Dear Friends,  

 

As you know, Marquita Thompson recently left AAI. Marquita was a wonderful, valued member of our team. We were sad to see her go, but wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors!

 

Jessica Shriner, AAI adoptive mother with a professional background in social work, was brought in to take over the role of Ethiopia Coordinator. Below is a short bio written by Jessica to help you get to know her better:

 

Meet Jessica!

"I am absolutely thrilled about becoming the new Ethiopia Coordinator for AAI. I earned my B.A. from Seattle Pacific University in Sociology-Cultural Anthropology in 1997. In 2001, I earned my M.S.W. from the University of Washington with an emphasis in Multi-Ethnic Practice. As a social worker, I've had the great honor of walking alongside children, teens, and their families as they encounter foster care, mental health, juvenile justice, and educational environments. Most recently, I worked in an advocacy program for trauma survivors - children, teens, and their parents who were domestic violence and sexual assault survivors.

 

There are many Ethiopian children posted on our Waiting Child page who are waiting for their forever families. The page is updated about once a month, so check back soon for new additions. A couple of children we would like to highlight are: 

 

These brothers lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. The older of the two (left in picture) is about 14 or 15 years old and is HIV+. He is a well-mannered young man and is described as a "leader." He does well in school and his favorite subject is English. The younger brother is about 13 years old and has tested negative for HIV. He enjoys playing soccer and watching movies. He gets along well with his peers.

 

 

This little guy was born around May 31, 2012. He has craniosynostosis, visual problems, undescended testes, and is developmentally delayed. He cannot support his head. He can hold an object in each hand and he feeds and sleeps well. He is a very cute baby boy! He needs a family to provide him with the love and care he lacked early in life so that he can flourish and reach his full potential.

 

 

 

This boy is about 10 years old and is HIV+. He loves playing soccer and says he wants to be a doctor when he grows up. He enjoys going to school and is in the second grade. He's a good student who studies well by himself but also asks questions in class when needed. He's gone through a lot in his young life and is ready for a forever family. 

The PAIR (Pre-Adoption Immigration Review) process will be necessary for all families who have not yet had their cases opened in Ethiopian court prior to September 1st. Many of our in-process families have had questions about how this will work. Essentially, there is an extra step that occurs before your case can be opened in court. This extra step communicates to the Ethiopian courts the likelihood of your identified child being granted U.S. immigration benefits prior to officially approving your child's adoption. As this is new for all adoptions from Ethiopia, we don't know exactly how this change might impact adoption timelines. However, we will keep our families informed of each required step as we go through the new PAIR process together.

 

You can read more about the PAIR process here on the State Department website.

Please remember to keep an eye on your USCIS file, homestudy, and fingerprint expiration dates. Your USCIS approval needs to be current at the date your case is submitted to embassy. If it expires before then, families will need to update their homestudy to renew their USCIS file. Your fingerprints also need to be current at the date of your adoptive family embassy interview.

 

If your expiration dates are coming up or you have any questions or concerns about this process, please contact me at the AAI office.

709 South Peabody Street

Port Angeles, WA 98362

(360) 452-4777

Website | Blog | Facebook