Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Parenting Adopted Teens and Tweens

Source: http://creatingafamily.org

By Dawn Davenport, Creating A Family

a6dbd331fc0cb28350b967987c64d6d8 Adopted adolescents are more alike non-adopted kids than different, but adoption adds a layer of complexity to the teen and tween years. Join host Dawn Davenport in exploring the teen years and what parents can do to help.

See Video.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Evaluating Special Needs to See Which One is a Good Fit

Source: http://creatingafamily.org

By Dawn Davenport, Creating A Family

14579061482_3fa469671b_z-1 The world of special needs adoptions can be confusing. Parents need to explore the different types of special needs to determine which conditions and issues they can handle and which needs are beyond their comfort level to parent. Our guest, Dr. Mary Staat, director of the International Adoption Center at Cincinnati’s Children’s Medical Center, will walk us through the treatment, prognosis, and long term impacts of the most common special needs. The specific special needs discussed in this show include: cleft lip/palate, the most common heart deformities in infants, limb differences, amniotic band syndrome, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, AIDS, attachment issues, RAD,  imperforate anus, ambiguous genitals and albinism.

Listen to the Radio Show.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Accessing Services for Child With Challenging Behaviors

Source: http://creatingafamily.org

By Dawn Davenport, Creating A Family

8541267715_fa0ca77613_n Q: We are in the midst of desperately trying to address our daughter’s sensory issues. She is very bright, but we have wrestled with a very active, non-sleeping, sensory seeker since our days in Vietnam. Early Intervention clinicians found her ineligible for Early Intervention services but recommended an Occupational Therapy Evaluation because of sensory issues. We now will have to fight with our health insurance provider who approved the OT evaluation, but will not authorize the recommended treatment (OT). ?How do we access services for our daughter? We cannot afford to pay out of pocket for OT as one of us has already had to give up income to stay home.

Read more.

"Our Agonizing Decision to Decline a Referral", by Linda Claire

Source: https://www.adoptivefamilies.com

by Linda Claire

We were faced with the difficult choice between raising a child with a challenging medical condition or declining or long-awaited referral.

We expected stacks of paperwork. We anticipated the eager, stressful wait that would start the day we sent in our dossier and last until the day we held our child in our arms. But we weren’t ready for a complicated referral.

When we received a referral for an 11-month-old girl, just six weeks after we sent our paperwork, I told my husband, “The hard part is over. Why would we ever turn down a referral?” I spoke too soon.

Questions arose as soon as we began sifting through the file. Some of the medical information raised concerns, but test results that would address those concerns were due shortly. When they arrived, however, we learned that the child had undergone a simpler, less conclusive test, not the one that would provide the answers we sought.

We could decline the referral, or wait for the more extensive test to be completed. In theory, it was a no-brainer. This child had medical needs beyond those we felt we could handle. But it was not simple. This was no longer a theoretical child. Here was a name, a face, a person whose life would change as a result of our decision.

I agonized, my gut telling me different things at different times. I made lists, weighing pros and cons. I tried to calculate the likelihood of every possible outcome. I spoke to very patient doctors, asking the same questions over and over. I went to bed thinking we should wait, and woke up thinking we should decline.

Read more.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

It’s a Wrap! Adoption at the Movies 2014, by Addison Cooper, MSW, LCSW

Source: https://www.adoptivefamilies.com

By Addison Cooper

Moviegoers were treated to many films that told stories about adoptive and foster families last year. Here’s a look at nine of the biggest.

2014 was my second full year of writing adoption movie reviews. Typically, I look for themes related to adoption, considering how an adoptee or adoptive parent might react to storylines that involve loss, feeling different, or the search for identity, so I was surprised to see how many mainstream films last year directly referenced adoption or foster care. Some treated it well, and some might have left adoptive families scratching their heads. Here’s a look at some of the most prominent adoption-relevant kids’ films from the past 12 months, with talking points.

Read more.

6 Crucial Things Kids Must Know about Adoption by Age Six

Source: http://creatingafamily.org

By Dawn Davenport, Creating A FamilyHEY

  • That they were adopted. If you’re struggling with how to begin that conversation, start with  reading age appropriate adoption books and making a lifebook.
  • That adoption is a normal way for families to grow. Children can be raised by the parents who gave birth to them or by parents who adopted them. Both ways are great ways to create a family. Check out these really great books that talk about all the different ways families can be made.

Read more.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Take Adoptive Families' Cost & Timing Survey for the chance to win a charitable donation in your name

22e17329-0631-4481-baca-36b238367676 Did you adopt a child in 2013 or 2014? If so, please share the cost and timing of your adoption by taking Adoptive Families' survey. You’ll help prospective adoptive families by providing up-to-date information.

Each year, Adoptive Families polls readers to get the real story on the average cost and length of time it takes to complete an adoption. We frequently hear from families just starting out in adoption that our Adoption Cost Breakdowns, based on the final survey results, are immensely helpful to them.

We’re pleased to once again offer a special giveaway to encourage more families to share their adoption experiences. If more than 1,000 parents who adopted in 2013 or 2014 complete this year’s survey, we will randomly select one participant and donate $250 to the adoption organization of his or her choice!

UPDATE: We are so close to our goal of 1,000 completed surveys—we need just 119 more parents to participate! Please take the survey today if you adopted in 2013 or 2014, and forward to any other families you know who did.

Take the 2013-2014 Adoption Cost & Timing Survey

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Nappies For Nork Raffle and Fundraiser

Nappies%20for%20Nork%20Raffle%20WBanner%202015 Nork orphanage is in dire need of disposable diapers and while it should be the responsibility of the Armenian government to supply those basic necessities, we all know the reality and economic constraints.

Let’s do a little quick math. In the US, you can purchase a brand-name diaper for between 15 and 30 cents each. In Armenia, they are a bit more expensive, so for ease of calculating, let’s say it’s 25 to 50 cents, depending on the size and brand. That means that for $1.50 to $3.00 a child at Nork can be clean and comfortable for an entire day. For around $70 a child has diapers for an entire month. Approximately $135 will keep every child at Nork in fresh diapers for a 24 hour period.

SOAR has already set up a diaper fund and you can make a tax deductible donation here: http://soar-us.org/donate.html. If you make a contribution in any amount between now and Easter Sunday and let me know at viviane8@yahoo.com, you will be entered into a drawing for these and other items:

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Hopscotch Values Our Membership with the National Council for Adoption

NCFA%20DC%20Visit%20Pic%20with%20Chuck%20Johnson%2003-17-2015 

It was such a pleasure to visit and reconnect with the staff of NCFA.  Together we attended the USCIS Intercountry Adoption Stakeholders Meeting on March 17, 2015.  It was nice to meet in person with the Children's Issues officers.  Meeting in person allowed for a fresh perspective on the work they do within the constraints of each country and also within our own country's limitations.  We can truly appreciate the magnitude of work they are undertaking to insure legal and ethical adoptions take place in the best interest of all children.  Thank you Megan Lestino for picking me up from the airport and getting me back on my way home.   Looking forward to seeing all of you again in June for the NCFA/JCICS conference!  

Thursday, March 12, 2015

A Giant Shadow

Source: http://www.si.com

042d813e00ee40e7e64aa1281a240657

Aaron Levi wanted to know who he was, where he came from, where he belonged. His curiosity was born of a feeling that he was different. He was a biracial child adopted by a white couple when he was six months old. Taller than his schoolmates at almost every age, he was 6' 5" by the time he left high school. He was also gay—and, he said, desperately trying to hide it.

At South Eugene (Ore.) High in the early 1980s he passed himself off as a New Waver, shaping his hair into a flattop, listening to British reggae. He loved to draw, and he began to identify as an artist. Because of his height and color, he said people assumed that he played basketball. But he had little interest in sports.

Classmates often asked him, “What are you?” Some figured he was Greek, Italian or Middle Eastern. When he grew older and moved to Northern California to attend art school, a few people spoke to him in Spanish, assuming he was Latino. He noticed how African-Americans gave him a brotherly nod.

He imagined his biological parents as romantic partners happy to have given him flesh and blood. He learned later, through his own experience, the pain of the adoption process, both for himself and for his birth mother. “When you are adopted,” he said, “rejection is woven into your DNA.”

Read more.

Watchtower of Morocco on Vimeo

See video.

Walking through the streets of Marrakech, Essaouira, Fes el Bali and Casablanca.. taking in the sights and sounds of this beautiful place. I just wish my camera had shown the true beauty of Morocco.

e0f287b8248a6cd0f2045c589e24f25f

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Revised Forms I-600A and I-600 News

attention_2

Dear Stakeholder,

We would like to inform you that a revised Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative and Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of an Orphan Petition, are now available for use.

Applicants may begin using the revised forms today. Applicants may continue to use other previously accepted versions until March 23, 2015, at which point only the most current version will be accepted.

Kind Regards,

USCIS Public Engagement Division

Sunday, March 1, 2015

I Needed You and You Needed Me. Making Forever Families

Click to see video.

41a005b71ceeab8678a49a9aabfd329a

NC Statewide Adoption Conference & Youth Conference 2015. Don't Miss It!

5402288acbb5d145672d64ef420dcf78

Dear Prospective Conference Attendee: 

Registration is now open for the 3rd Annual Statewide Adoption Conference sponsored by Mecklenburg County/Youth and Family Services Division and is waiting for you.  The conference will be held on Friday, April 24, 2015.  Sign up today because slots are limited.

We are also having our 1st Annual Statewide Youth Conference on Saturday, April 25th for youth ages 12 through 18  in foster care or youth between the aforementioned ages who were adopted.  It will be a fun filled and exciting opportunity for those who attend.

Interested parties for both can register here.

Download Youth Adoption Conference Brochure (PDF)

If you have any questions, contact 704-336-5437.  We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Kind Regards,
The Adoption Conference Committee