Free adoption symposium

  • Published
MENWITH HILL, United Kingdom --  A free adoption symposium will be held at RAF Menwith Hill March 16 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Singles and families are invited to attend. The symposium will cover various aspects of adoption: international adoption, state/foster care, domestic adoption, legal concerns, finances, home studies, preparing your family and special needs.

Dr. Carol Albers, the President of Adopt Abroad will be on hand to provide a briefing about agencies and application procedures. Her agency has offices in Europe and they understand the military lifestyle. Also several people will be on-hand will discuss their adoptive experiences, both completed adoptions and on-going efforts.

Master Sgt. Mark Reuss, the organizer, has conducted 14 adoption seminars in the United States and South Korea. Of the approximately 250 people who have attended his seminars, twelve families have adopted children from state/foster care or internationally. Recently, a family adopted a child from the Ukraine after having attended one of the seminars at Osan Air Base, Korea.

Reuss felt the need to conduct seminars based on his experience in 2006. His family adopted two girls, ages 13 and 9, from the state of Texas through the Foster Care system. The girls were part of the Reuss family for more than five months but some unfortunate events occurred that made it necessary for the girls to go back into the State Foster Care system. The event was very difficult for the Reuss family and several months passed before they could gather the strength about it. Despite the very hard situation, the family did find some positives that came from it. Reuss felt the need to share his story and educate others. The family has been able to move forward and are adopting again.

Many families have likely considered adoption and have probably even made a few phone calls about it. However, since adoption is a very complex event, very few people complete the process. Adoption requires a lot of time, effort, research, coordination and planning. Attending this symposium may be just what your family needs in order to become fully confident about adoption and make the choice of whether or not it is right for you. A big benefit of attending is that families can learn about the various methods of adoption in one day. The basic foundations will be provided to the family and will help them start their journey, whatever method they choose.

Families travelling from other bases may be able to stay on base in vacant dormitory rooms. Space is limited for this option. No children will be allowed in the dormitories. Additionally, there are plenty of off-base hotels in the town of Harrogate. For more details and to reserve your spot, contact Leslie Stegmaier at the RAF Menwith Hill Family Support Center, DSN 262-7730 or 01423-777730. She may also be contacted via email, leslie.stegmaier@menwithhill.af.mil.