TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION

Hey everyone!

A few reminders....

First, our adoption calss for may is Transracial Adoption, taught by the fabulous Amy Turner. Amy is a counselor at LDSFS who has adopted transracially herself and is exceptionally insightful & knowledgable.  This is a wonderful class for those starting the process, or for those who have already adopted. Join us at LDS Family Services this Thursday, May 24th at 7:00 pm.

Next, our FSA Committee Meeting will be held directly before the Transracial Adoption class, from 6-7:00 at LDSFS. Pleas join us to learn all about what the FSA is doing to help in the adoption community & to get involved.

Thanks-- hope to see you Thursday!!

Birth Mother Panel

Hey everyone!  Just a quick reminder that LDS Family Services and the FSA are hosting a Birth Mother Panel this Thursday, April 26th at 7:00 pm at LDS Family Services Building, 4455 Allen Lane, Suite #130. This is one of our most wonderful, insightful, touching classes & whether you are considering adoption, hoping to adopt for the first time, or just someone who loves adoption, we hope you'll join us.

Especially For Families, a Workshop

The FSA is hosting a workshop, entitled "Especially For Families" on Saturday, April 28th from 1:00- 4:00 at the 3400 W. Charleston Chapel (Charleston & I-15). Classes will be taught by experts in their fields & include:

Timeless Principles of Financial Security

Strenthening Your Marriage

Tough Kid Techniques

Raising Positive, Confident Teens

Parenting Skills

Adoption 101

Please join us as we rise to the call to set our houses in order & raise our kids in truth & light.

(Nursery will be provided)

Photo Op!

Attention ALL parents of adopted children!! This Saturday, April 7th, the FSA is hosting a photoshoot for an adoption book to be used in outreach projects. The session will be from 4:00- 6:00 at Discovery Park by the Henderson Multigen Center. Girls please wear pink & boys please wear blue for our kids group photo shot. Please RSVP to nevadafsa@gmail.com if you can make it. The more the merrier, hope to see you there!

March Adoption Class

There is a change in the Date/Time for our March adoption class. It will be held on WEDNESDAY, March 28th at 7:00 pm at LDS Family Services. This month, the class will be about Infertility & Medical Issues/Questions/Concerns with adoption. We have some great speakers & it is a great opportunity to get to know the other adopting couples, the FSA members, and your case worker. Everyone is also invited to join the FSA Committee meeting that evening at 6:00 pm. Hope to see you all there!

TAX TIME

It is that time of year again... TAX TIME!

We ALL know and/or have heard about the complicated and very stressful situation with filing for the adoption tax credit that many people had to deal with last year.... We want to help you avoid that situation!

HERE is a great website that gives you step by step help and instructions and tips on how to avoid long delays on your refund and how to navigate through the process.

Hope it helps and GOOD LUCK!

Where's the BEEF?

Do you want to own this awesome shirt? Do you want to help get a kid out of foster care and into a forever family? You can do both by purchasing this shirt....

Proceeds from every shirt sold go to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption! Go HERE and see how you can help.

The following message is posted on the National FSA blog. If you are interested in trying to help advocate for keeping the Adoption Tax Credit (by writing a letter or making a phone call), please read the directions below.

Grassroots Advocacy Kit on the Adoption Tax Credit Now Available from NCFA

The National Council For Adoption (NCFA), a longtime supporter of the adoption tax credit, joins fellow adoption and child welfare advocates in calling for the extension of the adoption tax credit for families adopting children via foster care, intercountry, or domestic infant adoption.
Since the adoption tax credit was first established in 1997, it has helped lessen the financial burden of adoption for thousands of income-qualifying American families that might not otherwise have been able to adopt.

The current maximum allowable adoption tax credit of $13,360 for all adoptive families is set to sunset on December 31, 2012.Unless Congress acts to extend or make permanent the adoption tax credit, it will revert at this time to a maximum of $6,000 for parents adopting children with special needs. No tax credit will be available to other adoptive parents.

“Without the adoption tax credit, many families that are willing and hoping to adopt will find themselves unable to afford it. And many families that adopt despite the loss of the tax credit will find it more difficult to provide for their children if they have assumed significant debt in order to adopt,” says Chuck Johnson. “The adoption tax credit must be extended in order to support adoptive parents and help as many children as possible find love and permanency through adoption.”

Download NCFA's Adoption Tax Credit Advocacy Kit

This new advocacy kit from NCFA will help you educate policymakers, members of the media, and others on the importance of extending the adoption tax credit to promote permanency for children. The advocacy kit contains a backgrounder on the adoption tax credit, a letter that can be used as a template to email or write to members of Congress, a talking points guide for phone calls with legislators’ offices, a sample newspaper opinion editorial or letter to the editor, and further ways to join NCFA in our advocacy for the adoption tax credit and other important policies. All resources in NCFA’s new Adoption Tax Credit Advocacy Kit can be downloaded from our website,http://e2.ma/click/ci8h/smqnz/whh4b.

FSA National Board Member Brian Anderson reported, "I clicked on the advocacy link. They have sample letters, phone scripts and general info in order to advocate for the extension of the Adoption Tax Credit. It made it so simple to write them, that I just completed writing [my congressmen]. Now everyone else do the same!! Very easy."Go to http://www.house.gov/ And type in your zip code to find your CongressmanGo to http://www.senate.gov/ and goto the drop-down box that says Find Your Senator. Click Go and and then Choose your state on the next page.

STAY INFORMED

To receive important news and alerts on the adoption tax credit, sign up here.

SHARE

We encourage you to print, copy, share, and disseminate the Adoption Tax Credit Advocacy Kit with others to increase the impact we can make together.

**To visit the National FSA blog, click:

http://www.familiessupportingadoption.blogspot.com/

National Conference

Have you always wanted to go to the FSA National Conference but never been able to get there? Do you wonder what kind of classes they have? We have a chance for you to check out what they offer at this wonderful event... and for you to get some education hours if you need those too.

The National Conference is held every year in Utah and offers great information for all stages of the adoption process... from just starting out with the paperwork... all the way through dealing with your kids in school and problems they might come across being the "adopted kid" in the class.

We have FINALLY received the information on how to access the recordings and we wanted to share it with you.

* Go to http://ldsfsa.bluestep.net
* There is a little white box at the bottom right of this page that says "FSA Member Sign In" click on this
* It will take you to a sign in page - You can use your "Its About Love" account name and password to sign in
* This will take you to the FSA home page
* In the blue strip down the left side of the page, you will see:
National/Regional Conference Information and Presentations - Click on that
* Scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will see the presentations from 2004-2009 with 2010 coming soon
* You can choose any presentation you wish from this list and it will count toward your education requirements

Tax Credit Webinar

Webinars on the U.S. Federal Adoption Tax Credit

"NACAC is offering two webinars on the adoption tax credit—on February 10 (2:30 p.m. central time) and February 16 (7 p.m. central time). During these webinars, participants will learn the steps they need to take to file for the U.S. federal adoption tax credit, whether they adopted in 2011 or as far back as 2005. Presenter Josh Kroll will explain what parents need to do to take advantage of the credit, which became refundable in 2010 and 2011.

Key points include that parents do not need to have taxable income for the refundable credit and that parents who adopt children who receive adoption subsidy benefits do not need to have expenses to claim the credit. The session will focus on families who adopted children with special needs from foster care but will be applicable to all adoptive families as well."

Webinar registration is $15 for NACAC members and $20 for non-members.

Go to https://www.nacac.org/secure/webinarregistration.html to register

Welcome to 2012

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is ready for 2012! We also hope that on your list of New Year's Resolutions you included "get involved with adoption and FSA"!

We are excited about the new year and looking forward to getting things planned and on the schedule. We are going back to the "old way" and doing a monthly planning meeting, along with a monthly education class as well. This should give everyone a chance to get their required education hours faster and also give everyone a chance to meet other couples who are going through the process as well, and also let everyone get involved with Families Supporting Adoption and get involved with the events and activities that happen through the year. We hope this is a win-win for all parties.

The first meeting and education class of the year will take place on Thursday, January 26th at the LDS Family Services Office. The planning meetings are at 6pm and the education classes are at 7pm. Please come and join us for both (there is no requirement to be at the planning meeting just a desire to help out with events!)

If you have any questions leave us a comment, or email us at nevadafsa@gmail.com

National Adoption Month - Libraries

Once again this year we have teamed up with the local libraries (Henderson and Las Vegas/Clark County) and we have a display with pamphlets and books and a poster and each library in the Valley.

This is a great community outreach project and a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about adoption and National Adoption Month. We are so thankful to the libraries and for those helping to keep this project running. We know that it touches many. We have also teamed up with Catholic Charities, the Adoption Exchange and Premier Adoption in this effort.

Please take a minute or two to stop by your local library and take a look at the display and also be sure to let the library know how much you appreciate the display so we can be sure to continue this tradition in the years to come.

National Adoption Month - Church News

The church news has done a great job with an article that was published on Saturday, November 19th discussing National Adoption Month and family. We wanted to bring your attention to the article and the simple truths it is touching upon. We hope you will share the article with family and friends.


Go HERE for the article in whole.

National Adoption Month - Infertility

There was a great article in LDS Living - July 2011- with an interview with Ardeth Kapp. She answered questions about her service in the church but she also spoke about her infertility... see her answers below... You can also check out the entire article HERE.



Q – Your struggle with infertility has been a defining experience for you and one that you have often discussed. What do you hope people have learned (and will learn) from your experience?

I think that we all live with unfulfilled expectations. Everything in life doesn’t turn out just how we want—at least not on our time frame. This was the scripture that we have always said, but now we know: “Trust in the Lord with all thy heart; lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). You sometimes have to go through quite a journey to be able to look back and say, “Oh, yes. He was directing my path.” What we learned from that was about the things you have no control over, then you have to use your agency to determine alternatives, and use personal revelation to give you direction, which is a thing that we are each entitled to.

If we can learn to trust in the Lord with all our heart, even when it may not make sense, then in years to come we can feel comfortable that we did the Lord’s will and He blessed us all the way.

And I would just like to say this: the Lord’s first commandment was to love one another, and you don’t have to bear children to love them, or to help someone gain eternal life. You may not be able to give life, but you can help others gain eternal life. And no blessing will be denied, if we live worthily. We’ll all have our children. I say after 450,000 prayers I was given 450,000 young women to be responsible for! One for every blessing.

Q – What has infertility taught you about the unique situations of each member of the Church?

We all have challenges—we’re here to be tried and tested. There are those who would withdraw and separate themselves from opportunities that they might otherwise have had. But if we don’t wrap our arms around ourselves to pull away, but open our arms to reach out to others, then there are unlimited opportunities to love and share and give and bless.

The opportunities are all around us. I live not far from an elementary school, and I have children from the elementary school who come by my door—it’s usually when I’m the busiest, but I never turn them away! We have this little routine—they’ll knock on the door, and I’ll say, “How are you?” And they’ll say, “Better than I was, but not as good as I’m going to be!” Then I’ll say, “What are you going to do?” And they’ll say, “Try a little harder to be a little better!” Then I let them in, and they come in and go to the candy basket and put some candy in a bag, then they go into the library and choose a book—I have a whole row of children’s books—then they read to me. And they always sign the guest book before they leave. I don’t have to remind them—they remind me. Sometimes they’ll write, “Sister Kapp, you’re really cool.” One little boy that brought his friend put his around him and said, “She’s just like a grandma!” So there’s no limit to our opportunities.

One Day Project

Take a look at this great project and website... It is sponsored by National Adoption Month and wants to raise awareness of the ability to adopt from Foster Care!

National Adoption Month - For a Birthmother

Mark Schultz music video of his song "Everything to Me" dedicated to his birthmother

Waiting Wednesday - Join NCFA

What is NCFA? NCFA is the National Council for Adoption. Those of you who attended the FSA National Conference in August heard much about this organization and learned about the benefits and what the organization does for adoption. A missionary couple has been assigned to work with NCFA--Wayne & Vicki Allgaier. Wayne and Vicki attended the conference and encouraged members of FSA to also become members of NCFA. There is a new membership category for families and individuals who are interested in adoption.

Some benefits of membership are: NCFA’s working with legislators to make sure they are well informed as they consider legislation concerning adoption, to assure the support of healthy ethical adoption practices; the ability to participate in a members-only listserv, where you can communicate with other members who share similar interests and concerns and receive periodic postings from the NCFA office regarding what’s happening in the world of adoption.

If you attended the conference, your cost is only $25 for the year's membership. Otherwise, membership is $35 per year.

Information and the application form can be found at NCFA.

Thank you, thank you, thank you

We just wanted to say thank you to all of you who helped plan, those of you who attended and those of you who supported our great events this past weekend.

We had a wonderful Pancake Breakfast to kick-off National Adoption Month and we also held our third Adoption/Foster Care Fireside which was Valley wide. Both were a great success thanks to you.

We are excited about the month and look forward to sharing stories of adoption and foster care with you and also just celebrating adoption with our families and those we come in contact with and hope you will do the same. We want to get the word out about adoption and how it can change lives.

Enjoy the month!

Waiting Wednesday - November: National Adoption Month

During November: National Adoption Month a great thing to do while you are "waiting" is get involved and attend an adoption related activity. Many communities do adoption/foster care events during the month and this is a great place to network and meet others who are in the "waiting" process as well.

FSA is hosting a great Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, November 5th from 9-11am at the Alexander/Ferrell LDS Chapel. Join us to meet with others involved in Adoption.

FSA is also hosting a fireside on Sunday, November 6th at 7pm at the West Charleston Chapel and the topic will be Adoption and Foster Care. There will be a speaker from the State discussing the option of foster care through the State, you will hear about adoption from a birthmother's perspective, a couple who has adopted and you will also here from a representative from LDS Family Services.

November - National Adoption Month

November is here which means it is time to celebrate adoption and foster care! Take a look and read about the history of Adoption Month.

The first major effort to promote awareness of the need for adoptive families for children in the foster care system occurred in Massachusetts. In 1976, then-Governor Mike Dukakis proclaimed Adoption Week and the idea grew in popularity and spread throughout the nation. President Gerald Ford made the first National Adoption Week proclamation, and in 1990, the week was expanded to a month due to the number of states participating and the number of events.

During the month, states, communities, public and private organizations, businesses, families, and individuals celebrate adoption as a positive way to build families. Across the nation, activities and observances such as recognition dinners, public awareness and recruitment campaigns, and special events spotlight the needs of children who need permanent families. It also includes National Adoption Day, traditionally a Saturday, which is observed in courthouses across the nation as thousands of adoptions are finalized simultaneously. (http://www.national-adoption-month.adoption.com/)

Be sure to check the blog often this month as we will have information, ideas, tips, and just general adoption information regarding all areas of adoption and foster care.