Children in Families First Act of 2013 (CHIFF) Introduced in the Senate Today!
Children Need Families. We Need Your Voice!
As you know, every day, all over the world, more children find themselves living without families – on the streets, in orphanages, in refugee camps. By some estimates, there are now 200 million orphans in the world. But the U.S. Government, through our foreign policy and programming, is not helping to turn this around.
Americans know that family is the bedrock of any society, and that children need the permanent love, care, and protection of a family to grow into healthy, productive adults. Although U.S. foreign policy in theory emphasizes preserving or creating safe, permanent families for children through family reunification, kinship care, domestic or intercountry adoption, the structures and coordination are not there to make it happen. We need change, and NCFA believes this legislation will get us on the right path.
It seeks to redirect a portion of the funds the U.S. currently spends on children living abroad toward ensuring that all children grow up in a family. It restructures the way intercountry adoption is more appropriately placing an office in the Department of State, providing clear direction to not just regulate, but advocate for children in families, and a better balance of adoption support and administration between Department of State and USCIS. (For more detail see the attached, complete legislation.)
Adoption Service Providers can play a key role in helping to make this happen. Tell your stories. Explain your concerns. As trusted experts in this professional community, your voices will be valuable in explaining to congress and the public why this matters.
Here are specific ways you can get involved.
- Call your Members of Congress! Ask them to cosponsor the Children in Families First Act of 2013 (S.1530). Let them know that you want your government to make a family for every child a priority!
- Connect with Congress online. Social media allows you to directly connect with your elected officials.
- Visit your members of Congress or their staff.
- Email a letter to your 3 Members of Congress.
- Be a part of the community! Like CHIFF on Facebook and Twitter!
To learn more, please regularly visit: www.childreninfamiliesfirst.org
Read MoreMeet April Wareham!
We are excited to give our families a little glimpse of the staff here at GWCA and CAN, so that you can see who we are and why we love doing just what we do. Every day we come to work and love to connect with our families, but now we are going to show you whose faces are behind every phone call, letter and E-mail received.
April is just a fun-loving person, plain and simple. She has this certain zest for life that’s undeniable and infectious. It couldn’t be more perfect that by definition her job allows her to enjoy life to it’s fullest! April is always off trotting the globe, bringing back new experiences and perspectives to share with our staff. When we are graced by her presence in the office, she is often behind-the-scenes opening and developing all of the new country programs that drive Children of All Nations. She is a vital part of our organization and we lucky enough to have someone this passionate on board!
So without further ado…meet April!
1. What is your job title and description here at GWCA?
I’m the Development and Program Management Specialist. My job is to research and compile information on new countries we plan to open, liaise with the foreign governments and orphanages we work with, hire and manage overseas staff, and coordinate our orphan care projects.
2. How long have you been working at GWCA?
It will be 3 years in September.
3. What do you enjoy most about your job?
My favorite part of my job is when I get to travel and visit the children in the orphanages because it always gives me ideas on more ways we can help them beyond adoption. Meeting the kids and seeing their conditions first-hand motivates me to work harder at my job so we can do more for them. I also love visiting new countries and getting to know the culture, cuisine and local languages.
4. What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
The most difficult aspect is navigating the international adoption laws between the U.S. and the countries we work in, as they often change without warning. There are also many challenges to developing programs thanks to bureaucratic delays, lax adoption laws in the sending countries, and just cultural differences that can impede communication and timeliness to the adoption process.
5. How have you grown personally from working at GWCA and with their families?
Above all I have learned patience and understanding, as working with many different countries, cultures and across multiple language barriers can be challenging. That being said, it’s allowed me to realize that we must keep the big picture in mind, which is helping the children, to achieve these qualities. I’ve been able to grow spiritually, emotionally and professionally by working in a field that allows for so much good to be done in the world.
6. Why do you love adoption?
My favorite quote is “Be the change you wish to see in the world” by Gandhi. Adoption allows us to “be the change” by helping children who would otherwise have never known what a hug from a mother or father is like. Changing the world starts with one person at a time, and if there is one less orphan in the world, and one more family is created in love, then that surely is a great way to impact positive worldwide change in which the ripple effects could be far greater than we imagined.
Fun facts about April:
1. I have been to over 15 countries on 4 continents.
2. Once, in Rwanda, I ate fried grasshoppers that I helped catch and “prepare” for dinner.
3. I speak fluent Spanish and have lived a total of about a year in Latin America.
4. I was the editor of my high school newspaper and yearbook.
5. As a kid, I used to organize little holiday parades with other kids in my neighborhood, and we would parade around the block singing some holiday song for our parents with our dogs, little decorated wagons, bikes, etc to celebrate.
“April is a joy to be around! She is always passionate and excited about something that’s upcoming! She’s also responsible for so much of the growth that’s occurred within CAN the past few years and we owe a lot of credit to her.” -April’s Co-Worker
Read MoreNoah and Nora Need You Now!
At GWCA/CAN our waiting children deserve as much advocacy and support as possible. We know their forever family is also waiting for them, and our mission is to provide you with as much information on these kiddos as possible! Today, we are highlighting Noah and Nora, a sibling group from our Bulgaria program! Are you their forever family?
**For more information on Noah and Nora, please contact: Emily@childrenofallnations.com**
Noah and Nora are siblings that were placed in the care of their local village in 2006 due to negligence and maltreatment. Noah, male, was born in July of 2003. He is healthy and up to date on all of his immunizations. The reports indicate delay in development but with the tendency of improvement. His time in the child center has brought positive changes in his concentration and observation skills and there has been a significant enrichment of his vocabulary. He is very energetic can skateboard and ride a bike. He has adapted to the condition and order in the center and has a well-established bond with is mentor. He is currently in the third grad and is adapting well in school. Unlike previous years, he has good motivation for learning. Even the smallest success makes him want to try harder! He likes to tell stories and fairytales and to memorize short poems. He participates in different daily activities, shows responsiveness and responsibility. Nora, female, was born in June of 2004. She is healthy and up to date on all of her immunizations. The report indicated delays in neuro-psychical development and suggestions to work with psychologist, speech therapist and resource teacher are recommended. She active and energetic and enjoys participating in different games. Nora’s fine motor skills are delayed, but there are positive changes due to work with the center. The report indicates speech-language development delays and indicates there is a Phonematic hearing is disturbed but she can handle sound analysis and synthesis. She understands the meaning of simple words but meets difficulties with complicated and abstract concepts. Speech and language therapy are recommended. Nora has a strong personality and prefers to be the leader. The report describes her as “whimsical” She has adapted to conditions at the center but does not always keep the established rules. She is attached and has an established bond with her mentor. She is a 2nd grade student at a new school and has had some difficulty adjusting. There seems to be a little regression in her behavior and relations. The activities with the resource teacher are continued in the new school year. She gladly participates in singing, but articulation of words causes difficulties. She is expressing her emotions with singing and has stage behavior. There are established some basic daily habits and skills. She learned fast how to serve and clean the table. She shows desire to help after feeding with the vacuum cleaner in the dining room. In such cases she participates with joy and is willing to do the assigned tasks.
**For more information on Noah and Nora, please contact: Emily@childrenofallnations.com**
Read More