When Chloe Cohen returns to school this year, her "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" story is likely to top anything her classmates will have to share. While others traveled to amusement parks, national monuments and relatives' homes, Chloe was visiting her home country and former foster parents.

"The journey took off thanks to a mighty convergence of curiosity and restlessness at the Cohen household this year," the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

"Chloe had been asking more questions about Guatemala [her birth country]. ... At the same time, Amy Cohen, a world geography teacher at Julia R. Masterman Middle and High School in Spring Garden, yearned to travel again."

Amy and her daughter found an organization -- The Ties Program -- that arranges trips for adoptees to their home countries. The Cohens spent two weeks in Guatemala learning about the culture and meeting the foster family that cared for Chloe during the first seven months of her life.

Labels: international

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Canadian couples who have been dreaming of adopting a child, preparing rooms, buying clothes and making announcements now find themselves in limbo. During the second week of July, the Ontario-based Kids Link International went into receivership.

A July 17 Winnipeg Free Press article provided the following details:

Kids Link operated Imagine Adoption, which organized adoptions from Ethiopia and co-ordinated them in Manitoba with Winnipeg-based Adoption Options. BDO Dunwoody, a bankruptcy trustee, has been assigned to take over Kids Link's files, but nine Manitoba couples and hundreds of other Canadians have no idea what will come of their parenting hopes.

Manitoba's assistant deputy minister of Child and Family Services Carolyn Loeppky said the agency learned of the problems with Kids Link on Monday. The province is expected to take part in a cross-country teleconference next week to see what can be done, she said.

"We know that families are probably anxious right now, and we do feel for them, because this is a very important life decision that families make," she said.
The Province of Alberta has promised to help families there affected by the bankruptcy, but Loeppky said Manitoba is still waiting for information from BDO Dunwoody "to give good advice to Manitoba families."

Kids Link operated an agency called Imagine Adoption, which organized adoptions from Ethiopia. There are currently about 20 adoptions that had been initiated through Kids Link which will now need to be completed through other means. An additional 30 children have been matched with parents as well.

Labels: international, Canada

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The Warner Brothers film "Orphan" opened in theaters last Friday (July 24), and adoption groups are concerned about the affect it will have on the general public - particularly people who are considering adoption. The film depicts a young adopted girl, Esther, who begins killing her classmates.

Adoption and orphan advocates fear the movie feeds what already is a natural concern on the part of some couples who are considering adoption, particularly of an older child. Those advocates also fear the movie could lead to some couples decided altogether not to adopt. -- Source: The Baptist Press

Though it's highly unlikely that parents worry that an adopted child will kill people, many worry about adopting older children who may have emotional and psychological problems. Several adoption advocacy organizations have launched websites aimed at counteracting the damage they fear will be done by the movie.

Labels: advocacy

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In the past five years, the number of children in the United Kingdom who have been returned to foster homes after being adopted has doubled. The increase comes in spite of an overall decrease in the number of adoptions:

Going back into care after living with an adoptive family is a traumatic experience for children, and for the adoptive parents. It is also a huge cost to an already over-stretched system with the children likely to need expensive specialist care. (Source: The Times)

The high number of children returning to foster care also reflects dramatic changes in adoption. Before the 1970s, most people adopted babies, but today the majority of children are placed for adopted after being removed from their homes due to neglect.

Charity organization Adoption UK is pushing for systemic changes that would focus less on the arduous adoption process and more on teaching parents how to deal with difficult children.

Labels: adopted children, failures

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The Child Welfare League of America and the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute have announced the formation of a strategic partnership. The organizations intend to work together to increase their overall impact in issues related to child and family welfare.

A July 8 Business Wire article provided the following details:

CWLA and the Adoption Institute will remain independent entities, but will formally collaborate on specific research, work products, trainings, advocacy, and other programs and projects designed to improve laws, policies, and practices in the fields of adoption, foster care, and child welfare. ...

A few examples of the wide range of work on which the organizations will initially collaborate are:

• An initiative to increase the number of children, especially those of color, adopted from foster care.
• The planning and convening of a major White House Conference on Children and Youth in 2010.
• Development of research-based best practices for adoption agency work with gay and lesbian parents.

According to Business Wire, CWLA's mission is "to lead the nation in building public will to ensure safety, permanence, and well-being of children, youth, and their families by advancing public policy, defining and promoting practice excellence, and delivering superior membership services."

The objective of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute's "to provide leadership and support to improve laws, policies, and practicesthrough sound research, education, and advocacyto enhance the lives of everyone touched by adoption."

Labels: adoption_agencies

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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been asked to review a two-year-old adoption case that involves claims that a seven-year-old girl's psychological well-being is at risk if she stays with her biological parents. The parents have appealed the case and attempted to block their daughter's adoption.

According to the BBC, "Wealden MP Charles Hendry said there was no suggestion the girl's well-being was at threat at her Halisham home, and asked for a meeting with Mr. Brown. The prime minister said either he or a minister would meet the MP."

The girl was placed in foster care in 2007, when her home was determined to be in "chaotic and unsanitary conditions." Alison Ball QC, who represents the girl's mother, told the BBC that the conditions were not typical and that the girl had been happy at home.

A date for the prime minister's meeting has not been set.

Labels: court, mental_health

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Father's Day may be over for this year, but don't try telling that to Brian Miller. For Miller, a single dad to adopted son Johnathan, every day is Fathers Day -- a day to celebrate his son, and the special relationship they have.

Today, Brian describes Johnathan as both is son and his best friend, but according to a June 19 segment on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition," becoming a family wasn't the easiest experience for either one of the Millers:

Johnathan was 7 when Miller adopted him, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of the experience.

Johnathan suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and didn't understand that the adoption was final. He feared that Miller might give him back.

Once when the school called to tell Miller that Johnathan wasn't paying attention, Johnathan ripped the phones out of the wall. He was scared that Miller might change his mind if he did something wrong.

On the flip side, when Miller tried to take privileges  like TV  away from his son, Johnathan would say, "Wait till I tell the judge this one." Then Miller would have to remind him, "It's over Johnathan, you're adopted. There [are] no more judges in your life."

Once Johnathan realized that his home life was, his behavior and academic performance began to improve. For example, when he was first adopted, he was a special education student, but now he attends regular classes.

Labels: adoptive parents, special_needs, fathers

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People who have decided to adopt a child are often faced with blunt (and sometimes inappropriate) questions. While it's impossible to prepare for every possible question, knowing some of the more common ones can help.

According to the website BellaOnline, the following are five very common questions for adoptive (or about-to-be-adoptive) parents:

#1: Why don't you just have one of your own? It's amazing what they can do now with infertility treatments!
#2: But what if the child doesn't look like you?
#3: What if the birth parents change their mind?
#4: Why in the world are you adopting from that country...Why are you adopting an older child...Why are you adopting a child with special needs?
#5: Isn't it so amazing that you're saving the world this way?

"Its important to understand that many people have honest questions and want to learn more about adoption," wrote Brandii Lacey, BellaOnline's adoption editor. "And, on the flip side, there are those that simply want to argue with you back and forth on the subject of adoption."

It may be frustrating to be questioned about such a personal matter, but answering these types of questions can help people understand your decision and support your family. However, remember that you have the right not to answer any questions that you feel are inappropriate.

Labels: adoptive_parents, preparations, questions

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A June 15 article on The Local (an English-language Swedish news website) featured one couple's experience with Sweden's "stressful and draining" adoption process:

Brett, originally from Australia, met Eleonore, a Swede, 12 years ago while he was backpacking across Europe and she was on holiday with friends. They married in 2000 and spent time living between Sweden and Australia before settling in Stockholm to start a family. After many failed attempts to conceive, they decided to research the option of adoption.

They say the process was long, stressful, and mentally draining. Before applying to an adoption agency, couples must be approved by government social welfare services (Socialtjansten), which can take up to six months. Social workers assess aspects of the couples suitability, including economic status, reference and police checks, health, and living conditions, including house visits.

Once a couple is approved to adopt, the approval is good for two years. The process took a little longer for Brett and Eleonore than it does for most. But when they held their new daughter, just nine months old, for the first time, they said, all the "hardship of waiting and being stressed" disappeared.

Labels: international, sweden

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The family planning laws in China are very strict. Each couple is allowed to have just one child, and those do not follow this rule are required to pay a $2,000 fine for each additional child. Reports have begun to surface about children being taken from parents who can't pay the fine, and then being sold into adoptive families.

Tang Jian, leader of Birth Control Administrative Bureau Inspection Team of Ahenyuan county apparently admitted the practice was prevalent at the time [from 2004-2006].

"It is true that some baby girls were forced be brought [sic] into the charity house and then send abroad," he was quoted as saying. (Source: The Telegraph News)

No one has yet determined how prevalent the practice has been, but Chinese officials ensure international adoption agencies that it has been stopped.

Labels: international, China

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For the past seven days, adoption of embryos has been legal in the U.S. state of Georgia. This law -- which went into effect July 1 -- is the first of its kind in the nation, according to an article by Stephen Gurr of the Gainesville Times:

The Option of Adoption Act was introduced by state Rep. James Mills, R-Chestnut Mountain, and is viewed as a victory for anti-abortion groups who want the law to recognize embryos in their earliest stages of development as people. ...

Daniel Becker, president of Georgia Right To Life, said the law could encourage adoptions and more in-vitro fertilizations with the estimated 40,000 embryos cryopreserved in Georgia fertilization clinics. Those who adopt the embryos, most only 2 or 3 days old, for in-vitro fertilization will be eligible for an $11,000 federal adoption credit under the new law, Becker said. ...

In the past, Georgians were allowed to "donate" embryos, but did not fully relinquish parental rights during the time a child was being brought to full term by another, which could potentially lead to court battles over custody.

Under the new law, people who adopt embryos will be eligible for an $11,000 federal adoption credit.

Labels: adoption_laws, embryo_adoption

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Adopting a child can be a decidedly circuitous process -- an experience that can be much more confusing (and frustrating) for parents who are attempting to adopt a child from a foreign country.

To help clarify the process -- and to provide a source of comfort for those who are trying to adopt internationally -- a group of women in Rochester, N.Y. have formed an international adoption support group.

A group of Rochester women began gathering once a month more than a year ago to talk about their experiences and offer emotional support to one another.

Who else, after all, would understand a process in which certified documents and dossiers can be so critical in adopting a foreign-born child? Or how a missed signature can suddenly throw the process out of whack for weeks, if not months? How those months and even years add up to an emotional rollercoaster ride few would understand except those who have been through it.

"It's just nice to have somebody else that understands the process, that you're not constantly explaining something to people. You just talk about your feelings without giving some type of explanation," said Elyse Mitchell, who, along with her husband, adopted a girl from Korea last summer. (Source: WCCO Rochester, June 27)

According to the WCCO article, the U.S. State Department estimates that more than 17,000 foreign children were adopted by U.S. parents in 2008, a reduction from more than 22,000 in 2004.

Labels: international, support

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According to a June 28 article by Mercury News reporter Sean Maher, this years' San Francisco Gay Pride Parade featured a large contingent of children who were celebrating alongside their adoptive parents:

"I feel like I've seen twice as many children as I saw last year," said Joseph Bowik, who fathers two children with his husband, David Bowik.

The Pride Family Garden, a small park cordoned off near City Hall to give parents a respite and an area for their children to play, saw more than 600 families last year, a record that appeared set to be broken during this year's parade, organizer Meredith Fenton said. ...

The Bowiks described their adoption process as complicated and difficult, but "100 percent positive."

The article indicated that concerns over the federal Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of Proposition 8 (which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry in California) may have led to an increased family presence in this year's Pride Parade.

"Children of gay parents grow up watching their parents fight to be treated equally, and I think it makes them more understanding of the fight for acceptance," 18-year-old Diane Castillo, who was raised by her mother and her mother's partner, told the Mercury News. "It's a great thing. You learn not to take anything for granted."

Labels: same-sex couples

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A Wichita-based nonprofit organization will stop providing adoption and child welfare services and instead focus on family preservation. The move will require the organization to lay off about 45 percent of its staff.

A June 28 article in the Wichita Eagle provided the following details about the decision by DCCCA Inc.:

Before, family preservation workers had to split their time between trying to help families stay together and working with courts to ensure foster care and adoptive families followed judges orders, officials said. ...

Tom Buell, direction of addiction services for DCCCA, said the change allows his agency to concentrate on what its good at. "I like holding families together rather than working the aftermath of the trauma of kids going out of their homes," Buell said.

Children that had previously been working with DCCCA will now transition to Youthville, the state contractor that handles foster care and adoption

Labels: agencies

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