CNN news story about African adoptions

CNN front page article on African adoptions. This is an interesting article, vague and not very well founded, but worth consideration, and touches on the idea that some regulation is needed. Yes, it is needed, but not to halt it all. Protect the children, yes, we all want that. No one wants to adopt a child who was kidnapped, trafficked, or sold. No one.
Interesting read.

Want to know something about the 147 million orphans needing homes?

If you are just starting out on the road of international adoption I HIGHLY recommend reading this article by a fellow adoptive mama and blogger. This is going to give you a very realistic idea of who is adoptable, who is waiting and needing a family and some of what parenting that child could potentially entail.

How to choose an agency in this era of uncertainty

Choosing an agency in this adoption climate is a tricky business. Time consuming, stressful, uncertain. You can do your part by checking into the following sites to be sure you have done all you can. You can not be too careful. You also must have a great deal of faith.

Ratings
Reviews
Yahoo. Ethiopian Adoption Agency Reviews
checklist
How to research agencies for adoption
lists of agencies licensed to work in Ethiopia
Gov site on Intercountry adoption. Ethiopia
Ethiopia embassy site

Check out my other posts on this topic as well.

Country specific adoption info: Ethiopia

The Government has published a new alert and notice regarding Ethiopian adoptions. Please see their page for complete details. http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=ethiopia_14

The basic contents are:
U.S. non-immigrant and immigrant visa application fees have changed
Escort Cases
Entry Visas
Screening Backgrounds
Expedited Processing
Processing of the Not Clearly Approvable (NCA) cases
Police and birth relative interviews as part of the Form I-604 investigation
Pre-Adoption Immigration Review

General Discussion - Trends in the Ethiopian adoption.

1. A rise in the number of abandonment's vs. relinquishment's.
2. Groups of children being relinquished from the same community at the same time.
3. Adoption contracts being signed before the child is relinquished.

_______________________

This is a really information packed notice. Worth the read to understand how things are going right now.

Certificate of Citizenship and IR 3 visa. Name. Date of Birth.

USCIS on Certificate of Citizenship:

Your IR-3/IH-3 child has not received a Certificate of Citizenship

• If your child was admitted with an IR-3/IH-3 visa, but has not yet received his or her Certificate of Citizenship and it has been more than 50 days since admission, we will send you further instructions, please contact:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
130 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, New York, 14202

Attn: CCA Unit

or
Child-Citizenship-Act@DHS.gov

Your child’s name changed and does not match the Certificate of Citizenship

• If your child’s name is legally changed after his or her entry into the United States, you may file Form N-565, Application for Replacement of Naturalization/Citizenship Document. Follow the directions on the form on where to file this application
• Be sure to include the proper fee and evidence of your child’s legal name. The Form N-565 can be found at the website www.uscis.gov

Your child’s name on Certificate of Citizenship is incorrect or contains misspellings

• The name on your child’s certificate may not agree with how you want it to appear
• The information on your child’s certificate is the same as the information on your child’s legal documents in the Immigrant Data Summary issued by the American Consulate
  • USCIS can not legally change your child’s name. That must be done through court proceedings.
• If the U.S. Embassy, Consulate or USCIS made an error, it will be corrected without fee
  • Please file a Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document, with a written explanation of the error, mail the original Certificate of Citizenship and 2 new photos to: 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
130 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, New York, 14202
Attn: CCA Unit

• If there was an error on our part, we will correct it without fee.  However, if the information provided during the Form I-600 adjudication and visa issuance shows the child’s legal name to be the same as on in the Certificate of Citizenship, another certificate may not be issued

The date of birth on my child’s Certificate of Citizenship is incorrect

• The date of birth on your child’s certificate may not match the age you believe your child to be
• The information on your child’s certificate is the same information on the child’s legal documents which were submitted to generate the biographical information in the Immigrant Data Summary issued by the U.S. Embassy or consulate
• We must use the age as it appears in the legal documents, as received from the evidence presented to USCIS or U.S. Embassy or consulate
• If USCIS determines that the U.S. Embassy, consulate, or USCIS made an error, it will be corrected without fee.  However, if the information provided during the Form I-600 adjudication and visa issuance shows the child’s legal age to be in the same as on the Certificate of Citizenship, another certificate may not be issued.
• You may file Form N-565, Application for Replacement of Naturalization/Citizenship Document. Follow the directions on the form on where to file this application
• Be sure to include the proper fee and evidence of your child’s age. The Form N-565 can be found at the website www.uscis.gov.

Note:  Even if USCIS cannot change its official records concerning your child’s date of birth, the law of your State of residence may permit you to obtain an amended birth record or other evidence of a different birth date.  You may use that State document, to the extent permitted by State law, to prove your child’s legal age.

We lost my child’s Certificate of Citizenship

• If your child’s certificate is lost or destroyed you may file Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document, with fee.  Follow the directions on the form on where to file this application.
• Be sure to include the proper fee and evidence of your child’s legal name. The Form N-565 can be found at the website www.uscis.gov.

We adopted more than one child, and have not received all of their certificates

• The visas of sibling groups of children who entered together may have been separated during the certificate preparation process.  Each child’s certificate will be mailed separately.  Please allow 50 days from the date of entry into the United States for the receipt of all the certificates.

dolls

If you are interested in African American or Ethiopian dolls, you HAVE got to go over to this blog and check out her Barbies she made in to Ethiopian dolls. They are fantastic and she even shows you how to do it. Very cool. http://ethiopia.limbo13.com/index.php/ethiopian_barbie/

Interesting article regarding racial issues and the Hunger Games

As parents of ethnic minority children, this article is a must read. Just when we have the hope that our children will live in a less racist world.............. the truth is exposed in a very disturbing way. OK, I know, things are better than in our history, but deep down inside, I think we all hope that people are more open and accepting than they really are. This article is worth a read.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/03/hunger-games-and-trayvon-martin.html

And, here is a question if you are so inclined to answer in the comments....
When do you have that first talk with your child about discrimination and what they might face? Before or after they have their first encounter?

Wall Street journal article

Here is an interesting article on Ethiopian adoption. It was published in some Wall Street Journal publications.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577368243366708110.html

travel advisories

For your information and to help you plan your trip to Ethiopia. Here is the Brittish travel advice page which has great info on it for Ethiopia.
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/sub-saharan-africa/ethiopia

Here is the link to the current info from the US government.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1113.html

Have safe and fun trip!

Mark Beal Colorado Springs area therapist

I know a few families who have used Mark's services at various times. All have wonderful reviews to give of him. I would suggest checking his office out if you are in need of a therapist for adoption or challenging issues with your kids.

http://www.advancedparenting4kids.com/bealm.html

Mark C. Beal, M.S.W., L.S.W., has a unique perspective working with challenging children. He views challenging children through the lens of a foster and adoptive parent, and as a mental health professional. He is a licensed social worker practicing in his own agency, The Child Attachment and Recovery Enterprise (C.A.R.E.), Inc. In addition, Mark sees challenging children through the personal lens of being an adopted child himself who has successfully completed a Master’s degree.
Mark’s passion is to equip parents with tools to meet the unique needs of challenging children. He speaks from experience and from the heart.
Mark is excited about teaching, training, and supporting parents with challenging children. He has given presentations on how to cope with difficult, defiant, and/or diagnosed children to school districts, colleges, child placement agencies, residential treatment facilities, parent support groups, mental health professionals, and foster/adoptive parents.
Mark received his Master’s degree from the University of Denver in Family Therapy and Trauma. He interned as a counselor in a school-based clinic and as a therapist in a county drug and alcohol clinic. He also has worked as a Mental Health Technician at a psychiatric hospital and residential treatment facility supporting teens and children diagnosed with RAD, ODD, Bipolar Disorder, Conduct Disorder, ADHD, and also with those teens and children who are sex offenders.
Mark is an experienced presenter as he has worked as a professional actor/director for twenty-three years. He lived internationally for over nine years, including two years supervising teens on drama teams traveling throughout Australia, New Zealand, Papua, New Guinea, Pakistan, and India. Mark moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 1991, to supervise the drama teams traveling throughout the Rocky Mountain Region. Mark, and his wife of 25 years, continue to live with their three adoptive children in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Mark is now a certified trainer for Advanced Parenting for Challenging Children. If you are interested in contacting Mark to ask questions or schedule an Advanced Parenting seminar, his address is:

Mark C. Beal, M.S.W., L.S.W.
The Child Attachment and Recovery Enterprise (C.A.R.E.), Inc.
P.O. Box 25184
Colorado Springs, CO 80936
(719) 338-3537
mark.beal.msw@comcast.net