Where should an adoption information meeting take place?

Adoption information meetings can be held at a variety of locations.  Some people prefer to host them in their homes where they can share pictures and videos of their child.  Others prefer to have them in a more formal environment such as a library or church meeting room.  Where you choose to have a meeting depends on how many people you expect to attend, what type of a/v equipment you want to use, and where you are most comfortable having a meeting.

What time of day do meetings usually take place?

Meetings are generally held in the evenings during the week or on a Saturday morning.  When you hold a meeting is up to you and depends on your schedule and the schedule of people attending.

Who should I invite to an adoption meeting?

We encourage you to invite anyone you think may be considering adoption.  This could include co-workers, church members, associates, family members, friends, and neighbors. We also encourage you to invite at least one other adoptive family to help you. This way, the questions new families ask can be shared, as well as the usual tasks of hosting.  It’s also great for the children to be together with their common bond of adoption.

How will Children’s Home Society and Family Services help me?

Children’s Home Society and Family Services will provide you with promotional materials, access to up-to-date information on our web-site, staff and logistical support.  If you would like, we will send you personalized flyers and invitations for your meeting.  You are welcome to include pictures of your child and /or family in either flyers or invitations.  Please see the sample invitation and flyer included in the folder. If you have computer broad band for your meeting, you can play our entire 20 minute orientation with voice, slides and video from the computer. If you need to use a VCR or a DVD, we can send the most up to date one to you just before the meeting.

But I’m only familiar with the country I adopted from.

That’s okay.  Information on all countries is contained on the slide show plus information to share about CHSFS.  We have included questions to answer about your adoption process in this packet.  We do not expect you to become knowledgeable about all of our adoption programs.  These programs change on a daily basis and it would be impossible for one person to keep track of all of this information.  For program specific questions you can refer families to staff at CHSFS.  You are only there to share about your adoption experience and how adoption has changed your life.  In our experience, that is what most families are interested in hearing.