Publications

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Our adoption publications serve as an additional resource for current and prospective adoptive parents and adoption professionals. These are free resources for you to download!

Resource guides | Information sheets

Resource guides

Our resource guides for adoption and permanency families are here to help! These free resources provide extra support and information for the families in our community and are available to download.

Recently checked out one of our resource guides? Please take a moment to complete this brief survey! Your feedback is valuable to us and helps us plan for future publications.

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New! Trauma-informed parenting: A guide for families
This free digital guide covers important topics like the different ways kids might respond to trauma, how to adopt a trauma-informed parenting approach, and the impact on parents and caregivers. Download.

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All about FASD: A guide for adoptive and permanency families

All about FASD: A guide for adoptive and permanency families covers topics such as FASD 101, seeking an FASD diagnosis, advocating for your child, true stories from adoptees living with FASD, and more! Download.

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Updated! Regional resource guide: Connecting you to your community
Welcome to our updated Regional Resource Guide! We’re gone through and updated the guide with new additions (look for the *new* marker), and corrections. This guide is split into five sections: provincial, Coast/Fraser, Kootenays/Thompson-Cariboo/Okanagan, North, and Vancouver Island. This guide focuses on community resources and not-for-profit organizations. Download.

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Child sexual abuse: A guide for parents
Detecting signs of sexual abuse—and then determining a course of action—may leave parents feeling overwhelmed. This free digital guide is a helpful starting point for adoption and permanency parents, and essential reading for anyone who parents or works with children and youth. Download.

Adoption & permanency 101
This free digital guide explains adopting through the Adopt BC Kids program, intercountry adoption, local infant adoption, and other forms of permanency, including guardianship, custom adoption, and relative adoption. Download.

School and adoption: Navigating the education system
This free digital guide includes information about Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings, trauma in classrooms, how to talk to teachers about adoption, and more! Learn how you can help your children cope at school, and what advice to give to teachers. Download.

Supporting LGBTQ2S+ Youth in Adoption and Foster Care
Approximately 20 percent of high school students today identify as LGBTQ2S+. Among youth in foster care and adoptive families, the numbers are even higher. Learn what you can do as a parent or caregiver to help LGBTQ2S+ young people feel safe and supported. Download.

Information sheets

New! Adopt BC Kids: Adoption from foster care
Each year approximately 200 - 300 BC children, youth, and siblings are adopted through the Adopt BC Kids program, facilitated by the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) in BC. Adopt BC Kids places some of BC’s children and youth who are currently in BC foster care into adoptive homes. Download.

Updated! Adoption 101 for teachers
Families come in many shapes and types. This guide is for teachers interested in learning about the issues that adoptees can face at schools. It includes easy ways to help and a list of adoption-related books for kids. Download.

Updated! Adoption for family and friends
If you’re an adoptive family, this resource serves as an introduction to adoption for your family and friends. It covers many of the standard questions that most people have about adoption. Download.

New! Adoption-friendly family trees
At some point, almost every child will have to tackle a family tree school project. These alternative family trees welcome kids from all families to celebrate their unique family structure. Download overview. Download template (colour). Download template (black & white).

New! Domestic agency adoption
Domestic adoption planning through a licensed adoption agency is the primary route to adopting an infant in BC. These adoptions are not facilitated through the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD). Each year approximately 30 domestic adoptions through a licensed adoption agency are completed in BC. A further 5-15 direct placement adoptions are also completed (where the birth and adoptive parent(s) already know one another). Download.

New! Infant and toddler placements through the Adopt BC Kids program
Children and youth of all ages are available through the Adopt BC Kids program—with recruitment focusing on finding families for school-aged children and teens. However, exceptions include Indigenous applicants, applicants interested in large sibling groups, and applicants interested in parenting children with significant special needs. Download.

New! Intercountry adoption in BC
Each year up to 100 children come to BC families through international adoption. Numbers have decreased significantly over the past decade. Most children resided in orphanages or foster homes in their country of origin. Most have at least one living birth parent, but are available for adoption due to difficult family issues, war, poverty, death, or social factors (e.g. preference for male children in some cultures or two child-policy in China). Download.

New! Licensed adoption agencies
Learn about the two licensed adoption agencies in BC. Download.

Open adoption for birth parents
Birth parents are important to the kids for which they've made an adoption plan. This guide takes a brief look at openness and it's many forms, why openness is important for adopted kids and offers resources for parents who are navigating an open adoption. Download.

Updated! School 101 for adoptive parents
Starting school for the first time, or a new school year, can present challenges for adoptive parents and their children. This guide covers issues that adoptees might face at school, and how parents can help. Download.

Your roadmap to Adopt BC Kids

This handy infographic is a step-by-step visual guide to adopting from foster care in British Columbia. Download the PDF, print it out for your fridge or bulletin board, and track your progress! Flip it over to see all the ways AFABC can support you in your journey. Download.