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AdoptTogether has officially partnered with Pure Charity to become: ADOPTTOGETHER powered by Pure Charity   Their new partnership will be official this  Wednesday, April 26.   All of your basic questions & answers about their new partnership is featured below, but feel free to email Sueann@adopttogether.org with any further questions! We are so EXCITED! Here's to a brighter future for all AdoptTogether families, and greater strides towards the vision of a world with a family for every child!   Five Changes You May Notice on the New AdoptTogether.org   1. A New Look AdoptTogether.org is going to look far different than before. Essentially, it will have all the same functionality with an upgraded look and feel to make donating and creating a profile just as easy as before. NOTE: All preexisting family profile information and donation history will automatically be transferred to the new site . 2....

On April 21, an official from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women and Children (MOWA) informed U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa that it is suspending its processing of intercountry adoption cases, effective immediately. The U.S. Department of State does not yet know how long this suspension will last. The Office of Children’s Issues and the Embassy are working with MOWA to seek more information on the terms of the suspension. We will urge MOWA to complete processing of cases that were in progress prior to this suspension. If you have questions about your pending case, please contact your Adoption Service Provider. You may also write to ConsAdoptionAddis@state.gov if you have questions about an adoption-related visa application or immigrant petition. You may copy the Office of Children’s Issues at Adoption@state.gov on your email to the Embassy if you wish. Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information on intercountry adoption in Ethiopia.

Dear Adoption Community, We would like to share the following information we received from the National Benefits Center: Effective today, the National Benefits Center will consolidate our public email boxes into one box. We will only use NBC.Adoptions@uscis.dhs.gov and have deactivated NBC.Hague@uscis.dhs.gov . We are in the process of updating our contact information on https://www.uscis.gov/adoption/uscis-adoption-contact-information . In the meantime, messages received to the NBC.Hague mailbox will be automatically redirected to the NBC.Adoptions mailbox through a system ‘rule’ for one year, expiring on May 1, 2018. We would appreciate your assistance in directing your staff and our customers to NBC.Adoptions@uscis.dhs.gov going forward. Our contact telephone number remains the same (877-424-8374 ). Sincerely, The Office of Children’s Issues Official  UNCLASSIFIED

Annual Report on Intercountry Adoptions Narrative The 2016 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption, as required by Section 104 of the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, provides data and other information on intercountry adoptions to and from the United States from October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016. The report is released after a thorough review of the available data to ensure the information is accurate. In addition to the actual data, this review includes a summary of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Office of Children’s Issues, Adoption Division’s efforts for the fiscal year. Continue reading (PDF)

Dear families, Less than 5 months ago, we were facing the imposition of new regulations from the Department of State which would have raised the cost of adoptions for our client families, created financial and operational obstacles for our agencies and guaranteed the continued decline in intercountry adoptions. Eighty-eight agencies and other adoption service providers stepped up and signed an open letter to the Department of State urging that these proposed regulations be withdrawn.  In addition, almost 28,000 adoption supporters joined us and signed our Petition to the Department of State.  On April 4 th , our collective voices were heard and the proposed regulations were withdrawn. Whether you supported our efforts or not, we urge you to continue to fight the attack on intercountry adoptions.  We have tasked our SaveAdoptions.org web site to continue the fight.  For the next 4-6 weeks, we will be highlighting the travesty in Nepal.  Whether you hav...

Hello Hopscotch Families, I’d like to introduce you to Patricia Carrascal, an audiovisual producer from Argentina. At the moment Patricia is working on a documentary about adoption from around the world. She is searching for families to share their international adoption stories.  If your family is in the beginning stages of adoption, Patricia would like to record your journey, step by step. Patricia is an adoptive mom and knows it’s a complicated process. Attached you’ll find a flyer with the documentary proposal in more detail. If your family would like to participate, you can contact Patricia directly at patcarrascal@gmail.com With encouragement, Robin CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PDF FLYER.

Armenian Potluck Saturday, April 22, 2017 5:00 pm First Southern Methodist Church, 2017 Fork Shoals Rd. (Near the I-185 Southern connector tollroad.) Greenville, SC Please bring: Meat dish Salad or dessert Beverage RSVP Kathy Chorbajian 864-269-3533 kchorb@gmail.com

Source: www.zerotothree.org Jan 14, 2016 By Claire Lerner What’s a parent to do when one of the most commonly used tools for discipline is called into question? A number of recent articles in popular media that denounce the use of time-outs have sent many parents, understandably, into a tailspin. Critics believe that instead of helping children calm down, time-outs have the opposite effect—causing children to become even more distressed and “dysregulated,” or out of control. Further, children can become so overwhelmed by the disruption in their relationship with their parent during time-out (and by the shame they feel for being “bad”) that their emotional upset increases and their likelihood of learning from the experience decreases. But all of these negative outcomes assume that time-out is approached with anger, shaming, and harshness by the parent. When implemented this way—as punishment—time-out can no doubt be detrimental to the child. Continue reading.

Source: www.zerotothree.org By Claire Lerner Feb 29, 2016 This article encourages parents to reflect on experiences they had growing up in order to make conscious decisions about what practices they want to repeat, and not repeat, with their own children. ------------------------------------- How many times have you opened your mouth to say something and heard your parents’ words come out? You’re not alone. Most parents have had this experience. It helps you see how deeply you are influenced by your childhood experiences and why it’s so important to become aware of how they shape your approach to parenting today. Just as you are your child’s first teacher, your parents were yours. Things they said and did, their way of being and relating to you and others, laid the foundation for many of your beliefs, values, attitudes, and parenting practices. Few parents, if any, had a lesson plan in mind. The transfer of information mostly took place through everyday interactions. You ...

At some point all parents face behavioral challenges with their children. Adopted children have often had unfortunate experiences that may increase misbehavior and make traditional discipline techniques ineffective. Join Phyllis Booth, Founder of Theraplay®, and Mandy Jones, LCSW, JD, certified Theraplay® therapist at the Center for Lifelong Adoption Support, as they provide an empathetic understanding of why negative behaviors occur and discuss tools, techniques and activities that parents can use to tame temper tantrums and create positive relationships. Topics will include: Differences adopted children face in childhood and how that affects behavior Behavioral and self-regulation issues both at home and in school What parents can do to curb negative behaviors How parents can create happy, connected family relationships Continue reading.