Advocacy Alert H.R. 4373

Dear Adoption Tax Credit Working Group (ATCWG) Member:                                                                                               
The ATCWG is coordinating a constituent U.S. House of Representatives call-in this week to generate Congressional attention for the federal adoption tax credit. Representatives need to hear from their constituents about the adoption tax credit to know that it is important to them. For this reason, we are asking members of the Working Group to email an advocacy action alert to their networks tomorrow, July 10th! The goal of the action alert is to have individuals call their Representatives and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 4373, The Making Adoption Affordable Act.

Here is a document template you can use, or, modify as appropriate, as your advocacy action alert. We ask that you please share it through your networks using your normal email, or other, distribution methods.

If appropriate, you can also suggest anyone who has ever been named an Angel in Adoption and whose member of Congress is still in office ought to mention that to whoever he/she talks to when calling. It is a built in connection to the Member and will help persuade the staffer to take it seriously.

Thank you for your support and collective effort to renew the adoption tax credit. Also, we would love your feedback on how this action alert was received by your constituency and how we can improve upon it for the next time we send out an action alert.

Sincerely,

Shari
ATCWG Executive Committee, Secretariat 

Save The Adoption Tax Credit

Dear Colleagues,

Save The Adoption Tax Credit is one of the most urgent and important initiatives Joint Council will make in 2012.   We are actively participating in a number of initiatives designed to engage the US government in crafting policies favorable to families, children and intercountry adoption – the tax credit is at the top of the list.  Simply put – without reinstating the tax credit, many families finalizing in 2012 and all families finalizing in 2013 will lose over $13,000 in tax credits.  Obviously this will seriously impact the number of families willing and able to adopt children domestically, internationally or through the US Foster Care system.

Joint Council would like to thank its Partner organizations (listed below) who have signed on as members of the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group.  While we are thrilled to have 37 of our Partners joining us, our goal is for 100% participation from our Partner base.  If your organization has not yet joined the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group or you believe your organization has but is not listed above, please contact  Shari Cohey at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (shari@ccainstitute.org) and become a member of the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group today.  The only way the Tax Credit will be reinstated is if we join together as a community.

• European Adoption Consultants, Inc
• Bal Jagat – Children’s World Inc
• Family Resource Center
• Forever Families Through Adoption, Inc.
• Angels’ Haven Outreach
• Gladney Center for Adoption
• Agape Adoptions
• All Blessings International, Inc.
• Michael S. Goldstein, Esq., LCSW
• Children at Heart Adoption Services, Inc.
• Resources4adoption.com
• Bay Area Adoption Services
• The Barker Foundation
• Adoption Learning Partners
• Sunny Ridge Family Center
• Buckner International
• Families Thru International Adoption
• Children’s Home Society & Family Services
• Lutheran Social Services of New England
• Welcome House Adoption Program of Pearl S Buck International
• Spence-Chapin
• Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services
• WACAP (World Association for Children and Parents)
• Children’s Hope International
• Wide Horizons For Children
• Adoptive Parents Committee inc
• Hopscotch Adoptions, Inc
• Dillon International, Inc.
• Golden Cradle Adoption Services
• Illien Adoptions International, Inc.
• All God’s Children International
• Dillon Southwest
• Americans for International Aid and Adoption
• Holt International Children’s Services
• Bethany Christian Services
• A Red Thread Adoption Services, Inc.
• Across The World Adoptions

Already joined the Adoption Tax Credit Working Group?  Here are some next steps…

1.  “Like” the Save the Adoption Tax Credit Facebook page and urge friends, family and constituents to “like” it as well.
2. Contact your member of the House of Representatives to ask for co-sponsorship of HR 4373, the Making Adoption Affordable Act (and urge your friends, family and constituents to do so as well).  For talking points, click here.  Remember, you can find your rep at http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/.  A special thanks to our friends at the National Council for Adoption for the creation of the Adoption Tax Credit Advocacy Kit.
3. Add the “Save The Adoption Tax Credit” logo to your signature line (see image above).

Thank you all for your support of this important issue!
Rebecca