News & Impact

  By Tara Noone, MSW When Adoption Connection opened its doors over 30 years ago, open adoption was starting to blossom, but still in its infancy. As one of the first adoption agencies focused on open adoption, we found ourselves working to correct three common misconceptions, many of which are still common today. They are: that the adopted child would be troubled and confused by contact with birth parents; that continued contact would exacerbate birth parents’ grief; and that adoptive parents would remain in constant fear of losing their child or children. Although there has been plenty of anecdotal evidence… Read More

CBS SF Bay Area From community and service professions to business management and education, a degree in sociology can be quite practical for a number of careers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most sociology jobs for San Francisco students require a minimum of a master’s degree. Nevertheless, the overall job outlook for sociologists is projected to grow much faster than the national average. In considering a career in sociology, there’s nothing much better than receiving expert advice from someone highly respected in the field, such as Lynne Fingerman, M.S.W., Co-Founder and Director of Adoption Connection, headquartered in… Read More

When Drew and Flavio met on JDate.com more than eight years ago, they discovered—to their delight—that one of the interests they shared was in raising a family. “I wanted to find a partner with a child who wanted to have another child,” says Flavio, a Brazilian-born psychologist. Drew, a high-tech executive who had been in an earlier LGBT relationship in which he was raising a son, was a perfect match. A few years into their marriage, after considering various options, the couple came to realize that open adoption was the best way for them to grow their family. Their thoughts… Read More

Even before Karen and Scott adopted their son, Gregory, more than four years ago with the help of JFCS’ dedicated adoption agency, Adoption Connection, the couple felt a strong commitment to the domestic adoption process. Karen has a brother who was adopted, and as child, she lived on a street with at least four households with adopted children. “I grew up with it,” says Karen. “It was just the norm.” So when she and Scott decided to grown their family, it seemed only natural that they’d come to Adoption Connection. “I knew about Adoption Connection because I had volunteered… Read More

When Anna and Dave, a Sonoma County couple who have been married for 11 years, decided to grow their family through adoption, they looked at the options and decided to work with JFCS’ adoption agency, Adoption Connection. They are so glad that they did, because three months ago, Max, their son, came into their lives. Their joy at becoming parents is matched by their gratitude—to both Adoption Connection and to the birthmother and her family, who selected Anna and Dave to raise her baby. “We think the people at Adoption Connection are great,” says Dave. “They have always been… Read More

Danny K. and Ron C. with their son, Beckett, 3 “Adoption Connection did a great job in preparing us to become dads. They took us through every possible adoption scenario—from the smoothest to the most challenging. The more we learned to let go and allow things to unfold naturally, the more relaxed we were.  We felt totally supported. “We also learned during the adoption process how important it is to understand what the birthmother is going through, which helped us to be sensitive and thoughtful in our interactions with her. Beckett was born literally hours after we had an… Read More