Adoption in Maine

Sometimes it can be difficult to set and establish rules for older adopted children, who may be used to different rules or may not be used to having any rules at all! Having a child grow up from a very young age and adjusting to the rules of your home slowly over time is a very different experience from introducing an older and more independent child into your home. They may resist your rules, argue with you about them, or become erratic, angry and resentful.

There are a few tips new parents who adopt older children may want to learn which could help them deal with this task of establishing new rules. This article by Susan Ward goes into detail about establishing a regular and consistent bed time with an older adopted child. Her experiences may help Maine adoptive families, and adoptive families everywhere deal with the challenges and obstacles that must be faced.

But she does end with one great tip, “Wait it out, It does get better!”.

Read the full article here.

The Bragdon family was honed by Senator Susan Collins last year for recognition from the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. The Bragdon family adopted their first child Wyatt from South Korea almost four years earlier. Soon after, they began the adoption process once again. In 2008, the Bragdon family welcomed home a daughter “Waverly”, also from Korea. As their love and closeness together continued to grow, so did their desire for a larger family.

Their most recent adoption took place in 2010. Twin boys born on February Second of 2010 in Ethiopia were the lucky children to be welcomed into the ever growing Bragdon family.

It is truely rare to see people so eager to welcome children into their home and make them part of their family. Although in recent times, adoption is becoming much more common in Maine. From only 85 adoptions in 1999 to over 300 this year, the number of kids in foster care awaiting adoption has been significantly reduced. The Maine department of health and human services has been working hard to increase adoptions and reduce the amount of children in foster care, and obviously their hard work is paying off.

Read more here…

Adoption in the United States and in Maine is highly regulated by the government. These rules are in place to protect the child and act mostly as a screening process and training atmosphere for the potential parents.

The two main styles of adoption are open adoption and closed adoption. An open adoption allows contact behavior between the child and the biological parents. The type of interaction available is limited to varying degrees depending on the area. The closed adoption style prevents contact between the biological parents and the adopted person, although later on in life, adopted kids may struggle in an attempt to seek out their biological parents out of curiosity.

Adoption happens for many reasons that vary widely all over the world. Common situations are when the child’s parent simply isnt able to care for the child anymore. This could be because of financial situations, felony or drug related charges, death, or mental reasons. Some people simply do not want a child and do not want to go the alternative route of abortion. In some countries single motherhood is unacceptable. Sometimes child abuse results in a child being sent into foster care.

When applying for adoption, potential parents are usually interviewed and go through a series of background checks, including but not limited to financial, medical and criminal record checks. These checks can either be carried out by the adoption agency or by an independent state authority.

The cost of adoption varies around the world. In some countries, it is illegal to charge an adoption fee, however in some other countries, the adoption must be paid on a not-for-profit basis. Many adoption institutions can offer potential parents financial assistance which help to cover some of the initial costs of adopting a child. When adopting an international child, more costs stemming from traveling expenses and legal document translation may result.

Whatever the reason for adoption, and whatever the process, the end result should always be beneficial to the child, including giving them a loving supportive family which will care for them. Many people who physically cannot have children (for medical reasons) often choose the adoption route as they are incapable of having their own biological offspring. There are many resources available for child adoption in every state and most countries as well. A great adoption resource in Maine is the Maine Children’s home for little wanderers.