American Adoption Congress
Encyclopedia
The American Adoption Congress (AAC) was created in the late 1970s as an umbrella organization
by the search and support, adoption
reform groups sprouting up across the United States
, Canada
and around the world. Initiated by Orphan Voyage founder, Jean Paton, people representing many groups gathered in regions around the US and began planning the incorporation. The first AAC Conference was held in Washington, DC in May 1979. The second was in Anaheim, CA
in 1980, and the third at the TWA Training facility outside Kansas City
in 1981, where it was reincorporated and gained 501(c)3 tax exempt status. Conferences have been held around the United States annually ever since.
The organization initiated a National "Open My Records" Day in 1990.
The American Adoption Congress is composed of individuals, families and organizations committed to adoption reform. They represent persons whose lives are touched by adoption or other loss of family continuity. AAC promotes honesty, openness and respect for family connections in adoption, foster care
and assisted reproduction
. They provide education
to members and professional communities about the lifelong process of adoption. AAC also advocates legislation
that will grant every individual access to information about his or her family and heritage.
Umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of institutions, who work together formally to coordinate activities or pool resources. In business, political, or other environments, one group, the umbrella organization, provides resources and often an identity to the smaller organizations...
by the search and support, adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
reform groups sprouting up across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and around the world. Initiated by Orphan Voyage founder, Jean Paton, people representing many groups gathered in regions around the US and began planning the incorporation. The first AAC Conference was held in Washington, DC in May 1979. The second was in Anaheim, CA
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
in 1980, and the third at the TWA Training facility outside Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
in 1981, where it was reincorporated and gained 501(c)3 tax exempt status. Conferences have been held around the United States annually ever since.
The organization initiated a National "Open My Records" Day in 1990.
The American Adoption Congress is composed of individuals, families and organizations committed to adoption reform. They represent persons whose lives are touched by adoption or other loss of family continuity. AAC promotes honesty, openness and respect for family connections in adoption, foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
and assisted reproduction
Assisted reproductive technology
Assisted reproductive technology is a general term referring to methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. It is reproductive technology used primarily in infertility treatments. Some forms of ART are also used in fertile couples for genetic reasons...
. They provide education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
to members and professional communities about the lifelong process of adoption. AAC also advocates legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
that will grant every individual access to information about his or her family and heritage.