International Adoption
Organizations and Support Groups

The following organizations and support groups can be a big help to you before and after you adopt a child.

AFF is a social, educational, and support group for adoptive families and families who are considering adoption. It is a non profit, non-sectarian, multi-cultural organization, founded in the early 1970s and its members include adult adoptees, families who have adopted through foster care, and families that have been built through both International and Domestic adoption.

APC is an advocate for humanitarian improvements in the adoption and foster care system.

Adoptive Parents' Committee
P. O. Box 3525, Church St. Station
New York, NY 10008-3525

This organization was established by Congress to provide the general public with easily accessible information on all aspects of adoption. CWIG publishes a variety of fact sheets on adoption issues, directories of adoption-related services, and a catalog of audiovisual materials on adoptions. CWIG does not place children for adoption or provide counseling. It does, however, make referrals for such services.

Child Welfare Information Gateway
P.O. Box 1182
Washington, DC 20013-1182
Tel: 703-352-3488 / 888-251-0075
Fax: 703-385-3206

GAFN was founded by families with children adopted from Guatemala to contribute to the well-being of all Guatemalan families and children. They initiate and support projects that help raise the standard of living for Guatemalan children and their families, that improve conditions in Guatemalan orphanages, and that promote ethical adoptions for Guatemalan children whose birth families voluntarily relinquish them, or who are otherwise legally placed for adoption.

IAMIC  In an international adoption, when you receive a referral from your agency, this University of Minnesota clinic will review the referral materials and offer you a medical opinion on the health of the child you are planning to adopt  When your child arrives in the United States, you may bring her or him to this clinic for an initial, comprehensive evaluation.  This health screen includes a physical examination, plus growth and development assessments.

OCDF is a non-profit foundation that supports families with children adopted from China. Established in 1995 and registered in the State of Illinois in 1996, Our Chinese Daughters Foundation supports adoptive families in many ways.  It offers culture-focused travel programs, Volunteer China Family Programs, and Chinese language and culture programs in China for families with adopted children with the goal to increase the child's understanding of Chinese history and culture. It also provides adoption facilitation services and pre-adoption/adoption travel in China and it sponsors two projects to help families connect to their child's orphanage.