National Adoption Month: Advice For Anyone Considering Adopting A Child
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- November is National Adoption Month, a time to raise awareness about children and teens waiting for forever homes.
Adoption attorney Denise Seidelman spoke to CBS2's Cindy Hsu, who adopted her daughter, Rosie, 15 years ago.
Seidelman offered some advice for anyone who is thinking about adoption.
First, the most important thing is to work with qualified professionals.
"If you're working with an agency, a voluntary placement agency, make sure they're licensed through the state of New York. If you're working with an adoption attorney, make sure that they have particularized expertise in the area of adoption," Seidelman said.
She says a good starting place is an organization called the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys.
"Those attorneys are vetted, they have to adhere to a code of ethics, and that's a really good starting place for adoptive parents," Seidelman said.
Additionally, prospective adoptive parents should be sure to educate themselves.
"Learn what it means to be a parent to adoption. There are so many resources that it's important for you to educate yourself about at the start," Seidelman said.
One resource is an annual conference held by the Adoptive Parents Committee.
"It's adoption attorneys, adoption agencies, social workers, mental health counselors, doctors. It's a wonderful opportunity to get a huge amount of education in one intense day," Seidelman said.
Seidelman says one of the things she wants people to know about adoption is the way they're going to feel about their adopted child.
"What I always say is people, when they find their child, it's as if it was destiny. They love their child as if the child had been born to them and they know that that child was waiting for them to find them," she said.
The 2019 Adoptive Parents Committee conference is taking place Sunday at St. Francis College on Remsen Street in Brooklyn. It starts at 8 a.m.
To register and learn more about the conference, click here.
