Adoption education Resources

Pre-adoption or foster care training is required of adoptive and foster families as a part of the home study process by most child placement organizations. The number of training hours a family needs to complete to meet program requirements varies by state and country.

At A Family Tree, we encourage adoptive families to be lifelong learners . Below are additional education resources for adoptive or foster families who are either new to adoption/foster parenting or seek to continue to learn about what the literature, research, and community have to offer.

reading resources:

"What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing" by Oprah Winfrey and Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.
“The Primal Wound” by Nancy Newton Verrier
“In Their Own Voices: Transracial Adoptees Tell Their Stories” by Rita J. Simon and Rhonda M. Roorda
“The Connected Child” by Karyn B. Purvis, Ph.D., David R. Cross, Ph.D., and Wendy Lyons Sunshine
“The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel van der Kolk

Additional resources:

National Council for Adoption - with more than 40 years of adoption experience, this source has research articles, articles written by adoptees and adoptive parents, training, and more.
Adoptee Mentorship Society - an adoptee-led mentorship site to connect with other adoptees
Identity - Adoptive & Foster Parenting - an adoptee founded resource for adoptive parents and children. There is also an adoptive parent community linked.