Touched by Adoption's Monthly

Coffee Talk!

9am     Tuesday, September 17, 2013     

SOHO Panera (corner of Swann and Howard in South Tampa)

Join us for conversation, information, and friendship.  

Recent discussions include topics such as 

sharing of experience by our adoptive parents with individuals considering adoption, 

navigating the IEP process, 

and seeking private medical and therapeutic services for specific special needs.

 

For more information, please contact Michelle Schumacher at 813.363.3970

 

TOUCHED BY ADOPTION 

June Fellowship Event:  Pool Party!

Sunday, June 30, 2013     12:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. 

 Potluck Picnic Lunch--Hot Dogs and all the fixings provided 

Please bring a side dish to share 

For questions, location information, and to RSVP (with a phone #, please, so we can contact you in case of rain cancellation), please contact Michelle Schumacher, 813.363.3970, or michelle@planbeventsandpromotions.com. 

Hyde Park United Methodist Church's Touched by Adoption Ministry events take place four times a year and are open to all.  Come meet, connect, and enjoy fun and fellowship with HPUMC/South Tampa families touched by adoption, foster care, and kinship care.

TOUCHED BY ADOPTION

 

January Fellowship Event:
Hiking at Hillsborough River State Park!

2:00 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013
Join TBA’s families for a Sunday afternoon hike of 
Hillsborough River State Park’s Rapids Trail (1.2 miles). 

 

15402 U.S. 301 North, Thonotosassa, Florida 33592
$6.00 per car (up to 8 people) admittance fee. 
After entering the park, follow the road to parking lot #2.  We’ll start our hike together from here.  Sneakers or hiking shoes, bottled water, and cameras recommended.

 

For more information or to RSVP (with a phone #, please, so we can contact you in case of rain cancellation), please contact Michelle Schumacher, 813.363.3970, or michelle@planbeventsandpromotions.com. 

 

Hyde Park United Methodist Church's Touched by Adoption Ministry events take place four times a year and are open to all.  Come meet, connect, and enjoy fun and fellowship with HPUMC/South Tampa families touched by adoption, foster care, and kinship care.

Now in print!

Every Day, You Are Loved

 

A children's book based on the experiences of one foster adoptive family with a message dedicated to reminding all adopted children that on the good days, the bad days, and all the in-between days,

they are loved! 

 

Available for purchase by emailing michelle@planbeventsandpromotions.com. 

HYDE PARK UNITED METHODIST CHURCH'S
TOUCHED BY ADOPTION
July Fellowship Event: BOWLING!
Sunday, July 29, 2012
2:00 p.m.* – 4:00 p.m.
(*please arrive at 1:45pm so we
can be on our reserved lanes by 2:00pm)

Pinarama Bowling Lanes
5008 South Dale Mabry
Tampa, FL 33611

$8.95 per bowler, including shoe rental and unlimited games during our reserved time. Please RSVP by Tues., 7/17/12, to ensure reserved lane space.

HPUMC’s Touched by Adoption Ministry events take place every fifth Sunday (four times annually) and are open to all. Come meet, connect, and enjoy fun and fellowship with HPUMC/South Tampa families touched by adoption / foster care / kinship care! Questions and RSVP to:
Michelle Schumacher
michelle@planbeventsandpromotions.com
813.363.3970

Florida's Adoption Information Center Conference

Featuring Meg Goldberg, MS, JD and Loryn Smith, MSW
May 10 - 12, 2012
Orlando, Florida

A limited number of scholarships are available to adoptive families for the Saturday portion of the conference. Call 1-800-96-ADOPT to
register and request the scholarship. Loryn Smith will be the speaker for the Saturday session. 
Free child care and free lunch also provided.

Florida's Adoption Information Center Outlooks in Adoption Conference

Attachment & Trauma Network's Nov/Dec 2010 Hoofbeats Newsletter

As a special holiday gift, the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) has made this issue of its bi-monthly newsletter, Hoofbeats, available to both ATN members and non-members alike.

Included in this issue is a discussion of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute's recent policy report Keeping the Promises: The Critical Need for Post-Adoption Services to Enable Children and Families to Succeed.

The issue also features confidential but honest responses provided by experienced ATN members regarding their current attitudes and feelings about adoption, with a consensus that those considering foster and international adoption must become as informed as possible prior to making this lifelong commitment.

http://www.radzebra.org/newsletters/10%20Nov-Decfinal.pdf?utm_content=michelle%40planbeventsandpromotions.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Click%20Here&utm_campaign=Sharing%20the%20Gift%20of%20Hoofbeats%20With%20Youcontent


To receive future issues of Hoofbeats, join the ATN at http://www.radzebra.org/Join.htm.

Why We Adopted a Teenager

This article was written by Kim Johnson, supervisor of adoptions services for Partnership for Strong Families of Gainesville. It has been copied from The Gainseville Sun's website, where it was published on Monday, November 22, 2010.

If you had asked me before today about adopting a teen, I would have said it was because I work in the child welfare system and too many teens go from painful childhoods to aging out of foster care and living on their own without the opportunity to be kids.

It was my answer because I believed it, until November 12th.

Robert captured my heart when I saw him on the adoption websites (www.adoptfl.org and www.adoptuskids.org) in April. We hadn't planned to adopt, as our hands were full with two little ones and a home without adequate space for another child. Robert's picture went on our refrigerator nonetheless and our steps toward adopting progressed.

The months leading up to his finalization were heartfelt to say the least. The more we learned about Robert, the more we loved him.

He encompasses all the things you could wish for in a young adult, but oftentimes fleeting in a teen. He is considerate, helpful, respectful, kind-hearted, playful, cheerful, a peacekeeper and a faithful companion.

Robert's enthusiasm and charismatic smile can light up a room and has brightened our home every single day since his arrival. He embodies the concept of resiliency more than anyone I've known and in that challenges me to find reasons to be grateful in all circumstances.

There were many reasons my heart had already grown to appreciate the transformation of our family, but the magnitude of what was at hand saved itself for delivery on finalization day.

It's difficult to put into words what a mother feels sitting in an adoption finalization and hearing the judge call it "a celebration of an additional birthday to be celebrated, a new child has entered the family."

Having had a biological daughter and son, I can testify that the emotions elicited are nothing short of being handed your newborn the first time. An adoptive mother spoke before our finalization, she believes each time a child's biological parent is unable to care for them, there is another person or family especially purposed to parent them.

On that day, November 12th, I realized that while I thought we made a decision to fill a need, instead I received a gift of a son, particularly tailored for my heart.

With feelings of completion and joy as we finalized, I now see, that just as the birth of a child is a miracle, the adoption of a child is just as miraculous.

My answer today is a new one. We adopted a teen because something in me knew, before I knew, that our family was missing Robert.

It's confirmed daily as I see the smiling faces of our two little ones as they all play. It's confirmed as I feel my own overwhelming gratitude that, despite Robert coming so far and through so much, he was somehow positioned in the perfect place at the perfect time for us.

We adopted a teen because our lives were missing Robert, and our family was blessed on November 12th to receive a miracle.

Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute Internship Opportunity for Young Adults Who are Former Foster Children

Copied from an 11/2/10 North American Council on Adoptable Children(www.nacac.org) e-mail:

The Foster Youth Internship Program of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) is for young adults who spent at least 24 consecutive months in foster care at any point in their life and who have completed at least four semesters of higher education by May 31, 2011. CCAI places these interns in Congressional offices in Washington, DC for a 9-week internship program.

Housing, travel, and a weekly stipend are provided by CCAI. Applications are accepted now until January 7, 2011. The program will run May 31-July 30, 2011. The goal of the program is to educate policymakers about the experiences of foster youth in an effort to inspire legislative improvements for foster care. Interns participating in this program benefit both personally and professionally, gaining experience and skills that will bolster their careers for years to come. If you are unfamiliar with the program, please watch a short video to learn more about this unique experience: http://vimeo.com/16060742. For more information and to apply, visit www.ccainstitute.org/fyiapply or contact Emily Collins at Emily@ccainstitute.org
or 202-544-8500.

Loving God's Children Adoption and Orphan Care Ministry Upcoming Walk for Orphans

Copied from http://www.lovinggodschildren.blogspot.com/

Loving God's Children is proud to announce our first walk for orphans. The Walk Home - will be a family friendly event that takes place on Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 9:30am. We will start on Pauls Street at the beginning of the Brandon Parkway and walk one and a half miles to the Brandon Town Center mall.

If you are interested in joining the walk or just sponsoring someone, please contact us at gsloan@lovinggodschildren.org,

For those of you that do not live in the area, please feel free to get sponsors for the walk and walk a mile and a half in your own neighborhood or local park.

We appreciate your support!

Sylvia Thomas Center Adoption Support Group November Meeting Topic: "The Real Me: Documenting Your Child's Story in a Lifebook"

What: Sylvia Thomas Center's November Adoption Support Group Meeting
When: Thursday, November 11th, 6:30 - 8:00pm.
Where: Sylvia Thomas Center
716 S. Oakwood Avenue
Brandon, FL 33511

Presenting on the evening's topic, "The Real Me: Documenting Your Child's Story in a Lifebook," will be Kevin Slack, STC's Training Institute Director,and Renee Walker, STC's Family Support Counselor. From Kevin: "A Lifebook is simply a history of a child's life thus far, in a easy to read format which may include photos, history, special memories, certificates, and records of favorite things and events. This will be an opportunity to learn the importance of this tool for your adopted child(ren)."

As November is National Adoption Month, STC will also be using this meeting to promote their upcoming Lifebook event, scheduled for Saturday, November 13, 2010 from 10am - 2pm. For more information on the event, please call STC's office at
(813) 651-3150

Please also RSVP for the November 11th meeting by calling STC's office at (813) 651-3150. Let STC know if you will be bringing children, how many, their ages and any special needs so that we may prepare for their care. Childcare is on a first come, first serve basis and space is limited. Light refreshments will be served.

Attachment and Trauma Network, Inc. Lifeline Webinar: Surviving The Holidays With Your Traumatized Child

Copied from an 11/8/2010 Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc. (ATN) email update

The holidays can be stressful for healthy families. But for traumatized children and their families, the holidays present a special challenge. Family traditions and parental expectations clash with our wounded children’s fears of intimacy and anxiety over changes in schedule. Add visits from extended family who don’t “get it” and excitement over festivities and gifts and you can quickly have a recipe for disaster.

Janice Turber, attachment & trauma therapist with the Center for Attachment Resources & Enrichment, and Nancy Spoolstra, founder of ATN and experienced mom, will discuss some strategies for altering expectations and their experiences with surviving the holiday season.

When: 8:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 11th

Where: The ATN Online Classroom

How: Click here to register http://www.radzebra.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RAD&Product_Code=2010WL2&Category_Code=ATNLifeline

How much: $10 for ATN members, $25 for non-members. (Or join ATN at http://www.radzebra.org/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RAD&Category_Code=MBR and get a coupon for a free webinar!)

________________________________________
Need Support Now?

Call ATN's Warm Line: 240-357-7369
All calls returned within 24 hours

Join ATN's Online Support Groups at http://www.attachtrauma.org/supportgroup.htm.

Details of Hillsborough County's National Adoption Day Celebration

What: A Celebration of National Adoption Day
When: Fri, November 19, 2010 9am – 1pm
Where: George E Edgecomb Courthouse, 801 E. Twiggs Street, Tampa, Florida

30 adoption finalizations will take place on the 6th floor of courthouse. Adoptive mom Lauren Dungy will be the keynote speaker. Activities include first new family portraits, face painting, refreshments, and the Heart Gallery exhibit. For more information, please contact Kathie Michael at Kathleen.Michael@HillsboroughKids.org.

Florida Presents "30 Days of Amazing Children: Explore Adoption!"

Videos, photos of children dreaming of forever families featured on www.adoptflorida.org during National Adoption Month in November

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The "30 Days of Amazing Children: Explore Adoption!" initiative presenting children in foster care who dream of being adopted by forever families was unveiled today by Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary George Sheldon and Florida’s Chief Child Advocate Jim Kallinger.

A different "Amazing Child" available for adoption in Florida is being featured every day during National Adoption Month in November on www.adoptflorida.org. Many of the featured teens, sibling groups and children with medical needs are depicted on videos as they talk about themselves and their hopes to become part of a loving family. About 850 children are available for adoption on any given day in Florida, and more than half of them are teenagers.

"Floridians are encouraged to visit www.adoptflorida.org during November and become acquainted with children available for adoption and their dreams of belonging to a family," Secretary Sheldon said. "These are Florida's children. Their futures depend on actions that all of us can take to raise adoption awareness and recruit loving adoptive families."

Speaking at the celebration that kicked off National Adoption Month in Florida at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park was 17-year-old Robert, whose adoption becomes official this month. Kim Johnson and her husband decided last March to adopt Robert, who spent half of his life in foster care. Kim first encountered Robert when she searched www.adoptflorida.org looking for a teen in need of a family. The Johnsons also have two biological children, ages 3 and 4.

"I'm not in foster care any more. I'm really happy. It's more than I expected," Robert said of being adopted by the Johnson family. "All the comfort and love, it's really extraordinary. You have someone to fall back on." He gets along great with his sister Sage and brother Kaden, likes doing math and playing video games, and thinks it’s cool to have a dog named Buddy.

"We had an extraordinary first meeting. It just felt so natural." Kim Johnson said. "We are so blessed to have a son like him. What an amazing great big brother. To Robert, it has meant a vision of what he wants to do in life and the stability of knowing where home is and where he can be."

Florida is a national model on adoptions, collecting a total of more than $15 million in federal bonuses in 2009 and 2010 for increasing the adoption of children in foster care. More than 12,000 Florida children in foster care were adopted over the past three and a half years. Florida also currently is best among the states in achieving adoptions in a timely manner.

"When children in foster care are adopted by a permanent family, they feel loved, secure and positive about their future," Chief Child Advocate Kallinger said. "The many adoptive parents I have met are equally overjoyed to add these wonderful children to their families. We just need to keep spreading the adoption message."

Children in foster care who do not achieve permanency with a family before transitioning out of care at age 18 are at higher risk of being arrested, becoming teenage moms, dropping out of school and becoming homeless. Over the past three and a half years, Florida has safely reduced the number of children in foster care by nearly 11,000, or 36 percent, through adoptions, permanent guardianships and reunification with parents.

Credit for Florida's adoption successes is shared by many committed partners, including the Explore Adoption campaign, the Governor's Office of Adoption and Child Protection, DCF, Agency for Persons with Disabilities, community based care lead agencies, local adoption providers, Forever Family, Heart Galleries, One Church One Child and many others.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), a new partner, is giving free passes to state parks to all families finalizing adoptions of children in foster care during National Adoption Month. Several state parks also are hosting adoption celebrations.

"At DEP, we realize the importance of outdoor activities that families can enjoy together," said Bob Ballard, DEP Deputy Secretary for Land and Recreation. "We proudly manage 160 Florida state parks which are recognized as premier family-friendly destinations. Florida state parks not only offer unlimited outdoor recreation, but are educational and teeming with history."

Nearly 50 adoption celebrations and finalization ceremonies are being held throughout Florida this November. Find out about an event in your area at http://www.adoptflorida.org/adoptionmonth4.shtml.

While private forms of adoption can cost upwards of $30,000, adopting one of Florida's children in foster care costs little or nothing. The benefits include a monthly adoption subsidy for the family, health benefits for the child, and free college tuition at a Florida public university, community college or vocational school. The federal adoption tax credit recently was raised to $13,170 per child and is refundable, meaning eligible taxpayers can receive it regardless of whether or not they owe taxes for that year.

For more information, please visit www.adoptflorida.org.

Upcoming Attachment & Trauma Network, Inc. Webinar Focuses on Parental Rights Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

On Thursday, Oct. 28, 2010, at 8:30pm, the Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) www.attachtrauma.org will host a webinar entitled Parental Rights Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The presenter will be Allison B. Vrolijk, Esq. Based in Georgia, Allison is an attorney/advocate for families of children with disabilities, as well as a mother of children with special needs.

This webinar is part of the Attachment & Trauma Network's Lifeline Series, monthly 90-minute interactive online seminars that bring experts on a variety of topics, via their computers, right to the parents of traumatized children and children with attachment disorder. The only device needed to participate is a computer with an Internet connection and speakers (microphone optional).

Cost to attend the seminar is $10 for ATN members and $25 for non-members (annual membership is $35; visit www.attachtrauma.org/join.htm for membership information).

For more information on the seminar or to register, please visit http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/782507/7bb3dfb54d/1470613809/895a999abd/.

Florida's Adoption Assistance Program

While researching post adoption resources in Hillsborough County today, I came across this very helpful link: www.adoptflorida.com/assistance-program.htm.

It includes information on everything from maintenance subsidies to the federal tax credit (please make sure you check into your eligibility for this if you haven't already...it could literally decrease your amount of federal tax owed by thousands of dollars) to the college tuition exemption and more. Great resource...thanks, Florida's Adoption Information Center, for making this info. so readily accessible!

Heart Gallery Roller Derby Benefit

From Christy Gestiehr at The Heart Gallery:

"The Heart Gallery is looking forward to an exciting, fun-filled evening. We hope you can join us. Please forward to your friends and family who might be interested."

Contact Christy Gestiehr with any questions at CGestiehr@childrensboard.org or at 813/204-1759.

Essay About The First Time We Met Our Son

Special to the St. Petersburg Times
In Print: Sunday, October 4, 2009

Sunday Journal: Thinking about adoption, they meet a little boy in foster care

My husband, Steven, stepson Sam and I were already waiting at the park early that summer evening when their car pulled up. I was both nervous and excited about meeting this little boy whose picture I had carried with me for weeks. Six years old at the time, Chandler had been in foster care on and off since he was 2 ½ years old. That picture and the background information the agencies had given us were all we knew of him.

Erin, Chandler's care manager, introduced us to him. He smiled shyly as he quietly said, "Hi." He carried a lunch box with him, and so we all sat down together underneath the picnic pavilion. When we told him we liked his cartoon character lunch box, he explained that his foster mom had packed him dinner since the timing of our visit meant he would miss eating with the other foster kids.

He had also brought some action figures. As he told us about them, he grew more comfortable. From then on he barely paused for breath as he jumped from one subject to the next, beginning nearly every sentence with, "And guess what?"

His speech wasn't very clear so we spent a good amount of time asking him to repeat things that first evening. He was so sweet and innocent, and with his shaggy hair, his long, skinny legs, big brown eyes and ear-to-ear smile I decided he was just about the cutest little boy I'd ever seen. He was a happy bundle of energy and excitement. How in the world could he still be in foster care, I wondered. I couldn't understand why people weren't lined up at the door to be his parents.

Once he finished eating we went out on the playground. We had given him a Nerf football thinking he might like to play that with us, but Chandler was far more interested in being chased up and down and all around the playground equipment.

"You can't get me!" he yelled as he laughed and ran off again, fully expecting that I would continue chasing him. And I did. Up the steps we climbed and down the slide we slid over and over. I was glad I had worn sneakers and shorts — it had been a very long time since I had run around a playground.

After a while, we all walked down to a small bridge overlooking the water. I asked Chandler if he was okay with me lifting him up so he could see the picture in the window of the building at the bridge's entrance. He said yes, but only let me hold him for a brief instant before he asked me to put him back down. We watched from the bridge for a few minutes in hopes of seeing an alligator, and then it was time to go.

As we walked back to the pavilion, the care manager invited us to follow her back to Chandler's foster home so that we could meet his foster mom. During the drive, Steven, Sam and I were all a bit apprehensive; Chandler was the first child we had been matched with and we'd never been to a foster home before.

The home was a large manufactured house at the end of a long asphalt driveway on a large plot of land in rural Hillsborough County. From outside the entrance gate, we could see horses roaming underneath the tall trees in the fenced area alongside the driveway. As we got out of the car, we heard goats in the back yard, and we could see a pool. It looked like a good environment for this energetic young boy.

Chandler and his care manager walked up the steps with us following close behind. As we reached the stoop, the front door flew open and we were suddenly surrounded.

Ranging in age from toddler to a little older than Chandler, all of the children talked at once. "Are you going to be Chandler's mom and dad?" they asked over and over again. Caught off guard, Steven and I didn't know what to say so we simply replied, "Well, we're his friends." It was like looking inside an alternate universe as I realized these kids lived in such a continual state of transition that getting new moms and dads was a normal occurrence to them.

We met the foster mom, and I was immediately grateful to this lady who had kindly opened her home to so many children. Still talking all at once, the children followed as Chandler showed us the bedroom he shared with his foster brothers. He excitedly pointed out his bed and his toys, and then also showed us which beds and toys belonged to the other boys.

It was a short visit. As we prepared to leave, all of the children wanted to hug us and we obliged. We told Chandler how much we enjoyed meeting him and one of the older girls excitedly said to him, "I know they're going to be your mom and dad."

I knew we were going to be, too.

Michelle Schumacher is a marketing freelancer and foster adoption advocate who blogs about foster adoption at fosteradoptions.blogspot.com.

Recap of the 2009 Annual NACAC Conference

The 2009 NACAC (North American Council on Adoptable Children) http://www.nacac.org/ Annual Conference took place in Columbus, OH, Aug. 12 - 16. Hundreds of attendees from all over the United States as well as Canada took part in educational symposiums, networking events, and meetings centered around advocating for post adoptive support services in their own communities.

Supported by sponsors including Jockey Being Family http://www.jockeybeingfamily.com/ (who provided scholarships to the conference for 30 first time attendees, including myself) and the Dave Thomas Foundation http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/, the conference provided the opportunity to garner practical and straightforward information from highly respected experts in the field of adoption.

One of the most integral components of the conference was the validation experienced from being among a group of people who truly understand what life as an adoptive family is really like. Solution-oriented in all respects, the conference's overall tone was both realistic and optimistic at the same time. Personal stories of the joys and rewards, as well as the just as important trials and tribulations, common among adoptive families were shared by speakers and attendees alike. Tough topics were handled proactively and directly; no topic was shyed away from, and attendees were able to reach out to speakers, agencies, and other adoptive parents for solution-oriented insight, advice, and solutions in addressing their own specific challenges.

Consisting of a very small full-time staff, NACAC is nonetheless accomplishing great things in its energetic efforts to advance the causes pertinent to adoptive families. More information about NACAC as well as the 36th Annual NACAC Conference, taking place in Hartford, Conneticut, August 4 –7, 2010 can be found at http://www.nacac.org/.

Letter to the Editor of the St. Petersburg Times

The following is a Letter to the Editor I wrote that was printed in the St. Petersburg Times on Monday, July 27, 2009. It was in response to a Times Editorial, "Adoption progress, problems" which was printed on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 http://bit.ly/IxwmT.

Subject: Much Work Still to be Done

As a foster adoptive parent and advocate, please accept my gratitude for pointing out that the increase in the number of foster adoptions in Florida, while commendable, does not eliminate the work that is still to be done. Over and over research commissioned locally, at the state level, nationally, and beyond indicates the fundamental need for post adoption support services. However, both DCF and Hillsborough Kids, Inc. continue to allot a miniscule portion of their budgets to providing such services. Further, the supports that do exist are hard to access and generally for limited periods of time only, but anyone who has adopted a former foster child can tell you that the effects of the trauma these children have experienced are likely to resurface throughout their childhood, teen years, and beyond. Learning to work through or manage the often extreme behaviors they understandably exhibit as a result of their past experiences requires far more than love; it requires commitment, perseverance, and dedication on the part of the parents to become knowledgeable of the psychological, neurological, and other “whys” behind their children’s behavior, as well as students of the specific methods that are effective in parenting this population. As your editorial points out, families who adopt foster children are providing an invaluable service to the state. One has to ask why, then, does the state not in turn commit to supporting them with the resources they need in order to be successful?

Regarding ours being the only state in the country to have an outright ban on gay and lesbian adoption I say shame on us, Florida. For the sake of fulfilling our shared responsibility to provide every child with a safe, secure, supportive, and loving home, it is time to insist that political and personal biases be set aside so that all qualified residents, regardless of their sexuality, may finally be extended equal rights to adopt in the state of Florida.