U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Publications
The Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the Children's Bureau, which is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. The Child Welfare Information Gateway has published a series of informative publications available to the general public for free downloading. Following is a sampling of these publications. The entire list of publications may be found at www.childwelfare.gov/adoption.

• General Information
• The Basics of Adoption Practice
• Basic Adoption FAQs and Information


• Factsheets for Families
• How To Adopt - a comprehensive guide covering such subjects as who can adopt, adoption choices, home study, finding an agency, adoption expenses, contact with birth family, legal considerations.
• Intercountry Adoption: Where Do I Start?
• Intercountry Adoption from Hague Convention and non-Hague Convention Countries
• Postadoption Services
• Selecting and Working with an Adoption Therapist


• State Statute Series
• Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?
• Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements
• Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements: Summary of State Laws
• Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Children
• Access to Adoption Records: Summary of State Laws
• Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families
• Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families: Summary of State Law
• Intercountry Adoptions Finalized Abroad
• Intercountry Adoptions Finalized Abroad: Summary of State Laws
• Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights
• The Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers
• Infant Safe Haven Laws
• Criminal Background Checks for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents
• Stepparent Adoption
• Access to Adoption Records by Adopted Persons
• Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Persons
• Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements

U.S. State Department Information
The United States Department of State regulates and oversees intercountry adoption. The US DOS website contains a wealth of information regarding intercountry adoption in general and about specific countries involved in intercountry adoption. The DOS website may be accessed at adoption.state.gov

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
The USCIS will be involved in virtually every intercountry adoption. Permission must be sought from the USCIS for a child from overseas to enter the US. The USCIS website has information about immigration of adopted children, visas for such children, and citizenship for such children. The USCIS website intercountry adoptions page may be found at: www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis. Click "Topics" in the top menu, and then "Adoption". For additional information about post-adoption certificates of citizenship and other immigration issues, see http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1312.html

Hague Convention Adoptions
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption has substantially changed the landscape for intercountry adoption. The Hague Convention imposes new legal obligations on U.S. adoption agencies. The U.S. State Department is charged with overseeing the implementation of the Hague Convention in the U.S. To help prospective adoptive parents understand the meaning and consequences of the Hague Convention, the State Department, Bureau of Consular Affairs, has a very helpful publication entitled The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption: A Guide for Prospective Adoptive Parents. To download a copy of this publication, go to:
http://travel.state.gov/pdf/Prospective_Adoptive_Parents_Guide.pdf

For information about outgoing Hague adoptions (in which a child born in the U.S. is placed with a family in another country), see the following resources:

• Guide for Judges in Outgoing Cases Under the Hague Adoption Convention by William Bisgransky, US Department of State
• Hague Accreditation and Outbound Intercountry Adoption by Richard Klarberg, COA
• Guide for State Authorities on Outgoing Adoption Cases from the U.S. Under the Hague Convention

State Resources

• Oregon Department of Human Services Adoptions page
• Washington State Department of Social and Health Services general adoption information page
• California Department of Social Services -- Children and Family Services -- Adoption page

Search Organizations

• Social Security Search for Deceased Persons
• Inmate Locator
• searchtriad.org
• Accurint.com

Adoption Subsidies, Benefits, and Assistance

• www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_subsid.cfm (factsheet explaining types of assistance and eligibility requirements for state and federal assistance)
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Child Welfare Policy Manual (federal child welfare policy manual)
• www.nacac.org (click on adoption subsidy link for specific state by-state information)
• www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adopt_assistance/ (detailed state-by state information)
• www.aarp.org/families/grandparents/raising_grandchild (benefits and assistance available to grandparents raising grandchildren)

Indian Child Welfare Act

• Text of Indian Child Welfare Act
• 2006 tribes list
• Alternate tribes list
• Family Guide to the Indian Child Welfare Act

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)

• Contact information for state ICPC administrators
• Association of ICPC Administrators
• American Academy of Adoption Attorneys position paper on proposed changes to ICPC

LGBT Issues

• www.lambdalegal.org/states-regions/(A state-by-state summary of adoption-related laws as they affect the LGBT community.)
• www.hrc.org/issues/parenting/adoption.asp(Summary of existing law, pending legistlation, news, articles, resources and publications pertaining to LGBT adoption.)

Other Organizations

• American Academy of Adoption Attorneys
• Child Welfare League of America
• Joint Council on International Children's Services
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• National Adoption Center

Other Useful Resources

• Insurance for Adopted Children

Books

• The Family of Adoption (Joyce Pavao)
• Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew (Sherrie Eldridge)
• Lost and Found: the Adoption Experience (Betty Jean Lifton)
• The Spirit of Open Adoption (James Gritter)
• Telling the Truth to Your Adopted or Foster Child- Making Sense of the Past (Betsy Keefer and Jayne E. Schooler)
• Life Givers (James Gritter)
• Openness in Adoption: Exploring Family Connections (Harold D. Grotevant/Ruth G. McRoy)