Thursday, June 30, 2016

Nappies For Nork 2016 - Your Change to Make a "Change" in Armenia!

Source: http://martiniadoptionroad.blogspot.com

Nappies For Nork 2016


Last year, through the great generosity of many donors, we raised $12,000 for SOAR to purchase diapers for Nork orphanage in Yerevan.  For eleven months, thousands of diapers were delivered to the children living there, but the funds will run out after the final delivery this month.

Therefore, please join us in Nappies For Nork 2016, a collaboration of SOAR, Hopscotch Adoptions, and adoptive mom Viviane Martini whose son lived at Nork from early 2009 until summer 2011.

Learn more.

6fa7035da4e22475098189b958ad6723

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

ACT NOW! Ask Your members of Congress to Sign Letter Opposing Drastic USCIS Fee increases for Adoption

REMINDER! 

Please call now!

Congressional staff need time to alert the Members of Congress and communicate their interest to the leading offices by noon tomorrow. If you haven’t reached out yet, please pause for a few minutes and do it right now.

I also want to encourage you, if at all possible, to pick up the phone and call first (instead of just emailing or using an online form). We know that reaction time and processing time is slower and level of concern is slower to email and online forms. Congressional staff also report that concern seems higher when people actually make the call. Make the call! Congressional staff are friendly and helpful – you just may make new friends in your Senators’ and Representative’s offices!

Please see tips below on all you need to know!

NCFA Members,

Ask your Members of Congress to sign this letter regarding USCIS’s proposed adoption fee increases. The deadline to sign this letter is noon on this Thursday, June 30th. We’ll have to ask fast!

We encourage you to take 15 minutes to call the DC office of both of your Senators and your Representative. (Find them here.)

Here are some basic suggestions for that call:

1. Ask to speak to the person who handles international adoption issues

2. Ask them to ask their boss to sign the letter increasing USCIS fees for adoptive families

3. Tell them to contact the offices of Senator Blunt, Senator Klobuchar or Representative Franks by noon on Thursday, June 30th to sign the letter.

4. Ask for the staffer’s email to forward them a copy of the letter and explain how to sign on. (Check out the sample email below!)

5. Don’t forget to send that followup email! Polite persistence helps get the job done!

You can send something like the below email to finalize your request:

Dear NAME OF INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION STAFFER,

Thanks for taking my call today! I hope Representative/Senator XYZ will support this letter to prevent burdensome USCIS fee cost increases from impacting adoptive families.

Join Senators Blunt and Klobuchar, Representative Franks and others in this important effort to support adoptive families.

Please contact Lauren_McCormack@blunt.senate.gov, Shannon_Dorsey@Klobuchar.Senate.gov, or Chelsea.patterson@mail.house.gov by noon on this Thursday, June 30th to sign on to this important letter.

Thanks for supporting adoption!

Megan Lestino
Director of Public Policy & Education
National Council For Adoption

New Webcast: Adoption & Identity

Thursday, July 28 | 8 PM Central | Adoption & Identity

REGISTER NOW

As a child grows, their understanding of adoption becomes more nuanced and complex. Unresolved (and often unasked) questions surrounding birth family, the decision to place them for adoption, or how much of who they are is related to their DNA vs. their upbringing often weighs more heavily on them. These feelings and questions may be difficult to wrestle with, and are essential to identity formation.

Join us as Michelle Madrid-Branch, an internationally placed adopted person, author and renowned speaker on the topic of adoption, shares her personal journey to self. Her insights are sharp and candid as she relays coming to terms with various aspects of her story and piecing together for herself the things that mattered going forward.

Building from Michelle’s story, Carmen Knight, an experienced adoption therapist and transracially placed adopted person herself, will expand upon the lessons from Michelle’s story and thereby help all parents learn how to:

  • Identify opportunities to help your child process various pieces of their story
  • Empathize with their conflicting feelings of loss and stay part of the conversation
  • Recognize how common life events can serve as emotional triggers for adopted people

Click here to learn more and register

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Have you been considering adoption? Now is the time to take that first step!

Have you been considering adoption? Now is the time to take that first step! Give us a call at (336) 899-0068 where you’ll be connected with a Family Coordinator to answer all of your questions.

HOPSCOTCH%20%20couple%20parents%20hands%20friend%202016

Monday, June 27, 2016

N-600 Certificate of Citizenship 95% Increase Hurts Children

American Flag.

Dear Adoption Community:

USCIS has announced, via the Federal Register, proposed fee increases for some of their services, including those that impact adoptive families. You can learn more about the proposed fee increases and how to provide your comments here.

You can ask your Members of Congress to sign this letter regarding USCIS’s proposed adoption fee increases. The deadline to sign this letter is noon on this Thursday, June 30th. We’ll have to ask fast!

We encourage you to take 15 minutes to call the DC office of both of your Senators and your Representative. (Find them here.)

Here are some basic suggestions for that call:

  1. Ask to speak to the person who handles international adoption issues
  2. Ask them to ask their boss to sign the letter increasing USCIS fees for adoptive families
  3. Tell them to contact the offices of Senator Blunt, Senator Klobuchar or Representative Franks by noon on Thursday, June 30th to sign the letter.
  4. Ask for the staffer’s email to forward them a copy of the letter and explain how to sign on. (Check out the sample email below!)
  5. Don’t forget to send that follow-up email! Polite persistence helps get the job done!
You can send something like the below email to finalize your request:

Dear NAME OF INTERNATIONAL ADOPTION STAFFER,

Thanks for taking my call today! I hope Representative/Senator XYZ will support this letter to prevent burdensome USCIS fee cost increases from impacting adoptive families.

Join Senators Blunt and Klobuchar, Representative Franks and others in this important effort to support adoptive families.

Please contact Lauren_McCormack@blunt.senate.gov, Shannon_Dorsey@Klobuchar.Senate.gov, or Chelsea.patterson@mail.house.gov by noon on this Thursday, June 30th to sign on to this important letter.

Thanks for supporting adoption and let me know if you have any questions!

Celebrating Bulgarian Adoptive Family Reunion of 2016

Source: http://bulgarianadopteesreunion.blogspot.com

Thank You 2016 Reunion Sponsors 

 

DSC01194 The 2016 reunion is on the books.  We had another fun-filled weekend at Winton Woods Park in Cincinnati, gathering 25 families who have adopted from Bulgaria.  Thanks to all who attended this year and helped make the reunion a success.

A special thanks to our 2016 sponsors: JTM for the hamburgers, UDF for the icecream, Krispy Kreme for the donuts, and Chick-Fil-A for the breakfast biscuits.

Read more.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Watch Me Now: Determination, Grace, Unlimited Talent = Miss Lusie!

URGENT for ADOPTIVE FAMILIES: USCIS Proposed Fee Increases and How to Respond

USCIS has announced via the Federal Register proposed fee increases for some of their services, including those that impact adoptive families. You can view the full proposed fee increases at the federal register here.

Specifically, the fee changes that will impact adoption are the following:

b3e2c4e7f5d737d5488bb7d032a228be

NCFA has reached out to USCIS to get further clarification on the impact on adoption and are planning to submit comments regarding the negative impact of these fee increases on adoptive families. Of particular concern is the 95% fee increase for Certificate of Citizenship.

We strongly encourage anyone with concerns about this change to provide your comments on the Federal Register by the July 5th deadline. We also hope you’ll contact your Members of Congress and ask others in your network to advocate and express their concerns.

Ways to Respond

 

Money%20Fee%20Funds%20Cash%2020151. Alert your Members of Congress (Senators and Representatives) that you are concerned about this proposed rule and ask them to respond.

Don’t know how to contact your Members of Congress: Find their info here: www.contactingthecongress.org

2. Alert Adoptive Families and Advocates. Ask the adoptive families and other supporters in your community to reach out to their Members of Congress and provide comments on the proposed rule.

3. Provide Comments on the Proposed Rule

a. Submit Comments online at the Federal Register. Find the proposed rule here and click “Comment Now” (Blue box, upper-right of screen). An easy-to-complete form is provided. You may insert comments there or upload an attachment

b. Submit Comments by email. You may email comments directly to USCIS at uscisfrcomment@dhs.gov. Include DHS Docket No. USCIS-2016-0001 in the Subject line of your message.

c. Mail comments. You may send comments by mail to:

Samantha Deshommes, Acting Chief
Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security
20 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20529-2020

d. Hand Delivery/Courier. You may submit comments directy to USCIS by having them delivered to:     

Samantha Deshommes, Acting Chief
Regulatory Coordination Division, Office of Policy and Strategy
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security
20 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20529-2020
Contact Telephone: 202-272-8377

Comment Tips 

1. Clearly share what you disagree with in the proposed rule and where it is located in the rule.

2. Include a clear explanation of why you disagree.

3. Make a detailed request for what you’d prefer the change to be.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Watch Me Now: Girl Receives Doll with Matching Prosthetic!

Source: foxnews.com

1464961128626

The gift of a new toy is met with enthusiasm by most children, but for one Texas girl, a doll that looks just like her triggered tears of joy.

Courtney Fletcher Bennett gave her daughter Emma a new American Girl doll that was custom fitted with a prosthetic right leg, just like hers.

Read more.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

NC Adoption Support Alliance Welcomes Summer!

 

Support – We all need it!


Providing support for adoptive and foster families is one of Adoption Support Alliance’s main goals. We have offered support groups for parents over the last year and had great success. We are now offering a unique opportunity for adoptive and foster children to receive support with our new Kids Club program this summer.

Kids Club is a way for adopted and foster children in elementary school and middle school to be in community with one another and spend time talking about what it means to be adopted. We will therapeutically work with the kids to help normalize the adoption experience all while having fun!

The ASA Kids Club will be held from July 18-22nd at the Project 658 building located at 3646 Central Avenue. The cost is $150 per child. The elementary aged students will meet from 9am-noon and the middle school students will meet from 2-5pm.

Reserve your spot by emailing us at info@adoptionsupportalliance.org. You may also reserve your child’s spot by clicking here.

Space is limited so sign up soon!

 

Adoption 101


Adoption Support Alliance is coming to Davidson on  June18th! We will be hosting our introduction to adoption at the Davidson Library (119 S. Main Street) from 1-4:30. The cost is $60 per couple or $50 per person. We will share information on the processes of domestic adoption and international adoption as well as look at issues of grief, trauma, birth family relationships and talking with others about adoption. Hear from adoptive parents about their personal experience and have your questions about adoption answered! Reserve your spot by June 10th by emailing us at info@adoptionsupportalliance.org. You may sign up directly by clicking here.

 

We Need Your Help!


ASA will be hosting a teen panel in August where adopted teens can hear from and ask questions of adult adoptees about their experiences as an adopted person. Erin and Charlie are meeting with adopted teens and parents of adoptive teens this summer to learn more about what they would like to know about the adoptive experience. If you are willing to talk with us, please contact us at info@adoptionsupportalliance.org.