Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Enjoying the nice spring weather

Trying out her new wheels


Any toads in here?

Collecting rocks is serious business!


First time with sidewalk chalk (Anna, not Greg!)

Monday, March 14, 2011

China will now allow single women to adopt through the Special Focus Program!!

Big News from China! See the notice below:

Government departments and adoption agencies in receiving countries, In order to promote special needs child adoption and guarantee the basic interests of the orphaned and disabled children, CCAA decides to accept the adoption applications from female single applicants to adopt according to the requirements listed in this notice, starting from March 15, 2011:

•Female single applicants are allowed to adopt
special focus children listed on the special Needs System of CCAA.
•One applicant can only adopt one special focus child at a time, with an interval of at least one year between two adoptions.
•The applicant shall have reached the age of 30 years and are under 50. For applicants over 50, the age difference between the child to be adopted and the applicant shall be no more than 45 years.
•The applicant shall provide her civil status certificate. Unmarried applicants shall provide certification for being single and non-homosexual; divorced applicants shall provide the divorce certificate of the last marriage; and widowed applicants shall provide the death certificate of their ex-spouse.
•The reason of being single and attitude towards marriage. Applicants shall have clear indication of willingness to appoint male figures as role models for the adopted child, and welcome male friends to join family gatherings.
•Applicants shall have received inter-country adoption training and training specifically for special needs child adoption so as to understand fully the physical and psychological needs of special needs children.
•Detailed nurturing and rehabilitation plan. Applicants shall be qualified personally and socially for caring special needs children and have wide social and family supporting network which can provide assistance any time.
•Guardians appointed by the applicants shall provide written statement as consent to act as the guardian of the adopted child. X. If the applicant has a stable relationship and lives with a male partner, t he requirements of couple applicants shall be applied.
•Applicants shall be healthy both physically and mentally according to the requirements by CCAA for prospective adoptive couples.
•Applicants shall be law abiding with no criminal records, and have good moral quality and conduct
•The family annual income shall reach $10,000 per family member, including the prospective adoptee and the family net assets value should reach $100,000.
•The applicant shall have good medical insurance which can cover the medical expense of the adopted child.
•Applicants shall be experienced in child caring or be occupied in child-related fields, such as doctor, nurse, teacher, child psychological counselor, etc. It's best that the applicants have already had successful experience in caring for special needs children.
•The number of children in the applicant's family under the age of 18 years shall be no more than two, and the youngest one should have reached the age of 6 years old.
•Applicants shall be fully prepared for adopting a special focus child.
•Social workers shall provide the following information fully and timely in the home study reports besides family visit interviews: Adoption motive. The decision to adopt a special focus child shall be well-considered. Applicants shall be capable of caring for a special need child and be responsible for the well-being of the child.


If you would like to know more about the special focus program, about some great agencies out there that can help you, or about the 2000+ children that are waiting each month, please send me an email or a blog comment and I will be more than happy to help you!!

Friday, March 04, 2011

As The Time Goes By: URGENT: Qiong Needs a Family!

In China, when a child turns 14 they "age out" of the international adoption program ... Please click on the link below to read about Qiong and please pray for her...

As The Time Goes By: URGENT: Qiong Needs a Family!