About Bright Futures:
Services for Adoptive Families

Post-Placement Parenting Group
The Post-Placement Parenting Group meets once a week for eight weeks and is designed specially for adoptive parents and their babies. The Group focuses on topics of interest to new adoptive parents and the exact agenda for each eight-week session varies depending on the specific interests of each group of parents. The topics that might be covered include infant care and other topics typically covered in a first-time parenting group (feeding, sleeping, playing with your infant etc), your adoption stories, talking to your family and friends about adoption, creating a "life" book for your child, and managing your relationship with your child's birth family. The Group will provide support as you adjust to parenting and, specifically to adoptive parenting, and an opportunity to meet other adoptive families in your area.

Facilitation of Ongoing Contact with Your Child's Birth Family
Building a relationship with your child's birth family based on trust and mutual respect is an important part of your job as an adoptive parent. Bright Futures can help you build your relationship by: ·

• Facilitating the exchange of pictures and letters if you or the birth parents are not comfortable disclosing your/their address at the outset;
• Assisting you in creating an ongoing contact plan that is comfortable for you, comfortable for the birth parents and in the best interests of the child (such a plan may include a combination of letters, telephone calls and/or visits);
• Assisting you in revising an ongoing contact plan that has become uncomfortable for you, for the birth parents or for the child; or
• Providing a neutral ground for meetings or visits with the birth family.

Newsletter
Bright Futures' newsletter contains articles on current adoption issues, letters and articles from birth parents and adoptive parents on their adoption experiences, dates of upcoming adoption conferences and news about Bright Futures, its programs and services.