Happy New Year!

Program Updates

Last week we received one LOA & one TA for Waiting Children families.   This week we’ve received 2 PA’s – both for Journey of Hope children!

 LOA’s seem to be coming quicker for China Waiting Children families.  For families that have had their dossier logged in for several months before they submit their LOI, the LOA has been coming in about a month or less after their PA.  For families that have PA before submitting their dossier, the LOA has been coming between 1-2 months from the time of LID. 

Last week we received 3 referrals for families with LID of May 29, 2006.  The children are from Jiangsu province, ages 8-12 months, and are 2 boys and 1 girl!  The 2 boys were for families that had put their gender preference as “either.”

A new shared list also came out last week and so far we’ve had one LOI submitted for a child on this list.

We have 3 families that are headed to China this week to meet their newest children in the New Year.  We wish them the best on their journey!

Important Information

The adoption tax credit was extended through December 31, 2012.  The refundability of the tax credit will remain in effect for 2011; however it will not be available for 2012 adoptions.  Also it’s our understanding that the adoption tax credits carried forward from previous years will also be refundable, which means that families who adopted as far back as 2005 but who didn’t have enough tax liability to use their entire credit can take advantage of the credit with their 2010 return.  For further information, we suggest you consult with a tax accountant.

Other Information

Remember that our office will be closed on December 30 and 31 for the New Year holiday.  We will be back next year on January 3^rd!

 A new film, Change of Plans, will air January 8th 8/7c on FOX.  This is a pro-adoption film supported by Moms4FamilyTV.  This heart-warming, funny film surrounds a married couple with no kids, who--through unfortunate events –ends up adopting 4 kids from Africa, Asia, and South America. The film reveals how fulfilling life can be when you look beyond your own plans and invest in the lives of others.  You can watch the trailer for this film at:  Change of Plans - Trailer

We’d like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and look forward to more referrals in 2011!

Happy (busy) Holidays!

Program Updates

We received 2 TA’s this week for China Waiting Children families.

This week we have 8 regular China program families and 4 China Waiting Children families returning home with their newest family members.  We hope the children all make an easy adjustment to their new family life.   See my previous blog for the “red couch” photo of this group.

We also have 4 families heading to China at the end of the year and 1 so far in January. 

We have been told that the next group of regular China referrals have been mailed & anticipate their arrival on Monday, but don’t know yet what LID’s these referrals will cover.  Our next LID group is May 26, 2006.

A new list of shared files will be released on December 21^st, which will be Monday night for us.  

Other Information

For the holiday season, our office will be closed December 23-26 and December 30-January 2.  Should any families be matched with children on the shared list during this time, we will be available to assist them.

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

This is the final post in the ten week series of  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.  As a reminder, we will be hosting a webinar on January 6^th, 2011 entitled Ten Things Adoptive Parents Need to Know.  Registration is limited and the invitation to register will be coming by email early next week.

The last concept is Playfulness.  Be an interesting parent.  Playfulness fosters innocence, innocence fosters vulnerability, and vulnerability fosters emotional regulation and cooperation in relationships.  The holidays present a perfect time for playfulness.  Enjoy the snow, time with family, and the joy this season brings.

We hope you will join us for the webinar!

Happy Holidays!

Betty

Red Couch Photo

Twelve families will be coming home this week with their new children!  Congratulations to the families and we wish them safe travels home. (To view the photo, go to our blog at ftiachina.blogspot.com)

Breakfast with Santa

Program Updates

We received 2 PA’s and 2 TA’s this week for China Waiting Children families.

We have 12 families currently in China and doing well.  Travel started out rather rocky for some of these families due to snow delays in the US.  Air travel is always subject to delays, but especially now during the winter months when weather can create delays and missed connections.   When planning travel, we always make sure there is at least a one day buffer so that such delays don’t upset a family’s adoption itinerary.

Other Information

Last Saturday, our Evansville office hosted the 2^nd annual Breakfast with Santa and invited all our local families to come join us.  I’m posting photos of some of the children as they met with Santa and his elves.  (To see the photos, please go directly to the blog at:  http://ftiachina.blogspot.com   Thanks to all the families that came out to see us!

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

The concept for week 9 is to Provide lots of structure and nurturing.  Define roles in parent responses.  For example – “My job as your mother is to……. and your job is to……..” Children from difficult places need calm, secure rules (both formal and informal), role definitions, their unacceptable behavior to be stopped, an invitation for your child to experience things he/she finds challenging. Nurturing will include lots of rocking, holding, snuggling, healthy touches, positive eye contact, perhaps co-sleeping with young children, and using an article of clothing as a transition object.  65% of all interaction is social/emotional!

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 on January 6^th, 2011 entitled Ten Things Adoptive Parents Need to Know.  Registration information to come.

It's already December!

Program Updates

We currently have 12 families in China that have just met their newest children.  We hope they are making many pleasant memories.

Since our last post we received 5 PA’s and 2 LOA’s for China Waiting Children families.  Three of those PA’s were for children on our Special Focus list. 

No word yet on when the next group of non-special needs referrals will come out.

Important Program Changes

The CCAA recently came out with new information on their ruling for families interested in adopting 2 children in the same year.  For families that have already completed an adoption in the past year, they may now identify a Special Focus child and if they submit their Letter of Intent for that child within a year of their last adoption, they will be able to use a copy of their old dossier for this adoption!  The family will need to update their home study, update their CIS approval and submit a new Petition Letter, but will not have to update any of their other dossier documents. 

The Adoption Simplification Act became law on November 30.  This allows families that are Hague and are adopting a child 10 years old or younger to now sign a waiver for the child’s immunizations in China.  This comes as great news for children that could have been facing receiving numerous vaccinations at their medical exam in China.  The waiver form (DS-1981) must be signed and notarized and submitted at the time of their consulate appointment.  The current form will be revised in the future to indicate that it does apply to Hague cases, but will be accepted until that time.  It can be found at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/80002.pdf

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

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve combined two weeks of this series below:

I really like the concept for week 7.  Celebrate for who the child is and what he/she does. Try to create 20 celebrations for each criticism.  Celebrate the child for what he/she does right.  Some days that may mean you will need to really look for those things and even celebrate the small stuff.  The celebrations might include high fives, knuckle bumps, hugs, or affirming touches that matures affection, adult to child.  You may even make a celebration day that includes going to get ice cream because “You are such an amazing kid.”

The concept for week #8 is the understanding that for children from difficult places, we need to see resistance, aggression, attention needing behaviors, and compulsive actions and attitudes as stress or fear states – NOT MISBEHAVIORS. The understanding is larger than the expectations.  Children need lots of empathy and compassion about fears.  We need to acknowledge and accept fears, don’t dismiss them.  Help your child take small steps at facing their fears over time.  Children from difficult places need parent acceptance of feelings in the face of what makes them fearful…often masked as hurt (withdrawal), anger (aggression) or anxiety (compulsive) behaviors.

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 (January 2010).