The Chapel's Compassion for Kids Ministry

FACT SHEET AIMS TO HELP PARENTS UNDERSTAND POST-ADOPTION SERVICES

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:25:34 +0000

The Child Welfare Information Gateway recently published an updated fact sheet, “Finding and Using Postadoption Services,” to assist adoptive parents in understanding issues that arise after adoption and the types of post-adoption services that address these needs. It also provides guidance on finding services, paying for them, and advocating for their development.

From the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute. Read the Adoption Institute’s report on post-adoption services, Keeping the Promise.”

Adoption Tax Credit made Permanent

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:14:16 +0000

NEW LAW MAKES ADOPTION TAX CREDIT PERMANENT –– BUT NOT REFUNDABLE
Congress passed and the President signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240) in early January. It included a permanent extension of the adoption tax credit and income exclusion for employer-paid or -reimbursed adoption expenses. The IRS has not yet released official numbers, but the projected maximum amount of the adoption credit for 2013 is expected to be $12,770. The law does not make the credit refundable, so it will only benefit families who have federal income tax liability. The credit is still “flat” for special needs adoptions, so those families do not need to document qualifying expenses. Save the Adoption Tax Credit has FAQs and the State Policy Advocacy and Reform Center and North American Council on Adoptable Children offer Adoption Tax Credit: A Guide for State Advocates.

Source: Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute Dec 2012-Jan 2013 newsletter

UNTANGLING THE WEB

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:51:48 +0000

THE INTERNET’S TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT ON ADOPTION

Author: Jeanne A. Howard, Ph.D.
Published: 2012 December, New York NY: Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute
Document Type: Policy and Practice Perspective (70 pages)
Availability: PDF Full Report | Executive Summary | Press Release

The first-ever examination of the Internet’s impact on adoption concludes that social media and other elements of this modern technology are having “transformative” effects – positive and negative – on adoption policy, practice and millions of people’s lives, while raising serious legal, ethical and procedural concerns that have yet to be addressed.

“Untangling the Web: The Internet’s Transformative Impact on Adoption” is the initial publication of a multiyear research project on the subject by the Donaldson Adoption Institute. Its key findings include:

There is a growing “commodification” of adoption on the web, replete with dubious practices, and a shift away from the perspective that its primary purpose is to find families for children.
Finding birth relatives is becoming increasingly easy and commonplace, with significant institutional and personal implications, including the likely end of the era of “closed” adoption.
A growing number of young adoptees are forming relationships with birth relatives, sometimes without their adoptive parents’ knowledge and usually without guidance or preparation.
A rising number of websites offer useful, positive resources and expedite the adoption of children and youth who need families, notably including those with special needs.

Read the full article here