What to Expect at an Adoption Conference

I was recently at "The Adoption Journey Conference," an adoption conference presentred by "A Mother's Charm" (www.motherscharm.com) held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, PA. My sister-in-law was kind enough to watch our kids as my husband joined me at the conference. If you are thinking about adopting, I would highly recommend attending a conference like this.

The conference took place in three rooms, with the largest containing displays from various adoption related organizations/agencies with personnel at each station. My husband and I got to talk to about a dozen adoption agencies as well as people who finance adoptions and some nonprofit adoption support groups. There was also a domestic adoption lawyer as well as information about adopting from foster care. If you are not sure if you want to adopt internationally or domestically, this is a good kind of conference to attend. I found it very informational and it is a great no pressure way to learn about adoption.

However, the best part for me was that they had seminars on various adoption topics in the other two rooms. Seminar topics included: “Adopt from the Foster Care System”, “Adopt after Infertility- Moving on”, “Medical and Developmental Issues in International Adoption”, and “From Fantasy to Reality: Set Expectations for Adoption”. I found each of these seminars very informative and they were taught by experts who gave very practical advice for anyone considering adoption. This conference was free to the public, but more importantly was well worth my time (and the $25 parking charge in the heart of Philadelphia (ouch!)).

My thanks to "A Mother's Charm" for presenting a wonderful conference.

Robin Bartko