Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Looking for a caring, adoption-competent mental health professional in your area?

Directory of Adoption Competent Professionals 

 

Stressed_Parent_On_Board_2012Access to adoption-competent mental health professionals is crucial to promote adoption success and the well-being of all those involved. The Center for Adoption Support and Education has trained more than 700 mental health professionals from across the country through the Training for Adoption Competency (TAC) program.

Looking for a caring, adoption-competent mental health professional in your area? Below you will find contact information and bios for many of our TAC graduates.

Read more.

News From Armenia: Two Awesome Kids Joined Forever Families Today!

Congratulations to our Hopscotch families in Armenia today! Happy Kids. Happy Families!

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News from Bulgaria: BOOM!!! Another Boy Finds His Family

BOOM!!! Another Boy Finds His Forever Family.  Welcoming home our Hopscotch family and one very handsome young man from Bulgaria!

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Friday, March 25, 2016

News from Armenia: It's a Girl!

News from Armenia: Congratulations to our Hopscotch family on their successful registration with a beautiful baby girl!

Girl%20Armenia%20Congrat%20Spring%202016

Georgian Crush. A Little Adrift by Shannon O'Donnell

Source: www.alittleadrift.com

A Little Crush… Uncovering the Charms of Tbilisi, Georgia

 

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Maybe it was the wine. Or perhaps it was the latticed balconies? The unfettered hospitality played a part. And the idyllic scenery was persuasive. For the life of me, I can’t pin down precisely what made Tbilisi, Georgia so charming.

Since I left the country in late October, I took on the mantle of fangirl for the Republic of Georgia. I gush about it to any willing ear. I returned home late last year to holiday dinners and nights spent playing cards with friends. Between these engagements, I edited photos from my fall travels. Each night, with a swipe of the keyboard, a new image flashed on the screen. Like a slide projector warming up, memories flickered into my consciousness. Each cropped and straightened photo rekindled my crush on this beautiful little city in the far east of Europe.

Read more.

Register Now! Anxiety and Depression in Adopted Children

Upcoming Webcast

 

Anxiety and Depression Webinar: Thursday, April 7 8PM Central 

REGISTER NOW

Studies show that the rate of anxiety and depression in adopted children is more than double that of the general population.

Depression, while usually associated with lethargy in adults, often looks like anger in kids. Anxiety typically sounds fearful in adults, but looks more like avoidance, annoyance or off-the-wall behavior in children.
Specific topics will include:
  • The incidence of depression and anxiety in our adopted or foster children
  • The role of early trauma and how it can play out over time
  • What depression and/or anxiety looks like at different ages and stages
  • How to help kids develop more coping tools
  • When to consider professional help

 

Our featured experts:

 



Learn more and click here to register now 

Feel free to forward this on to anyone who may benefit!

We've relaunched a portion of our website to optimize the experience for our webcasts. Let me know what you think!

Thank you,
Kirby

Questions? Email Kirby

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Adopted boys finally unite with their parents after painful 3-year wait

Source: www.today.com

By Alexandra Zaslow

adopted-family-united-hug_2a72fa315a45f2a9134b1aaa8acf17f5.today-inline-large After a three-year wait, Jennifer and James Grover's two sons are finally home.

The Utah family's lengthy journey began in 2012 when they first began the process of adopting Joseph, 14, and Bronson, 7, from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And it capped off with an emotional meeting at Salt Lake City airport earlier this month, when the boys raced into their awaiting parents' arms.

"Until I was holding them, I didn't believe it," Jennifer Grover said. "We've already been through the adoption process three times before, but this one sent us on an emotional roller coaster."

Read more.

Four Reasons Adoption Can Be Expensive

Source: http://showhope.org


One of the most common questions people ask about adoption is,  “Why is it so expensive? If there are millions of waiting children around the world, why is it so difficult to bring them home?”

Read more.

This beautiful child, orphan no more...

This beautiful child, orphan no more… one year ago today! Thanks to our Hopscotch family, the Janes – pretty awesome!

Read more.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

How To Be With A Dysregulated Child, by Robyn Gobble, LCSW

Source: www.gobbelcounseling.wordpress.com


I think I finally get it.  Or at least, I’m getting it in a deeper way.  In a whole-body, brain and heart, I can feel it in my bones kind of way.

In the past few weeks, I’ve have the opportunity to experience first-hand some extremely dysregulated behavior in my office.  In two circumstances, I couldn’t do anything except stay calm and wait.  In a third, I could have chosen a different path (the situation was a bit more contained and I had more power than in the other two circumstances, which were much more vulnerable), but didn’t.  I fully embrace the truth that I am not triggered by a dysregulated child in the same way that a parent would be.  I don’t feel as wary.  I don’t have the same level of attachment involved, which always muddies the waters.  But I think it’s because of these very facts that I was able to maintain the clarity that allowed for this profound knowing to take place.

Read more.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Meet 4 Pro-Life Lawmakers Who Chose to Adopt by Philip Wegmann

Read more.

Source: www.dailysignal.com

By Philip Wegmann

HuelskampFinal-1250x650 Markwayne Mullins’ R-Okla,  advice is always the same: “If it’s crossed your mind, then there’s something that’s been put on your heart, then you need to actively pursue that. Until you know for a fact the door is closed. Otherwise that nagging is never going to go away.”

She Inspired Those With Down Syndrome As Unstoppable

Source: www.washingtonpost.com
By Theresa Vargas

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Laura Lee took pride in her résumé. On it, separated by bold lettering and bullet points, she listed one achievement after another: She graduated from George Mason University. She worked at the World Bank. She volunteered at a food bank. She spoke at national conventions.

Not mentioned: She was born with Down syndrome.

For the 400,000 Americans like her who are often characterized by their limitations, Lee changed what they and their families viewed as possible. She was the first person with Down syndrome many people saw participate on panels. Or go to college. Or work in a professional setting. At the World Bank, where she was an office assistant earning $12.24 an hour, her name was on her office door. If the cruelest part of Down syndrome comes from the walls it erects, the ultimate joy for many people in the intellectual-disabilities community came in watching Lee leap over those walls, time and again. In many ways, she seemed unstoppable — until she wasn’t.

Read more.

Friday, March 18, 2016

New Bill Aims to Ban Unregulated Child Custody Transfers: A Process Known As ‘Re-homing’ by Allie Morris

Read more.

Source: http://www.concordmonitor.com

By Allie Morris

1078fa_0dd376caf5384ec7b91fd94d8c5a11e2 “A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found parents who adopt children with severe behavioral needs and have difficulty finding services to help them adjust could lead them to seek unregulated child transfers. At the national level, little is known about the prevalence of the transfers, the report found.”

This is a crisis Hopscotch feels passionately about, with the growing number of older child placements, in large part due to the foreign sending countries’ (or our own broken foster care system) delayed permanency planning.  Foreign countries are often woefully under staffed, have little to no resources for carrying out the basic responsibilities in preparing the required documentation for the child to be legally adoptable, made known as eligible for adoption and matching in the child’s best interest to a suitable family.  In our experience, a country could have thousands of children in care (orphanage and foster) and perhaps 1-2 persons devoted to identifying eligible children, collecting medical, social reports, securing the consents and relinquishments of guardians, gathering police records in the case of abuse or abandonment, processing the case through the courts, presenting a file to a prospective family or agency – it’s a no win situation for children.

The children continue to wait and wait and wait…. Growing older by the minute and exposed to more detrimental lack of care that only a prepared and loving permanent family can give a child.  The longer a child waits in care, the greater the negative impact on a child’s global development.

The implementation of the Hague Intercountry Adoption Treaty (which places the same standard of case management, is required of all intercountry placements; Hague convention, non-convention or kinship)  has instituted a required minimum of 10 hours in adoption specific parent training.

Hopscotch has a 35 hour curriculum, which can be customized for a specific child and family’s needs.  Soon, Hopscotch will be integrating two pre-paid attachment coach teleconference sessions, with no additional charge for accessing the ‘coach’ for a 30 day period after the phone sessions.  There after the family would be able to secure additional phone coaching, at a nominal fee.

The additional coaching would be to support a family in finding local resources to continue direct care or just have the support of a coach for a healthy family in the most vulnerable time of an adoptive family’s transition.

In addition, we are consistently sending educational articles and free resource notices by email, posting on our social media and private client list serves.  We would urge families to take advantage of every resource and most of all – CALL YOUR AGENCY if you are struggling.  We want to hear from you before you get to the point of a crisis and feel you have no option than to dissolve your adoption.  No one is looking for sunshine and lemonade post adoption reports – we know adoption is messy – life is messy and want to help rather than hear about it after the fact.   

Read more.

Who Wants To Be A Part Of A Miracle?

If you have not had the opportunity to be a part of a miracle lately - here's your chance!

Click here to enter to win an iPad mini.

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Thursday, March 17, 2016

And the Winners Are..... Check Out the 2016 Adoption At The Movies Awards!



How about some family time this weekend? Check out the  2016 Adoption at the Movies Awards
Read more.


Have you seen any of these?  What are your thoughts, recommendations, insight into your own experiences?

What One Mom’s Journey Can Teach You About Intercountry Adoption

Source: http://pamperspaklava.com

By Beth Shepherd

International-Adoption-10-Things-I-didnt-expect Eight years ago, when we decided on international adoption, I had expectations about how things would go. And you know what? To say our adoption journey didn’t go as planned, is an understatement. Here are 10 things I didn’t expect.

We might not get a child: We investigated domestic adoption first, met with a couple adoption attorneys and spoke with one open adoption agency in our city. In each case we were dissuaded from adopting domestically due to our ages and the fact we’d only been married for one year. We were told that birth mothers would be more likely to choose adoptive parents who could demonstrate a long relationship history. I’d also heard several heartbreaking stories of prospective adoptive parents whose adoptions fell through at the last minute, on one occasion several days after they’d taken custody of the child.

So we decided to pursue international adoption. When we started out, I remember saying, “Well, the road might be long, but in the end we’ll be parents.” I’d never known anyone who adopted internationally have an adoption (or even a referral) fall through. Until us. One trip to meet a child with significant special needs who we decided to pass on, one disrupted referral, one referral that never became official, two trips to register a child only to have that adoption fall through ten days before our court trip. We made a total of five trips before we brought home our daughter. Although our story was “a first” for our adoption agency I have now heard a number of stories (all involving different agencies and countries) where adoptions were disrupted, or where the prospective adoptive parents had to travel multiple times before finalizing an adoption and bringing a child home. Which brings me to…

Read more.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Reinventing Intercountry Adoption

By C. Jackie Semar, M.Ed.
2011-11-18-international-adoption-375x250 The adoption community needs a fresh vision of intercountry adoption that will restore both reputation and momentum to the practice. This requires a fundamental reworking of our identity, our methodology as adoption service providers (ASPs), and our goals. Securing adoption for the future requires a broader vision than some have had in the past and a platform that unites adoption advocacy with permanency.

Permanency for orphaned children is our true mission. It is what distinguishes us from others in the child welfare community—permanency, not temporary care.

The Hague Intercountry Adoption Guide to Good Practice No. 1 states:
In achieving the best interests of the child in intercountry adoption, the 1993 Hague Convention recognises that:
  • children should grow up in a family environment;
  • permanency is preferable to temporary measures;
  • intercountry adoption may offer the advantage of a permanent family to a child for whom a suitable family cannot be found in his or her State of origin.
The best interests of children are served through intercountry adoption when competent authorities in the child’s country of origin conclude, through application of the subsidiarity principle and due consideration of in-country placement, that intercountry adoption is in the child’s best interests.

To achieve our goals—which we can define as promoting the right of children to have permanent families and ethically facilitating to that end—we need to capitalize on collaboration. Unfortunately, our history as a community is one of fragmentation, which has in part led us to the status quo. Only from a foundation of open dialogue and common purpose will we be able to rebuild momentum, address legitimate concerns in the intercountry adoption process, and restore our collective reputation as adoption service providers.

Continue Reading.

Monday, March 14, 2016

Foster Care Chronicles: Wrongs of Passage premiers at NC Triad Stage’s Upstage Cabaret

WrongsofPassage_Final (2) UNCG’s Department of Social Work presents Debra LeWinter’s production crafted from the stories of the performers’ real experiences in Foster Care, April 14-24. 

I come from a place where I was told wrong was right.“

“Foster Care Chronicles: Wrongs of Passage” Description

The goal of the “Foster Care Chronicles: Wrongs of Passage,” written and directed by Debra LeWinter, funded by the HRSA Behavioral Health Training Grant through the Department of Social Work at UNCG, is to help people in the Foster Care System create and perform a production based on their first person accounts. Regional youth aged 15-25 who are or were in Foster Care share their experiences through acting, music, and dance. The participants transform themselves and the future of our community as they teach others what it is like to walk in the shoes of a “Foster Kid.”

What goes into this project?

Youth chosen for this project share their individual experiences with other youth in foster care, a licensed social work therapist, three Masters of Social Work student interns, and a professional playwright. They will participate in two outdoor retreats to connect with each other and become a team. The playwright will then meld the incredible stories of the youth in foster care into a script and mount a full-scale production, Foster Care Chronicles: Wrongs of Passage. Professional set, sound and lighting designers, and a choreographer will help the youth bring their stories to life on stage. The youth’s eight performance run begins on April 14, 2016.

To Purchase tickets CLICK HERE

About the Play’s Author:
Debra LeWinter is a local expressive arts practitioner, playwright, director, and educator. She holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology from Bryn Mawr College and a Masters in Theater Education from UNCG. As the child of a Holocaust survivor, Debra grew up hearing the stories of her mother and her mother’s peers; she learned the power of individual stories to spark empathy and inspire action.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Update on the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act!

Tax%20Credit%202012 The Executive Committee has been meeting with congressional staff over the last few months about the importance of protecting the adoption tax credit (ATC) and making it refundable. We have collectively made GREAT progress on the bipartisan Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act (S. 950/H.R. 2434), but we still have work to do before congressional recess in July. That will be our last chance to advance the ATC bill this Congress!

There are 14 new cosponsors of H.R. 2434! Your phone calls and emails lead to more cosponsors of the ATC bill, which increases the likelihood that the bill will be considered.

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced a new Task Force on Tax Reform with the principle of limiting “credits that riddle the tax code.” We understand there is bipartisan interest in simplifying the tax code, but we know that the ATC makes adoption a more viable option for many children and families. Please keep the ATC from being eliminated in any tax reform efforts by:

1. Asking the House Ways & Means Committee to consider H.R. 2434 before recess in July

2. Asking your Members of Congress to cosponsor S. 950/H.R. 2434

3. Asking your colleagues to join our 151-member-strong cause by emailing taylor@ccainstitute.org

4. Liking the ATC on Facebook, following us on Twitter, and spreading the word!

Let’s keep up the momentum of strengthening families through the ATC!

Warm Regards,  

The ATC Working Group Executive Committee

American Academy of Adoption Attorneys
Adopt America Network
Christian Alliance for Orphans
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (Secretariat)
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Donaldson Adoption Institute
National Council for Adoption
North American Council on Adoptable Children
RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association
ShowHope
Voice for Adoption

So, What Can You Do? You Can Give This A Share.

Source: linkedin.com 

By Douglas Riggle 

To share this blog on Facebook, click here.

Fewer adoptive parents (and you have a homework assignment in this blog)


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Every story regarding adoption and foster care seem to be sensationalized in the news. That's what sells. "Tune in at 11 to learn why your adopted child may one day murder you in your sleep."

Ok... I'm exaggerating. But not by much.

Yet the rate of adoption here in the United States has been on a decline. We hit a peak around 2004 with almost 23,000 adoptions taking place in the United States but that annual rate has been on the decline ever since. In 2009, the number of adoptions in the US have fallen to about 12,700. That's a staggering decline.
News stories about a woman who returned her child to Russia blanketed the news for a while and everyone judged her actions as harsh and unloving -- but then fear creeps in. 

What if I try to adopt and the child I get turns out to be hell on wheels?

Trust me, they don't have to be adopted to be "hell on wheels." While I don't think we should outright ignore the stories in the media ... think of them as a cautionary tale.

So what should be our response to the declining numbers of children being adopted? One word: 

ADOPT!

Continue Reading.

Friday, March 11, 2016

American Friends of Georgia's Most Successful Gala!



AFG Hosts Most Successful Gala Ever in Tbilisi


Our Gala raised $111,300 after expenses, which included an additional pledge of $41,000 by Ivane Nakaidze, founder and managing partner of Petrocas Energy Group and Patron of our Gala in Tbilisi. Our goal was to raise funds for two specific projects--the Dzegvi Community Building Fund and the Hospice Home Care Program--and to restore the tradition of philanthropy in Georgia.

 Painting by Levan Lagidze donated by Board Members Ambassador and Mrs. Richard Miles, Auctioneer Extraordinaire & Managing Director of Pricewaterhouse Coopers Cliff Isaak, AFG Executive Director/Georgia Lena Kiladze and volunteer Keti Sidamonidze  

Learn more....  

Video highlights from the Tbilisi December 12, 2015 Fundraising Gala  

View the the entire Gala video
 

The Dzegvi Community Building Fund

 

The Gala began our year-long campaign to raise enough funds for the renovation of a former orphanage building, which is part of a complex of buildings housing 78 residents who are mentally ill adults, physically handicapped adults, and abandoned single mothers with their children. This transformed building will become a community center with vocational training, workshops, and rooms for residents.


 

Children in the building needing renovation at Dzegvi Community Shelter, photo by Nella Rasic

 Learn More...

Click here to view film: Dzegvi Community Shelter and Hospice Home Care Program Film  
Photos made by David Khizanishvili, Editing by David Khizanishvili and Kate Kalandarishvili
 

The Hospice Home Care Program

 

Founded by Abbess Mariam, the Hospice Home Care Program brings much needed nursing care and comfort to elderly and seriously ill Georgians in their homes. Our year-long campaign seeks to help Abbess Mariam expand the homecare program to reach additional unserved Georgians who are desperately poor and sick or alone without care.



 Marusya Chavchavadze and Abbess Mariam at work visiting a Home Care patient, photo by Nella Rasic  

Learn more...

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Parenting Kids with Prenatal Alcohol and Drug Exposure

4ef730cf2ebc409e8f7165aabb890d15 Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews a panel of adoptive moms who are raising children who were exposed in pregnancy to alcohol or drugs.
Listen to Show

When Did You Become Someone’s Daughter Through Adoption?


“I’ll start.  My Dad adopted me when I was 4 years old.  On that most special occasion, I got a new sister and brother, too!  I happen to think my Mom chose a pretty special man to be my Forever Dad!” 
–Robin

Hopscotch Extends Our Deepest Condolences to the Quesenberry Family

Posted with permission of Natalie Hampton Quesenberry

635931996081468428-image1 For those that may not have heard through the adoption community, a wonderful Hopscotch family lost a devoted husband and father while in Bulgaria recently.  What should have been a joyous trip to bring home two very sweet boys they longed for, the unthinkable happened in Eric’s sudden passing.  The family was left without life insurance or a will and are struggling to provide the much needed stability to a newly transformed and vulnerable family.  Natalie, Eric’s wife of 24 years, is now navigating the infinitely complicated process of managing Eric’s estate, getting through the day to day life with two additional new children with special needs and planning Eric’s memorial and burial service – all while in the depths of grief.  Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers as they grieve and find a new normal for their family.  In the event you feel led to support them further, you can do so at YouCaring.com

Continue Reading.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Do you know someone considering adoption? Share this Free Multimedia Guide on Choosing an Adoption Agency or Attorney

Child%20world%20girl%20kid%20globe%202016 Do you know someone considering adoption? One of the first things they need to do is choose an adoption agency or attorney. Let them know about our FREE Multimedia Guide on Choosing an Adoption Agency or Attorney. We walk you through the process from soup to nuts and provide plenty of resources to make this process as easy as possible.

Parent to Parent: Addressing Trauma-Based Behaviors to Promote Attachment

Debbie Schugg, Kinship Center, Adoptive Parent
(LIVE) Thursday, March 17, 2016 @ 1:00pm- 2:30pm EST
Extended Access: March 18 -23, 2016

Debbie Schugg will discuss how approaching frustrating behaviors with curiosity and compassion can lead to better outcomes, greater healing, and more peace in the home. She will share strategies for interpreting behaviors, identifying the unmet needs which drive them, prioritizing the parent-child relationship, and recognizing the role of self-care in being emotionally present with our children. 

Thanks to Jockey Being Family, Jockey International the first 300 registrants can receive free registration when using coupon code ATTACH at checkout. 

Click here to register.

To Be Someone's Daughter, Its Never Too Late.

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

“I Feel Like a Beast, but I Don’t Love My Adopted Child” by Dawn Davenport of Creating A Family

Source: www.creatingafamily.org

  cryingchild
We all expect to fall immediately in love with our adopted child, but what if this doesn't happen? Parents blame themselves and children suffer. What's a parent to do? Check out this week's blog for one woman's experience. Continue Reading.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Donate Now: Easter Celebration For Orphaned Armenian Children


Easter%20Program%20Arm%20%20Orphans%202016

Annually, approximately 200 orphaned children are brought to the Mother See in Holy Echmiadzin for an Easter celebration. Father Marcos Mangasaryan, who assists us with the Bible Study Program at Warm Hearth and Shengavit Kindergarten, asked if we would assist with funds for new clothes, stationary, an Easter gift, and new Bibles for the children. The total amount requested is $4000 ($20 per child).  Transportation and entertainment for the day have already been assumed.  

Would you like to support this special Easter Program for the Children?  Donate Here. 

*Donation Memo should note Armenian Easter Program 2016

News From Armenia: Happy Forever After Day to This Hopscotch Family!


Sunday, March 6, 2016

Nuns among 16 killed in Yemen as gunmen storm retirement home

Source: http://www.theguardian.com

Four gunmen entered home run by Mother Theresa charity claiming they wanted to visit their mothers – then they opened fire

 

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Gunmen in southern Yemen have stormed a retirement home run by a charity established by Mother Teresa, killing 16 people, including four Catholic nuns, according to officials and witnesses.

Four gunmen reportedly entered the the home housing about 80 elderly people in Aden on Friday, on the pretext that they wanted to visit their mothers at the facility.

The gunmen moved from room to room, handcuffing the victims before shooting them in the head. A nun who survived and was rescued by local residents said she hid inside a fridge in a storeroom after hearing a Yemeni guard shouting “run, run”.

Khaled Haidar said that he counted 16 bodies, including that of his brother, Radwan. All had been shot in the head and were handcuffed. He said one Yemeni cook and Yemeni guards were among those killed.

Continue Reading.

Friday, March 4, 2016

News from Romania: ADOR COPII Visited by US Vice Consul Whitehead and Consular Assistant Marcu

EACB44A7-E5E6-440B-8034-1B6A0557BFF5.JPG_copy1 The first day of spring brought the distinguished guests at the Ador Copiii Association. We were honored to receive the visit of Ms. Lindsay Whitehead, Vice-Consul of the United States Embassy in Bucharest, and Ms. Ilinca Marcu consular asistant, who participated at a support group organized with few adoptive families. On this occasion they could see a picture of the work we perform every day in the benefit of children who want a family, who risk losing theirs and those who, maybe, will never have one. Mrs. Lindsay Whitehead talked to each foster family present at the support group, showing real interest in the adoption procedure, the problems encountered and the clear steps that our Association did and do to change the legislation in this regard.

Ador Copiii's projects and their impact were also appreciated by Mrs. Ambassador Susan S. Jacobs, Special Advisor on Children's Rights in the US Government when the executive director , Mrs. Simona Czudar, was invited to meet with her in November 2015 at the US Embassy in Bucharest. In the context of developing relations based on trust, transparency , professionalism and passion for defending children's rights in order to modernize the adoptions' system, the meeting was particularly successful and we want to continue in this direction in the future.

Continue Reading.

News From Armenia: TWO Families Registered With Their Beautiful Children Today!


Empowered to Connect Conference

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Waiting Children | Programs | Home Studies | Humanitarian | Contact

Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc

Not for profit. Just for Kids.


NC Simulcast Event

This event is not hosted by Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc, but we wanted to share it with you! Empowered to Connect is an initiative of Show Hope.

   

Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc 
1208 Eastchester Drive, Suite 120 
High Point NC 27265 
336.899.00.68

Thursday, March 3, 2016

ADOPTION TAX CREDIT WEBINAR *** Cancelled Due to Illness

Unfortunately our speaker, Becky Wilmoth notified us this morning that she has come down with the flu and will NOT be able to do the Adoption Tax Credit webinar tonight at 7:00 p.m CST

We apologize for this inconvenience and we hope Becky feels better soon! In the meantime, mark your calendars for next week -- same time -- we'll do the webinar! Please mark your calendars for the new date:

THURSDAY, MARCH 11 7:00 PM CST

We will send an update and reminder next week. All families registered for this webinar have been notified.

Should they miss the notice or contact you please let them know that we have had to reschedule.

Thanks so much and have a great day! 

Kelly Ellison Your Adoption Finance Coach
CEO/Adoptive Parent
www.youradoptionfinancecoach.com
(816) 682 5500

Listen to our Radio Show! 

Helping adoptive families reach their financial goals and bring their forever family together.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Armenia: The Road Less Traveled: Best Friends' Reunion

Best Friends' Reunion

The day we met Ella in May 2014, she told us, "I have a best friend named Lilit and I want you to meet her." The next morning, we had the opportunity to do so and it was immediately obvious to us that these two girls were very close.  We knew that their friendship would likely be Ella's biggest emotional loss caused by our adoption.  By the time we picked up Ella in October 2014, Lilit had been transferred to an older child orphanage where they would probably have gone together had we not found Ella in time.

Over the next year and a half, as Ella learned English and was able to share more about her life in Armenia, she continually spoke to us of Lilit, of her love for her, her worry about her health, the day they were separated, and the experiences they had together.  Ella requested we place Lilit's picture on the wall beside her bed and even wondered if Lilit could become her sister via adoption.

Continue Reading.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Adoption Grant Updates and Deadlines, Post-Adoption Financial Resources and More

Grant Updates: 

Hope Grafted In – This program will be suspended until they can raise more funds.

One Less Ministry This program no longer accepts adoption grant applications. Instead will be redirecting funds to human trafficking prevention and no longer offering adoption grants.

A Child Waits Foundation just published its brand new website! Families are now able to get both the grant and loan applications from their website and there is no longer a pre-qualification step in their process. Anyone who believes that they meet their general criteria as stated on their website can send in an application. A Child Waits Foundation grant and loans are for international adoptions only. They do NOT have any marital or religious criteria to apply. Check out their new website today and see if you qualify to apply!

Grant Deadlines:

March 2016 Grant Deadlines:

 

JSC Foundation – March 31

National Adoption Foundation – March 15 (Please note that we cannot recommend this grant organization.)

Ibsen Adoption Network – March 31

Love Has Come – March 31

Muskogee Church of Christ – March 31

April 2016 Grant Deadlines:

 

Salvation International – April 1

Elijah’s Truth – April 15

Help Us Adopt – April 17

Show Hope – April 30

God’s Grace Adoption Ministries – April 30


Find more updates on our Facebook Page

Improvements, Upgrades and Expansion:

 

Over the next several months we are working to improve our services to you. We value your feedback and it is very helpful so we can take the needed steps to make sure your needs are met. If at any time you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please contact Cherri Walrod at cherri.walrod@gmail.com

We are working on a series of upgrades to our website. This will involve three phases:

1. Upgrade the technology which supports the website: This will improve the overall function and speed of the website.

2. Upgrade and expand the current database of grants and loans: This will improve the sort, filter and search feature allowing you expanded opportunities to fine tune your search even more.

3. Fundraising Search Tools: This feature should help you narrow down fundraising options which will work best for you.

Post-Adoption Financial Resources Database

One of our original goals for Resources4adoption has always been to support adoptive and foster families throughout every phase of their adoption journey. For the last five years we have been dreaming of a way to expand our database to include POST-ADOPTION FINANCIAL RESOURCES Searchable DATABASE. With the new upgrades to the website, this dream can now become a reality. This will be an expensive and time consuming project, but it will be totally worth it!

We are asking for your help with this project. If you are an adoptive family it is not a matter of if you will need these resources, it is a matter of when. There are several ways we need for you to get involved:

1. Ask your adoption placing agency to contact us about ways they can support this project.

2. Consider making a small monthly contribution. If everyone who subscribes to this newsletter would pledge $2 – $5 a month, we would be well on our way to having this new project fully funded! Here is the link to set up monthly donation. This is such a small investment when you consider how quickly you will be able to find what you need when you need it. Your gifts are also TAX Deductible!

3. Share with others about this crucial benefit for adoptive families. If you know of post-adoption financial resources, please be sure to send the info to us. We already have a lot of information, but we know there’s still more out there. Post-Adoption Financial Resources includes but is not limited to: free or reduced cost of therapies, counseling, medical equipment, medical assistance or treatments, modifications to home, transportation assistance, scholarships, grants, parental training or retreats and so on. Email: cherri@resources4adoption.com or cherri.walrod@gmail.com
Welcome to our New Sponsors!

We are so excited to begin a collaborative partnership with Madison Adoption Associates and Building Arizona Families. These two outstanding organizations realize just how important it is to support their adoptive families. By partnering with Resources4adoption, each of their families’ adoption funding needs and concerns are now being addressed. Their families have free access to our database of adoption grants and loans along with personalized coaching they need to successfully fund their adoption.

Bonfire Funds – We are also excited about bringing you more information about this great T-shirt fundraising tool in the near future. They have one of the best T-shirt fundraising operations around!

Gift of Adoption Fund – We will soon be highlighting some new adoption grant funding opportunities through the Gift of Adoption Fund. They have been around for quite awhile, and now they have some exciting expansions they want you to be aware of.

Are you an adoption agency or adoption related business? Want to position your services and brand in front of adoptive hopefuls nationwide? Help us reach more adoptive families with the hope and help they need to fund their adoptions. Contact Cherri Walrod for more information on becoming a sponsor today. Email: cherri@resources4adoption.com or cherri.walrod@gmail.com