Adoptee & Foster Voices

Adoptee and foster alumni are by far our most important voices.* When seeking to understand the complexities of adoptive or foster care journeys, they are indisputably the experts. Their wisdom and life experience have much to teach us all. Please reference our All About Me, Birth Parent Grief & Loss, Hair Care, Life Story Work, Navigating Birth Family Relationships & Openness, Siblings, Talking About Race, Transracial Parenting/Cultural Diversity and Tribal-specific pages for more resources.

*This page was created with input from adoptees & fosterees. Remember each has their own narrative that may, or may not, reflect those of others.

FIRST Annual FREE adult BIPOC Adoptees VOICES Conference coming to Portland - July 26-28, 2024!

FREE National Virtual Adult Adoptee Support Group - 1st Thursday monthly, no registration needed!

“...learn to listen to the voices of foster children, both present and past...We know what hurts us and what helps us.” ~Rosalind Folman, foster alum

ORPARC Directory of Foster Adoption Competent Providers, including BIPOC-specific!

Websites

Adoptee Reading - books by or recommended by adoptees!
Adoptee Therapists in Oregon
Adoptee Blogs List by Adoptees Connect
Adoptees On - including a podcast
Adoption Mosaic - local to Portland Metro with adoptee Astrid Castro
Adoption Unfiltered - a literal triad of experts!
Adoptee Voices - storytelling by adoptees
Angela Tucker, The Adopted Life - local to Washington state - author in ORPARC's library
April Dinwoodie - author in ORPARC's library
Be the Bridge - resources for transracial adoptees
Be You Bravely - transracial adoptee local to Oregon & ORPARC partner leading group for teens/young people
BIPOC Adoptees - local to Oregon!
Bookmark Connections - local to Oregon!
Celia Center with Jeanette Yoffe - adoptee - author in ORPARC's library
Dr. Chaitra Wirta-Leiker, Blog - transracial adoptee, adoptive parent, psychologist - author in ORPARC's library
Harlow's Monkey
Intercountry Adoptee Voices
Identity - Isaac Etter - transracial adoptee - author in ORPARC's library
Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN)
Kindred & Co. - all members of the triad
Let Us Be Greater - transracial adoptee & adoptive parent Michelle Madrid Branch - author in ORPARC's library
Lost Daughters
Dr. Staci Martin - adoptee, Portland State University professor, ORPARC internship partner, amazing artist & scholar
Mercy and Healing- adoptee, speaker, writer & parent coach April Guffey in Central Oregon
National Association of Adoptees & Parents - Adoption Happy Hour free virtual event
PACT - for adoptees
Patrick in the World - Patrick Armstrong
Suni Zmich - transracial adoptee hoping to hear from Korean adoptees for her project - author in ORPARC's library
Think of Us - fosteree founded research project
This Adoptee Life
The Storyboard Project - resources for young people moving to adulthood
Walter Dean Meyers - foster adopteee & prolific award-winning author of many books - including multiple in ORPARC's library!
Wreckage & Wonder

Foster specific (reminder: some foster, adoptive, guardianship identities overlap)

Oregon Foster Child Bill of Rights & en español – printable poster 11x17
- for older youth in English & en español 8x11
- for younger children in English & en español 8x11

Foster Alumni Mentors
Foster Care Alumni of America
Foster Club - Oregon-based national organization
Foster Focus – a magazine by foster alum
Josh Shipp - foster care alum - author in ORPARC's library
Mechanic Shop Femme with Chaya Milchtein, fosteree - author in ORPARC's library
Oregon Foster Youth Connection
UR (Unbelievably Resilient) - foster care alum

Recommended Books & Articles

Foster & Adoptee Voice-related materials in ORPARC's library, including Closure: A Documentary About Adoption

Culturally Specific Resources in Oregon – listed on our Transracial Parenting & Cultural Diversity page
About Adopterism by Gazillion Voices
The Adopted Life Blog: Blogging Her Truth by Angela Tucker, adoptee - author in ORPARC's library
Adoptee Voices Storytelling – adoptees can submit to the blog!
Annie E. Casey Foundation – advocacy 7 relevant topics
April Dinwoodie Blog and Other Articles, adoptee - author in ORPARC's library
Asian Adoptee Support by Harmony – many resources
Be Well: Adoptees Coping with Covid19 by Susan Branco, adoptee
Dr. Jaiya John, foster adoptee - author in ORPARC's library!
Famous Foster Children Who Have Been Through Foster Care by Tish Gallegos
Finding Closure When Your Birth Parent Search is Not Successful by Adoptions from the Heart
Foster to Famous Featuring Jamerika Haynes Lewis, foster adoptee (also Voice for Adoption's "Using My Story for Positive Change Award" winner 2021) by Foster Club
From Pain to Power: Transforming Your Relationship with Adoption & How to Honor Your Child's Story by Michelle Madrid-Branch, adoptee+adoptive parent - author in ORPARC's library!
How One International Adoptee Bride Reclaimed her Identity Through Her Wedding by Kalinda, adoptee for Offbeat Bride
How Therapy Can Be a Form of Healing for Foster Youth by Thalia Bernal, fosteree
How to Cope with Birth Parents Not Wanting to Reunite by Considering Adoption
"I Want My Real Mom!" -- says Sara Easterly by Sara Easterly, adoptee for Lavender Luz - author in ORPARC's library
The Intersection of Generational Trauma and Foster Care by Lexi Borgeson, fosteree
The Masks We Wear by Caitlin Woodstock, Boston Post Adoption Resources
National Council for Adoption - Adopted Individuals Resources
Reckoning with the Primal Wound an Interview with Isaac Etter, adoptee by On Your Feet Foundation - author in ORPARC's library
Searching for Adoptee Voices in Picture Books by Meredith Seung Mee Buse, adoptee
Social Media Use Among Adoption Triad by Adoptions With Love
State of Oregon Library Students Services – including resources like talking books
Stories for Youth in Foster Care by Coalition for Children, Youth & Families, Wisconsin
Tossed Up Between Two Worlds: Tales from a Girl Who Can Dance In Between by Rachel Shifaraw, adoptee
The Truth About Adoption: An Adoptee's Perspective by Stephanie Drenka, adoptee
Transfiguring Adoption – many blog articles
- Voices of Adoptees
- Voices of Current/Foster Foster Youth
The Value of Adoptee Voices by Ramya Gruneisen, adoptee
What a Black Adoptee Wishes Her White Parents Had Told Her by Rachel Hatzipanagos, adoptee
Why the Adoptee Voice is the Most Important Voice in Adoption by an adoptee for Adoption Voices

Native Voices

Native Voices in Adoption & Foster Care - an ORPARC Tribal-specific Resource page
Daughter of a Lost Bird and Interview – documentary of adoptee Kendra Mylnechuk Potter's (Lummi Nation) rediscovery of her heritage
Keep Our Families Together by Eva Lopez, ACLU - voices of two Native people (Little Shell Chipewa & Rosebud Sioux Tribe) impacted by ICWA
Welcome Home by Marcie Rendon – the story of adoptee Sandy White Hawk's (Sicangu Lakota) adoption & return to home
'Where Do I Belong?' Native roots, hard realities surface in woman's search for her past by Dan Gunderson, North Star Journey – Peggy Mandel's (Ojibwe) story (article+audio)