I am
conducting new homestudies and updating ones that have expired or for families
pursuing a second adoption. Visiting families has its benefits. I enjoy hearing stories about what life was
like when they were growing up; where they came from; who was in their family.
I learn about new professions and hobbies. I get to see apartments and home
layouts. Sometimes we discuss about the best place or room for a new child. I
love hearing what’s been going on for families I am visiting again. And, yes, I
love meeting the pets in the home, as well. So far this year, 7 of my families have
brought home new babies or children: 4 newborns, a 1-month old, a 3-month old, and
an 8-year-old (from overseas). I have been
visiting new parents, meeting their sons and daughters and watching siblings
welcome the new family member. These visits are always enjoyable, even if new
parents are exhausted or still figuring how to juggle new schedules and getting
everything done.
Some days
I feel as if I’m on one of those tourist trips where you stop in a new city each
day. I worry that if I don't check my calendar carefully, I might go to the
wrong place. In the past month, I have been to Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens,
Westchester, Rockland and Nassau Counties and New Jersey. I have the advantage
of going to new communities and seeing the areas in which a child will
grow.
I am so fortunate
to love the work I do and that I have been able to help singles and couples
adopt for over 32 years. I have and continue to work with a group of amazingly
devoted professionals. Mostly, I am lucky to have experienced adoption myself,
adding 2 daughters to my own family.
Never give up your dream. There are kids of all ages out there waiting to joing a family. While you wait and as you become parents and add more children to a family, I will continue to look forward to many more years of
working in the adoption community.
Kathy Ann Brodsky, LCSW is a New York and New Jersey licensed social worker, adoptive mom and advocate for ethical adoption practice. Through her private practice and agency affiliations, she has prepared thousands of adoption homestudies, counseled expectant, birth, pre/post adoptive parents and adopted persons, as well as trained professionals to work with adoptive families. She was Director of the Ametz Adoption Program of JCCA and a member of the Advisory Board for POV’s Adoption Series and is currently a member of the Adoption Advisory Board of Path2Parenthood, Adoption Professional Advisory Council of HelpUSAdopt and active in the Adoptive Parents Committee in New York. Her blogs and written contributions can be seen throughout the Internet, including her BLOG and as Head Writer for ADOPTION.NET She was named an “Angel in Adoption” by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption in 2001. You can reach her directly EMAIL
