| Welcome!
Zero Kids Waiting is the monthly eNewsletter of Minnesota Adoption Resource Network, a 33-year old organization that creates and supports lifelong nurturing families for children needing permanency. As an email subscriber to Zero Kids Waiting, you will receive a monthly update about what our organization and others are doing to promote adoption of Minnesota children and teens. To opt out of receiving Zero Kids Waiting and other announcements from Minnesota Adoption Resource Network including MN ADOPT training emails for parents and professionals, please click SafeUnsubscribe at the bottom of this newsletter. To learn more about Minnesota’s waiting children and our goal to reach Zero Kids Waiting visit State Adoption Exchange |
Zero Kids Waiting
is a program solely by Minnesota Adoption Resource Network
March 2013 – Volume 6, Issue 57
In This Issue
Welcome
Waiting Youth
World / National News
Local News
Pledge Zero Campaign
Donate Today
Quick Links
MN ADOPT
Zero Kids Waiting
State Adoption Exchange
Contact Us
Minnesota Adoption Resource Network
1221 Nicollet Mall
Suite #501
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Toll free: 866-303-6276
Local: 612-861-7115
Fax: 612-861-7112
info@mnadopt.org
www.mnadopt.org
Welcome!
Zero Kids Waiting is the monthly eNewsletter of Minnesota Adoption Resource Network, a 33-year old organization that creates and supports lifelong nurturing families for children needing permanency. As an email subscriber to Zero Kids Waiting, you will receive a monthly update about what our organization and others are doing to promote adoption of Minnesota children and teens.
To opt out of receiving Zero Kids Waiting and other announcements from Minnesota Adoption Resource Network including MN ADOPT training emails for parents and professionals, please click SafeUnsubscribe at the bottom of this newsletter.
Your email is solely used for the distribution of MARN newsletters, trainings and other news and will not be shared or broadcast.
To learn more about Minnesota’s waiting children and our goal to reach Zero Kids Waiting visit State Adoption Exchange
Waiting Youth
Sibling Ties Important for Carlos (11), Annie (14), Isaih (7), and Nevaeh (7)
Carlos, Annie, Isaih and Nevaeh are a unique group of brothers and sisters who want to be adopted by the same family. They’ve grown up together and are supportive of one another’s differences. Some are shy and quiet while others are social butterflies. Some like to be hugged and coddled while others like to maintain their own personal space. This energetic foursome plays sports, is active in the community and tries hard in school. Previous parenting experience would be a necessary in order to support the children’s need for intensive therapeutic services and to assure that their other needs are met. This lively group really wants to be adopted by a family who can provide unconditional commitment and offer realistic expectations. The family must be open to a creative adoption and be able to make each child feel special, loved and supported for a lifetime.
For more information about Carlos, Annie, Isaih and Nevaeh, contact Jesslyn Bolt at – jbolt@chsfs.org or 651.255.2249
World / National News
System of Baby Abandonment Debated in Europe
Reporter Kathy Lally in a February 11, 2013 Washington Post story profiled Julia Sasha Custer, who was adopted from Russia at age 5 and is now back in her country of origin teaching English on a Fullbright grant. Lally characterizes Custer’s story as mirroring the current dispute between Russia and America as to whether adoptions will continue between the countries. Custer says she has both an American and a Russian side. The latter she is exploring as she returns to Russia to encourage Russian intra-country adoption, prompting Americans to connect with Russian orphans.
For more information
Nebraska Uses Facebook to Find Kinship Connections
Facebook has become a new tool for the state of Nebraska in locating relatives to care for children in foster care. With a mission of reconnecting wards of the state with their families, Nebraska is using Social Media after becoming concerned that of the 5,539 wards of the state, 3,800 were living with non-relatives. Trained volunteers who pass a criminal background check assist with the state’s Family Finding program.
For more information
Grotevant Critiques Adoption Research
In an interview for “The Chronicle for Evidence-Based Mentoring,” respected adoption researcher Dr. Harold Grotevant suggested that researchers need to better integrate biological (genetic and physiological) and social influences on development in their studies. He also suggested that large samples of the adoption population are needed for studies that otherwise represent a tiny segment of the population that reflect the researcher’s interest. Dr. Grotevant is currently a Rudd Family Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
For more information
Local News
Mark Your Calendars, AdoptWalk – May 18, 2013
NACAC’s annual AdoptWalk to raise awareness about the need to find permanent families for children is slated for Saturday, May 18. 2013. Since 2004, this annual event has featured a pledge drive and walk for families or individuals, followed by a picnic and entertainment. This year AdoptWalk features a 2.8-mile walk around Lake Nokomis.
For more information
Summer Camp Scholarships Available for Kinship Kids
Kinship families are invited to attend a Summer Camp Fair to learn more about scholarships to a summer camp. Interested families must attend a mandatory meeting on Tuesday, March 19, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at Lutheran Social Service (LSS), 2400 Park Avenue in Minneapolis. Funding for scholarships are from the Pohlad Family Foundation and is sponsored by Raising Relative’s Children at LSS.
RSVP with the number of people who will be attending on or before March 13 by emailing connie.booth@lssmn.org
Governor Proposes Funds for Adoption
Governor Mark Dayton is addressing a discrepancy in payment to foster and adoptive families with a proposed $2.5 million to increase payments to families who adopt children under state guardianship. The Star Tribune in a March 13 story stated the imbalance in payments has become a disincentive for foster parents to consider adopting. Equalizing the payments for foster care, relative care and adoption is the governor’s solution to address Minnesota falling short of the federal goals regarding finding adoptive homes for children awaiting families.
For more information
Family Reunification Act Introduced
A new bill was introduced to the Minnesota Legislature on February 13 called the Family Reunification Act, S.F. 422. The legislation, if passed, would allow parents whose parental rights have been terminated to have their rights restored under certain circumstances. County attorneys could file petitions to reestablish the legal relationship for children at least 15 years of age who are under state guardianship. Re-establishing the legal parent-child relationship in certain circumstances, according to the authors of the bill, would prevent a higher risk of negative outcomes that occurs with children who age out of the foster care system without permanent resources.
For more information
Inside MARN
RAVE RUN~Minneapolis~To Benefit Minnesota Adoption Resource Network
When the sun goes down, the pace picks up. On your mark, get set, GLOW at The Rave Run on Friday, May 10. You can join your fellow runners at the starting line of this nighttime 5K through Valleyfair. With your registration package, you’ll also score a runner’s bib, a stylish event T-shirt, and a glow pack with glow glasses, a glow necklace, and LED bracelet. Get decked out in glow-in-the-dark gear for the 9 p.m. horn, and dash brightly through 3.1 miles of stunning lights and music, all presented by EDC artists and industry experts. After you cross the finish line, keep the celebration going with the wicked after-party.
Amazon is offering 1/2 price registration until March 20th. For more information
Rave Run Minneapolis website
Want even more? Check out The Rave Run on Facebook.
MN ADOPT to Host Two Day Conference Featuring National Adoption Experts
MN ADOPT announces a two-day conference for adoptive, foster, kinship parents and professionals on Friday, May 17 and Saturday, May 18, 2013 at the Marriott Minneapolis West in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota. Come hear from the experts as they present “Caring for Children Who Have Experienced Trauma” featuring Dr. Gregory Keck, founder of the Attachment and Bonding Center of Ohio and Dr. Anne Gearity, faculty member at the University of Minnesota and innovator of the Developmental Repair model. The conference includes two keynote presentations from Dr. Gregory Keck, a panel discussion featuring Dr. Keck and local adoption therapists, and a morning session with Dr. Anne Gearity. The fee for the each day is $25 per person and includes materials, continental breakfast, lunch, and refreshment breaks. For more information, contact us at 612-861-7115 or 866-303-6276 or email at info@mnadopt.org.
View conference flyer
Friday, May 17 (A Day for Professionals) Promoting Survival in Traumatized Children and Families: Raising the Standard in Effective Interventions – Register Now
Saturday, May 18 (A Day for Adoptive, Foster, & Kinship Parents) Promotion Survival in Traumatized Children and Families: Helping Children Still Believe – Register Now
Founder of the Beyond Consequences Model Comes to Minnesota
Heather T. Forbes, founder of the Beyond Consequences Institute, trauma and healing expert, will be speaking on Saturday, June 1, 2013 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Radisson BLU-Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Forbes will examine how stress and trauma affect a child’s ability to regulate behaviors and compromises a child’s ability to respond and develop relationships while offering strategies that go beyond traditional cognitive behavioral techniques in order to create healing homes for families with wounded children. The fee for the day training is $25 per person and includes materials, continental breakfast and lunch and refreshment breaks. For more information, contact us at 612-861-7115 or 866-303-6276 or email at info@mnadopt.org.
View conference flyer
Saturday, June 1, 2013, Beyond Consequences: Helping Families Heal – Register Now
Debbie Riley Presents Adoption Through the Eyes of Adolescents
Adoption influences and intensifies the normal tasks adolescents must accomplish (e.g. separation from parents, identity formation, decisions related to sexuality, etc.). Struggling with this extra layer of challenges and reconciling their past and future identities can trigger mild and sometimes serious emotional and behavioral issues both at home and school-particularly adopted teens who are raised by parents of a different race or culture. Debbie Riley, Chief Executive Officer of The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.), facilitates a compelling webinar session by offering excerpts from her book, Beneath the Mask: Understanding Adopted Teens on Thursday, March 28, 2013 from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (CDT). Ms. Riley is a nationally recognized adoption expert and dynamic speaker who has more than 30 years of professional experience at designing and developing nationally acclaimed adoption-competent programs for professionals, as well as her delivery of specialized counseling services to adopted children, teens, adults, and their families.
Date/Time
Thursday, March 28, 2013
12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (CDT)
Online
All you need is a computer with internet and telephone
Fee
$15.00 webinar – REGISTER NOW
* CDS will not be available for this webinar due to C.A.S.E. policies
*394 Will Move to ZERO in MN if…
Each Metro house of worship pledged to find a family for a waiting child or sibling group.
Corporations promoted adoption “in-house” through bulletin boards, kiosks and newsletters.
Populations who have been identified as potential parents — older career women, empty-nesters, communities of color — were better targeted in recruitment.
Barriers to adopting were reduced. Call us at 612-861-7115 if you are encountering any obstacles.
* The number of Minnesota children waiting for families has decreased from 650 to less than 400. While this shows progress our target is ZERO waiting children.
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1221 Nicollet Mall, Suite #501 Minneapolis, MN 55403
866.303.6276 ♦ 612.861.7112 ♦ www.zerokidswaiting.org
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