Adoption Resources

November has been declared National Adoption Month, to bring awareness to the thousands of children awaiting adoption, as well as to recognize and celebrate those families that have brought adopted children into their home. 

If you are considering becoming an adoptive parent, it can be difficult to know where and how to begin the process.  There are legal requirements to understand, and decisions to be made about types of adoption (international, private, or through the foster care system).  Luckily, the Colorado Department of Human Services has put together a helpful website to launch potential adoptive parents on their journey.  The Colorado Foster Care and Adoption website includes such helpful pages as How to Start the Adoption Process in Colorado; the Colorado Heart Gallery, which profiles Colorado children awaiting adoption; information on counseling, training, and adoption events; information on becoming a foster parent; profiles of Colorado adoptive families; kinship care; local and national resources and links; and much more.

Our library also has numerous publications that can help prospective parents navigate the adoption process, or for researchers looking for information and statistics about adoption in Colorado:

• Answers to Your Questions About Relinquishment & Adoption, from the Colorado Judicial Branch
• Foster Care and Permanence Task Force Report, from the Colorado Supreme Court and the Colorado General Assembly
• Handbook, Colorado’s Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, from the Colorado Department of Human Services
• International Adoption Child Placement Agency Investigation, from the Colorado Department of Human Services
• Strengthening Colorado Families One Child at a Time, report of the Lt. Governor’s Committee to Promote Adoption

If you are an adult who was adopted, and are in need of your birth certificate, adoption certificate, or other legal information, or are interested in connecting with your birth parents or siblings, visit the Colorado Vital Records Office’s Adoption website.

For more resources, search our library’s online catalog.