Preparing Children in Orphanages for Adoption

Children adopted internationally need to be prepared in advance for what adoption means, and how their life will change. How can adoption professionals and parents help to prepare these kids? Host Dawn Davenport interviewed two of the leading experts on orphans care and adoption. Dr. Jane Aronson is a pediatrician specializing in adoption medicine and is the CEO and President of Worldwide Orphans. She has been providing direct service to orphans for 20 years. Ms. Jayne Schooler is the author/co-author of seven books in the adoption field, including her newest, Wounded Children, Healing Homes: How Traumatized Children Impact Adoptive and Foster Parents. She has worked in orphanages in Kyrgyzstan, Poland and Ukraine.

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Hit the Highlights

How well are most children in orphanages abroad being prepared for adoption?
Is it possible to prepare a child that has never experienced or has little memory of what it means to live in a family?
What can adoption agency staff do to give children a realistic idea of what life in America is like?
The current methods of facilitating the emotional transition from orphanage staff to adoptive parents is often less than ideal. Working within the constraint of group child care, how can we do a better job of getting this new family off on the best foot possible?
What is the best way to facilitate language transition and acquisition?
What are the greatest areas of need for orphanage staff training?
How to train child welfare institution caregivers in typical child development, the impact of trauma on the child, and the importance of attachment?
How to present information in a culturally sensitive manner?
How to best prepare parents for realistic expectations of that first meeting with their new child and the first couple of weeks adjusting?

For more information from this show and a discussion of this topic, check out Dawn’s blog on the show: Preparing Children in Orphanages for Adoption. Please join the discussion or leave your thoughts about the show in the comments on the blog.