a later date on my blog.

Check out Nina's web site -- she offers free weekly tips for parents of special needs children, a newsletter, and a list of useful resource links.

A good companion volume for Nina's book is Empowering Your Child Who Has Special Needs, by Debbie Salter Goodwin. Debbie's book doesn't deal specifically with adoption, but it contains lots of practical tips for parents of special needs children. 

If you're looking for another good resource on Down syndrome, visit Sheri Plucker's Web site. Sheri, who's a friend of mine, is also the parent of a daughter who has Down syndrome. Sheri is the author of Me, Hailey! (Turtle Books), a picture book that introduces pre-schoolers and young school-aged children to Down syndrome.

Sheri's site also contains some great information about parenting special children.

Another great resource person for information about parenting children with Down syndrome is author Barbara Curtis. Barbara is a mother of 12, including three children with Down syndrome (1 by birth, 2 adopted). Not only does Barbara provide info about Down syndrome on her Web site, but she has a wonderful blog called Mommy Life that's worth reading regularly.

Watch for an upcoming profile about Barbara Curtis (that I wrote) in January/February issue of Today's Christian magazine.

 

The books mentioned in this post are available from my Exploring Adoption Bookstore.

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com.

I'm Off to the International Christian Retail Show!

Today, I'm heading to Denver to the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS), where I'll spend the week interviewing 22 authors on behalf of a couple of my clients. Whew! It's going to be both exhilarating and exhausting.

I know that at least one of the authors I'll be talking with (Barbara Curtis) is an adoptive mom. Barbara has 12 children, several of whom were adopted. At least three of her children have Down syndrome, so I hope to glean some insights from Barbara about adopting children with Down syndrome.

Last year was my first trip to ICRS (formerly known as CBA - Christian Booksellers Association convention), and let me tell you, this event is like writers' nirvana!

Every bookstore owner from Podunk, USA (and the rest of the world) is there, displaying their Jesus Junk (forgive me if you like that stuff, but I can't stomach most of it). Every Christian publishing house is there in force, pushing their new releases, hosting author and recording artist signings, and best of all, giving away tons and tons of FREE books and CDs (yes, I am bringing an extra suitcase in which to cart home my goodies).

And there are lots and lots of media, of course (of which I am one small player), interviewing recording artists and authors right and left for their respective magazines, newspapers, radio stations and TV stations.

A highlight of ICRS, for me, is the two evening worship "experiences," in which big name recording artists and inspirational speakers showcase their best stuff and lead worship. Who can complain when Michael W. Smith, my all-time favorite musician, leads worship for two hours, playing hymns he composed?

By the way, did I mention that I got to shake Michael W. Smith's hand last year? I still haven't washed that hand!    My friend, Tina, is friends or cousins or something with Smitty's manager, and when they walked in the door, Tina said, "Oh, would you like to meet Michael W. Smith?"

Would I like to meet Michael W. Smith? Is the Pope Catholic? I went sprinting into the hallway like I'd just won the Olympic gold medal and sidled up to Michael, shook his hand, said something totally teenage-girlish cheesy, like, "You're my favorite musician EVER." He smiled graciously, said hello, then headed off to rehearse for his concert.

He'll be there again this week, so I'm hoping I get the opportunity to renew our acquaintance.

In addition to the interviewing and celebrity spotting I'll be doing, I'll have the opportunity to meet with my editors from Harvest House Publishers. I assume they'll introduce me to some of the other Harvest House staff and authors. I feel privileged and honored to be publishing my first book with such a stellar publishing house.

I don't know whether I'll have Internet access (or time) to post updates throughout the week, so you might not hear from me for a while. But I promise to post a recap of my experiences when I return.  Up, up, and away!

Adoption Agency for Special Needs Infants

A friend alerted me to an adoption agency called Christian Homes and Special Kids (CHASK). The agency specializes in placing newborn children with the following special needs:

Down Syndrome
Spina Bifida
Drug and Alcohol Effects
Blindness
HIV Positive or AIDS
Fragile X
Reactive Attachment Disorder - RAD
Multiple Handicaps

I am not endorsing this agency and frankly, I know nothing about it other than what I've read on their Web site. If nothing else, the links on the site provide some interesting  information about parenting children with special needs.

If anyone has had experience with this agency, please chime in!

For more articles about adoption, please visit my Web site, www.laurachristianson.com