The Adoption Tax Credit was included in the last-minute legislation passed to prevent the "fiscal cliff" but it falls short of what many had hoped for. The tax credit was initially conceived to help support foster care adoptions. Many families who adopt from foster care are relatives, foster parents or families of modest financial means [...]
To the distress and dismay of many Americans, it was announced at the end of December that Russian president Vladamir Putin signed a law banning international adoptions to the U.S. This act is being considered retaliation for the Magnitsky Act passed by U.S. Congress in response to Russia's human rights violations. [Graphic from the New [...]
On December 19 the Protect Our Kids Act of 2012 (H.R. 6655) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives and sent to the Senate for consideration. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced Protect Our Kids legislation (S. 3705) in the U.S. Senate on December 21 with bipartisan support, including the 2011 version's sponsor, Sen. John [...]
On Monday, we posted about the Evan B. Donaldson report about the increase in the use of the internet and social media in adoptions. To highlight some of the personal stories about how the internet and social media have played a role in the lives of adopted individuals, adoptive parents and first/birth parents, here are [...]
This story did not make national headlines, but the story is an important one to understand for anyone working in international adoption. On December 7th, 2012, the Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act passed the senate. The bill was sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu, John Kerry, Dick Lugar and James Inhofe in a bipartisan effort to [...]
Last Thursday, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released its newest report focused on the impact of the internet on adoption. The report describes the impact of the internet and social media as having "transformative effects - positive and negative - on how adoption is perceived, practiced and in terms of the policies and laws [...]
The title of this blog post lists some of the potential policy solutions I've seen in policy discussions on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. As with most violent acts that catch the eye of the nation, advocates are calling for policy solutions that span the liberal-conservative political spectrum. Such knee-jerk solutions include stronger gun [...]
A webinar on engaging families around kinship care is available from the Florida's Center for the Advancement of Child Welfare Practice. This video could be helpful for practitioners looking for stragegies when working with families to provide kinship care. This video was created in 2008. Jack Levine and Ron Morris developed this video training. They [...]