Basic Adoption Facts

• Bringing up adoption as part of options counseling
• The process steps birthparents take
• Open adoption

Women Who Postpone Adoption Planning

• Common concerns of women who postpone contacting an agency
• Birth Parent Rights
• Confidentiality and secrecy

Talking to Women about Adoption

• Using neutral language
• Barriers to discussion and how to overcome these
• Process and resources

Ethics in adoption

• Characterize the current environment for domestic adoption
• Review the fundamental principles of ethics from NASW and child welfare
• Identify primary ethical opportunities in adoption counseling

Open Adoption

• Define open adoption in context of US adoption history
• Describe the benefits of open adoption to the adoptive triad
• Illustrate how an open adoption agreement might work

Federal and State Adoption Laws

• Identify and explain the history and application of the 3 federal adoption laws
• Describe the story of baby Tamia and her mother, and the experience that changed Illinois state law.
• Identify birth parents' rights

Hospital-based Nursing Interventions and Support Strategies

• Differentiate types of adoptions and related services
• Discuss the role of the perinatal nurse, including key interventions within the documented plan of care: social work referral, communication, legal rights, emotional component and support strategies for birthparents
• Prepare and anticipate the presence of the adoptive parents'

Illinois Adoption Reform 2005

• Review the four principal concepts set forth in Illinois law, and the use of “Birth Parents' Rights and Responsibilities”
• Identify birth parents' rights, as well as the roles of birth mother and birthfather, and respecting their legal rights
• Describe the surrender process and timing

Myths

• Review commonly held adoption myths surrounding open adoption, permanency in adoption, the rights of the birth father
• Dispel each myth through current best practice adoption information
• Discuss case studies

Safe Haven and Alternatives

• Review the Illinois Abandoned Infant Protection Act
• Focus on the hospital policy associated with an abandoned infant
• Illustrate alternative strategies to offer relinquishing parents: counseling on options, community and adoption options

Birth Fathers

• Focus on effective strategies in working with birth fathers
• Discuss role and involvement of birth fathers in the counseling process
• Identify the goal of the Putative Father Registry, as well as how to use

Birth Parent Rights and Responsibilities

• Describe the purpose of the document
• Review the major components of the rights, especially as they relate to the hospital stay, freedom of choice, legal parenthood until rights are surrendered and choosing an adoption resource

Grief and Loss

• Describe/anticipate the grief process
• Discuss the importance and purpose for using neutral adoption language
• Identify useful support strategies

Teens

• Illustrate the goals of counseling when the pregnancy is confirmed
• Clarify the teen's rights as a parent and the involvement of the teen's parents
• Discuss child welfare guidelines when counseling teens