Ongoing Support for Adoptive Families

For some people hoping to build families, adoption offers a wonderful answer to their prayers. Yet adoption can be a challenging process, both for the child and the parents, with unique short- and long-term issues.

Adoption Resources is meeting the needs of adoptive parents and children with an innovative set of pre- and post-adoption services that has been met with an overwhelming response from the community.

Last fall, the agency began offering specialized programs, workshops, and counseling that focus on the particular concerns facing these families.

Betsy Hochberg, Director of Adoption Resources, said, “Adoption Resources has helped to build families for almost 150 years. We have learned through the years that our expertise is still needed after the initial placement.”

The new services are dedicated to meeting the needs of adoptive families, no matter where they are in the process of either a domestic or international adoption, and are available to the entire adoption community in Greater Boston, not just those who have adopted through the agency.

Separation anxiety, sleep issues, feelings of loss, and struggling with independence are some of the unique issues that arise from adoption and which can affect individuals at any point in their lives, from the earliest beginnings through adolescence, mid-life, and old age.

For example, getting your child to sleep is a common challenge for many families, yet a child who spent 18 months sleeping in a dorm might need specialized help to learn how to sleep alone in his/her own room. Betsy said, “If a child has come from an orphanage and has had a certain sleep routine, the traditional advice given by a pediatrician may not address the issues of those children.”

While all adolescents experience some type of drive for independence, this process can be fraught with ambivalence for a child who joined his or her family through adoption. Beginning in March, the agency is offering a six-week support group for adopted adolescents.

Pre-adoptive parents can attend an educational series on medical and developmental issues of adopted children. Families can meet with adoption specialists to learn about the process and decide whether adoption will be their mode of family building.

The agency also offers a variety of support groups, new parent groups, and workshops to post-adoptive families as well as one-on-one post-adoption counseling by highly skilled clinical social workers and adoption experts through our Mental Health Services.

Because the agency has been providing adoption services for over a century, it is an incredible source of information for birth parents and adults who were adopted 40, 50, and even 60 years ago and who want to reunite, obtain medical records, or find family histories. Betsy said, “There are so many moving stories. Today I spoke with a woman who is meeting her birth father for the first time this weekend. We will continue to be here for adoptive families and children.”