Beating The Adoption Odds Book

	Acknowledgments
	Introduction
Pt. 1	Considering Adoption: What to Know Before You Begin	1
Ch. 1	Adoption Works	3
Ch. 2	Before You Begin	18
Ch. 3	An Underlying Issue	40
Ch. 4	Special Parents with Special Needs	61
Pt. 2	Your Adoption Options	95
Ch. 5	Agencies in Transition	97
Ch. 6	Different Ways for Different People	133
Ch. 7	A Distant Resource	171
Ch. 8	An Option Worth Considering	208
Pt. 3	Looking for - and Finding - a Child: Reaching Out for Success	249
Ch. 9	Planning Your Search: A Practical Guide	251
Ch. 10	The Search: Casting a Wide Net	271
Ch. 11	Are You Really Ready?	298
Ch. 12	We Have the Baby, but ...	329
Ch. 13	Anticipating, Confronting, and Solving Problems	363
Pt. 4	Adoption for Life: A Lifelong Commitment for Everyone	403
Ch. 14	Talking with Your Child about Adoption	405
Ch. 15	Open Birth Records, Searches, and Reunions	428
Ch. 16	Making Adoption Better for Everyone	453
App. A	States Allowing Independent Adoption and Advertising	487
App. B	Placement Reports - Adoptive Parent Home Study and Postplacement Adoption Appraisal	489
App. C	Preplacement Report - International Adoptive Parent Home Study	497
App. D	Prospective Parent Letters	500
App. E	Letter to Birth Mother Who Requests More Information	506
App. F	Organizations and Resources for Adoption	511
App. G	Children's Books on Adoption	517
	Notes	536
	Bibliography	555
	Index	581