About the Author

Though Joanne Wolf Small is herself adopted she knew little about adoption as a social institution— until she completed a search for her birth family— co-organized and served as executive director of Adoptees In Search, Inc., a national search, adoptive family education, and support organization— obtained a Masters degree in clinical social work— and served (as the first and only adopted appointee) on the Model States Adoption Legislation Procedures and Advisory Panel.

While in graduate school— and later as she presented seminars, conducted state and county in-service trainings, and led groups of adopted persons, adoptive and birth parents—she found a major discrepancy between child welfare’s idiosyncratic representation of adoption— and the experiences of the adopted persons, and birth and adoptive parents that live it.

Her belief in the adoptive family as a positive alternate runs counter to a widespread, covertly held negative public image— that includes prejudices against adopted persons, birth mothers, adoptive parents, and infertile couples—and results in discrimination and loss of equal rights for adopted persons.

Her professional experience includes a post-adoption clinical practice, clinical supervision, in-service trainings, and seminars, lectures, publications, and interviews with over a thousand adoptive family members.

Small has spoken on adoption before diverse organizations like The National Genealogy Society and the Child Welfare League of America. Her highly successful “Adoption Insights” seminar was cited by Parent’s Almanac and Washington Post columnist Marguerite Kelly.

Small has raised four birth children in suburban Washington, DC. She lives with her husband and German Shepard Liebchen, close to her adult children and two of her three grandchildren.