If you have been following the Scruggs' blog, you know that they have been dealing with the new CDC TB rule with their little girl, Harper. http://jayscruggs.livejournal.com
This week the situation made it to NPR (National Public Radio): http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=2&prgDate=8-24-2009
click that link and choose the August 24th show to hear the story.
There are a lot of other families adopting from China and other countries too who are not as lucky as the Scruggs. Please sign the petitions to help:
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/families-for-orphans.html
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html
We can hit 10,000 with your help! If you've signed please ask your spouse, your friends, your co-workers, your church family, and anybody you know to help!
Thanks so much!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
UPDATE: You Are Doing It!!!!
I am so thrilled to report that the FFO (Families for Orphans Act) has topped 4 thousand signatures.
1
2
3
4 !!!!
I was really gratified today when I looked at the signatures and saw that so many adoptive parents I knew had signed on yesterday! Even the non-internet folks in my family have gotten themselves to the library and signed on.
It also had 14 new members of congress agree to sponsor it last week! I like it when we tell congress what their agenda is going to be instead of the other way around; don't you? Let's keep it going please. It would be so wonderful to have one central place to go to for help, orphan advocacy, and information.
I know we can hit 10 thousand with your help. You did it before, and you can do it again!
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/families-for-orphans.html
The TB petition has topped 4500!
Take that CDC!!!
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html
Keep those signatures coming!
How wonderful this is.
My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your time and support.
xo, and o, o, o!!!
Di
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Adoptive Parents Webinars
Here's a schedule of classes presented this fall by Joint Council:
Tuesday, September 1st
Medical Special Needs Children
presented by Todd Ochs
Thursday, September 3rd
Understanding and Managing Loss in Adoption
presented by Dr. David Brodzinsky
Thursday, October 1
Fostering Attachment
presented by Lynn Wetterberg
Tuesday, October 6
When International Adoptions Mean Parenting Across Racial Lines
presented by Beth Hall
Tuesday, November 3
Parenting Adopted Adolescents
presented by Dr. Greg Keck
Thursday, November 5
Brothers and Sisters in Adoption
presented by Arleta James
All webinars are from 7 pm - 8 pm EST and cost $10/family.
http://www.jcics.org/webinar.htm to sign up!
:)
Tuesday, September 1st
Medical Special Needs Children
presented by Todd Ochs
Thursday, September 3rd
Understanding and Managing Loss in Adoption
presented by Dr. David Brodzinsky
Thursday, October 1
Fostering Attachment
presented by Lynn Wetterberg
Tuesday, October 6
When International Adoptions Mean Parenting Across Racial Lines
presented by Beth Hall
Tuesday, November 3
Parenting Adopted Adolescents
presented by Dr. Greg Keck
Thursday, November 5
Brothers and Sisters in Adoption
presented by Arleta James
All webinars are from 7 pm - 8 pm EST and cost $10/family.
http://www.jcics.org/webinar.htm to sign up!
:)
Courage
This post is dedicated to Jay and Candace, who, if you're "in" the Chinese-Adoption-Blogosphere, you know about because they are trying to bring their daughter home from China and fighting the good fight against the CDC to do so.
They put this quotation from To Kill a Mockingbird on their blog:
"Courage is when you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway, and you see it through no matter what....." Atticus Finch
I spent an hour on the phone with the CDC this morning trying to add my voice to theirs for help, and it was mostly fruitless, but I didn't stop, because it's important to try and do what you can.
Last year, when Dave and I found out the we couldn't file an I600A anymore and because of that we would lose our adoption, people told us it was a useless fight. My senator, the senator from my mom's state, many people on the web in the adoption community all told us it was a waste of time, but we weren't going to give it up because we weren't going to give up Sophie.
And, little by little, you joined us, just a single signature here and there, one at a time.
And it began to look like maybe we might get enough to make some noise, but certainly not in time to help us, but we kept trying, because you don't enter into something like that for yourself alone, but with the knowledge of how it could affect so many others, and if you have the chance, if you have the platform and the opportunity to reach one person who can make a difference for one other person, you owe it to the world to take the time to do that.
And so we kept plugging away, posting more posts, and fielding the arguments and the naysayers, because it was important to make a difference if we could.
And you, you wonderful people in the adoption community and our friends, you kept signing on, one at a time.
And little by little, over time, it was not Dave and I who made the difference, but all of you, with your signatures, with your phone calls, with your effort, with the gift of your time.
You can make the same difference now. People will tell you that it's a waste of your time, and that it cannot be changed, and that congress is too busy or too jaded to care, but you can show courage, Atticus Finch courage, and do it anyway.
Please sign on to these petitions today, and help more children come home to the USA, and help more children all over the world live their lives in families, adoptive or bio-related families, rather than institutions.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/families-for-orphans.html
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html
Thank you for your courage.
xx~
Di
They put this quotation from To Kill a Mockingbird on their blog:
"Courage is when you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway, and you see it through no matter what....." Atticus Finch
I spent an hour on the phone with the CDC this morning trying to add my voice to theirs for help, and it was mostly fruitless, but I didn't stop, because it's important to try and do what you can.
Last year, when Dave and I found out the we couldn't file an I600A anymore and because of that we would lose our adoption, people told us it was a useless fight. My senator, the senator from my mom's state, many people on the web in the adoption community all told us it was a waste of time, but we weren't going to give it up because we weren't going to give up Sophie.
And, little by little, you joined us, just a single signature here and there, one at a time.
And it began to look like maybe we might get enough to make some noise, but certainly not in time to help us, but we kept trying, because you don't enter into something like that for yourself alone, but with the knowledge of how it could affect so many others, and if you have the chance, if you have the platform and the opportunity to reach one person who can make a difference for one other person, you owe it to the world to take the time to do that.
And so we kept plugging away, posting more posts, and fielding the arguments and the naysayers, because it was important to make a difference if we could.
And you, you wonderful people in the adoption community and our friends, you kept signing on, one at a time.
And little by little, over time, it was not Dave and I who made the difference, but all of you, with your signatures, with your phone calls, with your effort, with the gift of your time.
You can make the same difference now. People will tell you that it's a waste of your time, and that it cannot be changed, and that congress is too busy or too jaded to care, but you can show courage, Atticus Finch courage, and do it anyway.
Please sign on to these petitions today, and help more children come home to the USA, and help more children all over the world live their lives in families, adoptive or bio-related families, rather than institutions.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/families-for-orphans.html
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-families-not-barriers.html
Thank you for your courage.
xx~
Di
Friday, July 24, 2009
Petition
Jount Council really needs your signature on a petition before you go home for the weekend.
Remember, they are the ones who helped us get our 1600 petition passed, and Joint Council means a joint council of government, parents, and agencies. Won't you please help? Won't you be a part of the council?
Thanks so much!
Di
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/families-for-orphans.html
Remember, they are the ones who helped us get our 1600 petition passed, and Joint Council means a joint council of government, parents, and agencies. Won't you please help? Won't you be a part of the council?
Thanks so much!
Di
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/families-for-orphans.html
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Joint Council Call to Action: Families for Orphans Act
Hello Friends~
I hope we can do whatever we can to help JCICS, as we owe them so much for helping us with the I600A so that we could continue our adoption of Sophie.
So, please consider helping Joint Council pass the landmark: Families for Orphans Act
Go here to follow the steps to help pass the act:
http://www.jcics.org/call_to_action.htm
Below is the crux of the act.
Thanks so much friends!
:)
Di
The Families For Orphans Act
The Need
UNICEF estimates 143 million children live as orphans. Some have lost both parents; others are at risk of being orphaned. Millions more live outside the scope of available census data: on the streets, in temporary care, or in unregistered institutions. Deprived of basic human rights, these unknown children are denied the nurturing needed to thrive as children and later as members of our global society. They lack the physical and emotional safety that only a permanent family can provide. Perhaps most importantly, they are deprived of the love needed to realize their full human potential.
A Gap Exists
Efforts by the aid and development community are currently focused on survivability: nutrition, housing, education, and medical care. Community development programs only indirectly prevent family dissolution and do not appropriately address the needs of children living outside of permanent parental care. A continuum of care is needed to ensure that children mature into productive members of the world community. This continuum lacks the programs, funding, focus, and leadership needed to move these children from survivability to permanent family life. The focus on survivability creates a gap between surviving in temporary care and thriving in a permanent family. This gap only increases the world orphan crisis and leads to the continuing deterioration of the world's social fabric. Evidence based research, in the U.S. and internationally, clearly supports the need for permanent family life in preventing incarceration, suicide, mental health disorders, and deterioration of physical health. In addition to assuring the human right to a permanent family, this research also points to the validity of expanding aid and development efforts to include permanent family life.
Within U.S. strategies, four hurdles impede efforts to ensure a permanent family for every child:
I hope we can do whatever we can to help JCICS, as we owe them so much for helping us with the I600A so that we could continue our adoption of Sophie.
So, please consider helping Joint Council pass the landmark: Families for Orphans Act
Go here to follow the steps to help pass the act:
http://www.jcics.org/call_to_action.htm
Below is the crux of the act.
Thanks so much friends!
:)
Di
The Families For Orphans Act
The Need
UNICEF estimates 143 million children live as orphans. Some have lost both parents; others are at risk of being orphaned. Millions more live outside the scope of available census data: on the streets, in temporary care, or in unregistered institutions. Deprived of basic human rights, these unknown children are denied the nurturing needed to thrive as children and later as members of our global society. They lack the physical and emotional safety that only a permanent family can provide. Perhaps most importantly, they are deprived of the love needed to realize their full human potential.
A Gap Exists
Efforts by the aid and development community are currently focused on survivability: nutrition, housing, education, and medical care. Community development programs only indirectly prevent family dissolution and do not appropriately address the needs of children living outside of permanent parental care. A continuum of care is needed to ensure that children mature into productive members of the world community. This continuum lacks the programs, funding, focus, and leadership needed to move these children from survivability to permanent family life. The focus on survivability creates a gap between surviving in temporary care and thriving in a permanent family. This gap only increases the world orphan crisis and leads to the continuing deterioration of the world's social fabric. Evidence based research, in the U.S. and internationally, clearly supports the need for permanent family life in preventing incarceration, suicide, mental health disorders, and deterioration of physical health. In addition to assuring the human right to a permanent family, this research also points to the validity of expanding aid and development efforts to include permanent family life.
Within U.S. strategies, four hurdles impede efforts to ensure a permanent family for every child:
- Currently U.S. programs are disconnected, are without an overriding policy or goal and discount the basic human need of a permanent family. Programs exist in a silo structure, which often results incounterproductive and mutually exclusive programs.
- A lack of proactive diplomacy results in reactionary initiatives, which address problems and not the cause. Further, U.S. agencies and officials lack the authority and resources needed to engage foreign governments.
- While developing countries are actively seeking assistance with the development of sound public policy and support for permanency programs, U.S. expertise, leadership and support are restricted by current U.S. mandates and structure.
- There is a lack of definitions and metrics. Without definitions on terminology (i.e. orphans) and little verifiable data including the number of children living outside of permanent parental care, the scope and depth of the problem cannot be quantified and program evaluations are therefore unreliable.
The Solution
The Families for Orphans Act overcomes these barriers by establishing the Office of Orphan Policy, Development and Diplomacy. The office, headed by an appointed Coordinator, will promote and support the preservation and reunification of families and the provision of permanent parental care for orphans. The primary functions of the office as related to family preservation and permanent parental care are:
- Act as the Primary Advisor to the Secretary of State and President
- Provide Diplomatic Representation on matters related to permanent parental care
- Develop an evidence-based Comprehensive Global Strategy
- Support foreign governments through Sound Policy and Technical and Financial Assistance
- Develop Best Practices and ensure Cultural Sensitivity in the area of permanency
- Support in-country family preservation, reunification and permanency as Primary Solutions
- Coordinate Foreign Policy related to family preservation and permanent parental care
- Coordinate U.S. Domestic and International Permanency Policies
- Conduct a Biennial Census of children without permanent parental care
- Develop Permanency Indicators and metrics
- Report Annually to Congress
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Don't pay for USCIS forms & JCICS Update news
Hi All~
I just saw this on the RQ and thought it merited a re-post here as Dave and I also almost paid for forms when we were looking to download them online. I may have posted these links before, but it's a good time for an update:
Per USCIS:
"Warning! Many non-USCIS websites offer immigration forms. Some will sell you a downloadable form for a fee. These sites are not affiliated with USCIS, and these sites may not have the latest versions of forms. In some circumstances, use of older forms may result in your application or petition being denied or delayed. The latest version of these forms is always available on www.USCIS.gov."
Copy and past any of the links below into your browser.
I600 in Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/1600-no-A
Standard URL:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=c5695f56ff55d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
I600A in Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/1600A-Tiny
Standard URL:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=abde5f56ff55d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
All USCIS forms in Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/All-USCIS-Forms-Tiny
Standard URL:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Don't be folled into using pay sites. :)
If you find any links on this blog that are "bad" (don't work) would you please email me? dianne@sleepinggiantcreations.com
Joint Council On International Childrens' Services (JCICS) is working on some key issues for adopting families right now. Two that I will mention are extending the US Adoption Tax Credit and helping adoptive parents with the new TB rule.
You can see JCICS' updates all the time yourself by "friending" them on FACEBOOK:
JCICS Facebook Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/FACEBOOK-JCICS
Full URL:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Joint-Council-on-International-Childrens-Services/125257530127
JCICS has had their funding cut like so many agencies, but they continue to work miracles for children in need and adoptive families. Please consider becoming a member. I believe the cost is $40/year.
They are really just amazing at JCICS. Recently they pulled together with WPs waiting to adopt from Kyrgyzstan to bring a Kyrgystan delegation to the USA for talks. So, help them out with a little $ if you possibly can, and join them on Facebook to get all the news while it's still hot.
(Just an aside, if you haven't been on Facebook it is not like My Space. It is actually a non-intrusive, non-see-2B-seen kind of place that makes it easy to keep in touch with a lot of people or causes or both, at once. In 5 minutes you can check on all your friends and all your groups. Give it a try! It's free too.)
So, how are you doing with the wait? I have seen some families, marriages, and people devastated by the wait, and it really tears my heart up. I have seen many more, though, make it to the child waiting at the end. Please reach out and get some support for the wait process. If you want to talk or join swaps/activities with others in for the long haul, we would love to have you join us:
I also suggest that you network with people in your area. Advertise on the Yahoo groups or RQ for locals waiting too, and be the one who plans an event. In my experience you'll be glad you did!
Hang in there!
xo~
Di
I just saw this on the RQ and thought it merited a re-post here as Dave and I also almost paid for forms when we were looking to download them online. I may have posted these links before, but it's a good time for an update:
Per USCIS:
"Warning! Many non-USCIS websites offer immigration forms. Some will sell you a downloadable form for a fee. These sites are not affiliated with USCIS, and these sites may not have the latest versions of forms. In some circumstances, use of older forms may result in your application or petition being denied or delayed. The latest version of these forms is always available on www.USCIS.gov."
Copy and past any of the links below into your browser.
I600 in Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/1600-no-A
Standard URL:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=c5695f56ff55d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
I600A in Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/1600A-Tiny
Standard URL:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=abde5f56ff55d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
All USCIS forms in Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/All-USCIS-Forms-Tiny
Standard URL:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Don't be folled into using pay sites. :)
If you find any links on this blog that are "bad" (don't work) would you please email me? dianne@sleepinggiantcreations.com
Joint Council On International Childrens' Services (JCICS) is working on some key issues for adopting families right now. Two that I will mention are extending the US Adoption Tax Credit and helping adoptive parents with the new TB rule.
You can see JCICS' updates all the time yourself by "friending" them on FACEBOOK:
JCICS Facebook Tiny URL:
http://tinyurl.com/FACEBOOK-JCICS
Full URL:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Joint-Council-on-International-Childrens-Services/125257530127
JCICS has had their funding cut like so many agencies, but they continue to work miracles for children in need and adoptive families. Please consider becoming a member. I believe the cost is $40/year.
They are really just amazing at JCICS. Recently they pulled together with WPs waiting to adopt from Kyrgyzstan to bring a Kyrgystan delegation to the USA for talks. So, help them out with a little $ if you possibly can, and join them on Facebook to get all the news while it's still hot.
(Just an aside, if you haven't been on Facebook it is not like My Space. It is actually a non-intrusive, non-see-2B-seen kind of place that makes it easy to keep in touch with a lot of people or causes or both, at once. In 5 minutes you can check on all your friends and all your groups. Give it a try! It's free too.)
So, how are you doing with the wait? I have seen some families, marriages, and people devastated by the wait, and it really tears my heart up. I have seen many more, though, make it to the child waiting at the end. Please reach out and get some support for the wait process. If you want to talk or join swaps/activities with others in for the long haul, we would love to have you join us:
Click to join WWFChina2006
I also suggest that you network with people in your area. Advertise on the Yahoo groups or RQ for locals waiting too, and be the one who plans an event. In my experience you'll be glad you did!
Hang in there!
xo~
Di
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