Thursday, July 30, 2009
Sharing Inspiration
I just wanted to share some links that have really inspired me this week:
Conversion Diary posts on Finding Home and Choosing Patience.
Love Without Boundaries' blog A Life of Giving post on They are Important and Do You Wonder?
Manifesto:The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry
Study in Brown's posts on Parenting
USCCB Video Daily Reflection on the Mustard Seed (July 27)
Happy Reading!
Cheers!
Courtney
Conversion Diary posts on Finding Home and Choosing Patience.
Love Without Boundaries' blog A Life of Giving post on They are Important and Do You Wonder?
Manifesto:The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry
Study in Brown's posts on Parenting
USCCB Video Daily Reflection on the Mustard Seed (July 27)
Happy Reading!
Cheers!
Courtney
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Families For Orphans Act
Below info is from the Joint Council urging support of the Families for Orphans Act:
UNICEF estimates that there are 143 million orphans in the world today. Research such as the Bucharest Early Intervention Study conducted by respected researchers at Harvard University, Maryland University, and other universities has shown that keeping an orphaned child in a permanent and loving family is the best way to ensure that they have love, attention, and care needed to survive, and better yet, to thrive.
Although the U.S. Government has programs related to vulnerable children, very little of the focus and funding is going toward finding permanent families for children in need of parental care.
Developing countries where millions of orphans live lack the resources and expertise necessary to develop sound systems to provide for the care of the rising number of children living outside of permanent parental care.
Sign the Petition
We, the undersigned, request that the U.S. Congress pass the Families for Orphans Act, which would provide a diplomatic authority, with technical and coordinating capacity to keep children in their birth families whenever possible and move orphans and other children without parental care into permanent families (either through kinship care, domestic adoption, or intercountry adoption).
Very little of current U.S. funding and focus is dedicated towards finding permanent families for children in need of parental care. Developing countries lack the resources and expertise necessary to establish sound systems to provide for the care of the rising number of children living outside of a permanent family environment.
We support the Families for Orphans Act which is designed to overcome these barriers by establishing the Office of Orphan Policy, Development and Diplomacy, a specialized office within the U.S. Department of State.
This new office would be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to support the preservation of families and the provision of permanent families for orphans. We urge the members of the U.S. Congress to pass the Families for Orphans Act.
CALL TO ACTION
UNICEF estimates that there are 143 million orphans in the world today. Research such as the Bucharest Early Intervention Study conducted by respected researchers at Harvard University, Maryland University, and other universities has shown that keeping an orphaned child in a permanent and loving family is the best way to ensure that they have love, attention, and care needed to survive, and better yet, to thrive.
Although the U.S. Government has programs related to vulnerable children, very little of the focus and funding is going toward finding permanent families for children in need of parental care.
Developing countries where millions of orphans live lack the resources and expertise necessary to develop sound systems to provide for the care of the rising number of children living outside of permanent parental care.
Sign the Petition
We, the undersigned, request that the U.S. Congress pass the Families for Orphans Act, which would provide a diplomatic authority, with technical and coordinating capacity to keep children in their birth families whenever possible and move orphans and other children without parental care into permanent families (either through kinship care, domestic adoption, or intercountry adoption).
Very little of current U.S. funding and focus is dedicated towards finding permanent families for children in need of parental care. Developing countries lack the resources and expertise necessary to establish sound systems to provide for the care of the rising number of children living outside of a permanent family environment.
We support the Families for Orphans Act which is designed to overcome these barriers by establishing the Office of Orphan Policy, Development and Diplomacy, a specialized office within the U.S. Department of State.
This new office would be responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy to support the preservation of families and the provision of permanent families for orphans. We urge the members of the U.S. Congress to pass the Families for Orphans Act.
CALL TO ACTION
Tomorrow is the start of the Call to Action for the Families For Orphans Act. Over the next three days join the movement and let Washington hear your voice!
Sign the Families For Orphans petition, make three simple phone calls, and get the word out! Here's how...
1. Call Congress!
- On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday call your three Members of Congress (two in the Senate and one in the House of Representatives).
- You can find your Representative at http://www.house.gov/
- You can find you Senators' at http://www.senate.gov/
- Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff
- For maximum effect, we are asking you to make these calls within this 72-hour window!
What should you say or write to your Members of Congress?
- This is an issue that is critical to children in need, so speak from your heart. Tell them why ensuring more children living in families is so important to you!
- Ask your Senators and Representatives to become a Co-Sponsor of the Families for Orphans Act.
- Please feel free to use the following text as a guideline when speaking with your Members of Congress.
- "As a constituent of
we are requesting that you support the Families For Orphans Act by becoming a Co-Sponsor of the legislation. For information on becoming a Co-Sponsor, please contact Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator James Inhofe, Representative Diane Watson or Representative John Boozman. Thank you for representing your constituents by becoming a Co-Sponsor of the Families For Orphans Act (Senate Bill 1458 and House Bill 3070)."
- "As a constituent of
2. Sign our Petition!
- If you haven't already done so, sign the Joint Council Families for Orphans Petition
- The Petition will be delivered to the U.S. Congress
3. Get the word out!
- Send this email to friends and family. Post to your Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blog or website
More Information
For detailed information on the Families For Orphans Act visit:
- The Joint Council website (www.jcics.org)
- For minute-by-minute updates, see Joint Council's page on Facebook
- The websites of any Families For Orphans Coalition Member (see below)
- The Families For Orphans Legislation
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Good Reads
For your reading pleasure, Medical Mommas has an interesting topic to contemplate...Nature vs. Nurture as it relates to adoption. This question arises in my head frequently, but when it comes down to it, my daughter is who she is. I hope to post a little more about this later. Also, here are some good links related to the topic to continue the discussion.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Fun Topic Fridays
I'd like to introduce Fun Topic Fridays! I thought it'd be great to post a fun, totally unrelated (to adoption) topic each Friday. Stay tuned!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Reunions
My husband, daughter, and I just returned from a weekend in the Smoky Mountains, where we attended the first annual Cirque De Chine Adopted Chinese Children Reunion (ACCA). This was a fabulous one-day event, that included a morning of traditional Chinese games and culminated in a Cirque De Chine afternoon performance, an amazing two-hour acrobatic show.
To top off the weekend, our Travel Group (minus a few) decided to meet up at this event for our first reunion since traveling in China together to bring home our babies. It was a great opportunity to entertain all of the children and spend time together as a "family"(travel groups become an extended family). It was so great to see all of our girls back together again, this time not as frightened babies, but as energetic, happy toddlers. Our girls share a bond that extends as early as the day they were born. They've known one another longer than anyone. It's very special when we bring them together.
The Gatlinburg area offers lots of family-oriented things to do. Next year's Cirque De Chine ACCA Reunion will be Saturday, July 10. I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful opportunity for our Chinese children to celebrate their culture together with other adoptees from all across the southeast. And if you can't make it to the reunion, consider a vacation to the Smokies and add the Cirque De Chine show to your agenda. You won't be disappointed!
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Family Tree from the Perspective of an Adoptee
Please visit Harlow's Monkey for an interesting read on "The Family Tree", an adoptee's perspective.
"However there are spiritual blanks where the Kim family’s names should be. I see the personal history and family I don’t know as the shadow of my family tree – not the big leafy one represented by my adoptive family and their history, but as the strong silent presence fluttering behind it. My adoptive family is the one who guided and raised me, shaping my character; but my biological family is my instinct. " - Harlow's Monkey Originally published in Korean Quarterly, Spring 2004 Vol 7, No. 3
"However there are spiritual blanks where the Kim family’s names should be. I see the personal history and family I don’t know as the shadow of my family tree – not the big leafy one represented by my adoptive family and their history, but as the strong silent presence fluttering behind it. My adoptive family is the one who guided and raised me, shaping my character; but my biological family is my instinct. " - Harlow's Monkey Originally published in Korean Quarterly, Spring 2004 Vol 7, No. 3
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Hague Orphan Immunization Bill
I wanted to pass this information along to all of you adoption advocates out there. This was a recent post over at the Johnson Family Blog:
Those who are embroiled in the new post-Hague I-800 process are currently experiencing an unexpected result of the Hague implementation. Prior to 1997, internationally adopted children often were subject to massive numbers of vaccinations in Guangzhou in order to satisfy United States immigration requirements. In 1997, Congress unanimously approved a law amending immigration law and allowing adopting parents to bring a notarized vaccination waiver with them to the Consulate in Guangzhou instead, saying they would take care of their childrens' vaccinations upon returning safely home and under the supervision and advice of their own physician. For nearly 12 years this process has gone on without any problem, complaint or concern.
Another exemption (which does not apply to Chinese orphans) was passed in 1999-again unanimously - which provided for an exemption for older siblings of adopted orphans to also be able to be adopted into the same family (otherwise the age limit on the US side is less than 16).
Then, in 2006, Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to comply with the newly-signed Hague Convention. Unfortunately, they did this by creating a new definition of orphan child - complete with new section number and reference in the INA. But all the previously approved protections and exemptions only specifically referenced the original section number of the original definition of orphan child. These protections were LOST because they
did not specifically reference the new definition, and because whoever wrote the law did not check for cross-references in other parts of the law!! Because these cross-references in the INA were not checked, vaccination waivers went from being available to all internationally adopted orphans to only those from NON-Hague countries. The Notice from the Guangzhou Consulate-General is below:
http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cnnotice_on_vaccination_requirements081219\.html
There is a bill right now in the Senate Judiciary Committee to correct this mistake. It is Senate Bill 1376. The link to the bill is here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1376
It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It will then go to the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. The link to the Subcommittee is below, and contains links to contact information for Committee members.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/committee.xpd?id=SSJU4
The Subcommittee members are:
Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]
Sen. John Cornyn [R-TX]
Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
Sen. Charles Grassley [R-IA]
Sen. Jon Kyl [R-AZ]
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
Sen. Jefferson Sessions [R-AL]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
Sen. Ron Wyden [D-OR]
If you live in one of these states, please contact your Senator and ask them to act on Senate Bill 1376 and re-instate the protections and exemptions that Congress so unanimously approved in 1997 and 1999, and which clearly were accidentally not extended to orphans covered under the Hague Convention.
Thanks for your help!
Those who are embroiled in the new post-Hague I-800 process are currently experiencing an unexpected result of the Hague implementation. Prior to 1997, internationally adopted children often were subject to massive numbers of vaccinations in Guangzhou in order to satisfy United States immigration requirements. In 1997, Congress unanimously approved a law amending immigration law and allowing adopting parents to bring a notarized vaccination waiver with them to the Consulate in Guangzhou instead, saying they would take care of their childrens' vaccinations upon returning safely home and under the supervision and advice of their own physician. For nearly 12 years this process has gone on without any problem, complaint or concern.
Another exemption (which does not apply to Chinese orphans) was passed in 1999-again unanimously - which provided for an exemption for older siblings of adopted orphans to also be able to be adopted into the same family (otherwise the age limit on the US side is less than 16).
Then, in 2006, Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to comply with the newly-signed Hague Convention. Unfortunately, they did this by creating a new definition of orphan child - complete with new section number and reference in the INA. But all the previously approved protections and exemptions only specifically referenced the original section number of the original definition of orphan child. These protections were LOST because they
did not specifically reference the new definition, and because whoever wrote the law did not check for cross-references in other parts of the law!! Because these cross-references in the INA were not checked, vaccination waivers went from being available to all internationally adopted orphans to only those from NON-Hague countries. The Notice from the Guangzhou Consulate-General is below:
http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cnnotice_on_vaccination_requirements081219\.html
There is a bill right now in the Senate Judiciary Committee to correct this mistake. It is Senate Bill 1376. The link to the bill is here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-1376
It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It will then go to the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security. The link to the Subcommittee is below, and contains links to contact information for Committee members.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/committee.xpd?id=SSJU4
The Subcommittee members are:
Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]
Sen. John Cornyn [R-TX]
Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]
Sen. Charles Grassley [R-IA]
Sen. Jon Kyl [R-AZ]
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D-VT]
Sen. Jefferson Sessions [R-AL]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
Sen. Ron Wyden [D-OR]
If you live in one of these states, please contact your Senator and ask them to act on Senate Bill 1376 and re-instate the protections and exemptions that Congress so unanimously approved in 1997 and 1999, and which clearly were accidentally not extended to orphans covered under the Hague Convention.
Thanks for your help!
Friday, July 03, 2009
A Little Goes a Long Way
I wasn't aware that when a person adopts, more often than none that they/we aren't just adopting our child. We adopt a whole orphanage full of babies, toddlers, teens, and nannies. We adopt babies that will soon be with their forever families and we adopt those that won't be adopted, that will call the orphanage their home. Our concern becomes for all orphans not just our son or daughter. It's inevitable...the heart swells when one adopts.
I belong to a Yahoo group that is comprised of all adoptive parents of children adopted from the same orphanage as where my child spent the first 6 months of her life. A few months ago, a father of a fellow "Bo" baby, started a fundraising campaign. Apparently, many months ago, he had read some things, including my blog post about the condition of the orphanage when my husband and I visited. The fact that it was so cold that we could literally see our breath, well, it chilled him and he wanted to do something about it. So he started a fundraising campaign to raise monies for water heaters to ensure that all Bo babies would have at least a warm bath. He put the call out to the group and in poured the monies. Within a week, the group raised $1000 through a special fund with Love Without Boundaries (LWB). LWB helped us communicate back and forth with the orphanage. Along with the donation, we sent a photo album that included pictures of all the families that had donated to the project. In the end here's what happened:
I belong to a Yahoo group that is comprised of all adoptive parents of children adopted from the same orphanage as where my child spent the first 6 months of her life. A few months ago, a father of a fellow "Bo" baby, started a fundraising campaign. Apparently, many months ago, he had read some things, including my blog post about the condition of the orphanage when my husband and I visited. The fact that it was so cold that we could literally see our breath, well, it chilled him and he wanted to do something about it. So he started a fundraising campaign to raise monies for water heaters to ensure that all Bo babies would have at least a warm bath. He put the call out to the group and in poured the monies. Within a week, the group raised $1000 through a special fund with Love Without Boundaries (LWB). LWB helped us communicate back and forth with the orphanage. Along with the donation, we sent a photo album that included pictures of all the families that had donated to the project. In the end here's what happened:
From the father who headed up the fundraising:
"they were able to get 8 water heaters. She has sent me some pictures of the heaters, the clothes and the snacks that they were able to purchase. You know, I think we all get it that what has been accomplished here is significant. But I don't really think that we will be able to fully grasp the total impact of this. We live such different lives than what is lived there. I have commented how hot water is an after thought for us but for them it is more than just a turn of a knob. I really believe that we have accomplished a lot. And I think we can accomplish a lot more. "
Letter from the orphanage workers:
"We have finished the babies' bathrooms. Sorry to you and the other families for the delay. There are lots of things to do every day, too busy. We sincerely apologize to you and the families. We are very happy to see the beautiful photos of the babies. The babies are all smiling. We appreciate everything you and the other families have done for us. We appreciate the love and concern from you and the families."
Thursday, July 02, 2009
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