Author Archives: Ann Wrixon

Adoption Scams: Protecting Yourself

By Ann Wrixon | Published 08/31/2010

What is an adoption scam? More importantly, how can you protect yourself from con artists who prey on adoptive families hoping to adopt? Unfortunately, there are both criminals as well as lonely, perhaps mentally ill, people who run adoption scams.
There are two types of scams, emotional and financial. Both types of scammers pretend they are [...]

Posted in Adoption Stories, Adoptive Families | Tagged , | View Comments

Birthparents and Poverty

By Ann Wrixon | Published 08/25/2010

Birthparents choose adoption for a wide variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include feeling emotionally unprepared to parent, a desire to finish high school or college, or feeling unable to parent without a partner. One of the most troublesome reasons for an adoptive placement is poverty. In voluntary adoptions, most adoptive parents rightly balk [...]

Posted in Birthparents | Tagged , , , | View Comments

Birthfather Rights

By Ann Wrixon | Published 07/22/2010

Birthfathers have rights, but the extent of those rights varies according to the state where the baby is born. It is essential to find out what the law is in the state where the child is born.
In most states, a birthfather that is married to the birthmother has equal rights to the child. What this [...]

Posted in Adoption Professionals, Birthparents | Tagged , , , | View Comments

The Role of Social Workers in Adoption

By Ann Wrixon | Published 07/13/2010

Almost everyone who participates in an adoption will have contact with a social worker. Social workers play an important role in all adoptions.
As most people know, a home study is the first step in an adoption for potential adoptive parents. Most, but not all, states require that a home study be completed by a social [...]

Posted in Adoption Professionals | Tagged , , , , , | View Comments

How Many Babies are Available for Adoption?

By Ann Wrixon | Published 06/23/2010

People will sometimes ask how many babies are available for adoption. The short answer is that the number of birthparents and adoptive parents at the IAC is about equal. There is no way to know if this is true nationally, but we can give you the information we have about our intakes.
First, let me [...]

Posted in Adoptive Families, Birthparents | Tagged , | View Comments

Children Raised by Lesbian Parents Have Excellent Outcomes

By Ann Wrixon | Published 06/10/2010

A new study published in Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics shows children raised by lesbian mothers have better adjustment than children raised in heterosexual homes. You can download the study at: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.2009-3153v1.
This study is significant because it shows that children raised with lesbian parents are not at any higher risk for [...]

Posted in Adoption News | Tagged , , | View Comments

How to Choose an Adoption Agency

By Ann Wrixon | Published 06/04/2010

Many people worry that they will not make the right choice when deciding what agency to work with on their adoption. This is an understandable concern but if you follow a few guidelines, you will make the right choice.
First, to narrow down your options make sure the agency has a license from the Dept. of [...]

Posted in Adoption Professionals | Tagged , , | View Comments

Why Open Adoption? Part IV: An Open Adoption

By Ann Wrixon | Published 05/17/2010

After searching for more than a decade, I found my daughter’s birthmother. My daughter met her birthmother for the first time shortly after her twelfth birthday. Her birthmother is a kind, wonderful woman, who has allowed us to be part of her life in ways I never would have dreamed. She has provided my daughter/her [...]

Posted in Adoption Stories | Tagged , , , , | View Comments

For the Life of Me: The Secrets of Closed Adoption Last a Lifetime

By Ann Wrixon | Published 05/13/2010

“For the Life of Me” is the most powerful movie I have ever seen about adoption. However, the drama of this film is not around adoption per se, but rather about secrets, the secrets of closed adoptions. What makes this film so tremendously powerful is that all of the protagonists are elderly adoptees. We watch [...]

Posted in Adoption News | Tagged , , , , | View Comments

Why Open Adoption? Part III: My Daughter Meets Her Birthmother

By Ann Wrixon | Published 05/11/2010

After searching for eleven and a half years, I have finally found my daughter’s birthmother. Sobbing I call my husband to tell him the news. We agree to wait until after the piano recital to tell our daughter. Driving her to the recital, I struggle to listen and talk about the upcoming performance. It is [...]

Posted in Adoption Stories | Tagged , , , | View Comments

About 10 percent of women (6.1 million) in the United States ages 15-44 have difficulty getting pregnant or staying pregnant.
~US Dept. of Health & Human Services

Copyright 2010 Independent Adoption Center. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by WordPress