4 results for month: 11/2003
New York State Citizens’ Coalition for Children
This website never ceases to amaze me. For a great example of an exceptional foster parent / child advocacy / adoption / permanency / sibling rights / children's rights organization website visit the New York State Citizens' Coalition for Children. Not only does Executive Director Judith Ashton put out some great information (she's been doing this since 1975!), she also advocates, lobbies and puts on a fantastic annual conference. Whether you are in New York or New Delhi, a visit to NYSCCC's site will enrich your mind and provide a great model of grassroots advocacy. Way to go Judith and the New York State Citizens' Coalition for Children! Keep up ...
Snowflake Adoptions
Last year Nightlight Christian Adoptions received a federal grant to promote so called Snowflake (a/k/a embryo) adoptions. The pro-life community views this largely as a means to protect the "life" inherent in every embryo which are commonly used and discarded in assisted reproduction procedures. Nightlight is forging new ground in this area which is largely unregulated and in a legal gray area. Are snowflake "adoptions" really adoptions? Are embryos "property"? Does contract, adoption or estate law govern alone or in combination? Nightlight attempts to answer some of these questions in this FAQ, but raises more questions than answers. What do you ...
Great Lakes Reality Check
What's going on in Michigan? I completely agree with this editorial - it's a no brainer - convicted sex offenders should not be allowed to adopt. My question is why was a sex offender allowed to adopt in the first place? What happened to the criminal background check? The homestudy? Judicial review? That's the more important story here. Why were Michigan adoption professionals duped? Even worse, did they know and do nothing? Anyone with some insight drop me a line.
UPDATE: On November 12, 2003 the Michigan legislature passed a law which states that a "child shall not be placed with a prospective adoptive parent and an adoption order shall not be ...
Congress Passes Adoption Promotion Act of 2003
On Friday, November 14th, the Senate passed the House version of The Adoption Promotion Act of 2003. The legislation extends the ASFA-created Adoption Incentive Program for another five years and focus greater attention on finding adoptive families for older children in foster care.
The bill authorizes $43 million per year in performance-based incentives to states that are successful in increasing the number of children adopted from foster care. The bonus program, first created as part of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, has contributed to the substantial increase in adoptions in recent years--from 31,000 in fiscal year 1997 to approxim...