Articles of Interest for Birth Parents

The following are excerpts of articles written by Janie Cravens, our Director of Training and Education. To read the full article, click on the article's title. This will open their article in a new window.

Good Ideas ...For Birth Parents
By Janie Cravens, MSW-ACP
"This article is one in a series of three about good ideas I’ve heard over the 20 + years that I’ve worked with folks touched by adoption. This is by far the hardest to write about – “good ideas” seems a trite phrase in the face of such huge and abiding losses. So I ask your forgiveness, and for you to hear the spirit behind the limited vocabulary..."

Good Ideas ...for Adoptive Parents
By Janie Cravens, MSW-ACP
"As I look back over the last 20-odd years of working with those touched by adoption, I am awed and humbled by how little I knew about how to help people during these dramatic times until they themselves taught me.
In this article, I would like to share some “gems” I have learned from the folks who had to actually LIVE the process that I watched and, sometimes, facilitated..."

Good Ideas ...for Adopted People and Their Families
by Janie Cravens, MSW-ACP
"In the last article I shared some of the “gems” that I have been taught by adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents. This column will focus on things I’ve been taught by adopted people (both adults and children). For many years I have ruminated about HOW adoptees (and their respective sets of parents) can positively acknowledge their adoptive status. Here are some gems I’ve learned from the folks who knew..."

Recommended Reading for Birth Parents

The Open Adoption Experience
by Lois Melina
and Sharon Kaplan Roszia

Dear Birthmother
by Kathleen Silber
and Phylis Speedlin

Given in Love
by Maureen Connelly

Saying Goodbye to a Baby
by Patricia Roles