Your Adoption Finance Coach Newsletter for December 2019!

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As 2019 comes to a close, we want to say THANK YOU!

THANK YOU for allowing us to be a part of your adoption journey! Since Your Adoption Finance Coach began serving families 6 years ago, it has been an honor and privilege to work alongside more than 6,000 families and assist them in raising nearly $5.3 million to help them bring their children home. We look forward to continuing to serve you in the coming year!

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WRITING GRANTS can be challenging! We highly recommend that you consult with your Coach before you begin. Once you have your budget, story and home study complete, reach out to your coach to help you select those foundations which have the eligibility requirements that best fit your family. Click here to download a list of grants with deadlines that occur between now and March 31, 2020. Click here to contact a coach.

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Actually…you could WIN AN AMAZON GIFT CARD FOR YOUR THOUGHTS! In order to serve you, our families, better, it is helpful for us to get your feedback from time to time. Click here to fill out our survey (which will take you less than 5 minutes). Everyone who fills out the survey before midnight on December 23 will be entered into a drawing to win one of four $25 Amazon Gift Cards and one lucky winner will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card. Now THAT’s some XMas cash! Thank you for helping us serve you more effectively!

Ultimate Holiday Survival Guide for Special Needs Families (120+ Links!)

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… But you know that’s not always the case. For kiddos that thrive on routines, face behavioral challenges, get overwhelmed quickly, need special diets, and more, facing the holiday season can fill a special needs parent with dread.

(Secret: You are not alone!)

That’s why it’s so great that the internet is here to provide you with practical advice, help, humor, and hope for your upcoming holiday season.

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A Gift of Adoption Fund: E-News Year in Review

GOA Connections

Fall 2019

Dear Friends,

When introducing Gift of Adoption to others, we often lead with, “It’s a good idea.” 

Gift of Adoption is a good idea because it is relevant — addressing the staggeringly large needs of 138 million orphaned children around the world and 250,000 in the United States who are growing up alone. It’s a good idea because each child adopted has immediate and lasting access to both the basic necessities and enriching possibilities of life, simply by virtue of becoming a regular part of a loving family.

Our mission delivery model smartly complements and works in partnership with industry professionals—attorneys, agencies, social workers, policy makers, and advocacy groups—to further our shared goal of permanent families for all children, everywhere.

This year we made it possible for 441 children to be united with permanent families.

Pictured here you see 3-year-old Siana together with her cousins. Siana was born in Colombia and abandoned at the hospital at 3 months old. Through adoption, Siana is now able to thrive in a family where goofing around with cousins is a common occurrence.

For all the children we’ve reached this year who are now in a better place, together with their new families, we extend our gratitude. Thank you for working together with us to actualize this good idea. An idea that brings us together to make things better.

With Gratitude,

Year in Review – Thanks for helping make this possible!

     

     

     

     

Targeted Outreach Initiatives

While we serve children and families nationwide, Gift of Adoption periodically receives restricted funding to help children or families in specific locations. We currently have restricted funding for grants that would:

1. Complete the adoptions of children into families in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont.

2. Complete the adoptions of children born in Nebraska (regardless of state where the adoptive family lives).

3. Help complete the adoption of a family residing in Langlade County, WI

Additionally, we recently added Gift of Adoption Chapters in the following states and are seeking additional qualified applications from families in these states:

1. Kentucky

2. Massachusetts

3. Missouri

If you are working with families or children in any of these areas and believe a grant could be needed to complete their adoption, please refer them to Gift of Adoption.

Teen adoption from here or abroad, the need is great.

This Sweet PSA About Adoption Shows a Teen Slowly Realizing He’s Part of a Family.

Contact info@hopscotchadotions.org or ukraine@hopscotchadoptions.org

It’s no secret that when most people think of adoption, their minds immediately go to babies or young toddlers. But the hard truth is that there are children of all ages in foster care looking for their forever homes, and teens have far lower adoption rates than younger children do.

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Adoption Summit Tickets Now Available!

Join us for AdoptionSummit.com

Virtual Adoption Summit

Hopscotch is proud to support Adoption.com’s FREE Virtual Adoption Summit. Come listen to 70+ adoption experts share their knowledge and insights. Members of the adoption community are invited to watch the virtual summit for FREE on September 23-28, 2019. I hope you will join the many adoptive and prospective adoptive families during this special event!

* Each day as the videos are being released live, they will be free. After that, you must upgrade to the All-Access Pass to watch the videos.

Ukraine: Measles Vaccinations for Immigrant Visa Applicants

September 6, 2019

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv disseminated the following message in Ukraine today, September 6, 2019. Adoptive parents who believe their adoption case may be affected by this should consult with their accredited adoption service provider for guidance. Questions may be directed to the Embassy at kyivadoptions@state.gov or to the Office of Children’s Issues at adoption@state.gov.

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Dear members of U.S. adoption community,

We would like to inform you of recent changes introduced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) due to the ongoing measles outbreak in Ukraine. These new requirements apply to all immigrant visa applicants, including adopted children.

Effective August 1, 2019, regardless of measles vaccination history, all immigrant visa applicants will undergo a blood test during the medical examination to verify the presence of measles antibodies. If the result of this test is negative, the visa applicant will be required to receive a measles vaccination before obtaining medical clearance to travel. Obtaining measles vaccinations for recently adopted children may be complicated due to the way the Ukrainian medical system works, and this could delay your travel to the United States.

If the adopted child has not previously received the full series of measles vaccinations, please make sure that the child gets a booster vaccine prior to the final medical examination. Even if the child’s record indicates full vaccination, we recommend a blood test in advance to determine whether the child has active antibodies, and if not, early administration of a booster shot since it can take up to two weeks for antibodies to register on the blood test.

All adopted children ages 0-10 years old are eligible for a vaccination waiver prior to departure, which means that they will be required to get any missing vaccinations within 30 days upon arrival to the U.S. Children ages 11 and older are required to meet all CDC-recommended vaccination requirements, including additional measles vaccinations, if needed, before their travel to the United States.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding this new requirement.

Kids with a history of complex trauma…

Urgent Notice Regarding US Citizenship Changes

Today a Policy Alert has been issued by USCIS: The USCIS no longer considers children of U.S. government employees and U.S. armed forces members residing outside the United States as “residing in the United States” for purposes of acquiring citizenship under INA 320. This would also impact families registered as habitually residing abroad (missionaries or those living and working abroad) and expecting to register birth of the child abroad as a US citizen. The same for international surrogacy whereby the genetic material of one parent is a US citizen. It is strongly recommended that ALL intercountry adoptees secure their Certificate Of Citizenship immediately. 

Download Policy Alert (PDF)

Families don’t have to match…

U.S. Forces Parents Away From Adopted Children For As Long As Two Years

enior Contributor at The Federalist

‘Both trails lead back to an anti-adoption ideology currently governing the Office of Children’s Issues in the U.S. State Department.’

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Luke and Brittney Stasi appear to have been victims of an unannounced policy change at the U.S. State Department keeping parents from bringing their adopted children home. Will Congress act?

Luke Stasi hasn’t seen his family since January. As his wife, Brittney, has been managing five children and a small business alone in South Carolina, Luke has spent the past seven months stuck in Africa with their sixth child, Victor.

It was December 12, 2018, when a Nigerian court finalized the family’s adoption of Victor, declaring the child (then age five) to be their son. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service duly approved the family’s I-600 application, recognizing the adoption. Yet as of this writing, eight months later, the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, Nigeria, has failed to issue a visa so Victor can come home.

As Americans continue to grapple with the separation of families at our southern border, a quieter immigration crisis is separating parents from children—not migrant families this time, but U.S. citizens. The Stasis are one of dozens of adoptive families facing a frightening new trend: an eleventh-hour stall in the international adoption process that leaves them stuck overseas with a child who is legally theirs, but is unable to enter the United States.

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Hopscotch’s Ukraine Adoption Informational Webinar Tuesday, August 13th

Hopscotch’s Ukraine Adoption Informational Webinar

Tuesday, August 13, 2019 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST

Please join Hopscotch Adoption Ukraine Program Manager, Tonya Boggs, from your computer, tablet or smartphone to learn more about adopting in Ukraine. 
https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/902485285 

You can also dial in using your phone. 
United States: +1 (646) 749-3122

Access Code: 902-485-285
New to GoToMeeting? Get the app now and be ready when your first meeting starts: 
https://global.gotomeeting.com/install/902485285

VFA: Join the 2019 Adoptive Family Portrait Project! Sign up and Share!

Join Us for the 2019 Adoptive Family Portrait Project!

For the 15th consecutive year Voice for Adoption (VFA) will be providing an extraordinary opportunity for foster care adoptive families across the nation. 

The Adoptive Family Portrait Project seeks to inform Members of Congress and their staff about the impact that adoptions have had in many of their constituents’ lives, by pairing adoptive families with their Congress member. With your participation, VFA will compose your family story and provide you with a hard-copy publication containing the stories of all participating families.Additionally, Members of Congress will display their paired family’s story in their Washington D.C office for the entire month of November, in support of National Adoption Month. 

These stories are extremely important to VFA as they help us to further educate and advocate for foster care and adoption. Please consider being involved in this incredible experience. 

For More Information Please Reference Past Adoptive Family Portrait Projects.

Don’t Forget to Save the Date!

National Adoption Month Briefing and Portrait Project Display Reception

On Wednesday, November 13th, 2-4pm

Location: TBD Capitol Hill

We invite you to become involved with our 2019 Adoptive Family Portrait Project.

Participate in this Project

If you would like to participate in our 2019 Adoptive Family Portrait Project, take the first step and fill out our survey here. Please respond to the survey by October 1st, 2019

Sponsor this Project

​Here you can find sponsorship opportunities available for any budget.  Your support will help us ensure Congress members are aware of the joys of adoption from foster care. If you are unable to participate in this project please consider sponsoring it.

Encourage your Members of Congress to Participate

Please contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives to encourage them to be part of the 2019 Adoptive Family Portrait Project. Hearing from constituents greatly encourages members of Congress to participate in our project. Click here for a sample template for emailing your legislators.

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Please help us make this year’s project a success by forwarding this email to anyone you think would be interested in our project! We look forward to your participation. To access more information about this opportunity click here. 

If you have any questions please contact me at 202-210-8118 or by email atsbaber@voiceforadoption.org.

PodcastOne: How Government Is Killing International Adoption

Source

Overregulation of international adoption is driving the industry into extinction. Jayme Metzgar, senior contributor at The Federalist and founder of the adoption non-profit Romania Reborn, joins Ben Domenech to discuss major issues with the State Department’s adoption policies and the failure to advocate for adoption overseas.

Listen to the podcast>

AdoptTogether’s Top 5 International Adoption Agencies – Humbled and Honored To Be Included!!!

We have compiled what we hope to be a helpful list of agencies that specialize in international adoption. DISCLAIMER: This list is in no way a comprehensive list of all the good adoption agencies in the US. There are plenty of great agencies out there that are not on our list and we kept it to the top 5 simply for the sake of providing parents with a concise list.

We made our selections based on our research of each agency’s reputation, efficiency, and reviews from adoptive parents. Each agency is COA & Hague approved. Best of luck to you and your family as you find the best fit for your needs!

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Why I Choose to Parent Two Children With Down Syndrome by Hopscotch Adoptive Parent Kelly Lahey

If you have considered adopting a child with Down syndrome, we would welcome the opportunity to share information with you about so many beautiful waiting children in Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Serbia and Ukraine.  There is no waiting to adopt a child with Down syndrome that needs a permanent family, sadly only the children are waiting for a family to find them. Are you that family?  Talk to us today!  336-899-0068 or info@hopscotchadoptions.org

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Mom pens moving thank you note to theme park staff for how they treated son with autism during ‘meltdown’

A mom is applauding the “magical” staff members at Universal Orlando Resort for their compassion and expertise in making her son’s experience at the theme park special during his first visit.

Lenore Koppelman posted a heartwarming story on Facebook about her family’s trip to the theme park in Orlando, Florida, on May 29, during which employees were responsive to her son Ralph’s needs every step of the way when he had what she called an “autistic meltdown.”

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State Department Making It Harder For Orphans To Find Families by Jayme Metzger

Adoption advocates ask the courts to block a crippling new State Department policy that would harm waiting families and children.

Jacques and Emily Rancourt have the kind of family you don’t see every day. Not only are they raising seven children—five through adoption—but most of their adopted children have life-threatening congenital heart defects. The Rancourts have spent so much time in cardiac care at Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. that they and another couple started a charity for families of children in cardiac crisis.

“Lily can connect with these children in the hospital like no one else can,” Emily says of her 9-year-old daughter, whose remarkable story includes receiving a heart transplant at age four. “She’s using the gift she was given to the maximum. She blesses people everywhere she goes.”

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Being Kind To Yourself and To Others

The man doesn’t know that there is a snake about to bite the woman.

The woman doesn’t know that there is a stone crushing the man.

The woman thinks: “I am going to fall! and I can’t climb because the snake is going to bite me! Why can’t the man use a little more strength and pull me up!"

The man thinks: “I am in so much pain! Yet I’m still pulling you as much as I can! why don’t you try and climb a little harder?!"

The moral is: You can’t see the pressure the other person is under, and the other person can’t see pain that you’re in unless you communicate!!

Credit: Sharon Wilkening, LPC, LCAS, CCS, LMHC

Celebrating 25 Years With Delicious Georgian Food

Purchase Tickets

Dear Friends,

Georgian food is increasingly being recognized as one of the world’s most delicious cuisines, and was named 2019 Cuisine of the Year by USA Today.

Georgian restaurant Chama Mama has been making a splash on the New York culinary scene, and we are so excited to announce that Chama Mama will be sponsoring our Spring Cocktail Reception! They will be generously providing hors d’oeuvres, including Imeruli khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread) and beet pkhali on mchadi. Thank you Chama Mama and our wine sponsor Georgian Wine House for helping us celebrate 25 years in such delicious style!

THANK YOU

We are so grateful to all our generous event sponsors!

Ukrainian Institute of America

Ruby Sponsor Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff

Diamond Sponsor Elizabeth Zaldastani Napier

Double Diamond Sponsor Jonathan Nelms

of Supra Restaurant in Washington, DC

And a special thank-you to our committee members who are helping to make this event happen!

Tatiana Sarandinaki-Kadaria, Gillian Eddins, Bob Eddins, Ana Alavidze, Ana Lejava, Teya Beradze and Eka Dzadzamia.

Thank you!

Experience & celebrate Georgian culture

Don’t miss performances from dancers The Pesvebi Ensemble, and polyphonic singer Nana Mzhavanadze, beginning at 6:40pm!

Your ticket makes a real difference!

Proceeds from the Spring Cocktail Reception will directly benefit AFG’s projects supporting Georgia’s most vulnerable citizens, including shelter communities for low-income children (like theBediani Center, pictured at left) and individuals with disabilities, a hospice program for the elderly, a higher education scholarship fund for former street children, and much more. Learn more about our work at afgeorgia.org

Purchase Tickets

FREE Webinar to Increase Your Child’s Self-Regulation Skills! Learn How on 4/30

Harmony Family Center’s free April webinar, I Feel Angry in My Tummy: Increasing Self-Regulation in Traumatized Children will be held on:

Tuesday April 30^th from 8:30-9:30 pm, EST

You can register by following this link!

"Just as a thermostat can break, if it gets overused, this too can happen to a child’s ‘brain thermostat’ when there is too much stress. The thermostat or ability to self-regulate, simply gets overwhelmed." –Dr. Stuart Shankar

Join Harmony Family Center’s Education and Training Coordinator, Allison Cooke Douglas, for a deeper look at self-regulation in children with trauma histories.  We will discover what self-regulation truly means, how a child’s history impacts these skills, the relationship between self-regulation and behavior and how committed adults can assist kids in building these vital skills.

Department of State Continues to Wash Hands of Humanitarian Disaster

In this report, the State Department washed its hands of any responsibility for the decrease, citing external factors and mismanagement by U.S. adoption service providers.

But many international adoption advocates in the United States argue the report masks the real story – one in which the number of orphans languishing in institutional care and parents willing to adopt them has increased while onerous regulations and costs have strangled compliant, ethical U.S. adoption service providers.

Georgian Car Enthusiast with James May in Georgia!

Our son, perhaps like many of your own sons and husbands, is a modified car enthusiast. Our Kelley Tornike, happened to come across this great article which included an interview with Akaki Khamaldze about his experience in meeting James May. There is footage of their street racing encounter through beautiful Georgia and most importantly, Khamaladze’s gratitude for the James May’s crew in highlighting the annexation of Georgia, by Russia, literally every single day by physically moving barbed-wire fencing further into Georgia over-night. Khamaldze explained that one day you are Georgian and overnight, the barbed wire fence with Russian soldiers standing guard is on the other side of your property, now you are Russian.

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SOUTH AFRICA’S New Section of the Children’s Act Will Have A Devastating Impact on Adoption

The New Section of SOUTH AFRICA’S Children’s Act will have devastating effects on adoptions if left unopposed.  Take a moment to watch this short awareness campaign video with official Petition.

Yes, Please!!!!

If you can roll out pizza dough, you can make khachapuri—Georgia’s famous cheese- and egg-filled bread canoes.

Look on a map, and you’ll find Georgia nestled between Russia to the northeast, Azerbaijan to the southeast, Armenia and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the west. Georgia’s cuisine is influenced by all of these neighbors—from its khinkali (soup dumplings filled with ground meat and herbs) to narsharab (deep-red pomegranate sauce) to badrijani nigvzit (fried eggplant with walnut sauce). But it’s a whole family of cheese-filled breads, known as khachapuri, that really stands out. (“Khacha” means cheese curds and “puri” means bread. And now you know a little Georgian.)

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The Intercountry Adoption Information Act - Its About Time!

It’s been a good week for accountability and transparency in intercountry adoption! A big shout out to @RichardPBurr for his contribution also in calling for life saving changes for orphaned children and the parents waiting to call them their own.

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Gift of Adoption: Grants Awarded to Qualified Adoptive Families Up To $10K

Information about Gift of Adoption Grants

Gift of Adoption is the largest provider of adoption assistance grants awarded without regard to race, religion, age, marital status, or sexual orientation. Grants of up to $10,000 are awarded monthly to qualified applicants to remove prohibitive financial barriers and make possible the adoptions of some of the most vulnerable children in the U.S. and around the world. There is no application deadline. Families are invited to apply anytime after completing their home study and before finalization.

Gift of Adoption provides grants to complete both domestic and international adoptions. Any U.S. citizen who has an approved adoption home study from a Hague accredited agency (if international adoption) or licensed social worker (if domestic adoption) is eligible to apply.
Financial need, perseverance, and imminence of the adoption must be demonstrated.
Gift of Adoption considers the totality of circumstances when reviewing grant applications. While not limited to these categories, Gift of Adoption’s greatest funding priorities encompass:

For domestic adoptions, the priority is to award grants that:

• Help keep children who are in or at risk of entering the foster care system from entering the foster care system (this includes relative and kinship adoptions).
• Unite biological siblings or prevent them from being separated.

For international adoptions, the priority is to award grants that:

• Unite or preserve biological siblings.
• Prevent a child from ‘aging-out’ of the orphanage system.
• Prevent special needs children from becoming institutionalized.
• Facilitate the placement of a child with a life-threatening medical condition who will not receive proper care until adopted.

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Happy World Down Syndrome Awareness Day!

Self-Regulation Coping Strategies Students Can Use At School

The Kids Who Need the Most Love…