The following article was originally published by the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) and shared by Yahoo News. We felt it was important to share through our blog as well to highlight the importance of adoptive families researching the adoption professionals they are considering working with. Amy Hickman and Michelle Hausmann are members of AAAA, as well as Florida Bar Board Certified in Adoption which recognizes adoption attorneys’ special knowledge, skills, professionalism and ethics. As Certified Adoption Attorneys, Amy and Michelle are experts in adoption law.
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Stories of adoptions gone wrong like the one recently published in The New Yorker abound in the news today, but in reality, these cautionary tales are just that – a warning – and not the norm. Successful, ethical adoptions can and do take place every day. Working with one of the competent attorneys from AAAA can make your adoption one of them.
Every day in the United States and abroad children are placed for adoption into loving homes. These adoptions take place legally and they are done ethically. Unfortunately, these are not usually the stories that make the press. Instead, stories like “How an Adoption Broker Cashed In on Prospective Parents’ Dreams,” recently published in The New Yorker, detailing events that never should have happened, are the adoption stories that the public most often hear.
The attorneys of the non-profit organization, the Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (“AAAA”), are dedicated to minimizing the number of adoption stories that end like the one described in The New Yorker, with prospective parents being defrauded by corrupt agencies or facilitators. Committed to the competent and ethical practice of adoption law, AAAA and its attorneys or “Fellows” advocate for laws and policies to protect the best interests of children, the legal status of families formed through adoption, and the rights of all interested parties. AAAA Fellows apply the law and best legal practices and have successfully helped thousands of clients through their family building journey. AAAA Fellows also represent thousands of birth parents to assure they are treated fairly and with dignity as they make the difficult decision to place a child for adoption.
The Academy of Adoption and Assisted Reproduction Attorneys is represented by over 500 attorneys from the United States and abroad who specialize in adoption law, assisted reproductive technology law (ART) or both. AAAA provides a credentialed presence in the law of family formation and is the largest professional organization of its type dedicated to advancing the security of children through permanent adoption, the protection of children through safe and secure foster care with appropriate permanency planning, and the recognition of intended parents as legal parents for those using modern medical technology to build families through assisted reproductive technology.
Admission to AAAA is a selective process that requires no less than five years of legal practice, at least 50 diverse adoption or assisted reproductive technology proceedings, a referral for admission by a current AAAA member, and rigorous review for high ethical standards and competency by the board of directors.
AAAA is committed to the finest in legal practice and to serving the adoption triad – children, birth families and adoptive families – with compassion and competency. While AAAA supports the exposure of unethical adoption practices in the press to educate the public, AAAA reminds all that ethical and competent adoption professionals should be highlighted and promoted to encourage the public to seek out those of the highest standards to assist in their adoption journey.
AAAA is headquartered in Greenwood, Indiana. For more information, visit us at adoptionART.org.
Media Contact:
Genie Miller Gillespie, Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys, (312) 332-6339, president@adoptionart.org
SOURCE Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys