The collective wisdom of the group allows members to receive advice on every thing from finding a good agency to how to pack when traveling to another country. Often members of a good support group have up to date information not found in adoption books or manuals. This is especially true when choosing to adopt internationally where foreign laws seem to be changing constantly. While the need to learn about the procedural steps required to complete an adoption usually lasts only a short time, the benefits an adoption support group can offer to parents are even more valuable when joining or remaining in a group after adopting. As their parents, we will be helping our children deal with this loss at different stages of their lives.
Adoption is a lifetime commitment.
Issues surrounding it will touch on almost all aspects of living and will remain with an adoptive family forever. The health of such a family is best served when the differences created by adoption are acknowledged. The support group, by allowing families to make these acknowledgments, can serve as a safe haven where these issues are explored. Support can be found not only for the adoptive parent but, just as important, for the adoptee. The discovery for a child or young adult that others are dealing with issues of adoption and being born in a different country can be very reassuring.