Adoption Roundtable

Sebilu Bodja, MPA & Kristi Gleason, LMSW, outline Ethiopia's transition from being a sending country for international adoptions toward developing and prioritizing domestic foster care and adoption programs. They highlight ways that Bethany Christian Services has worked in partnership with the Ethiopian government and local communities to establish policies promoting family-based care, expand the social work workforce, and move towards deinstitutionalization of children previously cared for in orphanages. They identify ways that, historically, funding from NGOs, churches, and individuals may have inadvertently led to proliferation of institutional care and provide suggestions for ways to direct funds and volunteer efforts to promote family-based care for vulnerable children globally. For a transcript and more information visit https://emilyhelder.com

Francine Fishman, LCSW, discusses what it means for educators and schools to create a culturally responsive classroom for adopted students. She provides lessons learned from her own work in training teachers and working with students and shares practical resources for schools. For a transcript and more information visit emilyhelder.com

Judith Eckerle, MD the Director of the Adoption Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota, discusses the adoption of children with disabilities and medical conditions. She outlines trends in adoption, pre-adoption preparation for families, and the evaluation and support of children, highlighting the innovative interdisciplinary team model utilized at the Adoption Medicine Clinic. For a transcript and more information visit emilyhelder.com

The co-editors of the Routledge Handbook of Adoption discuss how they came to be working together and their main goals in putting together the Handbook. They preview the sections of the Handbook and the topics that are included, ending with a discussion of the intended audiences for the Handbook. For transcript and more information visit emilyhelder.com

Co-editors of the Routledge Handbook of Adoption discuss the first chapter of the Handbook that they co-wrote, providing an overview of the history of adoption in the US, current forms of adoption, and areas of controversy or tension in the field. Main themes covered include the intersection of race and class in the context of adoption, openness in adoption, and transracial adoption. For transcript and more information visit emilyhelder.com