The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended hepatitis A vaccinations for anyone who will come in close contact with children who are adopted from countries where the virus is prevalent. The decision comes in the wake of the death of a 51-year-old grandmother who contracted the disease from her adopted grandchild.

"Hepatitis A is a liver disease caused by a virus, which can spread through handling a diaper or other contact with contaminated feces. Federal guidelines call for vaccinations against it for all U.S. children and for adults who travel to countries where the illness is common."

Children who are adopted internationally don't typically have recommended vaccinations until after they have arrived in the United States. Source: Associated Press

Labels: medical_records

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The adoption process is always exciting, and there's always a degree of uncertainty about just how it will all turn out. But for Lindsay, a woman from Winnipeg, Canada, the excitement and uncertainty are heightened by her decision to adopt from Kazakhstan.

"[Lindsay] did try to adopt in Canada, but she is single and has been told adopted children mostly go to married couples. She could have a baby naturally but she doesn't want to wait for the right man to come along."

So she's gathered together over $30,000 in cash - as required by the Kazakh government - and has boarded a plane to a country known for its corruption. She hopes to return in a few short weeks to introduce her child to her family and his new home. Source: CBC

Labels: international, Canada

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A year ago, the Florence Crittenton League adoption agency was on the brink of shutting down after the agency's office manger pled guilty to stealing over $600,000. That money had been the agency's safety net, and its absence made the future questionable.

"But nearly a year later, through a combination of insurance money and donations... the venerable adoption agency has 'stabilized'... The agency is still in business, but now she has a staff of one..."

That staff of one is Ilze Keegan, a former social worker and Latvian refugee who serves as the agency's executive director. Keegan has implemented bookkeeping changes intended to prevent similar fraud from happening again. The agency was recently accredited to facilitate adoptions from Russia and has also applied for additional accreditations to expand it international adoption services. Source: Lowell Sun (MA)

Labels: agencies, accreditation

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Parents who already have one or more biological children, but want to adopt, often wonder if adopting is a good idea. How will their biological children respond? What about the adopted child? Adoption expert Laura Christianson offers some advice:

"So much depends on how [parents prepare] children for the arrival of a new sibling... the of type of support the extended family offers, the family dynamics... the emotional health of the child being adopted."

Christianson often recommends that families seek advice from a counselor or therapist who specializes in adoption. Family counseling during the first few months can help everyone adjust, work through issues and provide family members with excellent tools for managing the transition. Source: Exploring Adoption Blog

Labels: biological_children, siblings

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Arrianna and her husband Kent already had three kids, all of them teenagers. So adding two more would be crazy right? Maybe. But it's also been rewarding and fun.

"The Rogers are one of a number of Utah families who have participated with the Save A Child Foundation started by Vern and Nannette Garrett (www.saveachild.cc) that focuses on adopting older kids from poorer countries."

After some initial hesitation, the Rogers adopted two teenagers - Artem and Sasha - from the Ukraine. Arrianna admits that there have been some challenging and discouraging days, but says that she also believes those days would come whether she had five teenage kids or just three. Source: Deseret News

Labels: adoptive_parents, older_children, rewards

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Started in the late 1800s in response to a growing number of abandoned infants, the New York Foundling is getting ready to celebrate 140 years spent helping children find permanent homes.

"The organization has arranged more than 10,000 adoptions over the years, [Executive Director Bill] Baccaglini estimates, while undertaking new ventures ranging from a Bronx charter school aimed at foster children to a Head Start program in Puerto Rico."

About 65 people who were adopted through Foundling plan to attend a reunion that will mark the organization's 140th anniversary. Source: Hamilton (OH) Journal-News

Labels: agencies, reunions, school

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Today, the Georgia House of Representatives passed a bill which allows for the adoption of embryos that are currently in cryopreservation. The bill also designates embryos as children, rather than property.

"You donate property, but you adopt persons... While four states have recognized some form of embryo 'donation', none of those states have a statute explicitly authorizing embryo 'adoption'."

The bill goes next to the Georgia Senate. If the bill is passed there and signed into law by Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia will become the first state to designate the transfer of human embryos as adoption rather than donation. Source: MetroCatholic

Labels: embryo_adoption, childrens_rights

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A law recently adopted in Butler County, Ohio, gives "traditional" married couples preference over others who are interested in adopting foster-care children.

"The new rule... would not exclude [other people] from adopting, but it clearly states that when all other things are equal, married couples would be given the advantage."

The law has prompted claims that it discriminates against single parents, as well as gay and lesbian couples. Children Services Director Mike Fox responded by saying that studies have shown that children are more likely to succeed if they're raised in a traditional family setting. Source: Cincinnati Enquirer

Labels: couples, parents

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A Congolese family that fled to Kenya to escape their country's war wants to adopt a baby boy that they found abandoned by the side of the road. The case is the first of its kind in Kenya, addressing whether or not refugees can legally adopt children.

"Teacher and small businessman Jean-Pierre Tombo Milenge fled the Democratic Republic of Congo... with wife... and children in 2005 when, he says, rebels sought to recruit him. In August 2007, [his wife] came a across a baby boy... sitting alone by the side of a Nairobi road, covered in filth."

The family tried to take the boy to an orphanage, but none would take him. He had been living with the family for nearly a year when authorities came and took him away. A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Nairobi said if the couple wants to adopt, they have to go through the same legal proceedings as everyone else. Their case is set to be heard March 13, 2009 Source: Reuters

Labels: abandonment, refugees, abuse

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Oregon has put a 60-day moratorium on international adoptions. Some speculate that the move comes in response to the death of a young girl who had been living in Mexico but was under Oregonian jurisdiction.

"Oregon has sent 27 children to relatives outside the United States since October 1999, The Oregonian reported. About half went to Mexico."

The interim director of the Children's, Adults and Families division of the state's Human Services agency has sought legal guidance on complying with The Hague Adoption Convention. The Hague agreement is an international adoption treaty designed to prevent trafficking in humans. Source: The Associated Press

Labels: international, oregon

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