Programs for the Journey to Parenthood
The Edlavitch DCJCC Parenting Center helps people on the path to parenthood find information, connections, and community in what is often an isolating and overwhelming process. LGBTQ and straight, couples and single parents, Jewish and non-Jewish, people of all abilities — all are welcome to take advantage of our programming and resources.
Upcoming Programs
Adoption: Starting the Process
Wednesday, November 13, 7:00 PM
Please join us for an informal discussion about various paths to adopting a child. Hear from an adoption lawyer, from representatives from an adoption agency and from the DC foster care system, and from parents who have gone through it successfully. LGBTQ and straight, couples and singles, Jewish and non-Jewish — are all warmly welcomed. Come with questions!
Register for Adoption: Starting the Process
Stay tuned for other Family Building programs coming soon. Email Miriam if you have ideas for programs you would like us to offer.
Resources:
The Edlavitch DCJCC does not sponsor the organizations listed below. They are provided here for informational purposes only.
Email Miriam if you want to be connected to others who have gone through or are currently dealing with similar experiences, whether fertility issues, pregnancy or infant loss, the adoption process, or anything else. All emails will be kept strictly confidential.
- The Tinina Q Cade Foundation (grants, information, and support for families experiencing infertility)
- Path 2 Parenthood (information and support for family building)
- Resolve (nationwide infertility support and advocacy organization)
- Heal from Within (acupuncture and support groups for fertility)
- Uptown Acupuncture (acupuncture for fertility, pregnancy, and birth support)
- Greater Washington Therapy (support groups and individual therapy)
- New Beginnings Yoga (yoga to support fertility)
- Greater Washington Therapy (support groups and individual therapy)
- New Beginnings Yoga (yoga to support fertility)
- Megan Flood, LICSW (mental health professional with a speciality in family building issues)
- Amanda Shapiro, LICSW (mental health professional with a speciality in family building issues)
- Emma Basch (licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pregnancy, the postpartum period, and perinatal loss)
- Falling Leaf Wellness (mind-body-spirit integration to support fertility, pregnancy loss, prenatal, and postnatal periods)
- DC Pregnancy Loss & Infant Death Support Group
- Emma Basch (licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pregnancy, the postpartum period, and perinatal loss)
- Falling Leaf Wellness (mind-body-spirit integration to support fertility, pregnancy loss, prenatal, and postnatal periods)
- The Wendt Center for Loss and Healing
- Return to Zero: H.O.P.E
- “With New Surrogacy Law, DC Joins Jurisdictions That Are Making It Easier for Gay and Infertile Couples to Start Families” from the Washington Post, June 3, 2017
- “How to Pick a Surrogacy Agency” from Washingtonian Magazine, August 28, 2013
- ART Parenting
- Creative Family Connections
- Center for Surrogate Parenting
- DC Child and Family Services, Kathleen Stines, Adoption and Foster Care Recruiter
- The Barker Adoption Foundation (a nonprofit adoption agency licensed in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia)
- Families for Private Adoptions (support and education to those seeking to build their families through adoption)
- Adoptive Families: The How-To-Adopt and Adoption Parenting Network
- American Academy of Adoption Attorneys
- Adoptions Together
- Path 2 Parenthood (information and support for family building)
- Rainbow Families DC: Maybe Baby Series
- Human Right Campaign: Explore Adoption
- Men Having Babies (surrogacy parenting advice and support for gay men worldwide)
- Hasidah (national organization to increase awareness and provide support for infertility in the Jewish community)
- Uprooted (Jewish communal response to fertility journeys)
- Yesh Tikva (resources and awareness in the Jewish community)
- Hebrew Free Loan Association (interest-free loans for fertility and adoption costs)
- Adas Israel Community Mikvah (Jewish Ritual Bath frequently used for rituals when trying to conceive, undergoing IVF, or converting an adopted child)
- “The Case for Social Infertility” from the New Yorker, June 18, 2019
- “With New Surrogacy Law, DC Joins Jurisdictions That Are Making It Easier for Gay and Infertile Couples to Start Families” from the Washington Post, June 3, 2017
- “What IVF Really Feels Like, According to 12 Women Who Have Done It,” from Cosmopolitan,Nov. 2, 2017
- Podcast from the Jewish Women’s Archives “Can We Talk” series about a a Jewish couple who struggled with infertility for years, then decided to hire a surrogate to deliver their children
- Podcast from Mechon Hadar dealing with issues of Jewish law and IVF, in regards to the religion of an egg donor
- Article in altFem on advice for adults currently considering adoption
- Articles in Kveller on fertility struggles
- Article in the Washington Post about fertility struggles in a synagogue community
- Matt & Doree’s Eggscellent Adventure (a podcast chronicling one couple’s fertility journey)
- Infant Adoption Guide Podcast
- NPR Host Steve Inskeep on being an adoptee and an adoptive parent
Please email Miriam if you have suggestions to add to this list, or if you find a link here that is no longer current.
The Edlavitch DCJCC embraces inclusion in all its programs and activities. We welcome and encourage the participation of all people, regardless of their background, sexual orientation, abilities, or religion, including interfaith couples and families.