Our annual conference, INFERTILITY, ADOPTION AND THE FAMILY, is only 4 weeks away and we continue to collect up-to-date information and produce piles of handouts. Speakers are putting the finishing touches on speeches, power point presentations and travel plans to New York. You can view the full program and register online at www.jccany.org/ametzconference.

 

Keynote panel speakers: Adam Pertman, David Brodzinsky, Jeanne Howard and Susan Smith of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute will lead the keynote panel "Welcome to the Revolution: What We've Learned From and About Adoptive Familes" at our annual conference on April 6th.

We have expanded our support network, broadening our pre and post adopt support groups to include those for singles waiting to adopt, first time parents over 40, parents of adolescents and multicultural families, and are developing more groups for children (see specific times and locations below).

Multicultural Passover Celebration
With music, songs, drama, and art get into the spirit of Passover with our Adoptive Multicultural Passover Celebration! The story of Passover reflects on the great changes that the Jewish people encountered as they moved from Canaan to Egypt, and then out of Egypt to freedom. We continue to celebrate our freedom as Jewish people from many places in the world! Join with other adoptive families to get ready for Passover. Find out more on our website. 

New Support Group for Parents of Adolescents
Adolescence is a challenging phase of development for both parents and children. Join our new monthly meetings at the Mid Island Y-JCC and explore how adoption resurfaces during a time that issues of identity, separation and independence are negotiated, and learn "best practices" in raising adopted teens (see meeting times below).

Federal Tax Benefit Guide for Foster/Adoptive Parents and Kinship Caregivers
Thanks to Judith Ashton, Executive Director, NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc. for passing along the National Foster Parent Association Guide which provides information for the 2007 tax year, including basic rules and tips on ways that foster and adoptive parents and kinship caregivers may be able to claim deductions and credits. Click here to download the guide.

USCIS Strengthens Intercountry Adoption Process
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just announced new safeguards including the creation of new forms and improved, centralized examination processes for intercountry adoption applications and petitions under the Hague Adoption Convention. Click here to read the full news release.

Keep checking our website and Adoption Resource Center for new programs, services and announcements. 2008 will surely continue be a year filled with joys and challenges for all of us. 


 Kathy Brodsky, LCSW
 Director, Ametz Adoption Program
 

Upcoming Ametz Adoption Events
March - April 2008

Upcoming events at Ametz include adoption support group meetings, educational workshops, and professional trainings. For more details, click on one of the events below.

 

HOW TO ADOPT DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY
A comparison of the options, including the differences in the step-by-step process, children available, working with agencies and attorneys, state and federal requirements, travel, time frames, costs, parent education and the homestudy process. Learn the three questions to ask early on to make a decision on which way to go. Presentation with interactive discussion. Questions encouraged. Group meets monthly and is led by a social worker from the Ametz Adoption Program of JCCA. Ametz staff and guest speakers. $20 per person, per session.

Wednesday, March 19, 6:00 - 8:00 PM, JCC of Manhattan
Wednesday, April 16, 6:00 - 8:00 PM, JCC of Manhattan


THE SURVIVAL GUIDE: PRE-ADOPTIVE SUPPORT GROUP
You’ve begun the adoption process and anxiously await the arrival of your child. Join others who have similar questions and concerns as you learn survival tips and pursue unfamiliar territories. Group meets monthly and is led by a social worker from the Ametz Adoption Program of JCCA. $15 per person, $25 per couple, per session.

Thursday, March 6, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, JCC of Manhattan
Sunday, March 9, 12:00 - 1:30 PM, Beth Elohim in Brooklyn
Monday, March 17, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Mid Island Y-JCC
Thursday, April 3, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, JCC of Manhattan
Sunday, April 13, 12:00 - 1:30 PM, Beth Elohim in Brooklyn
Monday, April 21, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Mid Island Y-JCC


BECAUSE KIDS DON'T COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS:
POST-ADOPTIVE SUPPORT GROUP
This group is for adoptive parents and their children. Whether you’re wondering how to develop successful and effective parenting skills, curious about discipline and set limits, not sure you are doing all you can to nurture and support your child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development or trying to make a decision about returning to work or balancing other activities in your life ? this group is for you. While the adults learn, laugh and share the daily joys and challenges of being a parent through adoption, your children will be next door, playing in a safe and stimulating environment with experienced child care. Group meets monthly and is led by a social worker from the Ametz Adoption Program of JCCA. $15 per person, $25 per couple, $5 per child, per session.

Monday, March 3, 10:00 - 11:30 AM, JCC of Manhattan
Sunday, March 9, 10:00 - 11:30 AM, Beth Elohim in Brooklyn
Monday, April 7, 10:00 - 11:30 AM, JCC of Manhattan
Sunday, April 13, 10:00 - 11:30 AM, Beth Elohim in Brooklyn


POST-ADOPTIVE SUPPORT GROUP FOR PARENTS OF ADOLESCENTS
Adolescence is a challenging phase of development for both parents and children. Explore how adoption resurfaces during a time that issues of identity, separation and independence are negotiated, and learn "best practices" in raising adopted teens.

Monday, March 10, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Mid Island Y-JCC
Monday, April 14, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Mid Island Y-JCC


ATTACHMENT IN ADOPTIVE FAMILIES: A TWO WAY STREET
with Dr. Jane Aronson
Address the simultaneous journey of adoptive parents and children to become a family. Explore how infertility, the decision to adopt and the actual adoption process formulate a parents thinking about parenting, as well as how time spent in an orphanage setting effects a child's needs being met and their concept of family. Then, continue the discussion as you discover how both experiences effect an individual and family's formation at different ages and stages of development. $15 per JCC member/$20 per non-JCC member.

Tuesday, March 18, 6:00 - 7:30 PM, JCC of Manhattan


14TH ANNUAL "INFERTILITY, ADOPTION, AND THE FAMILY" CONFERENCE
One of the most highly regarded conferences in its field, this full-day program is for adoptive parents, adoptive parents-to-be, and adoption professionals. This year more than 50 internationally recognized experts will discuss current trends and developments in infertility and adoption. $165 per person/$215 per couple if you register by March 28.

Sunday, April 6, 8:15 AM - 5:30 PM, UJA Federation, Manhattan


ADOPTIVE FAMILY MULTICULTURAL PASSOVER CELEBRATION
With music, songs, drama, and art get into the spirit of Passover with our Adoptive Multicultural Passover Celebration! The story of Passover reflects on the great changes that the Jewish people encountered as they moved from Canaan to Egypt, and then out of Egypt to freedom. We continue to celebrate our freedom as Jewish people from many places in the world! Join with other adoptive families to get ready for Passover.

Sunday, April 13, 12:00 - 1:30 PM, Beth Elohim in Brooklyn


SEARCH AND REUNION: A FAMILY AFFAIR
Ametz Training Institute for Professionals
with Wendy Freund, MSEd, LCSW, NY Foundling Hospital & Private Practice
In a world where you can go online, request a kit, pay a small fee, and receive your DNA profile, what is the meaning of adoption search and reunion? What are people really looking for and what is the meaning of personal identity set against the context of racial profiling? Is Jung really the victor after all? In essence, what is the place of nature vs. nurture? This workshop will add to your understanding of the meaning of search and reunion and its on effects the members of the adoption triad (birth parents, adoptive parent, and adoptee). Practical hints and information about the best ways to approach a meeting will be included. $35 per person.

Tuesday, April 22, 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM, JCCA Main Office, 120 Wall Street