Questions About the Conference

Updated with location of conference!

Where is the conference?
                -Houston North Stake Center
                 16331 Hafer Rd.
                 Houston, TX 77090
               

What days is the conference on?

                -The conference is on Friday, November 9^th and Saturday, November 10^th

What time is the conference at?

-The conference on Friday, November 9^th is from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Saturday, November 10^th will start at 8:30am with registration and go until 4:00pm. (Please note the times have changed slightly from a flyer that was sent out earlier.)

What is happening at the conference?

-Friday, November 9^th at 6:30 is our kickoff and we will be having a carnival! There will be games for kids and adults. There will be prizes and food too!

On Saturday, November 10^th, registration will begin at 8:30 and go until 9:00 am. We will be giving you a folder with adoption resources and your program for the conference. There will be a light breakfast offered as well. The rest of the day will be filled with classes, panels and speakers. We will have lunch brought in from Jason’s Deli.

What is the theme of the conference?

                -The theme of the conference is “Blessed By A Miracle”.

Where is a nearby hotel?

                -La Quinta Inn & Suites

415 FM 1960

Houston, TX 77073

281-784-1112

                Sleep Inn

                222 Airtex Blvd.

                Houston, TX 77090

                (281) 872-6200

Who can I contact if I have more questions?

-Alysha Meacham will be happy to answer any other questions you have. Please email her at alyshameacham@yahoo.com

Blessed By A Miracle

"Blessed By A Miracle" is the theme for the Southwest Regional FSA Conference in November. As an FSA Board and with the LDS Family Services employees, we have been meeting in person and through conference calls regularly to plan the conference. We get more excited with each meeting and are anxiously awaiting November 9 and 10 to arrive!

We have planned a carnival for November 9. No matter what age you are, we promise you will have a good time! For November 10, we have classes, panels and speakers. There will be food both days and childcare will be provided. Registration is on the right hand side of the blog. Please let us know if you have any questions. You can email alyshameacham@yahoo.com. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Register for the Conference

Click on the link to the right that says, "Registration" to register for the Southwest Regional Conference on November 9 and 10. We can't wait to see you there!

Email Alysha at alyshameacham@yahoo.com with any questions or comments.

Southwest Regional Conference in Houston!!

If you haven't heard yet, there will be a Southwest Regional Conference in Houston on November 9th and 10th. Put it on your calendars and plan on being there because it is going to be great!

Registration will be up soon and this year it is FREE! We are very excited and will post more information soon. Email me at alyshameacham@yahoo.com if you have any questions or would like to help out.

Questions for Private Adoption Agencies

Here are some suggestions for questions to ask private agencies:


1) What will be the total cost?
            A) Who will pay the expectant mother’s medical expenses?
            B) What personal expenses for the expectant mother will we be required to pay?
            C) How will the funds for the expectant parent's expenses be managed?
            D) Will you give us an itemized statement of costs? When?
            E) What fees are expected to be paid right now? When are additional fees due?
            F) What will happen to our money if the adoption does not work out?


2) Will you accept a home study from LDS Family Services? Will this decrease our fees?


3) Was the expectant mother married when she conceived or during the pregnancy?
            A) Will her husband sign relinquishment documents?
            B) If not, how will the legal father's rights be terminated?


4) How will the putative/alleged father’s rights be terminated?
            A) When will that be done?
            B) Is there the possibility of more than one putative/alleged father?


5) Are there any Indian Child Welfare issues? If so, how will they be resolved?


6) When will we get a copy of the expectant parent’s social and health history?
            A) What do you know about the social and health history of the expectant parents?
            B) What race(s) are the expectant parents?
            C) What are their medical and emotional issues?
            D) Are they using or have they used drugs, tobacco, or alcohol?


7) Is the expectant mother a resident of this state, or is she coming to this state to give birth or place the child for adoption?
            A) What states are involved and which state laws will be used to terminate birth parent rights?
            B) When will she come to the state?
            C) What are the legal implications of this to us?
            D) Will the agency comply with the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)?


8) How will ICPC be handled if it is an interstate placement? (LDS Family Services does not provide ICPC services for adoptions not completed through our agency).


9) Are there any other legal issues?
            A) What are they?
            B) How will they be resolved?
            C) What will the agency do if the adoption is contested by a biological parent?


10) When do we need to hire an attorney?


11) Who will do the required supervisory visits? (In some situations, after the placing agency consults with the appropriate adoption manager about the situation, and with the adoption group manager’s permission, LDS Family Services may be able to provide supervisory visits. These are charged at the current counseling rate per hour.)


12) If correspondence and boundary issues arise during and after the pregnancy, who will help us manage them?


13) What type of counseling has the birth mother had? How much? Do the birth parents have access to post-placement counseling? Is that part of our fee?

Online Adoption Training May 22

I apologize that this is such late notice. My family has been sick, so I have been a little behind. Here is information for some online adoption training:

The online adoption training “Entering the Adoption World” will be held on Tuesday May 22^nd from 6-7 pm. Connection information is provided below. To receive credit for adoption training hours, you will be asked to send an email to Amy Curtis curtisa@ldschurch.org at the conclusion of the workshop.  

There is still time for people to register so feel free to forward this invitation. If you have questions about the workshop or you want to register, please contact Amy Curtis and             (801) 240-6528       or curtisa@ldschurch.org.

CONNECTION INFORMATION:

Topic: Online Adoption Training

Host: Benjamin Erwin

Date: Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Time: 5:00 pm, Mountain Daylight Time (Denver, GMT-06:00)

Session number: 924 022 902

Session password: This session does not require a password.

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To join the training session

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1. Go to https://ldschurch.webex.com/ldschurch/k2/j.php?ED=194546167&UID=1379563517&HMAC=b9700ef3503b772daa5ef58c9909f14a5b2fe74f&RT=MiM2.

2. Enter your name and email address (or registration ID).

3. Enter the session password: This session does not require a password.

4. Click "Join Now".

5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

To view in other time zones or languages, please click the link

https://ldschurch.webex.com/ldschurch/k2/j.php?ED=194546167&UID=1379563517&ORT=MiM2&HMAC=b9700ef3503b772daa5ef58c9909f14a5b2fe74f

Waiting Infants

Spence Chapin is an adoption agency in New York. They have a waiting infants site for children that don't match with couples from their agency. Check the site as the available children change often. Here is the link:

http://www.spence-chapin.org/adoption-programs/b1h_waiting_children.php

Children from "Hard Places"

We talked a little about adopting waiting children or adopting through foster care at our mini-conference on April 21. Faline sent me a link to the Institute of Child Development at TCU. Karyn Purvis is the director of the Institute and there is a lot of great information on the website. Karyn Purvis also presented at last year's National FSA Conference. I put the link under Adoption Sites on the right of the blog. It is titled, "Karen Purvis".

Adoption Tax Credit

Here is the link to information about the Federal Adoption Tax Credit for 2012 and 2013:

http://www.nacac.org/taxcredit/taxcredit20122013.html

Also, check the post below for information on our new Facebook page! There is a link on that to a more detailed page on the tax credit.

Facebook Group

First off, thank you to everyone who came and participated in our first activity of the year! It was so great to meet everyone and we look forward to more events in the future.

I just created a group on Facebook titled, "Houston Families Supporting Adoption". I thought this could be an easy way to talk to one another and throw out ideas for activities we want to do. It is also an easy way to let me know what you'd like to see on the blog. So if you have a Facebook account, come on over and "like" us. I will start posting things and please feel free to post things too! I will keep posting on the blog as well so don't worry if you don't have a Facebook account!

Childcare for Mini-Conference

There will be childcare for this upcoming Saturday, April 21. We are very excited and looking forward to meeting many of you this Saturday at the Mini-Conference!

Childcare for April 21

I just wanted everyone to be aware that we are trying to provide childcare for our meeting on April 21. I will post as soon as I hear back from the Young Women I have asked. We hope to see you all there!!

Again, if you have any questions or comments please email me (Alysha) at alyshameacham@yahoo.com

Greetings!

Greetings,

As was already announced, we are having a conference on April 21st at 16331 Hafer Road in Houston. It will start at 1:30 and go until about 4:30. We hope you can attend to learn more about adoption changes and gain a perspective from those that have been through the process as adoptive parents, adoptees and birth parents. We hope it will be a meaningful and educational experience.

Additionally, we announce that Alysha and Nathan Meacham are the new chairs for the Houston FSA. We are both very excited to participate in such an important organization. Adoption touched our lives when we adopted our now 2 year old son and has remained an important part of our family. We welcome any ideas for activities or learning events that you may have. We also would appreciate any participation you may be able to give. For information or to give suggestions for activities please contact Alysha at alyshameacham@yahoo.com.

Thank you

Mini Conference - April 21

Saturday, April 21
1:30-4:30 PM

16331 Hafer Road
Houston, TX 77090

We will have three speakers and a panel discussion on various adoption topics.

Afterward there will be an ice cream social and we can all get to know each other! Bring your favorite ice cream toppings.

In addition, this can count towards training hours.

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

If you have an questions, please email Alysha at alyshameacham@yahoo.com