MAA's trip to Thailand!

Diana DeGroot, Executive Director, and Sarah Hansen, International Programs Director, traveled to Asia for almost two weeks in February on behalf of MAA. Diana and Sarah first stopped in Bangkok, Thailand, where they were finally able to meet our partners at Thai Red Cross Children’s Home in person! They spent time with both the staff of TRCCH as well as the amazing children we are advocating for! As a result of our visit, 3 families have already received pre-approval for children that Sarah and Diana met and immediately advocated for. We are still strongly advocating for Petey and Maleah, so please reach out to Sarah Hansen if you would like to learn more about either of these precious children. 

While in Thailand, MAA’s team was also able to meet with the country’s Central Authority, as well as with another orphanage we hope to partner with in order to place more children from this beautiful country into forever families! Interested in learning more about our Thailand program? Please visit our website or email Catherine Robbins. 

Following Thailand, Diana and Sarah traveled to Hong Kong to explore the possibility of opening a program there. MAA was greeted with a warm welcome by three different NGOs that we met with. We had very productive meetings, and share a passion for helping vulnerable children find permanency. We hope these meetings will blossom into new relationships to help even more children around the globe! Stay tuned for more information on this potential new MAA program!

MAA also met with our in-country China representative, Richard, while in Hong Kong. It was so great to be with him in person after so much time! We’re all ready to hit the ground running the moment China adoptions resume!

MAA also traveled to Colombia!

Adriana Chaves and Misty Lucas visited Colombia in February. The had the opportunity to meet with some of the iapas and the subdirector of adoptions at ICBF. Each meeting led to discussions about international adoptions. Our Colombian team is excited to continue in our relationships with the Iapas and ICBF to advocate for children and assist in finding their forever families. Our team also had the opportunity to meet with some of our families currently in Colombia finalizing their adoption process. Each family expressed an excitement about returning home with their child! Hosting is fast approaching, and the team had an amazing time interviewing the children who are being allowed to participate in the hosting program. We are cannot wait to see these children again this summer!

Cultivate Connection Course Overview

Join other parents to find support and skills to build strong, healthy families

Cultivate Connection is a peer to peer parenting course facilitated BY parents FOR parents!

Join a course near you to go on a deep dive into the building blocks of a flourishing family. The course gives helpful parenting practices and strategies for kids of all ages, with plenty of time to discuss ideas and ask questions along the way. These practical skills are rooted in research on brain based parenting, attachment, trauma, sensory processing, and more. The purpose of Cultivate Connection is to empower parents and caregivers to be confident, calm, curious, compassionate and connected.

There are seasons of parenting that are overwhelming and leave us weary. For many of us, we find ourselves there now. Cultivate Connection provides the community and support you need, right where you are. You’ll have space to breathe, find some joy, and feel more empowered to meet daily challenges. 

Are you ready to…



• Connect and grow with other parents?
• See yourself, your children, and your family with renewed hope and compassion? 
• Feel more equipped to parent the way you’ve always wanted to? 
• Add more tools to your parenting tool belt? 
• Address behaviors in a way that leads to growth and change? 
• Talk about how things are really going at home (judgment free)?



If so…then Cultivate Connection is for you!

Madison Adoption Associates Foster & Adoption Virtual Book Club

When: The last Sunday of the month starting on March 26th from 7pm-8pm (April 30, May 28, June 25, & July 30)

Where: Zoom from the comfort of your home

What Book: End of the Rainbow: A Memoir of a Mother’s Journey by Valerie Dawn

Who: Available to all active Post Perm Families

*Please inquire for information on how to become an active post perm family.

*The first 3 people to sign up get a free copy of the book! (you must attend book club in order to keep the book)

How: To register, email Julie Densmore or call 412-735-9070 by

March 19, 2023

Philippines Traditional Program Notice!

NACC has recently implemented a temporary 6-month moratorium on their acceptance of new applications from families who are interested in this program (children 6 years and younger). It is effective through June 30, 2023. The purpose is to provide the new management of NACC with the opportunity to review the data of available children, relative to families around the country who have an approved dossier but have not yet been matched with a child. Their goal is to match as many children as possible, as soon as possible.

Madison Adoption Associates (MAA) has been approved by the Inter Country Adoption Board (ICAB) to submit applications on behalf of families interested in adopting younger children who are physically healthy or with more minor medical needs than seen in its Special Home Finding program. The Traditional Program works on a quota system, meaning that MAA is only permitted to submit applications for a certain number of adoptive families each year. Quota spots are assigned to a family when they have a completed dossier ready to submit to the Philippines. This means that if all MAA slots are filled by the time your dossier is ready to send, your dossier may have to be held until a slot becomes available, usually in the next calendar year. MAA cannot “hold” slots for families as many families may experience paperwork or other unforeseen delays, and if all slots are not used during the calendar year, that slot will be forfeited. It is in every family’s best interest to proceed as expeditiously as possible in order to procure their spot for the current calendar year.

"An Unexpected Gift"

An Unexpected Gift is an international adoption story written by an MAA adoptive family! It tells of the journey of adopting their oldest son, their return to the Philippines, and the children's home he lived in. All proceeds go to Helping Hands Healing Hearts in the Philippines. Check it out, support a great ministry, and give the gift of an incredible adoption story! It is now available on Amazon.

"You Should Be Grateful"

Angela Tucker is a Black woman adopted from foster care to White parents, and her mission is to center adoptee voices. She is the subject of Closure, a documentary that chronicles her search for her biological parents and hosts the podcast The Adoptee Next Door. In her debut novel, You Should Be Grateful, Tucker centers the experiences of adoptees through sharing deeply personal stories, well-researched history and engrossing anecdotes from mentorship sessions with adopted youth. The book is available for preorder. 

Families home in January & February!

Please note our phones will be off Monday 3/6 and Tuesday 3/7 as our team meets for strategic planning!

If you are not in a position to adopt right now, but still feel compelled to help, please know that you can always make a donation directly to Madison Adoption Associates. Your generous gift will be directed where it is needed most, whether that be to provide food and medical services to vulnerable children both domestically and internationally, to support MAA’s growing therapeutic support services for adoptive and foster families, to help ease the financial burden for adoptive families, and/or many other areas where MAA serves deserving children. So please – consider making a tax-deductible donation today, so that children around the world may have a chance for a brighter tomorrow.