National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month, a month set aside each year to raise awareness about the adoption of children and youth from foster care. The Administration for Children and Families estimates there are 107,000 children and youth in the foster care system waiting for families to adopt them. Saturday November 19, 2011 is National Adoption Day when courts around the country will be opening their doors to finalize the adoption of foster children. Several County Courts in NY State are hosting Adoption Day celebrations in recognition of National Adoption Month. The New York State Citizens’ Coalition for Children (NYSCCC) which represents the citizen’s viewpoint and works to improve and expand the services available to children and families includes on its website these resources:

• The Basics: Adoption in New York State from the NYC Cross Borough Collaboration
• Adoption in New York from the NYS Bar Association Pamphlet
• New NY State Law Allows Unmarried Couples to Jointly Adopt

Brooklyn Law School Library has in its collection The Adoption Law Handbook: Practice, Resources, and Forms for Family Law Professionals by Jennifer Fairfax (Call #KF545 .F35 2011) published by the American Bar Association, Section of Family Law. The book has chapters on Adoption overview -- Client intake, advice, and consultations -- Home study -- Domestic private agency adoption -- Public agency adoptions -- Independent adoption -- Interstate compact on placement of children -- Biological fathers -- Consent, relinquishment, and termination of parental rights -- Second-parent or co-parent adoptions -- Post-adoption contact agreements (PACA) -- Indian Child Welfare Act -- Stepparent adoptions -- Cost and financing -- Adult adoption -- Open adoption records -- Disruption and dissolution -- Failure of disclosure and tort of wrongful adoption.