In honor of foster care month coming up in May, the Iowa Foster and Adoptive Care Association is holding its 4th annual “Stride for Foster Care.” This fundraiser is a 3.2 mile walk that will benefit the 5000 children in Iowa foster care. Money raised from the Stride for Foster Care Walk will provide funds for children in foster care to get those special “extras” in life which they otherwise would not receive, such as musical instruments, senior pictures, sports participation, summer camp, etc. Funds raised will also help with developing new trainings for Iowa’s foster, adoptive and kinship parents.

If you are interested in this event, you can find more information on their website, IFAPA.

Can’t make it to West Des Moines? You can participate in their Virtual Walk, walk in your own community and still fundraise for your chance to earn great prizes!

We here at Adoption World Publishing, applaud the IFAPA for their great work.

Today is my Adoption Day

Adoption World Publishing has recently updated our Adoption Day button.

They are available individually or in bulk.

Contact Kate for more information, 319-365-3454.

According to the 2007 National Foster Care Adoption Attitudes Survey commissioned by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, many Americans have misperceptions about adoption from foster care.

Here’s the truth.

45% of Americans think children in foster care have entered the system because of juvenile delinquency.
Truth: Children enter the system after experiencing neglect, abandonment or abuse.

46% of Americans mistakenly think foster care adoption is expensive.
Truth: Foster care adoption is not expensive, and financial support is available.

67% of Americans considering adoption think the biological parents could take the child back.
Truth: Once a child is legally available for adoption, the birth parents no longer have parental rights to the child.

On any given day in North America, more than 500,000 children are in the foster care system, and nearly 145,000 of them are available for adoption, just waiting for the right family to find them.

• There are 423,773 children in the U.S. foster care system; 114,556 of these children are available for adoption. Their birth parent’s legal rights have been permanently terminated and children are left without a family.
• More children become available for adoption each year than are adopted. In 2009, 69,947 children had parental rights terminated by the courts, yet only 57,466 were adopted.
• Children often wait three years or more to be adopted, move three or more times in foster care and often are separated from siblings. The average age of waiting children is 8 years old.
• Last year, 29,471 children turned 18 and left the foster care system without an adoptive family.
• Adopting from foster care is affordable. Most child welfare agencies cover the costs of home studies and court fees, and provide post-adoption subsidies. Thousands of employers offer financial reimbursement and paid leave for employees who adopt and Federal and/or state adoption tax credits are available to most families.
• Nearly 40 percent of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child, according to the National Adoption Attitudes Survey. If just one in 500 of these adults adopted, every waiting child in foster care would have a permanent family.

Learn more at the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.

Adoption World Publishing also has materials available for use with foster-to-adopt children.

Your Foster Care Memory Book

My Adoption Workbook

Foster-to-Adopt Information

I just recently heard of The Red Scarf Project. It is the brain child of Orphan Foundation of America (OFA).

The Red Scarf Project sends red scarves in care packages to college students so that they have a hand-made item to wear. While they wear the scarf, they know that they are loved.

OFA put the first red scarves into Valentine’s Day Care Packages in 2005. That year we received 3,500 scarves to send to OFA students away at colleges and vocational schools. The next year, thanks to the support of online knitting blog sites, they received an amazing 15,000 scarves. And the program just keeps growing.

I love this idea. People are always wondering how they can make a difference. This project allows people to work on a small scale but leave a big impact on a foster child.

Kudos to the Orphan Foundation of America.

If you would like to be involved in this worthwhile project, click here
http://orphan.org/what-we-do/programs/red-scarf-project/

Early this fall I took a road trip to Texas to watch my son graduate from Air Force Basic Training. It was a long trip–20 hours one way! I needed something to occupy the time so I asked a friend with a large personal library for a book. She was so excited I asked! She just finished reading ‘Choosing to SEE’ by Mary Beth Chapman and insisted that I read it. I was hesitant to take it because I knew it was going to be a tear jerker and my poor husband was going to have to put up with my blubbering in the car. I packed lots of tissues and my husband and I started the long car ride.

Mary Beth Chapman is the wife of Christian song writer/singer Steven Curtis Chapman. The book is a result of the unexpected and brutal loss of their youngest adopted daughter, Maria. Mary Beth honestly shares her personal journey from childhood, to the challenges of married life, to the wrestling match with God about adopting children. The couple had 3 children when God nudged the family to adopt. Mary Beth had many reservations about adopting, including whether or not she could love the adopted child as much as her biological children. She fretted needlessly because as soon as she saw the tiny Chinese girl, her heart melted and love poured out so strongly that she knew this little girl was hers.

The Chapman family adopted two more girls from China. The youngest was Maria. She was five when she was tragically struck in the Chapman driveway and died from her injuries. Mary Beth recalls the anguish, struggles and grief of losing a child. Through the journey of grieving, the family has chosen to SEE with faith and hope.

Mary Beth has told her kids for years that ‘God doesn’t make mistakes.’ Through the tears, weeping, praying and hoping came the act of honoring God with a care facility for Chinese, special needs orphans called Maria’s Big House of Hope. Maria’s death has given hundreds of orphans hope for desperately needed surgeries and medical attention. Visit www.showhope.org to learn more about Maria’s story and how Show Hope is changing the lives of Chinese orphans.

To read more about Mary Beth Chapman and her ministry visit www.marybethchapman.com.

Susan Readnour

Like so many of you I have been anxiously awaiting the results of the mid-term election (and I’m glad it’s over!). While I don’t plan to get partisan here, I do want to express my concerns about how the results will affect the entire area of adoption & foster care funding.

Perhaps actions taken by the new Congress will stimulate and improve the economy, resulting in more revenue for government and private agencies involved with social services. Or, as I fear, government spending will be cut, with social and child services taking an especially hard hit.

In any case we are certainly facing uneasy times ahead. Hopefully our children and teenagers who need lifebooks and all of the other services needed to enrich their lives will not be forgotten!

Chuck Carpenter

I recently became aware of a series of TV ads promoting adoptive and foster care. These clever TV spots feature foster or adoptive parents in “parenting” situations where their performance is less than “Leave It to Beaver” perfect. The ads close with the slogan, “You Don’t Have to be Perfect to be a Perfect Parent.”

The ads do an excellent job of presenting the need for foster or adoptive parents in a humorous manner, while still getting the message across that these kids want a home with parents whose love for kids and desire to open their home to them is far more important than parental perfection.

These TV spots, along with radio and print ads, are part on an ongoing, award winning national adoption recruitment campaign done in partnership with AdoptUsKids, the Ad Council and the Children’s Bureau. You can find the ads on YouTube by searching for “adoption PSA.”

AdoptUsKids’ mission is two-fold: to raise public awareness about the need for foster and adoptive families for children in the public welfare system and to assist in the recruitment and retention of foster and adoptive families and connect them with children. Their web site is www.adoptuskids.org.

The Ad Council is a non-profit organization that produces, distributes and promotes public service announcements (PSA) on behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies in issue areas that include improving the quality of life for children, among many others. Go to www.adcouncil.org for more information.

The Children’s Bureau is one of two bureaus within the Administration for Children and Families, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services. Their mission is to provide for the safety, permanency and well being of children through leadership, support for necessary services and productive partnerships with states and local communities. The web site for the Children’s Bureau is www.acf.hhs.gov.

Dan Nekvinda

Grey’s Anatomy Actress Adopts Baby

Actress Katherine Heigl and her husband, Josh Kelley, have completed their adoption of a baby girl from Korea.

The couple have named the 10-month-old Nancy Leigh, after the actress’s mother Nancy and her sister Margaret Leigh, said Heigl’s spokeswoman Melissa Kates.

The little girl will go by the nickname Naleigh.

The couple are putting photos of their daughter up on the www.jasonheiglfoundation.org website. The foundation was started by Nancy and Katherine Heigl in loving memory of their son and brother. The sites focus is to increase the awareness of inhumane animal treatment. They also have Heigl Hounds of Hope which finds homes for large dogs in shelters.

Heigl plays Dr Izzie Stevens on ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” and is currently shooting the film “Life As We Know It”. She was also in the popular movie, “27 Dresses”.

She and Kelley, a singer-songwriter, have been married since 2007.

Famous People who once were either a foster child and/or were adopted.

I recently saw some interesting profiles on famous people who had once been in foster homes. Some of their stories were inspiring.

Daunte Culpepper, the Minnesota Vikings football player, for example, was born in prison. His birth mom had been a prostitute. He was placed in a foster home with a wonderful mom. When he was 5 years old, his birth mom was out of prison and ready to regain custody of Daunte. He was quite sad about being away from his beloved foster mom. Eventually his birth mom agreed to let him go back to his foster mom where he stayed for the rest of his youth. He was quoted as saying, “She loved me enough to let me go.”

Famous People who were Adopted

Historical figures:

Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia; Aristotle, Greek Philosopher; Julius Caesar, Roman Emperor; Crazy Horse, Lakota War Chief; Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa; Moses, Jewish Prophet; Brigham Young, Mormon religious leader; Dalai Lama, Exiled leader of Tibet

Sports Figures

Mark Acre, Baseball Player; Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Figure skaters; Daunte Culpepper, Football player; Eric Dickerson, Football player; Evonne Goolagong, Tennis player; Tim Green, Football player; Scott Hamilton, Figure skater; Greg Louganis, Diver; Alonzo Mourning, Basketball player; Mike Tyson, Boxer

Actors/Musicians

Richard Burton, Actor; Dean Cain, Actor; Melissa Gilbert, Actor; Deborah Harry, Singer; Faith Hill, Singer; Ray Liotta, Actor; Little Richard, Singer; Marilyn Monroe, Actor; Priscilla Presley, Actor; Shania Twain, Singer

Politicians

William Bradford, Political leader; Bill Clinton, US President; Gerald Ford, US President; Newt Gingrich, Politician; Samuel Houston, General and politician; Andrew Jackson, US President; Jim Ross Lightfoot, US Representative

HHS Awards $35 Million to States for Increasing Adoptions

The US Dept of Health and Human Services awarded $35 Million to 38 states and Puerto Rico for increasing the number of children adopted from Foster Care. In order to be awarded funds, states had to increase the number of children adopted relative to baseline data. They specifically were awarded more funds for each child over the age of 9 adopted and children with additional special needs.

I have spoken to a couple state offices that were awarded funds. They are very proud of what they have achieved and plan to continue to increase the number of adoptions in their state. All children are deserving of the safety and stability of a family.

States receiving the award are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. Puerto Rico also qualified for an incentive award.