Recently in Taiwan Adoption News

As the month of June begins, there is one family currently in Taiwan completing the adoption of their little boy! Click here to link to their blog and share their experiences.

This week we also received one referral for a baby girl! This is Gladney's first referral since the June 1st implementation date of the Child Welfare Legislation in Taiwan. There are 5 families with court dates that occurred during the spring. These families are now awaiting their civil rulings.

Gongzhan will be travelling to Asia this summer and expects to be in Taiwan during mid-July. He plans to visit with all of our partner organizations in Taiwan: New Hope, Chung Yi and Cathwel. We will provide an update of Gongzhan's trip later this summer that will include any new information about the processing of Taiwan adoptions subsequent to the June 1st legislative implementation date.

If you are a family in Gladney's Taiwan program and approved and waiting to receive a referral, your caseworker may be contacting you about updating your home study during the summer. After families receive a referral in the Taiwan program, their dossier (which includes the home study report) is entered into court. While each judge has his/her own discretion in consideration of dossier documents, most judges request that the home study report be under one year at the time of submission to their court. You will be able to discuss your plans for updating your home study report with your caseworker based on the specific program you are in, as well as the length of time you have been waiting for a referral.

Invitation to Attend Larchmont Picnic June 3rd

Dear Gladney Taiwan Family,

I am sending this invitation to invite our metro New York Taiwan families to attend the Gladney Center’s annual family picnic at the Larchmont Yacht Club on Sunday, June 3rd. This casual picnic is a special time for all Gladney families. Whether you are waiting to complete your adoption or have completed the adoption process, you will have a wonderful time seeing old friends and making new friends. I will be travelling to Taiwan later in June and would very much like to have the chance to see and talk to our families before I go.

At this year’s picnic, there will be tables designated for each country program/region. We are looking forward to this so that our Taiwan families in the area can share lunch, stories and questions together! Wendy and I will look forward to updating our Taiwan families on some of the changes in Taiwan adoptions that have occurred over the past few years and what some of the changes for the future might bring. I would also like to share with you some of the things that took take place behind the scenes during your Taiwan adoption process. Please bring your questions – whether they address a pre or post adoption matter – we welcome the chance to address them.

Did you know 24 children from Taiwan have joined their families in the Metro New York area since Gladney’s Taiwan adoption program began in the Fall of 2008?  It would be wonderful for us all to have the opportunity to meet and get to know one another. We hope that each of you has a wonderful summer and that we can see many of you at the picnic!

Sincerely,

Gongzhan Wu

VP & Managing Director - Asia

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

Immunizations and Vaccinations

In a continuing effort to provide families with information regarding adoption related issues, following is a link to an article "International Travel with Infants and Children" in the 2012 Yellow Book published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The article outlines vaccination and immunization recommendations for families before they travel, as well as expectations and suggested guidelines regarding the adopted child's vaccination and immunization schedule. Click here for the CDC article.

Although there are guidelines governing immunizations and vaccinations, as documented in the CDC's article, more than 90% of newly arrived internationally adopted children need catch-up immunizations to meet the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) guidelines.

During the US visa issuance stage at the end of the adoption trip, adopted children under the age of 10 are exempt from the immunization requirements that otherwise apply to persons immigrating to the United States. Instead, the US CIS requires adoptive parents to sign a notarized affidavit indicating their intention to comply with the immunization requirements within 30 days of the child's arrival in the United States. The article suggests immunizations should be given according to the current ACIP schedule for catch-up vaccination, and if the infant is less than 6 months old and there is uncertainty regarding immunization status or validity of immunization record, the child should be reimmunized according to the ACIP schedule. As always, the course of action for each child is a personal decision that should be made with your pediatric physician or specialist.

Heritage Trip Forum at 125th - "The Trip of a Lifetime"

During Gladney's 125th celebration, a workshop was held for adoptive families wanting to learn more about making a heritage trip back to their child's country of birth. Four adoptive families, who adopted from China and Russia, spoke about their recent experiences in planning and travelling. While the meaning and experience was very unique and personal to each child and parent, the parents on the panel expressed consensus about these points:

- It was helpful to start the trip in a large city as a buffer for transition, spending the first few days adjusting to language, foods and appreciating the historical sites and landmarks. After these initial days, families felt prepared to travel onward to visit the local community in which their child was initially raised.

- For families that travelled in a group, both children and parents felt that the support of their peers was helpful in processing the thoughts and emotions that evolved during the trip. Everyone agreed that upon returning home, each child and parent continues to reflect on their adoption experience and that it will continue to shape their identities and roles.

Director Dr. Dou welcomes Seiler and family at ChuZhou SWI

- Children were most interested in seeing the actual site where they were cared for, and when possible, meeting staff who knew and remembered them.

- The caregivers and staff at the orphanages were very warm and enthusiastic to meet the children who returned to visit. For orphanage staff, seeing the children several years older as happy, healthy people, and knowing they were well cared for, was very important and rewarding.

If you have questions as you begin to think about planning such a trip for your family, please visit our website Gladney Asia (www.gladneyasia.org) or email us at chinaheritagetours@gladney.org.

Gladney's China Heritage Tours are primarily customized tours for an individual family or group of families who would like to travel together (no matter which agency they used to adopt). However, several families have come to us and expressed an interest in travelling as part of a larger group. We are open to (and excited about!!) organizing a group trip for the summer of 2013 and/or the summer of 2014 based on families' interest. If you have a tentative or strong interest at this time, please contact us at our email address above, indicating which year you would prefer, 2013 or 2014 and include your child's province. We will create a group email list to keep interested families posted on the specific developments of a group trip, as well as continue to update everyone generally through this newsletter.

--Wendy Stanley, Director of Social Services - Asia

Recently in Taiwan Adoption News

During the month of April many families received good news! Two families received referrals this month -- one baby girl and one toddler girl! In the courts -- five court hearings took place; one civil ruling was issued; and one final ruling was issued. This week one family is travelling to Taiwan to bring home their baby boy! 

Our Newest Taiwan Staff Caseworker

Rebecca Pollack is a Licensed Social Worker, who joined the Gladney Asia team in February, 2012. Rebecca comes to Gladney with prior experience working with prospective adoptive parents and post-adoptive families. She has facilitated group information sessions, support groups, and other adoption related events and programs. Rebecca has also worked with children and families in the New York State Foster Care System. Rebecca received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Delaware and earned her Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work in NYC.

Currently, there are five Gladney staff members who join Gongzhan Wu in working with families adopting from Taiwan: Wendy Stanley is the casework and social work supervisor; Mary Chapman and Rebecca Pollack are the primary caseworkers who work with families throughout all stages of the process; and Lindsay Hatcher coordinates outreach for Taiwan waiting children for the adoption of older children and children with medical needs.

Gladney Family Association's 14th Annual Larchmont Picnic

On Sunday, June 3, 2012, the Gladney Asia Program Staff will be among those attending the annual New York Metro GFA picnic at the beautiful Larchmont Yacht Club.

For families in the New York metro area, whether you are an annual picnic attendee, you have not attended in years or this will be your first picnic, we hope you will consider joining us this year, as Gladney celebrates its 125th!

This annual event is well-attended and a wonderful day with fun and socializing. This year, there will be some tables grouped by country where families are welcome to sit and meet others with children adopted from the same country.

We look forward to enjoying a fun filled day with many Gladney families! You can register online now at www.gladneycommunity.com/nypicnic

Taiwan Child Welfare Legislation Update

** LEGISLATIVE UPDATE. May 2012. **

The child welfare laws of Taiwan are undergoing significant revisions. New legislation, "Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act,” was passed in November 2011. The legislation has an implementation date of June 1, 2012 and addresses various aspects of child welfare including adoption services.

Expected changes include:

• Only government-licensed child welfare organizations will be able to provide adoption services. Child Welfare organizations will be subject to increased requirements and standards in terms of initial licensing and renewals, as well as ongoing agency procedures and services. 

• Judges will be authorized to require that adoptive parents receive parent training, physical and mental health assessments, alcohol and drug screenings, and/or criminal background clearances.

• Domestic placement will be considered a priority, with international adoption becoming an option after efforts have been made to place the child with a local family. All adoptable children will be listed on a country-wide database. After being posted on the database, a child is eligible to be considered for international adoption.

All organizations that Gladney works with in Taiwan have been undergoing a relicensing process and we have been working closely with them to exchange information about Gladney's licensure status, adoption education requirements, and our post-adoption services. This month we have been able to talk with several families to answer questions about how the new legislation may affect the Taiwan program, as well as their specific case. These individual calls can be very helpful - please do not hesitate to contact us to arrange a time to talk.

Previous blog posts related to this legislation appeared on March 3rd, March 24th and April 18th. Please note, these prior posts reported the implementation date, in error, as July 1, 2012.