The Post-Placement Journey « Christian Alliance For Orphans

This week the Alliance hosted the Post Placement Journey webinar. Dr. Karyn Purvis and Amy Monroe provided practical insights and resources to equip adoption and foster care ministries to help families meet the challenges of loving, nurturing and building strong relationships with children from hard places. In case you missed it, you can view it here:

The Post-Placement Journey « Christian Alliance…, posted with vodpod

Adoption Stories

Three films about adoption premiere on PBS starting August 31.

Watch the full episode. See more POV.

If You Were Mine DVD Workshop

Hope for Orphan’s If You Were Mine Workshop

We invite you to investigate adoption from a biblical and practical perspective. This comprehensive resource explores the following topics:
* God’s heart for the orphan
* The processes and challenges of adoption
* Agency selection and funding options
* How to prepare yourself, your family, and your home
* What to expect when your child comes home

Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene
1000 N. Entrance Avenue
Kankakee, IL 60901

815-932-5314

FIRST Wednesday of each month, beginning September 1 through March 27-8pmFree child care provided
This is a FREE workshop

If You Were Mine DVD Workshop, posted with vodpod

If You Were Mine, A Workshop for Those Exploring Adoption

After a short summer vacation, the ministry team is back at it and gearing up for a great year.  This year, well at least the first seven months, will be dedicated to a DVD series put out by Family Life Ministry called “If You Were Mine, A Workshop for Those Exploring Adoption.”

Are you interested in adoption or know someone who is? This workshop is for you.  Come and invite a friend to join you as explore adoption from a biblical and practical perspective.  Topics covered include:   The processes and challenges of adoption, agency selection, funding options and many others as we learn more about adoption and God’s heart for the orphan.

Sessions will be held on the first Wednesday of each month beginning September 1 through March 2,  7-8pm in room 103 at Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene, 1000 N. Entrance Ave., Kankakee, Illinois  60901.  For more information, contact Tina Bruner @ 815-932-5314.

The workshop is free and free childcare is provided.

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Webinar on Understanding Medical Risks of International Adoption

RISK and PROMISE: An NCFA 90 Minute Webinar on Understanding Medical Risks of International Adoption

The National Council For Adoption invites prospective adoptive parents and adoption professionals to participate in the Risk and Promise Webinar – a 90-minute Hague-compliant training with 1.5 CUEs offered through Catholic University’s School of Social Work.

Wednesday, May 26 , 1:30 pm -3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

To Register : http://ncfaeducation.org/Registration/StartRegistration.jsp

Following the return of the seven-year-old Russian-born child by his mother in April, many have further questioned what are the risks of adopting an institutionalized child. This training will help answer this question and provide information to families and professionals that will help them make more fully informed decisions:

“Education is the best tool that adoption professionals and prospective adopting families have in understanding the risk and rewards of adopting a child from another country. This is one of the reasons we created our education webinar series. Dr. Ira Chasnoff is committed to helping families and adoption professionals better understand key medical issues for internationally adopted children, and it is for this reason that I have personally recommended Risk and Promise since it was first introduced. I am very excited to have Dr. Chasnoff as part of our series and delighted that he will share his worksheet analysis as well as other need-to-know information from his book with all attendees. ” – Chuck Johnson, acting CEO of the National Council For Adoption (NCFA)

– Presented by the author Ira Chasnoff, MD

Dr. Ira Chasnoff is the President of Children’s Research Triangle, a not-for-profit organization that works with high-risk children and their families. He is one of the nation’s leading researchers in the field of child development and the effects of alcohol and drug use on the newborn infant and child. He is the author of eight critically acclaimed books that explore how biological and environmental factors impact the development of substance-exposed children. In 2002, Dr. Chasnoff’s organization was selected by the Center for Disease Control as one of the five national centers for research into innovative treatment for children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. More information is available at www.ntiupstream.com.

– Moderated by Chuck Johnson, Acting CEO, National Council For Adoption

The National Council For Adoption will also offer 1.5 credit hours from The Catholic University School of Social Work.

Time of Webinar: May 26th, 1:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Cost of webinar $40.00 for non NCFA Members, and $35.00 for NCFA Members with affiliation code reference number. Registration will open on Monday May 10

Dr. Chasnoff will cover:
- Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
- Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)
- General health work sheet for observing the prospective international adoptive child

With many incorrect assumptions on risks associated with inter-country adoption, NCFA is pleased to showcase one of the leading published medical experts on this issue. As part of this presentation, participants will receive a PDF entitled, “Guidelines for Evaluating Growth” as adapted by Dr. Chasnoff.

“I believe that given all the media attention to what can go wrong in an inter-country adoption, we may be creating more fear and apprehension than is necessary. There are steps and measures that every parent and adoption professional can take to help mitigate some health related risks. However, just as there are hidden risks for biological birth parents, there are associated risks with children who are adopted that cannot be completely or accurately predicted. My lifelong work has been to create a reasonable framework for parents to work within.” – Dr. Chasnoff

The purpose of this Webinar is to enlighten, instead of frighten, participants about risks associated with inter-country adoption. Adoption Professionals are encouraged to register prospective foster parents or those currently in the active inter-country adoption process.

For more information contact: webinars@adoptioncouncil.org

RISK AND PROMISE WEBINAR

RISK AND PROMISE WEBINAR: Open to Adoption Professionals and Parents Considering Adoption

Registration Now Open http://ncfaeducation.org/Registration/StartRegistration.jsp

NCFA announces a timely Webinar on health and emotional risks for internationally adopted children and how to minimize unexpected challenges.

Based on the published work RISK AND PROMISE, a handbook for parents and adoption professionals on adopting a child from another country, this Webinar is:

– Presented by the author Ira Chasnoff, MD

Dr. Ira Chasnoff is the President of Children’s Research Triangle, a not-for-profit organization that works with high-risk children and their families. He is one of the nation’s leading researchers in the field of child development and the effects of alcohol and drug use on the newborn infant and child. He is the author of eight critically acclaimed books that explore how biological and environmental factors impact the development of substance-exposed children. In 2002, Dr. Chasnoff’s organization was selected by the Center for Disease Control as one of the five national centers for research into innovative treatment for children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  More information is available at www.ntiupstream.com.

–   Moderated by Chuck Johnson, Acting CEO, National Council For Adoption

The National Council For Adoption will also offer 1.5 credit hours from The Catholic University School of Social Work.

Time of Webinar:  May 26th, 1:30 pm Eastern Standard Time.
Cost of webinar $40.00 for non NCFA Members, and $35.00 for NCFA Members with affiliation code reference number.   Registration will open on Monday May 10

Dr. Chasnoff will cover:
-   Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
-   Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD)
-   General health work sheet for observing the prospective international adoptive child

With many incorrect assumptions on risks associated with inter-country adoption, NCFA is pleased to showcase one of the leading published medical experts on this issue. As part of this presentation, participants will receive a PDF entitled, “Guidelines for Evaluating Growth” as adapted by Dr. Chasnoff.

“I believe that given all the media attention to what can go wrong in an inter-country adoption, we may be creating more fear and apprehension than is necessary.  There are steps and measures that every parent and adoption professional can take to help mitigate some health related risks.  However, just as there are hidden risks for biological birth parents, there are associated risks with children who are adopted that cannot be completely or accurately predicted.  My lifelong work has been to create a reasonable framework for parents to work within.” – Dr. Chasnoff

The purpose of this Webinar is to enlighten, instead of frighten, participants about risks associated with inter-country adoption.  Adoption Professionals are encouraged to register prospective foster parents or those currently in the active inter-country adoption process.

For more information contact: webinars@adoptioncouncil.org

Foster Care Prayer Breakfast

Due to a number of conflicts with the date, we are postponing the prayer breakfast for a later time.   Please bookmark this page for later updates.

Safe Families Informational Meeting

When a crisis strikes, many of us rely on relatives and friends for support. But for some families, there is no safety net. As a result, a straightforward problem such as post-partum depression or unemployment can be debilitating. Children in these situations often suffer neglect or abuse; some eventually are removed from their home and placed in state custody. The latter can result in months, even years, of foster care, while parents fight their case in the courts.

Safe Families for Children provides a safe, temporary place for children whose parents are overwhelmed and have limited resources or social supports. Placements can avert immediate abuse episodes, and allow time and space for the parent to actively address issues without the threat of losing custody. In some cases, Safe Families volunteers become the extended family that a parent never had, providing encouragement and support even after the placement ends.

Safe Families is an alternative to child welfare custody, significantly reducing the number of children entering foster care. In fact, the program’s effectiveness has caught the attention of state officials, who are impressed that our volunteers serve without any financial compensation. State child protection workers routinely encourage parents to place children with Safe Families as part of a safety plan in order to avoid the state taking custody of their children.

Safe Families is about more than temporary child care, however. It’s also about resurrecting biblical hospitality and demonstrating to the world that the Christian family, in obedience to Christ, is a powerful source of change in our society. We encourage you to be part of it!

Join us on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 to learn more about this incredible organization.  Valerie Vroom, SFFC Regional Administrator, NWI will be sharing how to become involved in this program.

Location is Kankakee First Church of the Nazarene, 1000 N. Entrance Ave., Kankakee, Illinois 60901.

7:00 – 8:00pm – Free child care provided.

more about “Safe Families – Recruitment Video“, posted with vodpod

143,000,000 Orphans

more about "143,000,000 Orphans", posted with vodpod

Families for Orphans Coalition: Call to Action

Families for Orphans Coalition: Call to Action

[Please note that NCFA is a member of the Families for Orphans Coalition]

On January 12 in the course of only 2 minutes thousands of Haitian children became orphans. Without a say in the matter, these children became part of a global crisis – an estimated 30 million children growing up without parents — vulnerable to slavery, prostitution, gangs, exploitation, and trafficking. These children need loving, permanent families, yet our government has no focus on finding families for orphaned children worldwide.  We must act now to help children worldwide grow up with parents!

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee have before them The Families for Orphans Act; a bi-partisan bill that would create a State Department office and more importantly a “Champion for Orphans” specifically to speak up for these children.  This Champion and the Office would build capacity in countries to enable families to raise their children at home instead of putting them in orphanages, or be adopted by loving parents first in their own country or else in another.

Growing up in a family is a basic human right.  The United States has a rich and successful history of protecting such rights all over the world.  When we have stepped forward to provide leadership in an area of great social need, the difference has been measurable.  The orphans of the world need this type of leadership and they need it now.

What Can You Do?

Call, write a letter or e-mail to your Members of Congress asking them to become Co-Sponsors of the Families for Orphans Act. You can find your Representative at www.house.gov and your Senators at www.senate.gov. Feel free to use the following text as a guideline:“As one of your constituents I am requesting that you support the “Families for Orphans Act” and become a Co-Sponsor of the legislation now. We would be better prepared to respond to the needs of orphans in Haiti if the leadership it calls for was already in place.  We hope you will consider standing up for the millions of children around the world growing up in orphanages without the love and support of a permanent family. For information on becoming a Co-Sponsor, please contact Senators Landrieu or Inhofe or Representatives Watson or Boozman.”

Call, write or email the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee and ask them to move quickly to pass the Families for Orphans Act.

Sign the Families for Orphans Act petition at www.kidsave.org.

Please help us move this bill NOW and give children worldwide a greater chance to grow up in a family. On behalf of the Families for Orphans Coalition and most importantly, the children, we thank you for helping.