Special Superkids Webinar Postponed to Jan. 19th

It’s that time of year again… the most wonderful and certainly one of the busiest! Due to the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we have decided to reschedule Gladney’s special Superkids Webinar with pediatric physical therapist Pat Marcus. The webinar will now be held on January 19^th at 7pm EST. If you were unable to attend this week’s scheduled presentation, we look forward to having you join us in the new year to learn more about Superkids and Gladney’s relationship with Shanghai Children’s Home.

For those of you who had registered for the Dec. 1 webinar and would like to hear from Pat and gain more information about Gladney’s China program, feel free to contact China caseworker, April Uduhiri directly at april.uduhiri@gladney.org. Pat will also be available to speak with families who are interested in her recent trip and her work with Superkids.

To register for our January webinar click here.

2011 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces

An important part of adopting is investigating all the areas in your life that will support your adoption. For many, the workplace is a wonderful resource of adoption benefits. Is your workplace on the 2011 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list?

To see all the companies that made the list or for a toolkit to propose or establish adoption benefits in your workplace, visit the Dave Thomas website.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving - A time to give thanks for family and friends, health and happiness, our beautiful country and our freedom.

From the Gladney Asia Program Staff

Free Course - We're Home! Now What?

• Are you awaiting a referral?
  


• Have you recently received a referral?
  


• Have you adopted in the last 6 months?
  

Well, here is a FREE class that may help with issues new families face such as language, sleep, eating, discipline attachment and medical care.

During the month of November, Adoption Learning Partners is offering We’re Home! Now What! for FREE!

1. To receive this course for free, click here to link to the registration page.
   


2. Please enter your agency name during registration.
   


3. When registration is complete, a coupon code will appear. Use this code at checkout.

Ambassador Jacobs National Adoption Month Video

On November 3, 2011, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, Special Advisor for Children's Issues (CI) in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, spoke about intercountry adoptions in celebration of National Adoption Month 2011. Click here to access the video.

November is National Adoption Month!

National Adoption Month is a time to celebrate family and to bring about awareness that there are hundreds of thousands of children awaiting adoption. States, communities, and agencies hold events during the month to bring the need for families into public view.

Celebrate National Adoption Month with your family and friends by:
- learning how and why National Adoption month began (click here)
- participating in day to day activities (for ideas click here)
- supporting adoption organizations such as Gladney by joining in their 125 Anniversary celebration.
- attending an adoption conference in your area, such as the 31st Annual APC Adoption Conference on Sunday, November 20, 2011 in Brooklyn, NY. For more information about the conference, click here.

Gongzhan Visits Asia Accompanied by Pat and Edna

Gongzhan Wu, the managing director of Gladney’s Asia programs, is travelling throughout the month of November to various cities in Asia. On the first leg of the trip, to Taiwan, Shanghai, and Harbin, he is accompanied by Pat Marcus, a pediatric physical therapist from New York. In Taiwan, Gongzhan had a chance to meet with the social welfare organizations through which Gladney’s adoptive placements occur. During his recent visit to Shanghai, it is rewarding to see that Gladney’s partnership with the Shanghai Children’s Home continues to strengthen, with Gladney providing training and consultation, as well as continuing to advocate for the adoption of older children. It is our hope that we can build similar partnerships in other areas of China, as well as in Taiwan.

This current trip is a wonderful opportunity for us to share Gladney’s long 125 year history of helping children find adoptive families. Bringing Edna Gladney along on the trip has been quite an experience! She seems to be agreeable with the arduous travel schedule – always smiling!

Gongzhan, Pat and Edna at JFK Airport

Edna, Gongzhan and Pat arrived safely in Taipei

For Gladney families who would like to participate in the fun of celebrating Gladney's 125th Anniversary – click here to learn how you can print “your own Edna”. Bring Edna along to interesting places, and post your photos to Gladney’s “Where’s Edna facebook page”.

31st Annual APC Adoption Conference

Sunday, November 20, 2011 in Brooklyn, NY

The Adoptive Parent Committee (APC) annual conference serves to promote a better awareness and understanding of adoption and provide members with accurate information concerning adoption and parenting issues. Conference participants will have the opportunity to attend numerous informational sessions including a workshop conducted by Gladney's Asia Staff on "Adopting from Taiwan" from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.

For more information about the conference, click here.

CCCWA Officials Visit Gladney

Fall 2011 has been a busy and exciting time for Gladney's China Program as we were privileged to host another delegation of officials from the CCCWA! This October, a group of 15 officials travelled to the US in order to meet with several adoption agencies and visit with adoptive families and children. Gladney's NY office was honored to host a breakfast for the officials on the 26th, and share with them how Gladney works with families who are adopting from China. During the event, we felt encouraged by the officials desire to work together with Gladney to find homes for children with medical issues.

Gladney staff with CCCWA officials and Chuck Johnson from NCFA

Gladney staff with Ms. Zhu Hai Yan, Director of Shanghai Children's Home

Why Waiting Children?

Some of you may have wondered at some point, why are some children referred to as "waiting children"? What does this mean?

In some programs, parents work hard to complete their dossier and submit it to the adoption authorities and then wait for their child's paperwork to be prepared. These parents eagerly and anxiously wait to see their child's picture for the first time - sometimes months or years! However, in the Guang Ming program, these children already have their paperwork prepared and are available for adoption. They are waiting for their families to find them and come and bring them home! These precious kids are in need of families who are paperwork ready so that they don't have to wait any longer to join their forever families.

If you feel that you might have a child waiting for you in China - contact Judy Hayes at judy.hayes@gladney.org to learn more about getting started in Gladney's Guang Ming program.

Recently in China Adoption News

• CCCWA has matched families with LIDs through August 2, 2006! Congratulations to all of the families who have received referrals!


• CCCWA has reviewed dossiers with LIDs through November 20, 2010.


• CCCWA has issued Travel Approvals for three Gladney families in October!


• One Gladney Family received their Letter Seeking Confirmation in the month of October.


• One Gladney family has travelled to China to complete their adoption!
  
  
  Congratulations to the Osborn family on the adoption of your precious daughter!
  

Trick-or-Treat!

This was J's first time trick-or-treating, looks like he had a blast!

What a pretty butterfly! M came home from China a couple of years ago and can't wait to go trick-or-treating with her little brother or sister one day!

Upcoming Asia Waiting Child Webinar

Each month Gladney hosts an Asia Waiting Child Webinar. Our next Webinar will be this Wednesday, Nov. 9th at 1pm EST. Be sure to register for the Webinar!

This informative webinar will focus on the process of adopting waiting children from China. The webinar will provide an overview of Gladney’s program as well as share photos of available children. You will get a detailed explanation of the Application and paperwork process involved with adopting internationally. Also, each month we will feature different children, with a variety of ages and special needs, who are available for adoption. At the end of each webinar we offer time for attendees to ask questions and will provide contact information for you to follow up with one of Gladney’s Asia Program Staff.

This month we will feature profiles of new children who have been designated to Gladney - so you definitely will want to tune in!

We hope you will be able to join us for our webinar! Feel free to pass this invitation along to friends and family members that may also be interested.