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Source: www.yahoo.com By Maya Chung A 9-year-old boy with Down syndrome has gone viral after his heartwarming version of one of Whitney Houston’s hit songs was posted online. Dane Miller, of Texas, belted out Houston’s “I Have Nothing” while riding in the car with his dad on Monday, but his mother, Danna Miller, said it’s something her son does often. “He’s been musical since around 2 years old,” Miller told InsideEdition.com . “He’s been playing the drums. He sings. He loves music. He puts his whole heart into everything he does.” See video.

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Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com By Bruce Henderson She’s a shy Jewish woman from Charlotte. He’s a little boy, apparently African and Muslim, who was screaming aboard a transatlantic flight. Their July 14 encounter between Brussels and New York made the eight-hour flight go easier for their fellow passengers. The virtually wordless connection – neither spoke the others’ language – also offered a lesson in compassion that has circulated widely online. By her account, Rochel Groner, 33, is among the least likely people to make a public display. “I’m the type of person who would let somebody step on my foot for like a half- hour before I would say something,” she says. But about an hour into the flight, a return home after Groner and her husband Bentzion chaperoned teens to Israel, Groner heard sounds of distress behind them. Not cries from a baby. Not a bored teen. “It was just kind of a shrieking without any words,” Groner says. “I recognized it right away as a ...

Interested in obtaining a Replacement for your Naturalization or Citizenship Certificate? USCIS has recently updated the form to be used: The new edition dated 06/13/17. Starting 09/22/2017, we will only accept the 06/13/17 edition. Until then, you can use the 12/23/16 edition. Learn more.

Source: https://creatingafamily.org/ Click here for books for younger children, older children, teens and tweens.

Register Now Open records, DNA testing, family tree websites, social media, Google, orphanage searches by other families, even a birth relative doing a reverse search to find information on your child; all can lead quite quickly to an unscheduled, and unprepared for, reunion. The question is no longer IF your child will one day (sooner rather than later) be able to locate a birth relative, but when. For most domestic adoptees, it is now just a matter of time. For international adoptees, the search is becoming easier and easier. Join Martha Osborne, adoptee, adoptive mother, and founder of RainbowKids.com , as she shares the realities of birth family search today and provides tips and tools to make informed choices, including: Talking to your pre-teen and teen about searching Gauging if your child is emotionally ready to conduct a search How to handle a birth relative reaching out directly through social media or email Identifying safety risks and how to avoid them ...

Source: https://creatingafamily.org/ Guest post by Carol Lozier, Forever-Families Image credit: adesigna Families experience great joy as they welcome newly adopted or foster children into their lives. When a child comes home, parents might start counseling right away or the need may not arise until a later time, such as adolescence. Identifying the right therapist can be a challenging task, especially if a parent is not familiar with the counseling field. This article gives parents direction on choosing the right adoption counselor for their child. There are many factors to consider, from insurance and office location, to the therapist’s degree and training. Any reputable therapist will be happy to answer questions about themselves and their practice. Some questions to ask the prospective therapist include: Do you have a masters’ degree (or greater) in a counseling related field? Counseling related fields include: psychology, social work, psychiatry, and marriage ...

Source: https://creatingafamily.org By Dawn Davenport Attachment is vital to emotional development. What can adoptive parents do to build the bonds of attachment with their adopted children? Join guest Dr. Dan Hughes, a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of children with attachment issues. He is the author of five books including Building the Bonds of Attachment and Attachment-Focused Parenting . Highlights of the show How much of an issue is attachment in different types of adoption (domestic, international, older child, etc.)? How does the inter-uterine environment affect a child? How does fetal alcohol syndrome affect attachment? Tips on building attachment with young children How can parents transition an adopted child to a daycare program without ruining attachment bonds? How can parents help their children work through attachment issues? How important is it for parents to make sure they are taking care of themselves? What can parents do when they feel l...

Source: https://creatingafamily.org/ By Dawn Davenport I’ve noticed a trend in the last several year–parents afraid to discipline their adopted kids or unable to say “no” for fear of damaging their attachment or ego. At times I wonder if we’ve created a monster by all our emphasis on attachment, but I firmly believe that adopted children, actually all children, desperately need us to say no and set limits. Doing so is not in contradiction to creating attachment–in fact, setting limits supports attachment! I recently read a book that I absolutely loved: Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years by Katie Naftzger, an adoption therapist and adult adoptee. This book would be the perfect read for all adoptive parents with kids 8+. I interviewed Ms.  Naftzger on a Creating a Family Radio show titled Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years . She was preaching to the choir with me. So much so that I invited her to do th...

Take $35 off Your Next Purchase of International or Domestic adoption education. (Purchase total must be $184 or greater.) Go to www.heartofthemattereducation.com to use coupon code  SSHOME17 for a $35 savings on a purchase of $184 or more. OFFER DETAILS: Choose any course or combination of courses that total $184 or more and use the coupon code  SSHOME17 at checkout for the $35 savings.. Offer valid through July 31, 2017.

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UPDATE #1:  We are receiving numerous questions about "What exactly has changed?"  To clarify, at this early-stage of review, it appears that the following changes have taken place: Youngest child in the home must be 3-years-old before a family may log-in their dossier Single females may still adopt, but may have only 2 children living at home. Youngest child must be 3 years of age (formerly it was 6 years). Singles may  now be up to 50 years older than child (formerly 45) Married couples may have up to 5 children in the home Families must wait one full year after an adoption is complete before applying to adopt another child Only one child may be adopted at a time  (unless a twin or sibling) Continue reading.

Source: http://www.adoptioncouncil.org/ By: Elizabeth Bartholet Important legislation has recently been introduced in Congress designed to transform the understanding of the rights of unparented children and relatedly of international adoption. This legislation amends the law governing the U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) annual reports on human rights violations. It requires that DOS consider for inclusion in future reports the violation of unparented children’s rights involved in shutting down international adoption and thus condemning children to ongoing institutionalization. For more information about this legislation, see http://cap.law.harvard.edu/current-legislation/ . All those who believe in children’s rights to family, all those who decry the restrictions on international adoption that have denied many tens of thousands of children the nurturing parents they need, should devote their best efforts to supporting this proposed legislation. It represents an extraordin...

Source: https://www.nytimes.com By Choe Sang-Hun Remember to protect your children’s rights to citizenship if your child was adopted prior to 2000.  The consequences are devastating if you have not obtained your child’s US citizenship.   SEOUL, South Korea — Phillip Clay was adopted at 8 into an American family in Philadelphia. Twenty-nine years later, in 2012, after numerous arrests and a struggle with drug addiction, he was deported back to his birth country, South Korea. He could not speak the local language, did not know a single person and did not receive appropriate care for mental health problems, which included bipolar disorder and alcohol and substance abuse. On May 21, Mr. Clay ended his life, jumping from the 14th floor of an apartment building north of Seoul. He was 42. To advocates of the rights of international adoptees, the suicide was a wrenching reminder of a problem the United States urgently needed to address: adoptees from abroad who never obtaine...