Preparation

Focus on Adoption and AFABC have always sought to centre adoptee voices and perspectives, but the #FlipTheScript campaign (launched during Adoption Awareness Month in 2014) inspired us to launch a regular column called "Adopted Voice." The series ran from 2015 to 2016.

One of the best things you can do to set the stage for a successful school year is to make sure both you and your kids get plenty of quality sleep. In this article, a mental health expert and adoptive dad gives you a head start by explaining how healthy sleep habits for the whole family start with you.

When potential adoptive parents begin their journey, they're buoyed by the enthusiasm and support of others. Once they bring their child or children home and make it through the first few months, though, that support tends to dissolve. In this article, an experienced adoptive mom explains why adoptive families need support throughout their entire journey, not just at the beginning.

The Kirkbys adopted their daughter from China just shy of her first birthday. In this audio interview, Sheila shares their family story and how AFABC’s education and community connections helped them feel prepared.

Click the audio player below to listen. 

Tax time is upon us again! John Hakkarainen, an adoptive father and professional money expert, shares the inside scoop on how to make your money work for you.

When my children were small, I lived on a ranch surrounded by woods and wildlife. Other than the chickens and the kids, I had no one to talk to for days on end. I read everything I could find about raising adopted children but in those days there wasn’t much. I had to create my own education. I researched and wrote about teens who were adopted, and recently I wrote a book about modern adoptive parenting. Today there are many more books and education options for adoptive parents.

Before you travel

• Know the country you would like to adopt a child from and read up on the potential medical issues your child may have.
• Before travelling, get your own vaccinations up-to-date by making a visit to your local travel clinic (if you don't know your local travel clinic, your local health unit should have a list).
• Make an appointment with your doctor to alert them to the fact that you will be bringing a child home and some of the medical issues the child may have.
• Buy plenty of medical supplies to take with you (see sidebar on right).

In this five-part series from 2006, we present the diary of Mary Ella, an intercountry adoptive mom. She shares the journey she and her husband, Wayne, took to Korea to meet their long-awaited daughter, Leelee.

Adoption across the Rockies

At any given time last year, there were about 5,300 children and youth in permanent government care in Alberta. In the same year, 449 of these children found a loving and permanent home. Alberta children are almost always placed with Alberta families in order to keep them connected to extended family, culture, community, and resources.

“Adopted Voice” is our response to the #FlipTheScript campaign, which promotes the importance of making space for and listening to the voices of adopted people. If you’re an adoptee of any age who’s interested in writing a column for “Adopted Voice,” we’d love to hear from you! Reach us at editor@bcadoption.com.