If you are considering adoption, you are probably feeling overwhelmed with the paperwork, costs and everything that comes with adoption, but you are not in this alone. There are so many adoption professionals out there who are ready and willing to help you. The top adoption professional you will need is an adoption social worker. The role of this adoption social worker is to facilitate the adoption process for both the adoptive family and the child waiting to be adopted. An adoption social worker has many duties including helping you feel prepared for your new child. Here are the top three things an adoption social worker can do for you as the adoptive family.
- The biggest task that an adoption social worker does for adopting families is matching the children. Not every child will fit into every family. Adoption social workers will help you find the child that best fits your family through matching. Matching includes studying the child’s background and needs and studying the family’s needs to ensure that the family that is chosen is the best fit for the child.
- The next task that the adoption social worker will do is to provide pre-adoptive education to help prepare you for both first-time parenting and parenting children from hard beginnings. They will facilitate workshops that cover a wide range of topics such as grief and loss, attachment, the effects of institutionalization, transracial parenting, cross-cultural issues, and open adoption. Most agencies will require that you complete a set amount of pre-adoptive education and show proof of that completion.
- The third task that an adoption social worker will do is provide post-adoption support. Social workers are an important part of the child’s life and the family’s life. Many children will come with a host of medical issues, neurological, emotional and behavioral problems that require specialized parenting and educational strategies. Some social workers offer their own counseling services.
I hope that you feel more relaxed now that you know about the support services available to you through your adoption social worker. Take advantage of these services so that you can be the best parent to your child.
