Show 61: Starting a Family: Adoption

There are many ways to make a family - through pregnancy, via adoption or by blending existing families - and in this episode we're taking a closer look at adoption. There are many ways, too, to adopt - as an infant or teen, internationally or from right here in Alaska! Those who choose to adopt will have many questions about the process and we'll be learning about adoption all throughout the week.

IN-STUDIO GUESTS: To continue the conversation in the second installment of our ongoing Starting a Family series, three special guests join host Shana Sheehy in the studio to discuss adoption in Alaska.

• Sarah Blanning is the Coordinator for the Infant Adoption program and the Waiting Child program at Catholic Social Services of Alaska.

• Dr. Susan Bomalaski is the Executive Director of Catholic Social Services of Alaska where she oversees all of the programs offered, including the Infant Adoption program, the International Adoption program, and the Foster Care - Adoption programs.  

• KariLee Pietz is the Social Service Program Officer that oversees the the Resource Family Unit at the Alaska Office of Children’s Services where she works with foster and adoptive famlies.

ADOPTION RESOURCES:

• Catholic Social Services of Alaska
• Northwest Adoption Exchange (children waiting for adoption in WA, OR, AK and ID)
• State of Alaska Foster Care program
• Alaska Office of Children's Services (OCS)
• Children seeking adoption in Alaska (via OCS)
• Adoption Information - Child Welfare Information Gateway (via the US Dept of Health and Human Services) 
• Legal Information & Resources for Alaskan adoptive parents - (via Pradell & Assoc)

FEATURED STORIES:

- Adoption Story: Dale, Kaerin and Maya - Open adoption is a choice that many who adopt these days choose to consider. It doesn't mean co-parenting, and it may not even include face-to-face visits with a child's birth family - instead it's all about sharing information. Meet Dale, Kaerin and Maya, our producer Sarah Gonzales' next door neighbors, they shared with us why open adoption makes sense to them.

- Adoption Story: Paula, John, Olive and Drew - Next we meet an Anchorage couple who have adopted two little girls through Catholic Social Services – both of them Alaska Native. 

- Adopting Step-Children - Not all adoptions involve a long application process or a home study, some are more of a formalization of how a family is already working, like when a step-parent adopts their spouse’s child. Contributor Jessica Cochran has more.