International Adoptions Fall in 2008
The total number of international adoptions fell 11 percent last year, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of State.
According to the newly released numbers, there were 17,438 intercountry adoptions to the U.S. in 2008, down from 19,613 the year before.
Guatemala was the most popular country for intercountry adoptions, with 4,123 children adopted by U.S. couples. China, which had long-held the No. 1 position, fell to No. 2 with 3,909 adoptions.
The top 10 countries for 2008 were:
- Guatemala - 4,123
- China - 3,909
- Russia - 1,861
- Ethiopia - 1,725
- South Korea - 1,065
- Vietnam - 751
- Ukraine - 457
- Kazakhstan - 380
- India - 307
- Colombia - 306
In Their Own Words - Steve, Kelly and Alexis' Adoption Story
When we first decided that adoption was the way we were going to build our family, I became obsessed with reading about all the success stories and I couldn't wait to be one of them. I thought, as soon as it happens my husband and I will write down the journey that brought us our precious angel. Well, here it is 7 months later and we are finally getting around to telling our story.
Steve and I, through circumstances beyond our control, were unable to conceive a child naturally. But, deciding to build our family through adoption seemed so natural to us. We knew that we had so much love to give to a child and that child would always be surrounded by people who loved him or her.
We started our home study process in December of 2007. We knew the process would take months to complete but we were prepared to wait as long as it took to start our family. Surprisingly the time went by fairly quickly; I assume it was because of all the prep work we needed to do that kept us occupied. Throughout this time, my husband would constantly remind me that it could take a months, maybe even years and that we needed to be patient and not get our hopes up.
We became "active" with American Adoptions in March of 2008. I remember the day as my husband and I went out that evening to celebrate. We toasted to the fact that we were "expecting". We didn't know how long it would take but we were just as elated as if I had been told I was pregnant. We were waiting for a child and we didn't know who or when but we did know that we would be a family in the future.
Then on Monday, June 2nd, a friend of ours came over to visit for the afternoon. At the time, my friend was 7 months pregnant. I remember as she came around the corner I touched her very pregnant belly. The rest of the day seemed to become a blur. She no sooner got into the house and my telephone rang.
I saw, through caller ID, that it was American Adoptions. I am not quite sure what went through my mind after that as I was so overcome with joy and excitement I think I actually forgot to breathe. A birth mother specialist was on the other end and she said she had a match for us. I do remember asking if I could conference in my husband and we did. We were told about the match situation and we were asked if we could be on a plane Tuesday (the very next day) because the birth mother was being induced on Wednesday morning. Again, everything after that call became a blur as we had to scramble to get things ready, we needed to make travel arrangements, buy stuff for the baby and call everyone we knew. Our daughter was going to be born!
We took the last flight out on Tuesday evening and arrived at midnight. Just as we were about to exit the plane, my cell phone rang. Our birth mother's water broke and she was already at the hospital in labor. Our daughter, Alexis Lee, was born on June 4th at 6:33am!
I am not sure if there are any words to describe the joy, happiness and love we have for our daughter and how we became a family. I also don't know if we can ever be grateful enough to the birth parents for their strength and courage to make the decision that allowed us to become a family. We just know that they will always have a special place in our hearts!
American Adoptions Announces New Foster Care Partnership
In addition to helping families and children through traditional domestic adoption, the adoption of children within the state's foster care system has long been in the heart of American Adoptions.
Our founders, Ted, Susan and Scott Mars, are not only an adoptive family, but they also served as a temporary home to over 150 children in Kansas' foster care system.
Our agency provides extensive lobbying efforts to improve the adoption laws in our home state of Kansas. As a result, we have numerous contacts with the state of Kansas and the organizations that help children in the Kansas foster care system.
In 2009, you will begin to notice biographies on children in Kansas foster care, which will be placed on our Web site, www.americanadoptions.com, along with information directing families where to call if interested in adopting one of these children.
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Helping Children in Kansas Foster Care
Jaymes, 10
Male
Caucasian
KVC Reference #7591
Polite, respectful, and friendly are words used to describe Jaymes. He also has a good sense of humor. Jaymes likes to play games on the computer and loves to draw. He is interested in cars, too. James has two older sisters he would like to maintain contact with, but he can be adopted alone. Jaymes will benefit from a family who can provide structure and consistency and help him to appropriately express his feelings. Jaymes would like to live in a city, and would enjoy having a sister in his Forever Family.
Contact information for families who inquire about these children:
Toll-free telephone number - 888-655-5500
E-mail - adoptionspecialist@kvc.org
Website -www.kvc.org/Meet Kansas Kids
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Make 2009 a Year to Remember!
American Adoptions to Provide Free Adoption Tele-Seminars
As families across the world usher in a New Year, many also resolve to do something great. To make the New Year their year; to finally take those first steps and do something they have resolved to do.
Each year, thousands of couples face the heartbreak of infertility. Often after months - or years - of unsuccessful infertility treatments, many couples resolve to make the New Year different and find themselves wondering about their adoption option.
What is it like? What is the process? Are there really infants available for adoption in the U.S.?
If you or someone you know has wondered about adoption, American Adoptions will be offering free educational tele-seminars to educate the public about their adoption options. American Adoptions is one of the nation's largest domestic adoption
agencies and is involved in over 300 domestic adoptions each year. Tele-seminars will be offered during two convenient times and dates:
- Exploring the Adoption Option: Information and Answers
11 a.m., January 19, 2009
- Exploring the Adoption Option: Information and Answers
Noon, January 24, 2009
These convenient one-hour tele-seminars will allow families across the nation to learn more about the adoption process from the comfort of their own home. Participants will learn the basics of the adoption process and will have the opportunity to
ask any questions they may have.
Although these tele-seminars are free, advanced reservation is preferred. To RSVP for a tele-seminar, contact Mike Aguilar at 1-800-ADOPTION or e-mail mike@americanadoptions.com. To participate in the tele-seminar, dial (877) 336-1829 and enter code
4370159 to join the conference call.
To learn more about adoption, our agency and how adoption has touched the lives of millions across the U.S., visit our Web site at www.americanadoptions.com or contact us at
1-800-ADOPTION.
Questions & Answers With Megan
 Megan
Kautio
Hello everyone, my name is Megan Kautio and I am an Adoptive Family Specialist with American Adoptions. I have had many wonderful
experiences over time working with both birth parents and adoptive families. I use this weekly column to try and provide continued education and support to our clients based
on questions that have been posed. My current role at American Adoptions is to advocate for and support our prospective adoptive families who are involved in our adoption
process. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you.
Q.
Megan, We have not finalized our adoption yet and probably won't finalize it prior to tax deadline, but want to claim our baby girl on our taxes. We are beginning to prepare our taxes and wanted to know how we can go about filing our taxes when we don't have a social security number for the baby yet and won't get one for some time still?
A.
This is a very popular question this time of year! We typically don't have a social security number until after finalization has occurred. The attorney who is finalizing your adoption is actually the one that will assist with getting the final amended birth certificate and this will not be done until after the finalization court hearing has occurred, then comes the social security number. Since you do not have these items yet, you and/or your accountant/tax representative can apply for a temporary tax identification number for the baby and you can file your taxes with that number. Here is a link for this information about obtaining a temporary tax ID #: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7a.pdf
I am also including the following link to the tax credit form that is also very helpful when preparing your taxes. This link is: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc607.html Best of luck with this process!
Have a question for American Adoptions?
No matter what stage of the adoption process you are at, there are bound to be questions. Feel free to submit your question to us for discussion in future newsletters.
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