Time is flying by in chilly New England and at CFFC.

The holiday season is always a busy one at our clinic, and this year was no different.  For children in foster care and adoption, holidays hold joy, sorrow, wishes, hopes and fears.  Our staff is excellent and strong, and we have been taking good care of the children and families who seek our guidance in consulting, our help in therapy, and our knowledge in trainings.

The Kellogg International/Transracial Post-Adoption Training is nearing at its end. We have only two more trainings in February and March and then the closing presentations in April.  The folks who have taken the course are growing and changing and the evaluations tell us that this work is on target and is what both professionals and parents need.  We are hoping to receive continued funding to continue this good work!

Our new space (we still live in our old space at 350 Cambridge Street but had a donor gift us with rent for a space for trainings and groups down the street at 189 Cambridge Street) is livable now.  We put together the remaining IKEA furnishings, we had some heavy-lifters (one actually named Hercules) come in and move things for us, and we are being gifted with 18 beautiful paintings by local artists via The Art Connection (visit http://www.theartconnection.org/ to learn more).  Once we gather and frame the pieces, we will host an 'opening,' and invite the artists and our neighbors and friends to see our new location.  Our new space has cost quite a bit to get it wired and furnished, and we are still working on computers and some other things.  We appreciate any donations of dollars that you can offer and we are also eager to get dollhouses, dolls (of every ethnicity), art supplies, puppets, small figurines, superheroes, and animals.

We have groups galore (read about them in the flyers below), and we have gone back to our original groups model, running concurrent groups for the parents, while the kids are doing projects and working with our staff.

We would like to reinstitute our ParentaLinks and have some parents by birth, foster, and adoption, or adult adopted people who are parents, become trained to volunteer and help with parent groups and with answering phones, doing mailings, etc.  Let us know if you have time to volunteer and we will set you up for an interview and training program. (Email Larisa Kottke at larisak@kinnect.org).

We are in the midst of intern interviews for FY11, as our interns start on July 1 and stay through June 30 of the next year.  We are also looking for externs (seasoned clinical folk who want to specialize in our field), and we are seeking one or two new Fee For Service Clinicians to add to the fabulous network we already have in-house.  Call or email Larisa Kottke at 617-547-0909 or larisak@kinnect.org for more information.

Please take a moment right now and call Governor Patrick's office at 617-725-4005 and let him know that:
"The earmark previously held by Center For Family Connections (CFFC) used to save the Commonwealth a huge amount of money by preventing hospitalizations and re-entry into residential treatment and group homes by children and teens who were adopted.  In cutting it last year, Governor Patrick took away 1/3 of our funding and jobs for Massachusetts constituents.  For a small reinstating of $250,000, families will be strengthened and people will have jobs and professionals will have training to expand the service in our great State for Families by Adoption."

Valentine's Day is this month, and if you love someone involved in adoption, foster care, kinship, guardianship or alternative reproductive technologies, give them the gift of a donation to CFFC so that your love for them is sprinkled on many children and families!

Note our new Twitter and Facebook links -- and help us to market and spread the word about CFFC and the magnificent services we provide to our underserved population!

Thanks for all that you do for CFFC, and you certainly are OUR Valentine.  Thank you.

Dr. Joyce Maguire Pavao
CEO and Founder
Center For Family Connections

CFFC welcomes Carolyn Meenan to our Board of Directors!

Carolyn was elected on January 19, 2010 and will begin her tenure on July 1, 2010.

 

The Department of State is receiving inquiries from American citizens deeply touched by the plight of children in Haiti in the aftermath of the January 12 earthquake. As Secretary of State Clinton said on January 20, "Children are especially vulnerable in any disaster, especially those without parents or other guardians to look after them. This devastating earthquake has left many in need of assistance, and their welfare is of paramount concern as we move forward with our rescue and relief efforts." Together with the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department is processing and evacuating as quickly as possible those orphans who were identified for adoption by American citizens before the earthquake. We understand that other Americans, moved by images of children in need, want to open their homes and adopt other Haitian children who had not been identified for adoption before the earthquake. The State Department advises against this course of action at this time. Intercountry adoption involves strict safeguards and legal requirements that must be met to protect children from illegal adoptions, abduction, sale and child-trafficking as well as to ensure that any adoption is in the best interests of the child. Before a child can be legally taken to the United States for adoption, the Governments of both the United States and the child?s country of origin must first determine that the child is indeed an orphan. It can be extremely difficult during the aftermath of a natural disaster to ascertain whether children who appear to be orphans truly are eligible for adoption. Children may be temporarily separated from their parents or other family members, and their parents or family members may be looking for them. Moreover, it is not uncommon in an emergency or unsettled situation for parents to send their children out of the area, or for families to become separated during an evacuation. Efforts to reunite such children with relatives or extended family should be given priority. In addition, some children who had been residing in orphanages before the earthquake were placed there temporarily by parents who could not care for them. In most of these cases the parents did not intend to permanently give up their parental rights. Even when it can be demonstrated that children have indeed lost their parents or have been abandoned, reunification with other relatives in the extended family should be the first option. During times of crisis, it can also be exceptionally difficult to fulfill the legal requirements for adoption of both the United States and the child's country of origin. This is especially true when civil authority breaks down or temporarily ceases to function. It can also be difficult to gather documents necessary to fulfill the legal requirements of U.S. immigration law. The United States is cooperating directly with UNICEF and other relief organizations in Haiti to deliver needed supplies to Haiti's orphanages and to provide assistance to other unaccompanied children. UNICEF is starting the process of registering unaccompanied children and will seek to unite children with relatives. There are many ways in which U.S. citizens can help the children of Haiti now. For example, individuals who wish to assist can make a financial contribution to a reputable relief or humanitarian organization working in that country.