For Adoptees
Resources
The Child Welfare Information Gateway (formerly the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse) is a good starting point for resource information.
The American Adoption Congress is committed to the right of all individuals to search for relatives from whom they have been separated by adoption. They offer answers to many frequently asked search questions .
The International Adoptee Congress (IAC) is a newly established membership organization made up of internationally adopted persons. The IAC is committed to empowering, supporting, and giving voice to all international adoptees and adoptee groups.
The International Soundex Reunion Registry is a non-profit, mutual consent reunion registry for persons desiring a reunion with next-of-kin. This is open to all adopted adults over 18 years of age and all birth parents, as well as all adoptive parents of adopted children under 18 years of age.
The Family Search Internet Genealogy Service (sponsored by the Church of the Latter Day Saints) is the largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.
If you are an adoptee born in New York State, a birth parent or biological sibling of a child born in New York State click HERE for more information regarding the New York State Adoption Information Registry.
Books and Articles
- Should I Really Search and What Are My Reasons? by Colleen Buckner
- Making the Decision to Search by Shea Grim
- The Adoption Reunion Survival Guide by Julie Jarrell Bailey
- Search and Reunion Etiquette: The Guide Miss Manners Never Wrote by Monica N, Byrne
- Considerations for International Search by Susan Soon-Keum Cox
- Lost and Found: The Adoption Experience by Betty Jean Lifton
- Adoption Reunions: A Book for Adoptees, Birth Parents and Adoptive Families by Michelle McColm
- Birthright: The Guide to Search and Reunion for Adoptees, Birthparents, and Adoptive Parents by Jean A. S. Strauss
For Young Adult Adoptees
- Edgar Allan by John Neufeld. A novel about transracial adoption, the South and a family's emotional upheavals. Teens.
- Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye by Lois Lowry. In this novel, 17-year old Natalie decides to look for her birth parents. Young adults.
- Where Are My Birth Parents? A Guide for Teenage Adoptees by Karen Gravelle and Susan Fischer. Addressing the quest for roots, heritage and identity, this book is directed to teens but valuable for all.
- Who Am I? And Other Questions of Adopted Kids by Charlene C. Giannetti. An excellent choice for preteen and teen adoptees in closed adoptions, this book addresses issues such as loyalty, family resemblance, and search with comments from young teens, parents, and professionals.
For Children
- Tell Me Again About The Night I Was Born by Jamie Lee Curtis A wam celebraton of the special joys of an adopted family.
- Ages 4 - 8; Over the Moon: An Adoption Tale by Karen Katz. A tribute to families whose members may have come from a faraway place.
- Ages 2 - 8; I Love You Like Crazy Cakes by Rose A. Lewis. The touching love story of the author's journey to adopt a Chinese baby.
- Ages 4 - 8; The Mulberry Bird by Anne Braff Brodzinsky. Although she loves her baby very much, a young mother bird places him for adoption because she is unable to give him the home he needs.
Search Tips for Adoptees
What's New at FFTA?
Forever Families Through Adoption, Inc. Voluntarily Relinquishes Hague Accreditation
After much consideration, our Board of Directors along with the support of the FFTA staff has made the decision to voluntarily relinquish our Hague Accreditation. Due to the closing of several countries' programs to adopt from the United States, plus a global pandemic, it is no longer feasible to continue our Hague Status, which we proudly maintained since 2008. We have felt honored to be able to work with CEAS, IAAME, the Department of State and so many Domestic and International Adoption Service Providers, such as ANW, EFKO, CONANI, TDH and prospective adoptive parents throughout the years. What an amazing experience to help build families here and across the ocean! FFTA is looking forward to expanding our Domestic and Foster to Forever programs.
We wish all of our international friends well as we enter an exciting 2024!!FFTA receives HRC-ACAF Innovator Seal of Recognition
Forever Families Through Adoption is proud to be one of the 172 child welfare organizations joining the the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation's All Children - All Families (ACAF) program in 2023, as highlighted in a new report. Together, these organizations work to improve the services provided to the LGBTQ+ community, including children in foster care and prospective foster and adoptive parents who are LGBTQ+.
FFTA is so proud to have again received the highest "Innovative Inclusion" tier of recognition. We are honored to work with LGBTQ+ families and are committed to treating all persons with respect, dignity, and compassion. To learn more about the All Children-All Families program, please visit the HRC website. Read our full press release here.Meet and Greet
May 7th, 2024
Adoption: Everything You Need to Know - Zoom Meeting!
May 9th & 10th, 2024
35th Annual New York State Foster Care & Adoption Conference