Events and Activities
2007 Angels in Adoption™ Gala
The 2007 Angels in Adoption™ Gala took place on Thursday, October 4, 2007, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The event boasted more Congressional participation than any child welfare event in the nation, with 191 Members of Congress participating and over 800 guests in attendance. Along with the 2007 Angels in Adoption™ selected from every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, National Angels in Adoption™ are awarded for their dedication to orphans and foster children on a broader, national scale.
The 2007 National Angels in Adoption™ award recipients included Patti LaBelle, award-winning artist, Alonzo Mourning, of the Miami Heat and founder of Alonzo Mourning Charities, Inc., and Marcus Samuelsson, critically acclaimed chef and author. The gala was emceed by Barbara Harrison, Anchor for NBC 4, and a musical performance was provided by songwriter/pianist Jim Brickman.
Congressional Foster Youth Internship Farewell Reception, July 17, 2007
The Congressional Foster Youth Internship Farewell Reception took place on Tuesday, July 17, 2007, to honor the fifteen former foster youth who spend eight weeks this summer interning in Congressional offices as a way to make their voice heard in Congress. The reception also honored hosting Members of Congress and the Foster Youth Internship program sponsors. This reception marked the end of the fifth year of the Foster Youth Internship program. During these years, 49 interns have been placed in 23 Congressional Offices from every corner of the country. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Co-Chair Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) spoke about the importance of foster youth making their voice heard in Congress through the Foster Youth Internship program. Highlights of the interns’ opportunities of this year’s FYI program include attending events with their host Member of Congress, encouraging their host Member of Congress to join the CCA, speaking privately with host Member of Congress about personal stories and the need for reform, drafting recommendations for adoption and foster care reform, testifying in front of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support. The 2007 FYI sponsors were presented with plaques thanking them for making this program possible. Sponsors include the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the C4 Group. The reception was a wonderful way to celebrate these foster youth interns and have them share the importance of this program with their host Members of Congress and the FYI program sponsors.
CCAI Congressional Foster Youth Internship Reception at Senator Mary Landrieu’s Home, June 21, 2007
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) opened her home to the CCAI Congressional Foster Youth Internship reception that took place on June 21, 2007. CCAI and the C4 Group hosted this event to honor the Class of 2007 Foster Youth Interns and to stress the importance of raising their voices in Congress to highlight reform needs for foster care and promote permanency. There were forty people in attendance including Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Monty Hipp and Mark Orphan of the C4Group, and numerous Congressional staffers. Three Foster Youth were given the opportunity to tell their stories and to encourage others to take action. Foster Youth Intern JJ Hitch closed by quoting Ghandi in saying, “be the change you wish to see in the world”.
A Night with the Singing Senators, June 12, 2007
CCAI hosted a reception the evening of June 12, 2007. There were over sixty people in attendance who came to learn more about the work of CCAI. Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), and former Attorney General John Ashcroft, all formerly of the Singing Senators, reunited to sing patriotic songs along with their entertaining renditions of “Elvira” and “My Baby is American Made.” CCAI’s Foster Youth Internship Program Manager, Jelani Freeman, spoke at the event to help raise awareness about orphans and foster children in need of permanent, loving homes. The fundraising event raised over $15,000 for CCAI.
Senator Kennedy and Deutsche Bank Event, June 1, 2007
On June 1, 2007, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) hosted an event sponsored by Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management. The event was held to discuss the critical need for sustained support of adoption initiatives in the United States Congress. Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) was the keynote speaker. He, along with Deanna Carlson Stacy, former Executive Director of CCAI, spoke about the challenges in finding safe and permanent homes for children because of obstacles to adoption and stressed the importance of CCAI’s work in educating legislators to remove these barriers. Stuart Williams, CCAI Board Member and the Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, organized the event. Mr. Williams was recently appointed to CCAI’s Board because of his diligent work to raise awareness of adoption and foster care issues.
CCAI Congressional Breakfast Briefing on Orphans and HIV/AIDS in Africa, April 20, 2007
On April 20, 2007, CCAI held our first briefing on the orphan crisis in Africa due to AIDS/HIV. This briefing was made possible through the generous support of Family Health International. Speakers at this briefing included Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA), founder of the Congressional Ethiopia and Ethiopian American Caucus; Melissa Fay Greene, adoptive parent and author of There Is No Me Without You (2007, Bloomsbury USA); and Barbara Johnson, Senator Tim Johnson’s wife and future adoptive grandmother. Congressman James McGovern (D-MA), founder of the Hunger Caucus who recently returned from a delegation to Africa including Ethiopia, and his wife, Lisa, were in attendance, as well as Dawn Barnes, the spouse of the Liberian Ambassador to the African Union.
Between 25-50 million African children, from newborn to age 15, will be parentless by 2010. In Africa today, there are more than thirteen million children who are orphaned due to the AIDS pandemic that has swept across the continent. In sub-Saharan Africa, 25% of the children are orphaned. In Ethiopia alone, the second most populous African nation, 11 % of all children are orphaned and 6% of the country’s entire population is inflected with the disease.
The U.S. Department of State recently reported that for the first time an African country, Ethiopia, is in the top five sending countries for international adoptions to the United States. Last year, 732 immigrant visas were issued to Ethiopian orphans adopted by parents in the U.S. This event is a part of our educational efforts on issues surrounding orphans and vulnerable children in Africa.
Member-to-Member Legislative Roundtable, April 17, 2007
CCAI’s third annual Member-to-Member Legislative Roundtable was held on April 17, 2007. Members who attended the event included Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC), Representative Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), Representative Dennis Cardoza (D-CA), and Representative Jean Schmidt (R-OH), along with 21 Congressional Staffers.
The legislative roundtable provided a forum for members of CCA to meet and discuss their legislative initiatives and agendas for the 110th Congress. Members of the roundtable discussed their legislation to repeal the sunset of the adoption tax credit. Under the current law, the adoption tax credit is $10,000 for both domestic and internal adoption; however, on December 31, 2010 the credit will be cut overnight to $5,000 for non-special needs adoptions and $6,000 for special needs children. The legislative roundtable also provided an opportunity to learn more about adoption related initiatives in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
CCAI/AAAA Briefing on Putative Fathers Registries, March 29, 2007
On March 29, 2007 CCAI along with American Academy of Adoption Attorneys hosted a briefing on Putative Father Registries. Presenters included Mary Beck, Professor of Clinical Law at the University of Missouri; Jay O’Brien, Virginia State Senator; Stanton Phillips, Chair of CCAI’s Advisory Council; and Ellen Yarrell, President of AAAA. The briefing informed Members of Congress and staffers about the large and increasing number of children with no legally established fathers who are available for adoption. These children cannot be adopted until their putative fathers are located and give permission, or until they otherwise lose their rights to a child.
CCAI, USCIS & State Quarterly Meeting, March 22, 2007
In 2006, due to the U.S. government impending ratification on the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, CCAI began quarterly meetings with the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to give them an opportunity to update Congressional Staffers on progress and to provide country updates. Congressional staffers who handle adoption issues were invited to join CCAI at a quarterly meeting with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of State on Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 1:00 PM in the Capitol. Over ten Congressional offices attended. John “Wally” Bird, Deputy Chief of International Operations Refugee, Asylum & International Operations, led the USCIS briefing and Ellen Conway, Children’s Issues Director, led the State Department briefing.
The State Department and USCIS reported that the U.S. government would be fully ratified by late 2007. Critical country updates on Guatemala, China, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Ethiopia were also discussed.
Celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year, March 18, 2007
The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Zhou Wenzhong, and his wife hosted the celebration for Chinese Lunar New Year held at the Chinese Embassy on March 18, 2007. A letter from Senator Mary Landrieu was read at the event. She talked about China and the U.S. being brought together through the common interest of providing families for children through adoption. In the last ten years, 56,059 Chinese children have been adopted by U.S. citizens.
In February, the Congressional Co-chairs of the CCA sent a letter to Lu Ying, President of the China Center of Adoption Affairs, asking for an extension for the May 1, 2007 deadline of submitting adoption dossiers under the current regulations. As of May 1, 2007 China has prohibited people who are single, obese, disabled, or older than 50 years of age from adopting, as well as those on antidepressants or with net assets under $80,000. In 2006, Americans adopted nearly 6500 Chinese children. This is down from 7906 Chinese children who were adopted by U.S. citizens in 2005. China has explained that the decline is due to more emphasis in China on domestic adoptions and a lower orphan population.
CCAI/NACAC Permanency Briefing, March 12, 2007
Building on last year’s collaborative efforts, the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) cosponsored a forum on Capitol Hill to inform Congressional staffers about the important and immediate need to reform federal foster care financing. Through personal experiences of panelists, the forum effectively demonstrated how specific federal funding changes can dramatically improve states’ ability to provide safe and permanent homes for children.
Ten years ago, Congress passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (AFSA) and adoptions from foster care have increased significantly. Still with the successes of ASFA, far too many children languish in care. Judge William Thorne, a Utah appeals court judge and member of the Pew Commission on Foster Care, summarized the event by calling for a new definition of success for the 500,000 kids in foster care.
The Pew Commission on Foster Care recommends reforming the federal financing for foster care away from a merit based system, believing that every abused and neglected child- not just every low-income child- deserves protection from both the federal and state governments. This includes making federal funds flexible to allow for frontloading services to keep families together, as well as reinstituting the state Title IV-E waiver program. Specifically, expanding incentives for guardianship can provide a primary way to promote permanency for at risk children, such as older and minority children.
During the event, NACAC also released an educational tool on how child welfare is financed. Last year, CCAI and NACAC collaborated on raising awareness about the need for court reform specific to the Pew Commission on Foster Care recommendations.
CCAI Hosts Adoption 101 Forum on March 7, 2007
CCAI hosted a forum on the basics of adoption practice and policy. This informational event's focus was to help new congressional staffers understand the ABCs of the adoption process and what federal laws dictate how adoptions take place.
CCAI brought together experts in the foster care, international, and domestic infant areas. Speakers included, Stanton Phillips, adoption attorney and Chair of CCAI's Advisory Council; Rebecca Jones Gaston, the National Recruitement Campaign Manager for the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids, Dr. Marilyn Regier, Executive Director with the Barker Foundation; and Emilie Stoltzfus with the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Twenty-three congressional staffers heard about the different aspects of adoption. Nydia Budig, an official with the State Department, was available to answer questions about the impending Hague Ratification.
CCAI plans to host Adoption 101 briefings twice a year to give new staffers the resources they need in understanding the "how tos" of adoption. The next one will be on November 1, 2007 in honor of National Adoption Awareness Month. We hope you will join us.
CCAI's New Member Reception Seeks to Expand Congress' Adoption Caucus
On January 29, 2007, CCAI welcomed the 110th Congress by hosting a New Member reception to encourage the lawmakers to join Congress' Adoption Caucus, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA). The CCA is the largest bicameral, bipartisan Caucus in Congress and currently includes over 200 Senators and Representatives. That evening lawmakers and their staff celebrated adoption as a wonderful way to build a family.
Eight members of Congress joined CCAI President and CCA Co-Chair Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) and CCA Co-Chair Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) for the reception.
Other lawmakers who joined the festivities include, Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), Rep. Steve Kagen (D-WI), Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-PA), Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE), Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), Rep. David Hobson (R-OH), Rep. Joseph Pitts (R-PA) and Rep. Howard Colbe (R-NC).
Please encourage your Senators and Representatives to join CCA.
2006 Angels in Adoption™ Gala
The 2006 Angels in Adoption™ Gala took place on Wednesday, September 20, 2006, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, DC. The event boasted more Congressional participation than any child welfare event in the nation, with more than 193 Members of Congress participating and over 800 guests in attendance. Along with the 2006 Angels in Adoption™ selected from each state and the District of Columbia, National Angels in Adoption™ are award for their dedication to orphans and foster children on a broader, national scale.
The 2006 National Angels in Adoption™ award recipients include Dante Culpepper, Miami Dolphins Quarterback; Invisible Children, documentary and grassroots movement; and Darryl DMC McDaniels, HIP HOP legend of RUN DMC. Representative Roy Blunt (R-MO) and his wife, Abigail, served as the Event Chairs of the Angels in Adoption™ Gala.
Caring Connections Congressional Breakfast Briefing- June 27, 2006
On June 27, 2006, CCAI hosted a breakfast where the Foster Youth Interns and their Congressional offices discussed the importance of mentors and role models in the lives of youth in foster care. CCAI co-chairs Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Representative Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) along with their Congressional colleagues, Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA), Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA) and Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) joined other Congressional staff and the interns for the event. The C4 Group sponsored the breakfast briefing.
Two 2006 foster youth interns, Maryellen Santiago of Representative Saxton's office and Ayun Ajok of Representative Curt Weldon's office, spoke about their own experiences in foster care and the impact specific mentors had on their lives. Representative Weldon featured the breifing and Ayun's speech in a press release. To read the full text and view pictures, click here.
Congressional Roundtable: Impact of the Courts on Foster Care- May 2006
On May 11, 2006, in honor of National Foster Care Month, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) and the Home At Last (HAL) project worked together to host a roundtable discussion on the important role courts play in the lives of foster youth. Eight key Members of Congress from both parties joined the substantive conversation with judges, child welfare administrators and former CCAI Foster Youth Interns (FYI) on improving court oversight of foster care.
In the current foster care system, outcomes for many children in care are far from optimal. These include:
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On average, children remain in foster care for three years, and are moved at least three times while in foster care;
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Foster children are often separated from brothers and sisters, family, friends and all that is familiar; forced to change schools;
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There are currently 118,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted;
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Nearly 19,000 youth age out of foster care each year, without having found a permanent family;
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Of those youth who age out, more than a third will never finish high school, and many will become homeless, incarcerated, need public assistance, or experience mental health problems.
Participants included:
The Honorable Larry Craig, (R-ID), U.S. Senator
The Honorable Wally Herger, (R-CA), Chairman, Human Resources subcommittee on Ways and Means, U.S. Representative
The Honorable Tom DeLay, (R-TX), U.S. Representative
The Honorable Dave Camp, (R-MI), U.S. Representativ The Honorable Melissa Hart, (R-PA), U.S. Representative
The Honorable Mary Landrieu, (D-LA), U.S. Senator
The Honorable Pete Stark, (D-CA), U.S. Representative
The Honorable Adam Schiff, (D-CA), U.S. Representative
The Honorable Bill Frenzel, former Representative (R-MN), Chair, Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care
Helen Jones-Kelley, Esq, Executive Director of Montgomery County, Ohio Children Services, Member, Pew Commission on Children in Foster Car
The Honorable Jim Hannah, Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Arkansas, member, Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ)
The Honorable Jonathan Lippman, Chief Administrative Judge of all New York State courts, President, Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA)
Patricia Tobias, Administrative Director of the Courts, Supreme Court of Idaho, member Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA)
The Honorable Dale R. Koch, Presiding Judge of the Circuit Court for Multnomah County in Portland, Oregon, President-Elect, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, (NCJFCJ)
Dr. David Sanders, Vice President, National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA), Director, Los Angeles Country Department of Children and Family Services
Miriam Krinsky, Executive Director, Home At Last
Susan Magill, Officer, The Pew Charitable Trust
James Beougher, Director, Child and Family Services, Maine
Lee Klejnot, Former Foster Youth Intern, CCAI, Orphan Foundation of America, Virginia
Jelani Freeman, Former Foster Youth Intern, CCAI, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, Washington, D.C.
Jeanette Pai-Espinosa, Vice Chair, National Foster Care Coalition, facilitator
Collaborating partners included:
Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
Home At Last Project
National Foster Care Coalition
First Star
Conference of Chief Justices
Conference of State Court Administrators
National Center for State Courts
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
National Conference of State Legislatures
American Public Human Services Association
CCAI Co-Sponsors Congressional Briefing on Foster Care- March 2006
“Now Is the Time for Foster Care Reform” - National Forum Highlights Recommendations to Overhaul U.S. Foster Care System
Foster and adoptive parents, former foster youth, a birth parent and a relative caregiver share their experiences; underscore the need to provide the nation’s 500,000 children in foster care with safe, permanent families.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The need to reform our nation’s foster care system was illustrated today at a Capitol Hill event featuring those most affected by the child welfare system. Titled “Protecting Children, Promoting Permanent Families,” and co-sponsored by the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC) and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), the forum featured adoptive parents, former foster youth, a birth parent, and a relative caregiver. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, and Representative James L. Oberstar (D-MN), President of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, both spoke at the event. Members of the national, nonpartisan Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care discussed their recommendations for reform of federal child welfare financing and court oversight of foster care.
“It’s important that we make sure the federal adoption assistance and adoption incentive programs work as well as they possibly can in order to find permanent homes for children. The stories we’ve heard today show how a little love and a permanent home can provide foster children with the promise and stability they need for a successful future,” said Senator Grassley at this event.
“Now is the time for foster care reform,” stated Michigan Supreme Court Justice and Pew Commission member Maura Corrigan. “Working together, states and the federal government can ensure that children move safely and quickly from foster care into permanent, loving families, and that these families have access to the supports and services they need.”
By sharing their personal experiences with the child welfare system, the panelists demonstrated the importance of permanent families for children, the critical role supports play in keeping families together, and the need to help children once they return home, are adopted, or are placed with a permanent legal guardian. They also demonstrated the critical role that courts and child welfare agencies play in the lives of foster children. Participants included:
Sean Kearney, an adoptive parent struggling to meet the special medical needs of his children. In the current child welfare system, he says, “the focus does not seem to be on the welfare of the child.”
Jessica Delgado, now 26, aged out of foster care without finding a family. “The scary part was when I turned 18,” she recalls. “I had nowhere to go.”
Melissa Smith, a birth mother who successfully battled addiction while keeping her family together. “None of it was (my son’s fault). To be able to heal with him while I was healing – that was just a beautiful thing,” she explains.
Sonya Merrill, an adoptive mother of three daughters with special needs. Without years of therapy and services provided by adoption subsidies and post-adoption programs, Sonya knows her daughters would not be where they are today.
Helen Clay, a foster and adoptive mother providing permanence for her grandson. Although she has been encouraged to adopt him, Helen feels this would be confusing for her young grandson: “He has enough problems without his aunts and his mother becoming his sisters.”
Mary Lee, now a law student, was adopted from foster care at 17. It wasn’t until age 16 that a judge finally asked her what she wanted in life. “I want what everyone wants – I want a family of my own,” she replied.
“The stories we’ve heard today demonstrate the critical need for reform of our foster care system in several areas,” stated Representative Oberstar. “Children need our help finding safe, permanent families, and families need our support to ensure that they can stay together.”
Representative Oberstar addresses the audience. Jackie Hammers-Crowell (R from Oberstar), former foster youth intern of 2003, also spoke at the event.
The forum highlighted the need for foster care reform as outlined by the recommendations of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. The national, nonpartisan Commission, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and composed of leading experts in child welfare, legislators, administrators, advocates, academics, and foster and adoptive parents, undertook the first-ever comprehensive assessment of two key aspects of foster care: reform of federal child welfare financing and court oversight of foster care.
The recently passed Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 ushers into law several of the Pew Commission’s court recommendations. It requires that states demonstrate “substantial, ongoing and meaningful” collaboration between courts and child welfare agencies, and provides $100 million over five years for two new grant programs designed to strengthen court performance and provide opportunities for training.
“The Pew Commission applauds Congressional action designed to improve court oversight of foster care, and is grateful to the members responsible for this progress, especially the leadership provided by Senator Grassley (R-IA) and Representatives Wally Herger (R-CA) and Bill Thomas (R-CA),” said Pew Commission Chairman and former Congressman Bill Frenzel (R-MN). Frenzel noted that both Republicans and Democrats have previously introduced legislation to enact the Commission’s court recommendations, including Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA).
Looking ahead, Pew Commission Vice Chairman and former Congressman William H. Gray (D-PA) said, “More remains to be done, especially with respect to foster care financing reform. Our Commission’s financing recommendations would give states a flexible and reliable source of federal funding, new incentives, and strengthen accountability for outcomes for children in care. The stories we’ve heard today demonstrate why this reform is needed now.”
CCAI Fundraiser- November 2005
Joe and Bronywn Vasapoli hosted a CCAI fundraiser in their home in Arlington, VA on November 3rd, 2005. There were about 75 guests attending and musical entertainment was provided by Paul Shaffer, pianist for the The Late Show with David Letterman, and Senator Larry Craig, co-chair and Congressional Director of Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute. The event was covered in an article posted in the November 7th, 2005 edition of Roll Call. "Bronwyn Vasapoli said CCAI has been doing some great things with Congress in relation to adoption issues" (Taylor, 2005).
Timothy, Taylor. (2005, November 7). Institute Aims to Raise Adoption Awareness. Roll Call. Retrieved May 25, 2006, from http://www.rollcall.com/
2005 Angels in Adoption™
The 2005 Angels in Adoption™ Gala took place on Tuesday, September 13, 2005, at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. The event boasted more congressional participation than any child welfare event in the nation, with more than 193 members of Congress participating and over 900 guests in attendance. Along with the 2005 Angels in Adoption™, selected from all fifty states and the District of Columbia, National Angels in Adoption™ are awarded for their dedication to orphans and foster children on a broader, national scale.
The 2005 National Angels in Adoption™ award recipients included Victoria Rowell, award winning actress and founder of The Rowell Foster Children's Positive Plan, and Jars of Clay, the multi-platinum, Grammy Award winning recording artists and founders of Blood: Water Mission. Jars of Clay also provided entertainment and President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush served as Honorary Co-Chairs of the Angels in Adoption™ gala.
Click here to read about the 2005 Angels in Adoption™ Gala in the Washington Times
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