The decision to adopt a child and fully accept that child as your own is not often made with ease. There is a lot to consider before you make such a commitment. This handbook will provide you with important information regarding general characteristics of available children, who can adopt and a step by step guide regarding the adoption process.

The good news for parents and other caring adults,
including foster parents, is that there is much they can
do to help influence their children’s decisions about sex.
Foster youth say they want to discuss sex, love, and relationships
with their foster parents, but some are embarrassed or feel
uncomfortable starting the conversation. The same holds true
for foster parents. They often don’t know what to say, how to say
it, or when to start. This guide offers some ideas to help foster
parents strengthen their relationships with foster youth. It also
offers some ideas on how best to communicate about sex, love,
and relationships.

Right now, there are thousands of New Jersey children who need the warmth
and guidance of a family. Many parents are welcoming these children into their homes to provide safety, stability and love. These wonderful people are New Jersey’s foster and adoptive families.

Our 2nd report (in collaboration with the Fostering Youth Success Alliance) detailing the issue of foster youth and higher education in New York, this document presents the specific components of an initiative to directly address the major challenges that stand in the way of foster youth succeeding in college.

This fact sheet discusses some of the emotional issues that parents may face after making the
decision to place an infant for adoption, in surrendering the child, and in handling the
feelings that often persist afterwards. It may be a helpful resource for birth parents as well as
family members, friends, and others who want to support birth parents. It may also provide insight
to adopted persons and adoptive parents who want to understand the struggles faced by birth parents.

Adoptive parenthood, like other types of parenthood, can bring tremendous joy—and a  sizable amount of stress. This fact sheet explores some of the emotional ups and downs that adoptive parents may experience as they approach the decision to adopt, during the adoptive process, and most importantly, after the adoption.

As discussion of the adoption process becomes more open and accepted in American society,
and as more Americans have experience with adoption, there is also more attention focused on
those involved in adoption—the adopted person, the birth parents, and the adoptive parents (often
referred to as the adoption triad or the adoption constellation). This fact sheet examines the impact
of adoption on adopted persons who have reached adulthood.

The landscape for LGBT adoption is changing, with an increasing number of LGBT individuals and couples choosing
to build families through adoption. Many agencies, both public and private, welcome the LGBT community. Leading child welfare
organizations believe that prospective LGBT parents are an excellent resource for children and youth in need of a permanent
family.1 However, specific challenges continue to face many LGBT prospective adoptive parents; they vary depending on
where you live and whether you adopt as a single person or a couple.

It is common for adoptive families to need support and services after adoption. Postadoption services can help families with a wide range of issues. They are available for everything
from learning how to explain adoption to a preschooler, to helping a child who experienced early childhood abuse, to supporting an
adopted teen’s search for identity. Experience with adoptive families has shown that all family members can benefit from some type of
postadoption support. Families of children who have experienced trauma, neglect, abuse, out-of home care, or institutionalization may require
more intensive services.

A growing number of employers offer benefits
to adoptive parents. In 1990, a survey by
Hewitt Associates found that only 12 percent of
employers surveyed offered some kind of adoption
benefits; by 2004, a Hewitt survey of 936 major
U.S. employers showed that the percentage had
grown to 39 percent, with an average maximum
reimbursement of $3,879 for adoption expenses.