Nepal Has Lifted Ban on Foreign Adoptions..

This is wonderful news for waiting familes. Nepal has announced that it is lifting its ban on foreign adoptions.

Article Links:

Nepal to allow foreign adoptions

Lifting of Nepal child adoption ban

Nepal to resume international adoptions

US Citizenship & Immigration Services Official Announcement Regarding I-600A

USCIS Announces Adoption Policy for Hague Transition Cases Grandfathered Form I-600A Affected
WASHINGTON –U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that prospective adoptive parents already in the process of adopting a child from a country that has implemented the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention) who filed a Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, prior to April 1, 2008, and who have received the one time no-charge extension, may file one additional Form I-600A, and continue to proceed with their intercountry adoption through the “orphan” process. The new Form I-600A must be filed before the current approval expires, and only if the prospective adoptive parents have not yet filed the corresponding Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative.

U.S. law and regulations allow individuals who began the intercountry adoption process by filing Form I-600A or Form I-600, before April 1, 2008, to continue using these pre-Hague Adoption Convention forms and procedures even if they are adopting a child from a Hague Adoption Convention country. However, depending on the time that it takes prospective adoptive parents to be matched with a child and file Form I-600, the approval of the I-600A might expire before the prospective adoptive parents are able to file Form I-600. By allowing the filing of one new Form I-600A prior to the expiration of the current approved Form I-600A, USCIS is allowing prospective adoptive parents who have been grandfathered into the pre-Hague Adoption Convention process to continue to proceed under this “orphan” process, provided the child’s home country agrees.

If the Form I-600A is no longer valid, prospective adoptive parents must file a Form I-800A, Application for Determination of Suitability to Adopt a Child from a Convention Country, with a home study which meets all of the requirements for a Hague Adoption Convention home study. Once a Form I-800A is approved, the Form I-800, Petition to Classify Convention Adoptee as an Immediate Relativemay be filed on behalf of the prospective adoptive chil

Starfish Foster Home Fundraiser

November is National Adoption Month

Support the Starfish Babies Bracelet Fundraiser and Help Fund Four Surgeries
There is a Chinese proverb that says "an invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance." The red thread on this bracelet is far from invisible. Instead, it is designed for those who wear it to show their support of Starfish as we help those children connected, but not yet united with their forever families.
This November, we hope to raise $20,000 to sponsor four additional surgeries through the sale of the Starfish Babies Bracelets designed by Ettika. Ettika, a boutique artisan firm that accessorizes many celebrities, is supporting our mission through a special price break on these high-end bracelets. Each piece is crafted from genuine Greek leather. The starfish jewel is cast using pewter metal and individually hand-dipped in 14K gold.

Friends of Starfish may purchase this lovely bracelet for $222.08 by clicking on the pink starfish graphic on the left side of this page or clicking here Donate Now . Please make sure to select the "Starfish Bracelet Fundraiser" option to ensure that your donation is directed toward the right program. You may also email Cindy Klaja (cmklaja@yahoo.com) for more information.

Letters from China...Bringing Eliana Home

This wonderful family is currently in China to bring home their beautiful daughter. Follow along with them as they meet her for the first time. Their travel blog is 'Letters From China'.

UNICEF report on adoption in Nepal.

Link to 60 page report:

ADOPTING the rights of the child

A study on intercountry adoption and its influence on child protection in
Nepal

By UNICEF and Terre des hommes Foundation

*This is a very detailed report of the situation today regarding adoption from Nepal.

A new trend in adoption...families are beginning to adopt children from around the world who are HIV positive.

A new trend is emerging in international adoption. Families are beginning to adopt HIV positive children from around the world. One of the most prominent countries is Ethiopia. There are several articles on line about this. Below are some links if you are interested in learning more.

Americans adopting HIV-positive kids from Ethiopia Associated Press Article

Americans adopt HIV-positive kids from Ethiopia Christian Science Monitor

Zeeland family honored at White House for adopting HIV-positive child Mlive.com

Evidently only one of the 88 children who were orphaned in the earthquake has been adopted. It is believed that it is because many of them are disabled. Perhaps they will now consider parents from around the world.

Click on the link below to read the article:

China says little interest in 88 quake orphans up for adoption

US-Vietnam adoption pact ends, hundreds in limbo

The US-Vietnam adoption agreement expired yesterday 9/1/08.

Click on the article title to read the Associated Press Report:

US-Vietnam adoption pact ends, hundreds in limbo

HELP CHILDREN RECOVER FROM EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA

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US Department of State...Notice Concerning Transfer of Pending Convention Cases to Accredited/Approved ASPs

This is taken directly from the US Department of State Web Page

Notice Concerning Transfer of Pending Convention Cases to Accredited/Approved ASPs


Adoption service providers (ASPs) that have been denied accreditation or approval may have pending adoption cases that are now, or will likely become, Convention cases before they can be brought to a conclusion. Such ASPs are urged to transfer any such cases expeditiously to an accredited, temporarily accredited or approved ASP. ASPs that have been denied accreditation or approval should activate their plans for transferring pending Convention cases to accredited, temporarily accredited, or approved ASPs in a timely and transparent manner, including refunding fees to prospective adoptive parents for services not yet provided. (All ASPs that applied for accreditation or approval provided a plan pursuant to 22 CFR 96.33(e) for transferring cases in the event an agency cannot see them to completion. Applicants for temporary accreditation were to have such a plan pursuant to 22 CFR 96.104(k).) Whether a transferred case may proceed on the same track it was on prior to the transfer to an accredited, temporarily accredited or approved ASP will depend largely on the facts of the case, the requirements of the country of origin and the regulations of the state in which the new ASP is located.

Vietnam and the Hague Convention

This article is from Thanhnien .com Lawmakers back bid to join Hague adoption convention

A man pushes two Vietnamese kids in a stroller outside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 International adoption responsibilities would be fielded by a single government agency if Vietnam joins the convention.

A majority of National Assembly’s Standing Committee members supported a bid to sign the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption Friday, scheduling a vote on the measure by the year’s end. The International Adopted Children Bureau, under the Minister of Justice, would be solely responsible for approving international adoption applications if Vietnam becomes a signatory on the convention, said Deputy Minister Hoang The Lien on the sidelines of the committee session. Currently, each provincial government ratifies its own international adoption applications. ADOPTION FIGURES Of 378 orphanages nationwide, 85 centers have enseprocess international adoption applications. Around 2,000 Vietnamese children are adopted into international families each year. Financial aid to orphanages would also be handled by the central government agency if Vietnam joins the convention, said Lien. The move would aim to ward off unhealthy competition between international adoption agencies and even among Vietnamese orphanages, he added. Lien said lawmakers would also work to remedy shortcomings in local adoption regulations, which many people had capitalized on to forge adoption applications. Under Vietnamese law, a child must be abandoned by their parents or orphaned to be adopted. Vietnamese parents who send their children to orphanages due to poverty do so only temporarily. But several criminals have faked documents leading agencies and adoptive parents to believe that such children were in fact abandoned. Lien said a recent case of adoption paperwork fraud in the northern province of Nam Dinh would be a major deterrent. Nam Dinh Province police arrested the head of a charity organization in Truc Ninh District on Thursday for allegedly forging adoption documents. Nam Dinh authorities began investigating two local charity organizations for their alleged involvement in dubious adoption paperwork in mid-July. Prior to Thursday, Nam Dinh police had arrested three people, including two communal health officials, for allegedly faking papers documenting the origins of babies they claimed to have found. Lien also said authorities would discuss other mismatches between Vietnamese laws and the Hague Convention. For example, under Vietnamese law, the maximum age for adoptees is 16, while the Hague Convention extends the adoption age to 18. Additionally, the Hague Convention stipulates that adopted children must jettison their legal ties with their parents while Vietnamese laws still allow adopted children to retain inheritance and other rights from their birth parents. Lien said Vietnam and the US may still cooperate to arrange adoptions in the future through a new agreement or the Hague Adoption Convention. In April, the Ministry of Justice dispelled accusations in an official US report of systematic baby-selling in Vietnam, saying it was “totally untrue.” Reported by Tuyet Nhung

Love Without Boundaries Unity Fund Contest

Monday, July 28, 2008

LWB UNITY FUND CONTEST

Okay, we are TOTALLY stealing a fabulous idea from the Old Red Barn Co (http://www.oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/) because we had so much fun entering and doing our own videos to try to win their quilt for our art auction. We lost….waahhh!

Starting TODAY, you have a chance to win a FABULOUSLY INCREDIBLE LWB PRIZE PACK in celebration of our Unity Fund launch. What is the Unity Fund, you ask? It is our new medical fund for impoverished families in China who cannot afford the life-saving medical procedures that their children need, in the hopes of keeping their families UNITED (hence the name) and actually preventing orphaned children. Yes, it is a big dream, but if we help even one more child stay with their family, that is beyond happiness for us. We are often approached by rural families who are desperate to help their children but who believe their only chance of healing them is to leave their child at an orphanage. We want to have a separate fund that we can use to bring HOPE to their lives, so that we can tell them immediately, “We know you love her, and yes we can help.” So in celebration of keeping families together, we are copying the contest held by the Old Red Barn Co and because we are busy people (ha ha) and want to save time, we are even copying their rules! Shameless we are!

First prize in this contest is an LWB prize pack, which includes:

A copy of our coffee table book, “Love’s Journey 2: The Red Thread”—a beautiful, hard cover book of over 250 pages with beautiful photos and stories about adoption.

PLUS a Red Thread Jewelry Set, valued at $125, which is SO BEAUTIFUL that you know you want it! Sterling silver, pearls, red silk cording…..did I mention BEAUTIFUL?!

PLUS one adult LWB t-shirt and one child’s LWB t-shirt.

PLUS (drum roll please because this is a biggie these days!) you will also win a FIFTY DOLLAR gas card to 7-Eleven donated by a friend of LWB!!! WOOHOO!! Free gas!!! Gas card! Gas card! Gas card!!! Okay, we admit that doesn’t exactly go with an LWB prize pack, but hey….we told you we were shameless and we want you to enter!

Total prize pack is worth over $250! Now that’s a fun contest, right?

Second prize will receive a Love’s Journey book, and third prize gets their choice of an adult or child’s LWB logo t-shirt.

All you have to do to enter and receive one chance in the drawing is email info@lwbmail.com and say “I support helping rural children in need.” That will count as one entry!

You earn FIVE extra entries into the drawing if you post an entry about our contest in your blog and let us know.

You get FIFTY ENTRIES (yes 5-0) if you make a video on why families are wonderful (to go along with our Unity theme) and mention the words “Live With Hope, Love Without Boundaries” at least once. Post it on Youtube with the header “Love Without Boundaries Unity Fund.” Send us your name and the link so we can credit you 50 chances! Since we are having fun with this celebration, we are going to follow the same rules and say we need your video to make us smile at least once. We know kids always make us smile, so we know this won’t be any problem!

International supporters are also welcome to enter. The contest will end Friday, August 15th at 7:00 p.m. EDT. Get your comments in before then. We’ll announce the winner on Saturday, August 16th! The winner will be selected by random drawing.

We are also having a $1 challenge to kick off this fund, where we are challenging EVERYONE we know to pop $1 in the mail (LWB, 306 S. Bryant, Ste. C-145, Edmond, OK 73034) to help a rural child in need. Who needs an extra diet Coke today when you could put those four quarters in an envelope to save a life? Can we get 5,000 people to send in $1? We won’t know until we try. Spread the word! And enter our contest!

Let’s celebrate the joy of families as we launch this new fund to help those families in China truly in need.

Good luck!