What states are good to advertise in for adoption?

I get that question all the time. I wish I knew for sure. I just look for feedback from adoption attorneys, friends and my clients as to where the emails and phone calls are coming from. A few select states don't allow print ads or you wouldn't advertise there because they are agency states. Three quarters of the states are good for advertising. Advertise where it makes sense for you. How far are you willing to travel? Do you have family and friends in certain states so you can stay with them and wait out ICPC?

I always say you should start within driving range and work your way further away if you must. Look at the demographics before you place ads. You want areas where the race reflects the child you hope to adopt and that the population is of child bearing age. Ads in retirement communities in Arizona will do you no good. Lots of areas are hurting from the poor economy, some more than others. You may want to factor that in. Look at the circulation of the paper in comparison to the price of an ad. A one week ad for a 20,000 circulation paper at $100 is not a great deal. A one week ad in a paper with a circulation of 300,000 for $100 is a good deal. Use your advertising dollars wisely. It comes down to putting out lots of ads, doing your research and hoping your ad is in the right place at the right time.

Right now, my clients are getting calls and emails from lots of different places. I can't even narrow down a trend. Don't be discouraged when days or weeks go by without a contact. It happened to me. I think I went three weeks without a call-probably $1,000 of advertising money spent-without a call. Then I got a call-it was "the call". It would be my last call. It resulted in the adoption of my daughter three weeks and two days after that last call.

When you you least expect it, you get "the call"!

My big girl turned 6 last week!

Well, it's official, Jacqueline is 6 (as of January 7th) and boy did she grow this year! I know she grew, but I am still in shock at how much!

She went for her annual checkup yesterday. From last year's checkup-she gained 11 pounds and now weighs 47 pounds! (62nd percentile). I felt like she would never reach 40 pounds and get into a booster seat this past Spring! She grew 3 1/2 inches and is now 45 1/2 inches (54th percentile).

Wow! My little girl is growing up. After numerous birthday celebrations-I think the celebrating is over and it's back to the usual routine.

Here are a few pictures of the birthday girl taken last week!

Finding adoptive parents for biracial of African American babies

It seems there is a gap, that I hope I can help fix, even if in some small way. Many Caucasian couples are seeking Caucasian babies and do not express an interest in biracial or African American babies. I know some people pursuing independent adoption feel bad. They receive a call from a woman who wants to make an adoption plan, and the baby they are carrying is biracial or African American and the situation isn't right for them. They don't have anyone else to refer this potential birthmother to. Sometimes the potential birthmother will say "You are the third or fourth couple I called and no one is interested in my baby."

There is definitely a gap here. There are many couples of all kinds, interested in biracial and African American babies. It's just not easy to find them. It can be like finding a needle in a haystack. It can be frustrating for the potential birthmom as well as the couples hoping to adopt a minority baby.

A few months ago a friend posted that she received a call about a biracial baby and was not interested in the situation. I emailed her for information and passed it onto someone in the next state who I know was very interested. Long story short, they are matched and the baby is due very soon. I think my intervention helped all around-1) a birthmother was interested in talking to her and was relieved and 2) A family longing for a baby to love will finally have their dream come true.

I place ads for some clients who want to adopt a minority baby, some newspapers will not print "We are hoping to adopt a biracial or African American baby". They claim it's discrimination. I see their point, but they really want to get the word out that they are open to a minority baby, so a potential birthmom will feel assured knowing if they contacted this couple, she would be rejected.

Maybe some of the online sites that accept profiles and site links from other couples hoping to adopt should allow these couples to be more descriptive or divide their site by the type of child the adopting families are hoping to adopt. Something needs to be done to bridge this gap and help these babies find loving homes without fear of rejection. I guess I have to put my thinking cap on and figure out how I can be the catalyst for change.

I do know of one multiracial family hoping to adopt a biracial or African American baby. They are homestudy approved and can adopt on short notice. They are a wonderful, diverse family and I will take this opportunity to list their adoption website in case anyone reading this is looking for an adoptive family for their unborn baby, who happens to be biracial or African American.

http://twofantasticmoms.com

Thank you to my adoption attorneys..

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank Denise Seidelman and Nina Rumbold for all their help the past two years. I met them in late 2006 when my husband and I decided to pursue independent adoption. They are wonderful, caring, knowledgeable attorneys who put their clients first!

I just love them and they really saw a spark in me from the begnning and know we would be successful in adopting soon, due to my perserverance and creativity. They were right and five months after being certified, we welcomed a daughter home. They started telling me how I could help others, how I had the know how and skills to offer services to couples hoping to adopt. I didn't believe in myself, but they believed in me. After 17 months of them telling me "You have to do this". I did it. I started my own adoption advertising/consulting service and it's going really well. I love what I am doing and my greatest joy comes from others having success.

I want to thank them, not only for their help and how smoothly our adoption went, but for seeing something in me I did not see. They are constantly trying to help me build my business and referring their clients to me. I will be working with them more closely in 2009 on some administrative/creative things for their practice.

If you live in the NY/NJ metropolitan area and are considering independent adoption, please contact Rumbold and Seidelman. They are wonderful people and skilled adoption attorneys!

Here's their website!

http://adoptionlawny.com