Like a lot of things today, adoption is very complex, which means it is not easy for people to agree on how things in adoption should take place. Some people still believe that adoption should be closed and children should not be given information about their birth parents. Others believe that all the information should be open and shared with the adoptive parents, children and birth parents right from the beginning. The sharing of information is called Open Adoption. No matter, the type of adoption, most people today follow one rule: Adoption should be guided by the "best interest of the child."

Did you know?
It used to be that only married couples could adopt a child. Today single people are allowed to adopt. Some states allow gay and lesbian singles or couples to adopt.

National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month. It is a time when adoption is in the news. It began as State Adoption Week in the state of Massachusetts in 1976. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan made it into National Adoption Week.

The North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC for short) is a group that helps to find families for children in foster care. They thought that a week was too short, and that we needed a longer time for people to be paying more attention to adoption. So, in 1990 they suggested National Adoption Awareness Month. Later, the United States president made it official.

National Adoption Day is celebrated on one day in the month of November. On that date thousands of adoptions happen in courts all across the United States. Judges, lawyers, foster parents, adoptive parents and social workers all work together to get as many kids adopted as possible, all on the same day.

National Adoption month is a good time for people to learn more about adoption. You may see posters or billboards about kids who still need families, or hear ads on the radio or television asking grownups to think about adopting kids.

Activities for Kids for Adoption Month are fun to plan. Many kids set up a time to talk to their classes at school about adoption. Sometimes they invite their parents to do a special program. Some kids give their school or public library the names of books about adoption that the library might want to order. November is a great time to do a paper, a book report, or an oral presentation on adoption. Check out some Clubhouse ideas for other school projects.