Two Years Later, and It Feels Like Yesterday

As you may know, Joint Council has participated in Haiti’s child welfare system since 2003, but following the January 2010 earthquake, we significantly stepped up our efforts on behalf of Haitian children. Together with our partner organizations, we served over 45,000 children and families through programs at hospitals, medical clinics, child care centers, and adoption and food distribution programs. Specifically, we

• Coordinated the emergency aid to orphanages and other institutions,
• Created a database used to identify children, families, emergency relief needs and permanency options,
• Directly educated and informed over 51,000 individuals, adoptive families and professionals,
• Assisted with the development, coordination and implementation of the USCIS Humanitarian Parole Program for children.

Following the earthquake it has become increasingly clear that our partners (many of them small NGOs) need leadership from an organization that works on a spectrum of services to children — the kind of leadership Joint Council can provide. However, in the 23 months since the disaster, a lack of funds has forced us to decrease our efforts in Haiti.

Please help us change the lives of countless children in Haiti by making a tax-deductible donation to Joint Council today. Together, we can make sure that these forgotten children live healthier, happier lives and for countless orphans, help them find a permanent, loving home.

Russia: Making Progress, Thanks to You

In 2010, you sprang into action when Joint Council asked you to show your support of Russian adoptions through our We Are The Truth campaign. Thank you for your support!

What a difference a year makes. This past July, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signed a bilateral adoptions agreement that will strengthen procedural safeguards in adoptions between our countries.

Can we say that your participation, your calls for change and your support of our efforts on behalf of Russian children in need of a family made that agreement happen? Maybe not directly, or individually, but together we made a BIG difference. Your voice gave strength to our work and thanks to people like you, Russian adoptions are back on track.

This year also brought a celebration of the achievements of one very talented Russian adoptee, Tatyana McFadden. Tatyana, who faced multiple health challenges as a child and is a wheelchair user as a result of late-diagnosed spina bifida, was nominated for an ESPY Award this spring! We are all so proud of Tatyana. She truly represents the resiliancey and strength of the human spirit, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds.

And that’s what it’s all about for these orphaned children — beating the odds.

You’ve helped us before and now we need your help again. Please make a tax-deductible donation to Joint Council today. Your donation will allow us to continue working with the Russian Federation, the United States government, and adoption advocates everywhere, to ensure that Russian – U.S. adoptions continue well into the future.

Guatemala – Broken Promises, Unfulfilled Dreams

This year has been another difficult one for the more than 300 children who are still trapped in the broken system that has halted intercountry adoptions in Guatemala. Only 32 adoptions of Guatemalan children by families in the United States were completed in the past year. Only 32 more children are now spending their holidays in the arms of their new loving family. Clearly, our work in Guatemala is far from done.

But the year has had some bright spots. This year Sen. Landrieu made two trips to Guatemala to advocate for children and potential adoptive families, and she continues to champion orphans across the globe. In October, reason.tv released a documentary that focused on elimination of intercountry adoption in Guatemala in a way not often discussed in the media. The documentary can be viewed on our website.

Much like the scrutiny and attention by the international community exposed the corruption of the prior system, this same community must now refocus their attention to bring to light Guatemala’s ineffective implementation of the Hague Convention and its subsequent impact on institutionalized children and Guatemalan families.  Adoption reform in Guatemala has not resulted in the prosecution of criminals, nor has it served the best interest of children. What it has done is force thousands of children into orphanages, onto the streets, or even worse.

Joint Council needs your help to continue advocating for the ethical and legal finalization of all adoptions initiated prior to the closure of intercountry adoption in Guatemala, and for the formation of services that are desperately needed to ensure that children retain their right to a family.  Please help us in our efforts to call on all stakeholders who previously asked for reforms to move with speed in order to provide these much needed services.

 

Vietnam Adopts Hague Convention – and You Helped!

Because of your involvement with Joint Council’s efforts on behalf of Vietnamese children in need of a family, we wanted to make sure you knew that the U.S. State Department has announced that Vietnam has ratified the Hague Adoption Convention, and that it will go into force beginning February 1, 2012.

Under U.S. law, the United States Central Authority (USCA) must now evaluate whether procedures leading to the adoption of a child in Vietnam conform to the standards established by the Convention and the U.S. Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA).  While this is a very positive development, it certainly has been a long time in coming and there is still much work to be done before adoptions between the U.S. and Vietnam resume. We hope you will continue to support us in this extended campaign.

We wish to thank all of you for participating in our Child’s Right campaign, which involved 147 Congressional offices, thousands of concerned individuals like you and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute — all with a goal of re-starting adoption between the U.S. and Vietnam.  Together we hosted a Vietnam Summit, developed standards for Vietnamese adoptions, led numerous delegations to Vietnam and hosted a Vietnamese delegation in Washington, DC. It is thanks to your dedication that Vietnamese children are so much closer to having adoption available to them in 2011.

Joint Council needs your support to continue our work on behalf of vulnerable children throughout the world. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to Joint Council this holiday season.

On behalf of everyone at Joint Council, thank you again for your support and we hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

A Picture Perfect Moment Photo Contest- Help Us Choose the Winners!

We received over a hundred beautiful pictures for our 2011 A Picture Perfect Moment Photo Contest. Help us choose the winners from our top 14! Select one of the picture below and cast your vote.  Please only vote once! Make sure to vote by 11:59 PM EST on December 18th, 2011! Winners will receive gift cards from national companies.

Winners will be announced the week of December 19th, 2011.

Click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Please note: If Joint Council suspects inappropriate behavior on the part of an individual regarding voting, Joint Council reserves the right to disqualify the individual’s votes and/or pictures.

International Exhibition: Life In Motion – “I Want To Walk”

Life in Motion, a unique photo exhibition created to raise awareness about orphaned children who are unable to live a fulfilled life due to their physical limitations will premier on December 8th at the Rita K. Hillman Education Gallery in New York city.  Life in Motion, is an international collaboration between the International Center of Photography, the “Artist Foundation” and Happy Families, Inc. (a Joint Council Member-Partner).

In our supporting role and continued partnership with HFIC, Joint Council is participating in the premier of the exhibition and is working with HFIC to bring this very special exhibition to Washington DC in 2012.

Led by renowned photographer Ed Kashi, the exhibition showcases the work of 10 students from the International Center of Photography (ICP) and the Rodchenko Moscow School of Photography and Multimedia who photographed children at orphanages and rehabilitation centers in Russia.

This project is part of a greater program, I Want to Walk, created by HFIC to help orphaned children obtain their dream of walking. For some children this meant physically being able to walk, while for others “walking” also meant being able to leave the orphanage and achieve their goals. All of us at Joint Council are proud to join other partners in supporting I Want To Walk and Life In Motion. Those supporting the exhibition include Flotek, Transaero (Official Transportation Partner of the Life in Motion” project), the Renaissance Moscow Hotel, the Restaurant Mari Vanna-Ginza Project, Social Mavens, the Venta Group, Arts+Business Partners, the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, and the Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation.

For more information on Life In Motion and I Want To Walk, please call 212.857.0001.

Announcing Joint Council’s 4th Annual National Adoption Month Photo Contest!

Is there a special child or children in your life? Do you have a picture of them lying around the home that you just love? Share it with us in honor of National Adoption Month for the chance to win a gift card to a national company!

Our 4th annual National Adoption Month Photo Contest will be open for submissions November 1st- November 30, 2011. We are looking for beautiful, inspiring photos of all types of children- children in orphanages, foster homes, or adoptive families, engaged in all types of activities- children at play, in reflection, or just being loved. Click here to learn more about the contest.

JOINT COUNCIL AND THE MEAD JOHNSON NUTRITION FOUNDATION WORK TOGETHER TO HELP VULNERABLE CHILDREN WORLDWIDE

Alexandria, Va, September 20, 2011 – Recognizing that proper nutrition is critical to every child’s growth and development, The Joint Council on International Children’s Services and the Mead Johnson Nutrition Foundation today announced the launch of a program dedicated to improving nutritional care for vulnerable children living without parental care around the world.

Globally, millions of children live without parental care, with most living in orphanages, group homes and institutions.  While caregivers work diligently to attend to the needs of these children, science-based training and resources on nutrition and feeding practices to help identify nutrition deficiencies are often unavailable.

Through the new program, called A Child’s Best Start, Joint Council and Mead Johnson are leading an initiative to identify best practices for nutritional care among this vulnerable population of children. The program will provide critical nutrition information to individual caregivers through training on the ground in facilities located everywhere from major cities like Shanghaito small towns in rural Mexico.

A Child’s Best Start will support research, establish a free online library of information and resources, implement in-language training programs, and provide support to the individual organizations that care for vulnerable children. The program will launch the online library later this year and start the training pilot program in the first country, China, in the first half of 2012.

Mead Johnson’s nutrition scientists will lend their expertise to materials development, and its offices and employees in countries around the world will help individual orphanages and group homes through programs based on local needs.

“Children living in orphanages and group homes often do not receive the strong nutritional foundation they need in order to grow and flourish.” said Tom DiFilipo, president and chief executive officer of Joint Council. “Our goal through this partnership with the Mead Johnson Nutrition Foundation, is to change that.  We believe A Child’s Best Start is uniquely positioned to serve these vulnerable children by identifying their specific nutritional needs, introducing science based interventions, marshaling the resources of our partner-members and mobilizing local volunteer care givers.”

To get the program underway, Joint Council and Mead Johnson have formed a cooperative agreement with the the SPOON Foundation, a member of the Joint Council network which focuses its efforts on orphan nutrition. Together, the groups established the Global Nutrition Working Group of leading authorities on nutrition and medical care for vulnerable children and children living without parental care, to provide guidance on the development of program materials.

“One way we fulfill our corporate mission to nourish the world’s children for the best start in life is by giving back to and helping to improve the communities where we live, work and operate as a business,” said Stephen W. Golsby, Mead Johnson Nutrition’s president and chief executive officer. “A Child’s Best Start leverages Mead Johnson’s deep scientific expertise and understanding of pediatric nutrition and builds on our century-long heritage of philanthropy and community involvement.  This program will make a real impact on the lives of children, and we are proud to be a founding member of this ambitious effort.”

About Joint Council for International Children’s Services

Joint Council helps vulnerable children living without parental care by advocating on their behalf, marshaling the resources they need, educating those who serve them and mobilizing those who care. Joint Council and its partner organizations provided services to over 2.1 million children and families each year. For more information, go to www.jointcouncil.org/.

About Mead Johnson Nutrition Company

Mead Johnson, a global leader in pediatric nutrition, develops, manufactures, markets and distributes more than 70 products in over 50 countries worldwide. The company’s mission is to nourish the world’s children for the best start in life. The Mead Johnson name has been associated with science-based pediatric nutrition products for over 100 years. The company’s “Enfa” family of brands, including Enfamil^® infant formula, is the world’s leading brand franchise in pediatric nutrition. For more information, go to www.meadjohnson.com.

The above map represents the countries for A Child’s Best Start. The countries highlighted in dark green are those that the program will target during year one, and the countries highlighted in light green are those that will roll out subsequently.

Adoption Nutrition

What children eat in their earliest months impact them for the rest of their lives.

New research out of the University of Minnesota shows that under-nutrition in adopted kids is not always obvious and may actually worsen if gone untreated during the period of “catch-up growth” post-adoption.  Joint Council, in partnership with SPOON Foundation, is pleased to announce

AdoptionNutrition.org  – a new, comprehensive resource developed to educate parents about the unique nutritional and feeding needs of adopted and foster children.

AdoptionNutrition.orgwas created with expert input from SPOON Foundation’s medical team, led by Dr. Dana Johnson. It offers critical information in a user-friendly format, covering topics such as:

• Overcoming common feeding challenges
• Country-specific nutrition information and recipes
• Critical lab tests for identifying common deficiencies
• Special needs feeding practices
• Tips for transitioning the diet

The site also serves as a venue for adoptive and foster families to share their nutrition-related experiences and ask questions of an expert team.

 

CHECK OUT ADOPTIONNUTRITION.ORG!

Crossroads of America Adoption Conference 2011

MLJ Adoptions is thrilled to be hosting the Crossroads of America Adoption Conference September 30 – October 1, 2011 in Indianapolis Indiana. This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in adoption.

WHO: There will be several well-known speakers in the adoption world. We will be blogging about many of our speakers leading up to the Conference. Please keep a look out for this information.

WHAT: This two-day event will offer over 35 sessions in the area of adoption for adoptive parents and adoption professionals.

• Affording Adoption
• Techniques to Strengthen Attachment
• Home Study 101 for Adoptive Parents
• Medical Issues in Adoption
• Racism and My Child
• Orphan Ministry
• Legal Risks in International Adoption
• Foreign Staff of MLJ Adoptions, Inc. will be available for questions. This is a great opportunity for MLJ clients to meet their in-country coordinators!

WHEN: September 30 – October 1, 2011, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

WHERE: The Harrison Center 1505 N Delaware St. Indianapolis, IN 46202.

COST: $35 per person per day. Child care is also available for $15 per child per day.

TO LEARN MORE: Please contact Stacy Jacobs at Stacy@mljadoptions.com  for more information or for a registration packet.

We hope to see you there!

Read more: http://mljadoptions.com/Media.aspx?articleID=245#ixzz1VmCCkrEj

7 Reasons You Should Attend the Crossroads of America Adoption Conference

1. Low cost – high benefit. For a one day, one subject training I paid nearly five times what it will cost to attend one day of the CAAC, where you will have the opportunity to hear from seven different professionals on seven different subjects. Did we mention that breakfast and lunch are included?

2. Something for everyone. I have gone to adoption conferences in the past where everything was at an introductory level, even the courses that seemed directed towards professionals. We have made a conscious effort to include sessions that will benefit adoption professionals, those parenting an adopted child, those considering adoption, church leaders, and other adoption advocates. Each of our directors are looking forward to attending the breakout sessions. We are also planning activities for the kids. Whether your interest is international adoption, domestic adoption, or foster care adoption, we believe that you can find something of value from attending the conference.

3. Ongoing Support and Education Essential to Adoptive Families. The focus is on family success not just family formation.  The important question is are you willing to seek out any and all resources that may benefit your child?

4. Building your adoption community. Your kids need to see and know kids like them – kids that look like them and kids that have a similar life experience. Most of their peers at school cannot relate to how adoption affects them each and every day. You need to connect with and relate to other parents and professionals that truly understand how adoption affects your family. Group adoption events allow you to realize that you are not alone, even when it feels like it sometimes. It also allows you an opportunity to hold on to hope when you meet other families who have experienced and survived what you may be experiencing.

5. Experts and big names. A Biggest Loser winner, five book authors, three non-profit directors, foreign dignitaries, attorneys, pastors, social workers, doctors, a dentist, an occupational therapist, officers of the court, and more.

6. Meet MLJ foreign staff. There are not a lot of opportunities to meet the people representing your family overseas, but the main staff from each of our programs will be available at the Crossroads of America Adoption Conferences to meet you and answer some questions.

7. Meet MLJ staff. Pictures, emails, phone calls, and blogs can give you a good sense of who we are, but nothing can replace an introduction and a handshake.

Register now! You really should.
Read more: http://www.mljadoptions.com/Media.aspx#ixzz1VmBBp0QQ
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