The Department of State issued this announcement today:

On April 1, 2008, the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention) enters into force for the United States. As of this date, the provisions of the Convention will govern both immigrating (incoming) and emigrating (outgoing) intercountry adoptions between the United States and other Convention countries.

Implementing the Convention and the IAA has led to many changes in the U.S. intercountry adoption process. Some of these key changes are:

1. Federal accreditation, through accrediting entities designated by the Department, of adoption service providers who provide certain key adoption services in connection with Convention adoption cases.

2. The replacement of the Department of Homeland Security petition forms I-600A and I-600 for orphans with new forms I-800A and I-800 for “Convention adoptees.”

3. New documents will be issued by consular officers overseas in Convention cases stating that the requirements of the Convention and the IAA have been met for an adoption or custody declaration completed overseas. These are the Hague Adoption Certificate (HAC) or Hague Custody Certificate (HCC), which will accompany the IH-3 or IH-4 immigrant visa.

4. For the outgoing adoption or custody declaration completed in the United States, the Department will issue the HAC or Hague Custody Declaration (HCD) stating that the requirements of the Convention and the IAA have been met.

5. The creation of the Adoption Tracking Service (ATS) through which the Department will track both incoming and outgoing cases. For the first time, it will be possible to track the cases of American children who are adopted by citizens of other (Hague) countries. Previously there was no federal role in these cases, and no system for collecting information from the various states about the numbers and destinations of American children adopted abroad.

6. The creation of a Hague Complaint Registry to track public complaints related to intercountry adoptions.

For more information on the Convention’s implementation in the United States, please visit the “Intercountry Adoption” section of their website.

Orphan and Adoption Advocacy Group Calls On Churches, Organizations And Individuals Across The Globe To Attend Summit IV;

Hosted by Calvary Chapel in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, May 1-3, 2008

Nashville, TN (March 13, 2008) The Christian Alliance for Orphans, consisting of adoption placement agencies, orphan care organizations and church leaders whose collective aim is to inform, educate and engage God’s people to love and care for the world’s 143 million orphans, will hold its fourth annual Summit from May 1 through 3rd at Calvary Chapel in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

This annual gathering presents an opportunity for believers to unite their voices in speaking up for those who have no voice, and their passions in motivating other believers to ask God how they might engage in the lives of orphans around the world. Churches as well as other interested individuals are encouraged to attend. Main session speakers at Summit IV include: Jedd Medefind, Special Assistant to President George W. Bush & Deputy Director of the White House Faith-Based Initiative; John Fuller, of “Focus on the Family” Radio and VP of their Audio & New Media Division; Kay Warren, author and wife of Pastor Rick Warren, and Executive Director of Saddleback’s HIV Initiative; Pastor Bob Coy, Sr. of host church Calvary Chapel, Ft. Lauderdale; Howard Dayton, co-founder of Crown Financial Ministries; and Dennis Rainey, best-selling author, president and co-founder of Family Life and host of “Family Life Today” radio program. Entertainment and worship will be provided by recording artist and adoptive dad of two children from China, Geoff Moore and World Help’s Children of the World Choir.

As in previous summits, Summit IV will offer breakout sessions in which attendees can learn from church orphan ministry leaders and advocacy organizations from across the globe. Sessions are designed to educate attendees on how to start or improve adoption, foster care, and/or orphan care ministries within their churches, as well as how to enhance the practices of the orphan care professional.

Members of the Alliance must meet specific doctrinal, financial, and program standards in order to be part of the Alliance’s agency referral list. These standards give churches added assurance of the foundational beliefs and integrity of agencies with which they are looking to partner in serving orphans.

The unified effort of The Christian Alliance for Orphans reaches the broader Christian community with the needs of orphans, and presents opportunities for adoption, foster care, and orphan ministry worldwide. The Alliance’s vision is simple — that every orphan may experience and know the love of Jesus Christ. Together, the Alliance believes Jesus’ followers can and must be His hands and feet in reaching the orphan for His glory.

Cost is only $89 per person if you register by April 11th.
Registration after April 11th and through May 1st is $125 per person.

For more information about the Christian Alliance for Orphans and registration, please visit their website at www.christianalliancefororphans.org.

It has come to our attention today that our password-protected feature is not working correctly. This feature is to provide children extra privacy on the Internet for a variety of reasons. To use this feature you simply have to be a basic user. It is not necessary for basic users to upgrade to a premium membership in order to request and receive a password. We apologize for the error and for the extra step that this will cause over the course of the next few days. If you would like more information about a child that is password protected please contact the listing agency. The agency information is located on the photolisting. We are working on this error and will have it fixed shortly so that the password will immediately be sent to your registered email address as intended. Thank you for your understanding!

Hello Precious.org Community,

It has come to our attention today that our password-protected feature is not working correctly. This feature is to provide children extra privacy on the Internet for a variety of reasons. To use this feature you simply have to be a basic user. It is not necessary for basic users to upgrade to a premium membership in order to request and receive a password. We apologize for the error and for the extra step that this will cause over the course of the next few days. If you would like more information about a child that is password protected please contact the listing agency. The agency information is located on the photolisting. We are working on this error and will have it fixed shortly so that the password will immediately be sent to your registered email address as intended. Thank you for your understanding!

Kind Regards,

Katie Brabson, MSW
www.precious.org
katie@precious.org

I did not create this. I found it on a friend’s blogspot and it came to her through an email. I thought it was cute and worth sharing!

YOU KNOW YOU’RE AN ADOPTIVE PARENT IF…

1. The fact that there are 143 million children without a parent to kiss them goodnight has made you lose sleep.

2. You realize DNA has nothing to do with love & family.

3. You can’t watch Adoption Stories on TLC without sobbing.

4. The fact that, if 7% of Christians adopted 1 child there would be no orphans in the world, is convicting to you. (A pretty amazing statistic. Also, of 240,000 Americans inquiring about foster adoption this year, only about 10,000 will follow through and become adoptive parents. Data compiled by Listening to Parents)

5. You spend free time surfing blogs about families who’ve experienced the blessing of adoption.

6. It drives you crazy when people ask you about adopted child’s “real” parents.

7. You’ve been “pregnant” with your adoptive child longer than it takes an elephant to give birth.

8. You’d no idea how you’d afford to adopt, but stepped out in faith anyway, knowing He’d provide.

9. You’ve taken an airplane half-way around the world with a child you just met.

10. You believe God’s heart’s for adoption. See James 1:27 and Romans 8.

11. You realize that welcoming a child into your heart & family is one of the most important legacies you could ever leave on this earth.

12. You know what the word “Dossier” means & you can actually pronounce it correctly!

13. You’ve welcomed a social worker into the most private parts of your life.

14. You shudder when people say your child’s so lucky that you adopted them, knowing full well you’re the blessed one to have him or her in your life.

I think I could add to this list. Here is my addition:

You know you are an adoptive parent if…..

15. you are constantly asking the bookstores to carry a selection of children’s books that have stories where kids that look like yours are the hero’s.

16. when someone talks about addictions you quietly think in your head that have an addiction of your own- adoption!

Does anyone have something to add to the list?

Caroline McGrath, mother of two beautiful children, submitted the following poem. It honors the sacred ways in which our children become fully and completely our own~ through birth and through adoption.

One of Each

The United States Department of State issued this warning about adopting from the country of Vietnam at this time:

The Department of State warns potential adoptive parents and adoption service providers of the risk of initiating new adoptions from Vietnam at this time. The 2005 Memorandum of Agreement, required by Vietnamese law to authorize adoptions between the United States and Vietnam, expires on September 1, 2008. The United States is strongly committed to continuing intercountry adoptions from Vietnam if possible. Our primary concern is to ensure that the children and families involved in the adoption process are protected from exploitation. The Government of Vietnam shares this concern. Both countries acknowledge that more needs to be done.

Discussions about revision and renewal of the Agreement are a priority for both governments, but there is no certainty a new Agreement will be in place on September 1. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires. We do not know whether the Government of Vietnam will continue to process pending cases if the current Agreement expires before a new Agreement takes effect. Moreover, given concerns about the existing level of protection for children in Vietnam, it is unlikely that the Agreement can be renewed in its current form.

The United States Government stands ready to support Vietnam’s efforts to strengthen and improve accountability in its adoption system and to develop its capacity to regulate adoptions. In some cases, our background investigations have revealed evidence of irregularities, ranging from forged or altered documentation to cases where children have been offered for adoption without the apparent knowledge or consent of their birth parents.

In response to these problems, in November 2007, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Department of State instituted new procedures to verify that children identified for placement meet the requirements of Vietnamese and U.S. law, before the child has been adopted under Vietnamese law. The Embassy strongly advises prospective adoptive parents not to travel to Vietnam until they have received notification from the Embassy that their case is ready for final processing and travel is appropriate. Parents should contact the Embassy immediately if anyone, including their adoption service provider, encourages them to travel to Vietnam prior to receiving this notification. The Embassy can work together with adoption service providers, Vietnam’s Department of International Adoptions, and local authorities to resolve issues such as the scheduling of a Giving and Receiving Ceremony.

We continue to urge Vietnam to comply with the terms of the 2005 Agreement and to establish a process that protects the interests of all parties involved in adoptions.

For more information on this matter please visit the Department of State website on Intercountry adoption.

Department of State Announcement: Accrediting Entities Announce Accredited or Approved Adoption Service Providers

Today, February 29, 2008, is the Uniform Notification Date (UND), the date set by the Department of State on which the designated Accrediting Entities (AEs) must announce their accreditation and approval decisions. Adoption service providers who applied for accreditation or approval to provide services in Hague Convention adoptions through either of the two AEs — the Council on Accreditation (COA) or the Colorado Department of Human Services (CO) — will be notified by their respective AE whether their application has been granted, denied, or remains pending. The list of accredited, temporarily accredited, and approved providers will be posted on the Department of State website, www.Travel.State.Gov, in the Children and Families section, as of 5:00 pm today.

Please note that only those adoption service providers that have been accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved by either COA or CO as of today will be able to provide adoption services in connection with Hague adoption cases after the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption enters into force for the United States on April 1, 2008. However, the names of additional adoption service providers will be added to the list on the Department of State website on a rolling basis once we have received notification from the AE’s that they are subsequently accredited or approved. Please direct specific questions about the accreditation or approval status of an individual adoption service provider to the applicable Accrediting Entity.

Information on intercountry adoption under the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention, including which adoption cases are covered, is available in the Children and Families / Intercountry Adoption section of the Department of State website. Please direct any further general questions to the U.S. Central Authority at AdoptionUSCA@state.gov.

On February 12, 2008, Guatemala’s National Council for Adoptions (CNA) announced that the registration period has ended for registering adoption cases “entered” in Guatemala before December 31, 2007. They informed the U.S. Department of State that during the registration period nearly 2,900 cases were registered.

The CNA also explained to the Department of State that “constancias” (individual certifications of registration) will not be issued to verify that a case was registered. Each “aviso” that was filed with the reconstituted CNA, however, received a number and a signature from a CNA official. It is this number and signature that will be used as proof that the case was registered. The CNA will provide a list of the registered adoption cases directly to the PGN once they have completed processing all the cases.

The Department of State has advised that prospective adoptive parents should consult with their legal representatives in Guatemala about issues concerning the status of their adoption cases. The Department of State will continue to monitor the situation and provide additional information as it becomes available. For more information please go to the Department of State website.

Last Sunday, our pastor led us through a description of the very early church. These men, women and children had just watched Jesus crucified, resurrected and ascended to heaven. They were full of wonder and enthusiasm and zeal. They ate together in each other’s homes, every day. If anyone needed something, someone else sold off stuff to take care of it. They shared their possession and their lives. (Acts 2:42-47).
And what happened? Our pastor pointed out the radical nature of this band of Jesus-followers and how it turned its culture upside-down.

This small new religion, just by their sharing of meals and possessions, reversed the social and economic order of the day. In the Roman empire, large banquets were a way for a host to show where his guests ranked in the social hierarchy, displaying who was currently in the inner circle. These meals excluded people. But the church meals were inclusive, open to widows, orphans, and foreigners, the socially and economically marginalized groups. The church became a social and economic safely net for the poor. It was radical.

In the early church, God’s people became family to those who had no family. I think of the Roman practice when a baby was born. The baby was set at the feet of the father. If he picked up the child, the boy or girl was legitimized and became part of the family. Babies that were not picked up, perhaps because they looked weak, were outcast – often taken outside the city to designated places where they would die of exposure or from wild animals. The Christians reversed this horrible practice. They went out and brought the babies back, adopting them into their own families, and eventually putting pressure on the government to outlaw the practice.

Who needs a new family today? War refugees and children fleeing from those who would make them child soldiers. Big sisters trying to raise their younger siblings after their parents die of AIDS. Foster children longing for a permanent home. Women abandoned by men and left to make heart-wrenching decisions about their babies.

Can our churches weave these people into our families as exuberantly as the early church? Can we do it by sharing meals together in homes and selling our things to care for others? What keeps us from this?

A New Mission. Our life in Christ should overflow outward, forward, into the world. The early church became a new social order. It was joyous and inclusive. It was generous. People followed Christ in community. When we adopt children, we should not just be bringing them into our individual families, but into communities of celebrating people who enfold them into love and worship.

If we do, perhaps we will see God work as he did in this early church. They didn’t have their own buildings, but they enjoyed the favor of all the people and God added daily to their number those who were being saved.

Cities all across the Greco-Roman world had a taste of the eternal party that never ends. Let’s join in!