CCAI offers China Heritage Tours

 

China Adoptees Travel Free In China

 March 20-30, 2013 & July 14 -24, 2013

l China adoptees of all ages are FREE for in-China tours!

l Ten days and four spectacular cities: Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin.

l Visit the ‘mysterious’ CCCWA (formerly CCAA), climb the Great Wall, tour the Forbidden City, be awed by the Terra Cotta Soldiers, hold a baby giant panda, cruise the poetic Li River, enjoy wonderful Chinese cuisine, and much more!

l Includes all in-China air and ground transportation, hotels, park and show tickets, and most meals during the dates listed above.

l All of this for $1,899 per non-China adoptee adult (12 or older) and $1,399 for non-China adoptee children. (Panda hugging extra.)

l Optional visit and tour to your child’s orphanage is available after the main tour (additional costs apply).

This incredible deal is made possible by a special Heritage Tour Grant from the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs!

These tours are open to everyone: CCAI families, non-CCAI families, your friends or relatives. So please spread the word! If you are a FCC chapter member in your area, please help us get the word out to FCC communities. Thank you!!!

Register online now to secure your spot: www.ccaifamily/heritagetour

CCAI is a Hague accredited adoption service provider

6920 South Holly Circle

Centennial, CO 80112

www.ccaifamily.org

Book Discussion: Fields of the Fatherless

Please join us for a

 

Pot-Luck Dinner and Book Discussion

 

 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

 

Willow Creek Community Church

67 E. Algonquin Road, So. Barrington, IL

Room F150

 

Book:  "Fields of the Fatherless: Discovering the Joy of Compassionate Living"

by author Tom Davis

 

Order you book now at Amazon.com.

 

Download your discussion guide at here.

 

Childcare is available if you R.S.V.P. with the number of children and their ages to vcministry127@gmail.com. 

Empowered to Connect Conference Coming to Chicago Area

April 19 & 20, 2013    The Chapel   Barrington,  Illinois  Empowered To Connect, together with Show Hope, hosts the Empowered To Connect Conference — a two-day conference designed to help adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders and professionals better understand how to connect with “children from hard places” in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be. The conference features Dr. Karyn Purvis together with Michael & Amy Monroe, and is ideal for adoptive and foster parents, those considering adoption or foster care and those who are serving and supporting others, including social workers, agency professionals, church staff and ministry leaders, counselors, therapists and others. Click here to read what people are saying about the 2012 ETC Conference in Dallas, Texas. Early Bird registration is open now through February 19th. Please go to www.showhope.org/connect for conference information and registration.

Dive off Fiscal Cliff to Affect Orphans & Children in Foster Care

Dive off fiscal cliff could be 'disastrous' for orphans, foster children, say advocates

 

By Joshua Rhett Miller

Published November 21, 2012

FoxNews.com

As talk of tax increases and deep cuts to government programs dominate Washington, adoption advocates are warning of another crisis should the adoption tax credit be allowed to expire at the end of the year — a potentially “disastrous” outcome for more than 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system.

 

Among the so-called Bush tax cuts set to expire at the end of 2012 is a one-time adoption tax credit that gave $12,650 this year to families who took in a parentless child. But unless Congress acts to extend it, the only tax credit for adoptive parents on Jan. 1, 2013, will be to those who take in special needs children from within the United States. For them, the credit will be just $6,000.

“And it’s really not going to do much,” said Chuck Johnson, president and CEO of the National Council For Adoption. “Most families adopting those kids won’t even qualify for it because of the strict income requirements. It really would be a credit unclaimed at that point and that could have pretty disastrous impact for kids awaiting adoption in foster care.”

 

Adoptive families already suffered a blow in the current year, when the credit stopped being refundable — payable even to families with little or no tax liability — and became merely a deduction.

 

Roughly 423,000 children are living in the United States without permanent families, according to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and 115,000 of them are eligible for adoption. But nearly 40 percent of those children wait longer than three years in foster care prior to being adopted.

To read the full article click here: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/21/expiration-adoption-tax-credit-could-be-disastrous-for-orphans-foster-children/#ixzz2DNQF0Ikh

International Adoption Webinar

 

Children Are Waiting for YOU to Discover Adoption

Thousands of abandoned children are awaiting adoption by a loving family. Could that be your family?

Please join us for our live webinar on November 29 at 7 p.m. CST to meet nearly 20 of these waiting kids. You'll learn about these precious children and hear adoptive families share their incredible journey.

These boys and girls vary widely in age and in types of special needs. Adoption specialists will outline the qualifications for adopting from Albania, Bulgaria, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Lithuania.

 

Live webinar viewing is limited, so don't delay. Register now: www.bethany.org/internationalwebinar . If this is not a convenient time for you, please register here for the recorded version after it has been posted.

 

 

Cinderella Moon was inspired by Richard and Jenny Bowan's Chinese daughters and is dedicated to Half the Sky, and organization founded by Jenny, that serves orphans in China. 

 

This gorgeous film – a fairytale for the whole family – brings to life the world's first telling of the Cinderella story.
The movie has played to sold-out film festival audiences and received ecstatic reviews..."Magical. Sheer entertainment. A richly told girl-power fantasy guaranteed to enchant tots and parents alike." – Variety

If you have adopted from China, you will want to experience this wonderful and little-known part of our children's heritage. 

For a limited time only, you can buy Cinderella Moon only in the Half the Sky store at a discounted price.

Watch the opening scene (in Chinese with subtitles) here:

Watch the English (dubbed) version here.

D.C.F.S. Classes Offered at Willow Creek

Below is a list of D.C.F.S. classes that will be held at Willow Creek Community Church/So. Barrington, IL. The first class is just 4 weeks away, on Saturday, Dec. 8th. The remainder of the classes will be held in 2013.

If you are interested in any of these classes, just call the DCFS registration unit at 877-800-3393. If you know of anyone who may be interested, please forward this information to them.

Please note that you must be a licensed foster parent in Illinois, or at least have identified an agency that you will be working with to participate in these classes. Our hope is that by providing these classes at this location, we would empower you and your family as you serve the child(ren) placed in your home.

Schedule:

1. Saturday, December 8, 2012- 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Thursday April 4&11, 2013-6:30 to 9:30pm

EDUCATIONAL ADVOCACY TRAINING FOR FOSTER PARENTS 6 hours

The purpose of this class is to provide foster parents the basic information and skills necessary to advocate for and obtain quality special education and developmental services for the children in their care who are between the ages of newborn to 18 years old. Best practice is for this class to be taken prior to receiving a foster placement and it is mandatory to take prior to renewal of your foster care license.

2. Tuesdays, January 22, 2013 through 3/19/13- 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

PRIDE PRE-SERVICE TRAINING FOR PROSPECTIVE FOSTER AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS 27 hours

The goal of this competency based training is to share essential information about fostering and adopting that will help the participants to develop into a successful foster and/or adoptive family. It will also help you to learn the knowledge and skills you need to make an informed decision about fostering or adopting and get off to a healthy start. 27 hours.

 

3. Tuesdays, March 26, 2013 through April 23, 2013- 6:30 p.m.

CARING FOR CHILDREN WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED TRAUMA:

A Workshop for Resource Parents 15 hours

Understanding how trauma affects children can help you to make sense of your child’s sometimes baffling behavior, feelings, and attitudes. Once you understand why your child behaves the why he does or she does, you’ll be better prepared to help him or her cope with the effects of trauma. Come and learn how to become a trauma informed resource parent.

4. Thursdays, March 7, 14, 21, 2013

ADOPTION CERTIFICATION “From Foster Care to Adoption”9 hours

The purpose of this training is to meet the needs of experienced foster parents who are adopting a child who they are currently fostering. It is a requirement that foster parents take this training prior to the adoption being finalized.

*Registration is required to attend these classes. Call the DCFS Registration Unit #877-800-3393

Eight Adoption Facts that May Surprise You

 November is National Adoption month.  Will you join me in using this designated time as a tool to educate and stir the hearts of people within our circles of influence?  The following video is a great place to start.  Adding it to your Facebook page, blog, tweeting it or just e-mailing it to your contacts is an easy way to be a voice for God's children.  They NEED us!

"http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ExUk0kxD-4s?rel=0"

Orphan Sunday Event at Willow Creek

 

Thousands of churches across the U.S. and around the globe will celebrate Orphan Sunday, calling Christians to reflect God's heart for orphans through adoption, foster care and global initiatives.

Please join us at Willow Creek as we host our annual Orphan Sunday event!

Sunday, November 18th, 2012

5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Willow Creek Community Church

67 E. Algonquin Road, South Barrington, IL 60010

Room b100 (under the chapel)

Guest Speaker C.H. Dyer, President of Bright Hope and Adoptive Dad, will talk about what adoption looks like in our world today, and why we, as believers, need to be engaged here and around the world where the local church is not. Check out Craig's bio here.

Ministry Expo: Discover serving opportunities and resources from adoption, foster care and orphan care ministries including D.C.F.S., Village to Village, Safe Families, Royal Family Kids Camp, Bethany Christian Services, Reece's Rainbow, Sunnyridge Family Center and more!

Heart Gallery of IL: View the gallery of portraits to see & pray for the names and faces of kids in foster care that need permanent families to call their own.

Pick up a hand made Christmas Stocking to fill for a child in need.

A light dinner will be provided.

Childcare is available if you e-mail the number of children and their ages to vcministry127@gmail.com.