TA’s, and PA’s and LOA’s – Oh My!!!

Program Updates

Yes, this week we received TA’s for 8 families that received referrals last month through the regular China program.   These families will be traveling December 1st and bringing home their new daughters just in time for Christmas!

Also, we received 2 PA’s and 2 LOA’s for China Waiting Children program!    And we’re very happy to announce that Lexi and Amy from our Special Focus program have both found their families.

We have one family currently in China that has met their new daughter and is doing fine.

Halloween News

If your little goblins are going out to Trick-Or-Treat on Sunday, we though you might be interested in this article on Halloween safety tips:

http://www.iyi.org/resources/doc/Peyton-Manning-Childrens-Hospital-Halloween-Safety-Tips.pdf

Other Information

Continuing on with our 10 part series of sharing the Ten Things Adoptive Parents Need to Know:

The concept for week #3 is Emotional Joining.  Emotional joining………..being happy, sad, angry with the child in his or her feelings.  This is labeling feelings aloud.  Be happy with the child -  not just for him.  Be sad with your child - not just for him.  An example of how you might do this is when your child expresses sadness over not being included in a game at school; you might say “That makes me sad for you too.”  “I bet you felt really bad when that happened”.  Use this opportunity to name the feelings that are associated with the experience (sad, a bit mad, lonely, etc.). This is especially important for children who are not able to identify emotions well and for young children to help them understand what they are feeling. Don’t forget to share solutions or ideas about how to handle the situation, should it arise again.

If you have any questions about the concepts presented or would like to talk in more detail please contact cscheller@ftia.org.   As a reminder, we will be hosting a webinar entitled Ten Things Adoptive Parents Need to Know at the end of this series.

Happy Halloween!

New Shared List!

Program Updates

Five families returned home this week with their newest family additions; while one more headed to China to meet their new child. 

A new list of shared files for waiting children was posted Tuesday night and our Beijing staff was able to match some of our families. 

Other Information

Good news for those adopting in 2010!!  The adoption tax credit was raised to $13,170 per child and was made refundable.  This means that eligible taxpayers can get the credit even if they owe no tax for the year!  To learn more, go to the IRS website at:  http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=228301,00.html

Continuing on with our 10 part series of sharing the Ten Things Adoptive Parents Need to Know:

This week we introduce Concept #2 Attunement – Parents setting their feelings and reactions aside, to perceive the child’s behavior through the child’s eyes.  Parents should try to state the child’s needs to him/her without judgment, but with perspective.  A common example of this might be when your child wants your attention and may engage in behavior to get your attention, such as hitting, interrupting a conversation, or intentionally doing something that is not acceptable. In this case, an example of attunement may be to say to your child, “I think you need me to…..” rather than saying “You know you are not supposed to interrupt when I’m talking”.  We want to recognize and acknowledge the child’s needs, not focus on the behavior.  This can be especially challenging for parents.  Put this concept to work this week and see what type of response you get from your child!

The Ten Things Adoptive Parents Need to Know was developed by Richard Sudsberry, MA, LMFT, LMHC, who is a clinician specializing in attachment and children.  At the conclusion of these ten weeks, Rick will host a webinar for our families to answer questions and have more in-depth discussion about the ideas or concepts that we have shared. 

Red Couch Photo

Here's the red couch photo from our 5 families currently in China.  These families will be returning hom on Thursday!  (To view the photo, go to our blog at ftiachina.blogspot.com)

10 Things Adoptive Parents Need Know - #1

Program Updates

Our five families current in China have met their children and are doing well!  We have another family that will be leaving next week to meet their new daughter.

We did not receive any new approvals this week; but since CCAA was closed last week, this was as expected.

Other Information

Over the next ten weeks, we will be sharing the Ten Things Adoptive Parents Need to Know, which was developed by Richard Sudsberry, MA, LMFT, LMHC, who is a clinician specializing in attachment and children.  At the conclusion of these ten weeks, Rick will host a webinar for our families to answer questions and have more in-depth discussion about the ideas or concepts that we have shared.  All of these issues focus on intentional logics to reduce fear, regulate, distract, and mature children over time.  Love replaces fear, fear cannot reduce fear in a child’s mind, only love can!

This week we begin with Concept #1 – Spend time in your child’s world.  Your child wants and needs time with you each day, where you are “in their world’ by playing, sitting on the floor, and involving them in home based activities.  Minimally, we think parents should spend at least 30 minutes daily. Of course, more is better! If you have more than one child, this time, ideally, should be individual with each child. Some ideas of things you might do with your child are:

Puzzles/or books by having your child on your lap

Play on the floor with toys

Blow bubbles

Mimic facial expressions

Fix one another’s hair

For older children, you may want to simply sit and talk

Make a dessert or meal together

It would be good to have your child give you ideas about what he/she would like to do with their “mommy time” or “daddy time”.  You will be surprised how quickly ideas emerge and how excited your child will be!

As a reminder, CIS has announced new fees for I600A and I800A applications starting 11/23/10.  For applications received after this date, the fee will now be $720 and biometrics will cost $85 per person.  This is up from the previous fees of $670 for the application and $80 for biometrics.

For more information, follow this link:  http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=53173dc5cb93b210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Referrals, new blog & CIS price changes

Program Updates

Referrals came for the regular China program last week, and we would like to share more information on the children.  We have 9 families that received and accepted referrals for girls, from just under 5 months to 8 months old.  All the girls are from Yifeng County SWI in Jiangxi province.

We received 2 Letter of Acceptances (LOA) for China Waiting Children families this week!   Five families with the China Waiting Child program headed to China this week to soon meet their newest children and one family will be leaving in 2 weeks.

Congratulations to all of these families!

Journey of Hope & Special Focus

We have had a lot of interest recently in our Special Focus as well as our Journey of Hope children.  To learn more about these programs, please go to our website at:  http://www.ftia.org/waitingchildren/JOHList.asp    Families that currently have active applications with FTIA can see all the files of the Journey of Hope children and the Special Focus children by joining the JOH Yahoo group at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FTIA-JOH.

If you aren’t currently active with FTIA, just fill out and fax us an application (with no fees) and once received, we will send you an invitation to join the Yahoo group.

Our Journey of Hope blog can be seen at: http://ftia-joh.blogspot.com.

Other Information

Offices in China are opening back up again this Friday after being closed for the National Holiday!   The October Trade Fair in Guangzhou will begin next week and the Asian Games will also be held in Guangzhou November 12-27.  We don’t expect either of these events to affect any of our families travel plans. 

CIS has announced new fees for I600A and I800A applications starting 11/23/10.  For applications received after this date, the fee will now be $720 and biometrics will cost $85 per person.  This is up from the previous fees of $670 for the application and $80 for biometrics.

China Referral and Dossier Review Update

 

Referral and dossier review update:
Through the CCAA's online site for adoption agencies, we received the following update regarding the review of dossiers and placement of children:
Document Processing:
The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before November 30, 2009.
The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before May 18, 2006.