Educational Requirements

In accordance with the US ratification of the Hague Convention, IAG is requiring a minimum of 10 hours of pre-adoption training and education. IAG is requiring the following:

  1. Complete the on-line course offered through the National Council for Adoption. This online Hague-compliant training for prospective adoptive parents features an interactive, comprehensive learning experience featuring in-depth information and insights from government and agency officials, adoption agency professionals, country specialists, medical and legal experts and adoptive parents.
    • Certificate program provides 8 of 10 hours of parent training required under Hague and 8 CEU credits for agency staff.
    • Online delivery means "anytime, anywhere" convenience for users.
    • Interactive means engaging and easily updated for most current information available
    • Costs for the course are $95 for a single applicant and $175 for a couple registering together.
    • For more information go to: www.hagueadoption.org or contact Chuck Johnson at cjohnson@adoptioncouncil.org

    OR complete the on-line course offered through Adoption Education, LLC. This on-line Hague-compliant training for prospective adoptive parents are designed to promote successful intercountry adoption by educating parents-to-be about what to expect in the international adoption process.

  2. Read IAG's pre- education handbook which will be provided to you at the interview. The handbook covers such topics as:
    • Grief and Loss in Adoption
    • Institutionalization and General Health Concerns
    • Attachment Issues
    • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Alcohol Related Birth Defects
    • Infectious Disease
    • Sensory Integration
    • Disorders of Speech and Language
  3. Attend pre-adoptive parent preparation classes. If you live too far from Pittsburgh to attend the IAG co-sponsored classes, then you must attend classes offered through your home study agency or another agency in your area. The attendance of adoption conferences will satisfy this requirement as well. For the latest class offering in Pittsburgh please click on the IACT Flyer icon at end of this page.

Recommended Reading

  1. Toddler Adoption: The Weaver's Craft by Mary Hopkins-Best (Perspectives Press, 1997).

This book covers all aspects of adopting and parenting a child between the ages of one and three years: making an informed decision whether or not to adopt; preparation and education; forming attachments; behavior management; and more.

 

 

  1. Real Parents, Real Children by Holly van Gulden and Lisa M. Bartels-Rabb (Crossroads, 1993).

An indispensable resource for understanding how adopted children, from birth to adolescence, think about, understand, and experience adoption. This book is meant to be read again and again throughout your child's life.

 

 

  1. Raising Adopted Children: Practical, Reassuring Advice for Every Adoptive Parent (Rev.Ed.) by Louis Ruskai Melina (HarperCollins, 1998).

A long-standing classic in the field is updated with a new section on international adoption. A comprehensive guide to the special issues of parenting adopted children.

 

 

  1. With Eyes Wide Open: A Workbook for Parents Adopting International Children Over Age One by Margi Miller, MA and Nancy Ward, MA, LICSW (Children's Home Society of Minnesota, 1996).

With Eyes Wide Open is no longer available in print. You may be able to find a used copy on amazon.com. However there is an interactive version available on-line: http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org. There is a fee for the program and those who complete the online course are provided with a certificate of completion

This workbook will help you prepare for the special challenges and unique rewards of adopting a child with painful life experiences.

  1. The Out-of-Sync Child: Recognizing and Coping with Sensory Integration Dysfunction by Carol Stock Kranowitz (Perigee Books, 1998).

Perhaps the most comprehensive, comprehensible, and useful guide to sensory integration ever written for parents.

 

 

  1. Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children by Daniel A. Hughes (Jason Aronson, 1998).

This book thoroughly discusses attachment disorder within the context of following a little girl, "Katie," from birth to adolescence. It deals with a complex subject in an easily understandable manner.

 

 

  1. Unfinished Masterpiece, Chosen...Loved....Adopted By Ginney K. Duffey, Ph.D and Janice Butya Zarzeczny, M.Ed.

This is a new book written by two IAG adoptive parents. The book serves as a practical, insightful, and spiritual guide for both adoptive parents and those considering the possibility of adoption.

The book can be purchased for $12.00 + tax ($12.84) and can be purchased directly from the authors at: ZarDuff, LLC, P.O. Box 273, Wexford, PA 15090. information can be obtained via: gkduffey@comcast.net

  1. Talking with Young Children About Adoption by Mary Watkins and Susan Fisher (Yale University Press, 1995).
     

Discussing adoption with your child is a lifelong process that changes as your child grows and develops. This book explains what to expect and how to handle questions (including your child's unasked questions) at each stage of his/her development.

 

     
 


 

Downloads

Download IACT Spring 2012 Flyer! pre adoptive training course