Should I Be Worried About Government Shutdowns?
The GWCA/CAN team wants to assure our adoptive families that despite Congress’ ability to pass a spending bill by the start of the fiscal year (October 1), subsequently leading to government shutdowns, your adoption should still be processed at a normal rate. Government agency shutdowns should not affect the federal offices at which adoptions are processed. We assure you that we will notify families in the event of anything changing that should affect your adoption process. If there should be any questions please don’t hesitate to call our offices at 512.323.9595. Happy Tuesday!
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Anyone Can Advocate!
In July, our Waiting Child team sent out an urgent request for a beautiful little girl named Winnie. She was fast approaching her 14th birthday, which means she would shortly be aging out of the international adoption system. We wanted so badly for her to find her forever home. Because so many of you took action so quickly we were able to help this little girl find her forever family. There was a video of her posted on our Facebook page that was viewed by almost 17,000 people. A big thanks also goes to the 113 individuals that shared her posting, and everyone else that took part in efforts to advocate for Winnie.
Our team here was inundated with responses for this sweet girl. It is wonderful to know how truly incredible the Great Wall family is! The staff here is so overwhelmed with all the support she received, and we know her forever family is excited to be bringing this sweet girl home soon. Just one person can make such a big difference and ANYONE can help advocate! We look forward to everyone’s continuous support as we push to find these beautiful children a loving forever home.
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Officially Introducing GWCA’s China Hosting Program!
Orphan hosting provides children an amazing opportunity to see
life outside their orphanage and their country. We call these people who
host waiting children Orphan Warriors.
Will you consider being an Orphan Warrior for these Chinese orphans? Great Wall China Adoption is collaborating with New Horizons for Children, the largest faith-based host program that has brought over 2,000 children to the U.S. through hosting, to bring Special Focus children from multiple orphanages all over China to the U.S. to experience the love of a family and the holiday season for 5 weeks. The approximate dates are December 15, 2013 – January 19, 2014. Photo listings of the children available for hosting will be available here on approximately October 1st, and final details of the program will be available at that time. Special Focus children that may be hosted are aged 6-13 and are older and healthy or have minor to moderate special medical needs. The cost to host a child, which covers their airfare, visa, medical insurance, etc, is $3150.
We are also looking for host families for our Chinese Chaperones traveling with the children, who will be caretakers from the children’s orphanages. There is NO COST to host a chaperone! If you are interested in hosting a chaperone and a wonderful opportunity to gain insight into Chinese culture, please let us know. For more information on the details of the hosting program, please contact New Horizons for Children via their website at http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/orphan-hosting/view-available-kids-here/ and be sure to fill out a pre-application for hosting and get connected with your regional coordinator. There are a limited number of children for this first hosting trip, so be sure to sign up early!
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Thank You Willis Family!
Recently, one of our adoptive families sent us these shirts as a thank-you for helping them in facilitating the adoption of their daughter. This week as they are traveling to China to bring their daughter home, we wish them the very best of luck! We are so thankful for families like the Willis’ that are true champions in adoption, opening their hearts and homes to orphaned children.
Congratulations, Willis Family! Your baby girl is on her way!
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Children in Families First Act of 2013 (CHIFF)
Children Need Families. We Need Your Voice!
Children in Families First Act of 2013 (CHIFF) Introduced in the Senate Today!
As you know, every day, all over the world, more children find themselves living without families – on the streets, in orphanages, in refugee camps. By some estimates, there are now 200 million orphans in the world. But the U.S. Government, through our foreign policy and programming, is not helping to turn this around.
Americans know that family is the bedrock of any society, and that children need the permanent love, care, and protection of a family to grow into healthy, productive adults. Although U.S. foreign policy in theory emphasizes preserving or creating safe, permanent families for children through family reunification, kinship care, domestic or intercountry adoption, the structures and coordination are not there to make it happen. We need change, and NCFA believes this legislation will get us on the right path.
It seeks to redirect a portion of the funds the U.S. currently spends on children living abroad toward ensuring that all children grow up in a family. It restructures the way intercountry adoption is more appropriately placing an office in the Department of State, providing clear direction to not just regulate, but advocate for children in families, and a better balance of adoption support and administration between Department of State and USCIS. (For more detail see the attached, complete legislation.)
You can play a key role in helping to make this happen. Tell your stories. Explain your concerns. As trusted experts in this professional community, your voices will be valuable in explaining to congress and the public why this matters.
Here are specific ways you can get involved.
1. Call your Members of Congress! Ask them to cosponsor the Children in Families First Act of 2013 (S.1530). Let them know that you want your government to make a family for every child a priority!
2. Connect with Congress online. Social media allows you to directly connect with your elected officials.
3. Visit your members of Congress or their staff.
4. Email a letter to your 3 Members of Congress.
5. Be a part of the community! Like CHIFF on Facebook and Twitter!
To learn more, please regularly visit: www.childreninfamiliesfirst.org
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My Daughter, Forever and Always
Amanda Carr, an adoptee of 15 years, shares a beautiful adoption story through creative words. She says that she came up with the name of her poem “because even though we (adopted girls and boys) don’t know our biological parents, we will forever be theirs.”
Amanda currently resides with her parents Tony & Shelley Carr of Pflugerville, Texas. Great Wall China Adoption helped celebrate her “Gotcha Day” in 1998.
For nine months I was being formed
All alone by herself my Mother hid
Hiding her daughter that grew inside.July 11th 1997 I was born
My Mother and Father wept
Holding onto their first born
Their daughter
My name is Dai-JunTwo weeks later My Mother and Father mourn
Wrapped in a blanket and placed in a basket
One last hug and kiss
Before getting whisked away
Into the darkness I am carriedDown the street of Dai Shan in Nanchang.
She places my basket down on the street
Kissing my hands, head and feetShe says “Goodbye” and quickly fades in to the darkness.
On the street of Dai-Shan a little girl lays
So helpless and vulnerable
Wrapped up in a blanket so delicate and neat
Her Mother watches from afar
She wants to go and get her little girlThis little girl gets whisked to the orphanage.
So many little girls
All abandoned
All without a family.
The Mother goes back to her village
Going to the room where her daughter was born
She weeps as she holds a picture close to her heart.
The Father sung to his daughter every night he could.
Holding her close as possible he rocked
And swayed her
Singing and kissing his first born daughter.
Every year on Dai-Jun’s birthday the parents’ morn and cry
Not knowing if their daughter is okay or even alive.
The parents hold a picture of her and whisper
“You are our Daughter Forever and Always”
Meet Kayley Viteo!
We are excited to give our families a little glimpse of the staff here at GWCA and CAN, so that you can see who we are and why we love doing just what we do. Every day we come to work and love to connect with our families, but now we are going to show you whose faces are behind every phone call, letter and E-mail received.
Kayley is a true renaissance woman! She has her hand in a lot of things around here, but that’s just because she’s so good at everything she does! Kayley recently transitioned roles at GWCA but she’s made it look so effortless and seamless. She’s passionate about her families and her job which makes for the perfect combination!
So without further ado…meet Kayley!
- What is your job title and description here at GWCA?
I started as the Administrative Assistant, and have recently transitioned into the role of Travel Advisor. In my role as Administrative Assistant I helped each department run as smoothly as possible. This ranged from transferring calls to accounting tasks like preparing contracts. A little bit of everything, I like to say!
As Travel Advisor, I facilitate each family’s travel to the country where they will be adopting their child! This includes intra-country travel arrangements, scheduling adoption appointments, and making sure families are prepared for their journey in whatever way they may need. I also oversee our Legacy Journey program, and I have a group of families leaving this week for China.
- How long have you been working at GWCA?
I began work at GWCA as the Administrative Assistant on January 15, 2013. I have begun work as the Travel Advisor in the last two weeks, and I am so excited to be taking on this new role.
- What do you enjoy most about your job?
Talking with families, hands down. This is the bright spot of my day – whether it’s telling a family they received their travel approval, or even just answering administrative questions. My goal in helping them through adoption is to make it as smooth as possible, and communication is a huge part of that. So I always tell my families to call and/or email as much as they like, because I’m happy to help.
- What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
Working with separate entities is probably the most difficult part of my job, if only because this can sometimes cause unexpected delays. As Travel Advisor, I try my best to have families travel to pickup their child as soon as it is possible.
- How have you grown personally from working at GWCA and with their families?
GWCA is a collaborative environment, and I think that has made me more aware of effective communication, teamwork, and coordinating my day so that it helps someone else – both the families that we serve, and other staff.
I have never worked at a place so emotionally rewarding, and there is nothing better than calling a family to give them great news and hearing their reaction. However, adoption journeys are never “perfect,” but I’m always honored to be a part of them in whatever capacity I can be.
- Why do you love adoption?
Every human being deserves a family that loves them. Adoption gives families the chance to grow, and gives children in particular the chance to learn and play in a happy environment. I think being born into that type of environment is a wonderful privilege, and my work is centered on the goal of extending that privilege to all orphans. Personally, my mother was adopted, and when I found out as a child I remember thinking how lucky we were that my grandparents made that choice.
Fun facts about Kayley:
1. I am a black belt in American tae kwon do.
2. I have two dogs and I could not love them more, even if I’m pretty sure they conspire against me.
3. I moved to Canada for two years to go to graduate school, and I don’t know what I’m going to do without proper cold weather in my life now. (Side note: It’s true, Canadians are the nicest people in the universe.)
4. My mother and I once drove for 25 hours straight from London,Ontario to San Antonio,Texas just to prove we could do it.
5. I love movies of any kind, and if there is a quirky documentary on this planet that I haven’t seen … I would be shocked.
“Kayley is simply one of a kind! She is one of the hardest workers and is always volunteering to take on whatever needs to be done. She does it all with a joyful heart, and everybody around here knows that she is some they can always count on!” –Kayley’s Co-worker
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Meet Kristin Cecil!
We are excited to give our families a little glimpse of the staff here at GWCA and CAN, so that you can see who we are and why we love doing just what we do. Every day we come to work and love to connect with our families, but now we are going to show you whose faces are behind every phone call, letter and E-mail received.
Kristin is such a servant-hearted person. You can tell just by being around her for a few minutes that she cares deeply and truly about each of her families. She never tires of loving them well either! Day after day, Kristin is steady in her devotion. Her job is one that is complex, long and hard but you would never know it by her sweet and cheerful demeanor! She loves doing what she does and it’s undeniably evident.
So without further ado…meet Kristin!
- What is your job title and description here at GWCA?
I am the Referral Consultant at Great Wall China Adoption. I help prepare, advocate, and counsel families waiting for a healthy referral from China, and help all families in the Waiting Child and Healthy Program complete the necessary paperwork before a family travels to complete the adoption.
- How long have you been working at GWCA?
I started with GWCA at the beginning of January 2013.
- What do you enjoy most about your job?
The most rewarding part of my position is calling families immediately to share the good news of being matched with a child. It is such a great honor and privilege to be the courier of good news.
- What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
The most difficult aspect of my job is working through the different government agencies paperwork process and the wait times for the processing of paperwork. The adoption paperwork process is detailed, complex, and very procedural.
- How have you grown personally from working at GWCA and with their families?
As said before it is a great honor and privilege to be working with all the families, and hearing their stories. Each family’s adoption journey is completely different, and I grow personally learning something new and wonderful from working with each family individually. I have learned great deal of knowledge about international adoption world.
- Why do you love adoption?
I love adoption because I have first hand seen my extended family and close friends who have been able to complete their families or find their forever families through adoption. I believe is it such a wonderful way to grow a family, and provide homes and unconditional love to children who do not have that support around the world.
Fun facts about Kristin:
1. I completed my Master in Public Administration from Suffolk University just in May 2012!
2. I played on the intercollegiate tennis team in undergrad and was team captain my senior year. I won my first and only match near the end of my senior year playing doubles.
3. I couldn’t say a word when I met Pete Sampras in person.
4. I have snow shoed up to 11,000 feet above sea level in the Colorado Mountains National Park.
5. I lived in Boston, MA for three years, and I will always love the Red Sox and Fenway Park.
Noah and Nora Need You Now!
At GWCA/CAN our waiting children deserve as much advocacy and support as possible. We know their forever family is also waiting for them, and our mission is to provide you with as much information on these kiddos as possible! Today, we are highlighting Noah and Nora, a sibling group from our Bulgaria program! Are you their forever family?
**For more information on Noah and Nora, please contact: Emily@childrenofallnations.com**
Noah and Nora are siblings that were placed in the care of their local village in 2006 due to negligence and maltreatment. Noah, male, was born in July of 2003. He is healthy and up to date on all of his immunizations. The reports indicate delay in development but with the tendency of improvement. His time in the child center has brought positive changes in his concentration and observation skills and there has been a significant enrichment of his vocabulary. He is very energetic can skateboard and ride a bike. He has adapted to the condition and order in the center and has a
well-established bond with is mentor. He is currently in the third grad and is adapting well in school. Unlike previous years, he has good motivation for learning. Even the smallest success makes him want to try harder! He likes to tell stories and fairytales and to memorize short poems. He participates in different daily activities, shows responsiveness and responsibility. Nora, female, was born in June of 2004. She is healthy and up to date on all of her immunizations. The report indicated delays in neuro-psychical development and suggestions to work with psychologist, speech therapist and resource teacher are recommended. She active and energetic and enjoys participating in different games. Nora’s fine motor skills are delayed, but there are positive changes due to work with the center. The report indicates speech-language development
delays and indicates there is a Phonematic hearing is disturbed but she can handle sound analysis and synthesis. She understands the meaning of simple words but meets difficulties with complicated and abstract concepts. Speech and language therapy are recommended. Nora has a strong personality and prefers to be the leader. The report describes her as “whimsical” She has adapted to conditions at the center but does not always keep the established rules. She is attached and has an established bond with her mentor. She is a 2nd grade student at a new school and has had some difficulty adjusting. There seems to be a little regression in her behavior and relations. The activities with the resource teacher are continued in the new school year. She gladly
participates in singing, but articulation of words causes difficulties. She is expressing her emotions with singing and has stage behavior. There are established some basic daily habits and skills. She learned fast how to serve and clean the table. She shows desire to help after feeding with the vacuum cleaner in the dining room. In such cases she participates with joy and is willing to do the assigned tasks.
**For more information on Noah and Nora, please contact: Emily@childrenofallnations.com**
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Legislation to Make Adoption Tax Credit Refundable
Casey Introduces Legislation to Make Adoption Tax Credit Refundable
Making Credit Refundable Would Extend Benefits to More Families
Thursday, May 23, 2013
In 2011 62% of Filers Benefited from Refundable Credit
Washington, DC –Today U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2013 with Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Congressman Bruce Braley (D-IA). The bill would make the Adoption Tax Credit fully refundable. Making the tax credit refundable would extend its benefits to more Americans. According to IRS data, 62% of filers in 2011 benefited from the refundable Adoption Tax Credit. In 2010, Senator Casey championed provisions, which were signed into law, to increase the value of the tax credit and make it permanent for two years.
“Making the Adoption Tax Credit refundable will support and encourage adoption by assisting families with some of the costs,” Senator Casey said. “The Adoption Tax Credit has been a proven success in increasing families’ ability to offer permanent homes to adoptive children. Making the credit refundable will allow more families to experience its benefits.”
The adoption tax credit was made permanent in the American Taxpayer Relief Act in January 2013. However, that law did not extend the refundability provisions that applied to the adoption tax credit in 2010 and 2011. The Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act will restore the refundable portion of this critical support for families wishing to adopt.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, one-third of all adopted children live in families with annual household income at or below 200 percent of the poverty level. Despite the common misperception that only wealthy families adopt, nearly 46 percent of families adopting from foster care are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Many of these families’ tax burdens are so low that they cannot benefit from the adoption tax credit at all unless it is refundable.
Preliminary 2011 data indicate that nearly 62 percent of families who filed for the adoption tax credit benefited from refundability. Forty-one percent of families who benefited from refundability (25 percent of all families who took the tax credit) had adjusted gross incomes under $50,000.
These data indicate that a refundable adoption tax credit plays a significant role in lower-income families’ ability to adopt and support a child from foster care. Older data from a 2006 study cited by HHS demonstrate a significant financial benefit to society, as well: the cost of adoption and permanency is significantly lower than the cost to federal, state and local governments to provide long-term foster care.
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