Welcome to the Adopt to the Flock Luncheon

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Welcome to the Adopt to the Flock Luncheon

• Celebrating the International Adoptions of Josh
  Kathy Dodson
• and Chip Sara Needham

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The Gift of Adoption
I didnt give you the gift of life, but in my
heart I know The love I feel is as deep and
real as if it had been so For us to have each
other is like a dream come true! No, I didnt
give you the gift of life life gave me
the gift of you
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Meet The Dodson Family!

• Josh Kathy met at Trevecca Nazarene University
  and have been married for almost 10 years
• They adopted Allie from Romania in Feb, 2000
• They moved from Florida to Omaha in June of 2004

• Josh works for Saia Motor Freight as Terminal
  Manager for the freight trucks
• Responsible for their entire Omaha-based terminal
  (75 employees)
• He loves electronics (hes building his own home
  theater!)

• Kathy runs her own home-based medical billing
  business.
• She is working on a masters degree in counseling

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Dodsons Last Adoption Story

• The Dodsons adopted Allie as a 9-month old (now
  shes in 1st grade)
• Allie came from Romania (Eastern Europe), which
  is now closed to international adoptions
• Allie lived in foster care and they still keep in
  touch with the foster family
• For the 12-hour flight back home, she only slept
  30-minutes but hardly ever cried!

• The adoption process only took 6 months to
  complete - definitely Gods hand at work!

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Dodson Adoption - China

• Josh, Kathy Allie are adopting a girl from
  China
• Her name will be Eva Dodson
• Eva will be 2-4 years old when she comes home
• Chinese adoptions typically come from orphanages
• Most babies are female due to the One-Child rule
  and the male-dominated society

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Dodson Adoption - China

• Why China?
• Weve always wanted to go to China. Weve always
  thought the Chinese people were so beautiful, but
  we werent old enough to adopt from China until
  now. (China has a minimum age of 30-years for
  adoptive parents)

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Dodson Adoption - China

• The Dodsons started their adoption process in
  Nov, 2005 and hope to bring Eva home around Dec,
  2006.
• They have finished their home study and are
  preparing their Dossier (official documents) to
  be sent to China to officially request their
  adoption.

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Dodson Adoption - China

• China is just slightly smaller than the entire
  U.S.
• Has 1.3 Billion people (compared to 300mil in
  U.S.)
• 10 of the population is below poverty line
• China is officially an atheistic country, though
  people still practice Daoist and Buddhist
  religions

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Dodson Adoption - China
Shanghai Bund Night Scene
Near Xiahe - Gansu province, China
Sunset of Wu Gorge
The Great Wall
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Dodson Adoption - China

• Requirements to Adopt from China
• Prospective adoptive parents must be between the
  ages of 30 and 55
• The minimum income requirement is 30,000 for
  couples without children, plus 10,000 per
  additional family member
• Travel Requirements
• Parents will travel to China for about 10 days

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Dodson Adoption - China

• The Children of China
• Children in China available for adoption have
  been abandoned and reside in orphanages due to
  the one-child law in China.
• Many children have good prenatal care and have
  been born in hospitals.
• Minor developmental delays are expected but the
  health of most children is good.
• 97 of children adopted from China are girls.

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Dodson Adoption - China

• The One-Child Policy
• In the 1950s, Mao Tse-Tung urged his people to
  have lots of children to strengthen the country.
  The resulting population growth led the
  government in the 1970s to worry that China would
  be unable to feed her citizens.
• So, the Chinese government implemented the One
  Child Policy in 1979. The goal of this policy was
  to keep China's population below 1.3 billion by
  the year 2000.
• Couples who violate the One Child Policy are
  subject to fines (equal to three years salary!),
  community ostracism, and even jail time.

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Dodson Adoption - China

• The One-Child Policy (cont)
• Baby boys are more valued in Chinese society than
  are baby girls
• Boys carry on the ancestral name, inheritance
  laws pass property on to sons, and sons are
  responsible for taking care of aged parents.
• Because of this many couples will abandon a baby
  girl.
• Hundreds of thousands of baby girls are abandoned
  every year in China.

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Meet The Needham Family!

• Sara teaches private Suzuki Violin lessons to
  about 20 students
• She enjoys doing crafts and spending time with
  friends family

• Chip works as a System Engineer for Raytheon
• He researches and installs large computer
  installations for the Air Force Weather Agency
• Chip loves to work on computer-related hobbies

• Chip Sara met while at the University of
  Nebraska Lincoln
• They have been married for almost 5 years and
  have no children (yet!)
• Chip Sara lead the Teen Bible Quizzing program
  here at Heritage

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Needham Adoption - Vietnam

• Chip Sara will be adopting a boy from Vietnam
• They havent chosen a name yet
• Their child will be a boy between 7-12 months
  when he comes home
• Vietnamese adoptions typically come from
  orphanages
• Both boys and girls are available for adoption,
  but boys are more numerous

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Needham Adoption - Vietnam

• Why Vietnam?
• We were drawn to the Asian people and were
  intrigued with the culture of Vietnam. We saw the
  Vietnamese adoption program and wanted to help
  where there was so much need.

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Needham Adoption - Vietnam

• The Needhams started their adoption process in
  Jan, 2006 and hope to bring their baby home
  around Feb, 2007
• They have just finished their home study and are
  finishing their immigration paperwork. They will
  soon be preparing their Dossier (official
  documents).

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Needham Adoption - Vietnam

• Vietnam is just south of China
• They speak Vietnamese, with English as a common
  second language
• 29 of the population is below the poverty line
• Largely atheistic society (80)

Coastline near Dai Lanh
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Needham Adoption - Vietnam
Vietnamese Girl with non hat
Two Vietnamese Girls
Rush Hour Traffic in Saigon
Large public fountain outside an art building in
the center of Saigon.
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Needham Adoption - Vietnam

• Vietnam has been closed to international
  adoptions since 2002, and only just reopened in
  January of 2006
• Vietnamese children are typically abandoned due
  to poverty or the social stigma of being born out
  of wedlock
• Since 1995, over 3,000 Vietnamese children have
  been adopted into the U.S.

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Needham Adoption - Vietnam

• Requirements to Adopt from Vietnam
• Prospective adoptive parents must be 20 years
  older than the child typically between 25 and
  55
• No stated minimum income requirements or health
  requirements as long as you can support the child
• Travel Requirements
• Parents will travel to Vietnam for 2-3 weeks

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Why Adopt?

• Adoption is a beautiful, God-ordained way to have
  or grow a family
• Adoption allows you to provide a forever family
  to a child in need
• Adoption gives families longing for children the
  fulfillment of being parents

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Why Adopt?
Not of my flesh, nor of my bone, but still
miraculously my own. Never forget for a single
minute, you didn't grow under my heart, but in
it.
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How Common is International Adoption?

• Stats from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
  Service (CIS)
• Over 225,000 adoptions in the last 15 years!

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Where Do People Adopt From?

• Stats from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
  Service (CIS)

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International Adoption

• International Adoption can be a long process full
  of many twists and turns
• Thankfully, numerous adoption agencies exist to
  help
• Agencies can be large or small, each with their
  own strengths
• Each agency works in several different countries
• Agencies help you step-by-step through the
  process
• Many agencies have staff in-country to accompany
  you while traveling
• So what does an international adoption look like?

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International Adoption Steps

• There are three main phases of preparation for an
  international adoption

• Preparation

2. Referral
3. Travel
4. Home!
Needhams are finishing phase 2
Dodsons are starting phase 3
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International Adoption Steps

• Preparation

• When the country and your adoption agency find a
  child to match your request, you receive a
  referral for that child
• A referral notice typically includes photos and
  whatever personal and medical information is
  available
• You can accept or decline that child

2. Referral
3. Travel
4. Home!
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International Adoption Steps

• Preparation

• Most countries require adoptive parents to travel
  to the country to adopt their child
• Typically, travel occurs 1-4 months after the
  referral is accepted
• Each country has its own requirements for how
  long you must stay in the country (often 1-4
  weeks)

2. Referral
3. Travel
4. Home!
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International Adoption Steps

• Preparation

• Once adopted children land on U.S. soil, they
  become U.S. Citizens
• Friends and family often meet at the airport to
  greet the new family
• Social workers must come and perform 2-3 checkups
  during the next year or so to ensure the childs
  well-being

2. Referral
3. Travel
4. Home!
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International Costs

• International adoption can be very expensive
  anywhere from 10,000-40,000 depending on where
  you are adopting from
• Why is it so expensive?
• It is a long legal process involving many state,
  federal, and international entities - each
  charging a fee for the services they provide
• Often the orphanages are a low priority in
  developing countries, so the fees paid to the
  country are often what keep the orphanage running

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International Costs - China

• Total Costs for China Adoption Approx 19,000

Country Fees and Donations are used to keep
orphanages running
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International Costs - Vietnam

• Total Costs for Vietnam Adoption Approx 25,000

Country Fees are used to keep orphanages running
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International Costs
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International Costs

• Many resources exist to help reduce the cost
• Federal Tax Credit get a 10,000 credit
  (refund) for adoption expenses in the following
  tax years
• Employer Assistance some companies offer an
  adoption benefit to offset the costs, can be up
  to 1,000-4,000
• Military Subsidies military will reimburse up
  to 2,000 per child
• Many foundations, such as Shohannahs Hope or
  Dave Thomas, offer small grants for those with
  financial need

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Adoption Issues

• Attachment
• Children from orphanages often have problems
  bonding with people
• Adoptive parents are encouraged to be the only
  person who holds the child, changes diapers,
  comforts them, etc. until the child bonds with
  the parents
• New adoptive parents will seem overprotective
  but really theyre doing what they must to catch
  up on the missed bonding time with their child

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Adoption Issues

• Delayed Development
• Orphanages dont have much one-on-one time with
  each child, so a childs development is typically
  1-month behind for every 3-months the child was
  in an orphanage
• Medical Issues
• Adoptive parents can request children with
  special conditions or ask for a healthy child
• Of course there can always be unknown issues
  just as with a biological child

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Funny Adoption Quirks

• As you might guess, a long bureaucratic process
  like international adoption is going to have some
  funny quirks

• Nebraska
• All notarized documents must have a funny
  3-sentence statement at the bottom
• U.S. Quirks
• The Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS)
  requires you to make an appointment online in
  order to drop off paperwork asking for an
  appointment!

• Romania
• The Dodsons had to bring 8,000 cash to Romania,
  which had to be in brand new bills with no marks,
  tears, or bends and had to be in denominations of
  20 or more
• They had to bring specific gifts with them when
  they traveled (Folgers coffee, Coffee-mate
  non-dairy creamer, etc.)
• All documents had to be signed in BLUE ink

• China
• Both adoptive parents must be at least 29.5 years
  old to begin the adoption process (you must be 30
  to adopt)
• Vietnam
• Every page that has to be translated is a flat
  70 fee so cram as much as you can per page!

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Adoption Agencies

• Chip Sara Childrens Hope International
• Has 11 offices around the country
• Offers adoptions in China, Russia, Kazakhstan,
  Colombia, and Vietnam
• http//www.chi.org/
• Josh Kathy Cherished Children
• Based in Greenville, SC
• Offers adoptions in Cambodia, China, Colombia,
  Guatemala, Kazakhstan, and Russia
• http//www.cherishedchildren.org/

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Useful Websites

• www.adoption.com
• www.shaohannahshope.org
• www.howtoadopt.org

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Thank You!
We want to give a BIG Thank You to Berwin Brezina
for hosting this event, and for everyone else who
helped make the adoption luncheon a success! We
feel so loved by you all!