A month of celebration and reflection
In November of each year, adoptees, birth families, adoptive families and adoption professionals take some time to celebrate adoption, to reflect on adoption practices and its lifelong effects on families and children, and to educate ourselves about topics surrounding adoption.
Celebrate your family | ANnual Photo contest
Every year during National Adoption Awareness Month, we love to catch up with our families. Share how your family has grown by submitting your favorite snap shots to our Annual Photo Contest. We’ll then post our favorites on our Facebook page for a fan vote on who will be the face of Children’s Home and LSS in 2019!
Adoption and Parenting EVENTS
This month, there are a number of events and webinars on parenting and adoption being hosted by Children’s Home, LSS, and our friends within the community. If you can’t join a live event, we also welcome you to take advantage of our recorded webinars this month to learn more about adoption. No matter your stage in the adoption process—whether you’re just considering adoption, or if you’ve been a part of an adoptive family for years—we hope these webinars and events encourage meaningful conversations within your household or office.
- Foster Care and Adoption Fair (in-person in Saint Paul, MN and Gaithersburg, MD on 11/3)
- Gathering for Our Children & Returning Adoptees Pow Wow (in-person in Minneapolis, MN on 11/3)
- Circus of the Heart (in-person in Fort Snelling, MN on 11/4)
- Becoming the Parent Your Child with FASD Needs (online on 11/6)
- Tour Korea Information Meeting (online on 11/7)
- Parents of Adopted Adults Support Group (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/8)
- Foster Care & Adoption Classes (in-person in Saint Cloud, MN on 11/9-11/10)
- Agency-Specific Foster Care & Adoption Training (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/9)
- Holding Onto Your Couples Relationship When the Parenting Road is Tough (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/9)
- Foster Care & Adoption Classes (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/12-11/13)
- Staff-Led Support Group for Foster Care & Adoption Parents (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/13)
- Building Relationships and Resilience through Stories (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/13)
- Birth Parent and Adoptee Support Group (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/14)
- Nurturing Attachment in Foster Care (two-part series, in person in Isle, MN on 11/14 and 11/28)
- Adoption & Foster Care Information Meeting (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/15)
- Foster Parents Fostering Healthy Attachment (in-person in Richfield, MN on 11/17)
- Adoption & Foster Care Information Webinar (online on 11/20)
- Parent-Led Support Group for Foster Care & Adoption Parents (in-person in Saint Paul, MN on 11/29)
- Stuff the Sleigh Toy Drive with KSTP (in-person in Bloomington, MN on 11/29)
Reflection In the Community
There are a number of publications that are taking time this month to reflect on adoption and how it is processed by adoptees, birth families and adoptive families over the years. We encourage you to visit the sites below, as well as other blogs and stories being circulated on social media with the hashtags #FliptheScript and #NationalAdoptionMonth.
childwelfare.gov | The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services picks a theme for National Adoption Month each year and offers resources surrounding the theme. In 2018, the theme is “In Their Own Words: Lifting Up Youth Voices.”
Lost Daughters | This website debuted the hashtag #FliptheScript during National Adoption Month in 2014. The Lost Daughters share stories from adoptees and birth parents in an effort to round-out the adoption conversations that occur around the web and in every home.
Adoptive Families Magazine | Although this website is subscription based, it offers high-quality stories and educational webinars on adoption and foster care throughout the year and during National Adoption Month.
