Several decades ago, Terilee Wunderman adopted two children. She now has 30 years experience as both an adoptive parent and psychotherapist, and she’s always willing to share words of wisdom with new or soon-to-be parents.

The first tool in your arsenal should be a sense of humor and a little advance preparation, Wunderman said. "Use humor, and have a canned reply ready for insensitive comments. … Most people don’t know anything about adoption except for what they’ve seen on TV. A lot of times, it’s an adoptive parent’s job to educate others about it," she said. [Source: Deseret News]

Support groups are important for adoptive parents, too, so they can talk with others who understand the unique challenges they face. Ultimately, the relationships within the family, between parents, children and siblings, are the highest priority. Educating the informed is good, but should not be a parent’s main focus.

Labels: mothers, advice

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Four-year-old Kairissa was adopted from China in April. Her new home was in Tennessee. But now, law enforcement officials are saying that Kairissa was subjected to repeated physical abuse that eventually cost her her life.

Kairissa's story has prompted Chinese officials to revisit that nation's adoption policies

“In response to this latest incident, the China Center of Adoptive Affairs now plans to change their policies with American families, first by possibly stopping work with problematic agencies, then by increasing the number of post adoption supervisory visits.” [Source: WSMV-TV (TN)]

Currently, Chinese policy requires that adoption officials follow up with families six months after the adoption has been finalized. That time frame will be shortened. Additional changes are pending as well.


 

Labels: international, China

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 3 Comments

Most children’s rights proponents consider the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child an important step in protecting kids. Some, however, like U.S. Senator Jim DeMint, think the treaty goes too far, taking parental rights away from parents and giving them to the United Nations.

“DeMint is lead sponsor of S. Res. 519, a resolution to protect parental rights, which is co-sponsored by 30 senators total. Only four more senators need to sign on to inform President Obama that he does not have enough votes in the Senate to ratify the treaty, DeMint said.” [Source: CNS News]

DeMint also believes the treaty is redundant, since the United States already has child protection laws in place. Supporters of the treaty say its purpose is not necessarily to establish new laws, but to get governments around the globe speaking the same language about child protection and rights.

Labels: international

Posted By: Adoption Issues 1 Comment

In England, when a child is removed from his home, the judicial system has up to 65 weeks to determine whether that child can be returned home or should be placed for adoption. In some instances, kids have spent years in foster care, waiting for the courts to decide their fate.

The courts are clogging up with cases. Figures show that at the end of 2009 there were 12,994 open care cases in the courts. This is almost 50% more than at the end of 2008, when there were 8,677 cases open. [Source: The Guardian]

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said family justice practices are currently under review, in an attempt to determine how best to streamline the process and ensure that kids are placed in loving, permanent homes as quickly as possible.

Labels: laws, court, abuse

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

The Iowa Department of Human Services is considering changes to the process by which it removes children from homes in which they’re endangered. Child advocates who say change is necessary hope the state will implement some of the changes that have already been made in Polk County.

In Polk County, however, social workers have been working on a process of forewarning parents that they intend to remove a child.

Unless a child is in immediate danger of injury or death, social workers conduct a pre-removal conference with the parents to determine how to make this process as easy as possible for the child. [Source: Press-Citizen (IA)]

The goal of the pre-removal conference is to limit the amount of trauma the child experiences when being removed. So far, the new process has achieved its goal. Ultimately, DHS hopes the kids can return to their homes, but some are placed for adoption.

Labels: laws, abuse

Posted By: Adoption Issues 1 Comment

Central Florida may soon have a new organization managing its child-welfare system. State officials put management of the system up for bid, hoping to attract organizations that were both effective and fiscally responsible.

“The two finalists are Family Services of Metro Orlando, the nonprofit that has had the contract for Orange and Osceola for the past six years, and Community Based Care of Seminole, the nonprofit that has had the contract for Seminole County for the past five years. Both agencies were created when DCF [Department of Children and Families] privatized its child-welfare system county by county earlier this decade.” [Source: Orlando Sentinel]

The contract winner will manage foster care, adoptions, and child abuse and neglect cases in both counties. State and county officials plan to make their final decision by September 28th. The winning nonprofit will be awarded a four-and-a-half year contract.

Labels: foster care, adoption_agencies, welfare

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Parents who adopt children from foreign countries may be under the impression that the adoption process itself makes their kids American citizens. But, as Alexis Stevens found out, that isn’t necessarily true.

“Stevens’ parents never went through the process to allow Stevens to become a U.S. citizen. The mistake her parents made by not applying for naturalization of their adopted children almost 50 years ago has sent Steven’s life reeling, leaving her uncertain of her identity and her future.” [Source: Fort Myers Press-News]

In 2001, the Child Citizen Act of 2000 was passed in an attempt to solve the unique citizenship challenges posed by foreign adoptions. Under the new law, a child who’s adopted by American parents becomes a U.S. citizen the moment he enters the country. However, the law only applies to adoptees that were minors as of February 27, 2001. All others will still need to apply for citizenship.

Labels: international, adoption laws, citizenship

Posted By: CRC Health 1 Comment

Now that Michael Whitney has raised his two adopted sons, who are grown and off on their own, Michael has taken it upon himself to advocate for children who still need permanent homes. He has become a volunteer spokesman for Children Awaiting Parents.

Children Awaiting Parents recruits foster and adoptive families for children in the United States who have waited the longest to find permanent families. There are more than 120,000 children in America’s foster care system waiting for permanent homes, according to the organization’s Web site. [Source: Seacoast Online]

Whitney and his wife adopted their own sons through Children Awaiting Adoption, after spending thousands of dollars on unfruitful attempts to adopt internationally. Whitney believes so much in the importance of providing homes for kids who have none that’s he’s in the process of adopting two more children through Children Awaiting Parents.

Labels: awareness, parents

Posted By: CRC Health 1 Comment

A state audit of New York’s Office of Children and Family Services found that over $200,000 in improper payments were made to parents who had adopted hard-to-place children. The payments were received by adoptive parents whose kids had either passed away or were too old to qualify for aid.

The Office of Children and Family Services doled out $180,783 in aid for 25 children who were listed as deceased, according to an audit conducted between January 2007 and January 2009. ...

The agency stopped the improper payments during the course of the audit and officials are now trying to recover the money.” [Source: Democrat and Chronicle]

Though $200,000 may not seem like much for a program that pays out over $490 million each year, it is money that could have been spent to help adopt more kids out of the foster care system. The Offices of Children and Family Services, in an attempt to prevent future mistakes, plans to begin partnering with the state Department of Health to match vital statics of children who are receiving aid.
 

Labels: adoptive parents, fraud

Posted By: Adoption Issues 1 Comment

When children do something wrong, it’s easy to criticize or correct them. But it may not have the effect you’re hoping for. Kids want attention, and if they know they can get it by doing things wrongs, they will. The same is true of positive attention.

“Encouragement is a skill parents use to motivate a child to keep trying, even when the going gets rough. Encouragement is noticing how hard a child is working at something, even though the results are not perfect. Be honest when giving encouragement. Praise the effort, not just the result.” [Source: Akron Examiner]

Focusing only on mistakes or bad behaviors can be discouraging to kids. They need to know that we notice the good stuff, too.

Labels: parenting advice

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

It's no secret that -- regardless of how hard their parents work to establish a safe and loving home -- adopted children can experience a wide range of stresses and pressures.

Now, research indicates that a difficult childhood contributes to the development of heart disease and other health problems, according to a new study from the University of Pittsburgh. (This research applied to all children, not just those in adoptive families.)

• Psychiatrist Karen Matthews studied 212 teenagers, ages 12 to 14 years old from various economic backgrounds.
• All were healthy at the time of the study.
• However, several years later, the children from lower socioeconomic levels were more likely to have stiff arteries and high blood pressure, as well as thickening of their carotid artery walls.

In her second study, Dr. Mathews asked 201 children ages 8 to 10 or 15 to 17 years to respond to stress tasks and to judge situations in terms of danger.

• Children from the lower economic levels were more likely to find danger in ambiguous situations that could be interpreted as safe.
• They had higher blood pressure, faster heart rates, and higher scores on anger and hostility.

"Many diseases first diagnosed in midlife can be traced back to childhood," Dr. Mathews said in a presentation of her study before the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.
 

Labels: health, stress

Posted By: Adoption Issues 1 Comment

For many loving and able parents, money is the biggest obstacle to overcome when they’re considering adoption. The U.S. government offers a tax credit aimed at helping potential adoptive parents, and improvements to the credit have recently been made.

“With the new changes, if your adoption costs exceed the allowable limit, the difference will show as a credit on your income tax. An additional benefit is that the tax credit is reimbursed dollar for dollar. You can also take the credit if the adoption isn’t finalized. The credit can be carried forward for up to five years, if need be, or until it’s used, whichever comes first.” [Source: PR Web]

In addition, the tax credit has been extended to December 2011, and the changes have been made retroactive to January of this year.

Labels: laws, tax_deductions

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Minnesota adoption agencies face unique challenges when trying to place special needs children and sibling groups in permanent homes. Nearly half of the children available for adoption in the state have special needs.

But Julia Weisz, a social worker from Morrison County, hopes those labels won’t discourage families from coming forward. Children have special needs just by being in foster care, she said. All have suffered loss.” [Source: St. Cloud Times]

Ron and James Brown, from St. Cloud, dislike the labels given to foster and adoptive kids. Both feel the labels can set kids up for failure. The Browns have fostered over 30 children, including those with special needs, and have seen many of them grow into healthy, productive teens and adults.

Labels: special_needs

Posted By: CRC Health 1 Comment