This November, learn how adoption social work practice has evolved since international adoption began in 1956, and help advocate for children who are still waiting for loving, permanent families.
November is National Adoption Awareness Month!
This year, we will explore how adoption social work practice has evolved in the years since the first children joined families through international adoption nearly 70 years ago, and why so many children still need international adoption to continue in order to have a loving, permanent family.
Follow along as Holt’s team of adoption experts delve into the history of international adoption through a series of articles, Q&As, infographics and short videos.
Amy Trotter, Holt’s post-adoption services director and an adoptee from Vietnam, will share how the inclusion of adoptee voices and adoptee-led research has informed and strengthened adoption practices over the years. Amy will also share about the importance of post-adoption services and how at Holt, we stand committed to supporting adoptees and families throughout their lives.
Susie Doig, Holt’s senior executive of U.S. programming and an adoptive mom of two children from Thailand, will explore how the passage of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption enshrined protections and safeguards to ensure that adoptions are done ethically and in the best interest of the child.
Thoa Bui, Holt’s senior vice president of programs and services, is a Fulbright scholar who worked for several years at Holt’s field office in her native Vietnam before joining Holt International in the U.S. In November, Thoa will share about the changes that have taken place in countries that continue to unite children with families through international adoption — from centralized oversight of adoption practices to better preparation of children who are in the process of joining a family through adoption.
Jodi Miyama, Holt’s senior executive of international adoption, will explore how the process has evolved to include greater preparation and education for prospective adoptive parents — particularly in response to insights shared by adoptees about their lives growing up in multicultural, and often transracial, adoptive families. Jodi will also explore how family preparation efforts have expanded and adapted to the changing needs of children — with more older children, sibling groups and children with special needs joining families through international adoption.
Throughout the month, we will also share about the children who are still waiting for families through international adoption! Around the world, thousands of children are still growing up in orphanages — many of them older or with disabilities or special needs. For these children, international adoption is truly their last, best chance of having a loving, permanent family. Join us in advocating for these children this National Adoption Awareness Month by sharing about them with your family, friends and community, and spreading the message that every child deserves to grow up in a loving, permanent family.
Visit the Waiting Child Photolisting
Meet some of the children waiting for loving adoptive families. Could you be the right family for one of these children?
