Here are some important reminders for prospective adoptive parents regarding a child’s health information/background.
Many people wonder if there are healthy children available for adoption. The answer is that there are children with and without special needs available for adoption. At Adoption STAR, we believe that more and more children considered at-risk for special needs are in need of adoption planning. We cannot predict a child’s mental or physical development, emotional, and/or personality characteristics. We can’t predict the child’s health, if there will be medical problems, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, attention deficits, attachment and/or bonding issues, etc. However, we can and will provide as much information as we have.
We ask each birth mother (and when possible birth father) to complete a background packet documenting social and medical history, a copy of which will be given to you when considering a referral. This background packet will also include social and medical information regarding other birth family members (when possible). We will make our best effort to obtain hospital records, prenatal records, and/or a hospital discharge summary for child, too.
You should consult with a pediatrician or other appropriate medical specialist to review the information provided to you. In doing so, you can ask them to provide you with an opinion regarding this information (or absence of such information) before accepting a referral.