Category - MLJ Adoptions

28
Dec

Photo of the Week!

20
Dec

Photo of the Week!

18
Dec

Christmas in Bulgaria

The Christmas holiday is celebrated across many countries and cultures throughout the world.  Though it may be a common holiday, different cultures have their own traditions and beliefs related to Christmas.  If you celebrate this holiday in the U.S. you are probably familiar with things such as the nativity story, celebrating the birth of Christ, ...
16
Dec

How to Support International Adoption

All across the world, people are impacted by domestic and international adoption.   There is probably at least one person in your life who has adopted a child, placed a child for adoption, or has an adopted family member.  We do not always realize it, but it happens all around us.  Without adoption, whether that be ...
13
Dec

Photo of the Week!

11
Dec

Why Parent Child Play Is Important For Children?

Play is one of the most important needs your child has.  As adults, we may have forgotten all the benefits and enjoyment we received from play during our much younger years.  An important part of play for young children is play with parents.  Children who have spent a significant amount of their early development in ...
9
Dec

Get to Know MLJ’s Social Services Assistant

My name is Natalie Zickmund and I joined MLJ Adoptions International in August of 2018 as an intern from IUPUI. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in social work in May of 2019, I joined MLJ as the Social Services Assistant. As the Social Services Assistant, I work with families on their preadoption education, tracking ...
6
Dec

Photo of the Week!

4
Dec

Psychological Evaluations and Mental Health Letters: How To

Every country’s process is a little bit different when it comes to getting a psychological evaluation done for the purpose of adoption and not all countries require psychological evaluations. There are some FAQs that I receive from families who struggle with getting this requirement met. The answer is not cohesive for every country, but there ...
2
Dec

THE BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL

For those of you who are engaged in international adoption, you are most likely gearing up to travel to your adoptive child’s homeland. Most likely, you have not been there before or perhaps you have never even traveled internationally, but I assure you an adventure awaits! To experience a new culture, customs, environment, language, foods, ...
27
Nov

ADOPTION GRANTS – for Almost Everyone

Camie Schuiteman, Family Resources Specialist for MLJ Adoptions, International Adoption funding is quite often the main hinderance which prevents families from committing to adoption. I understand that dilemma on a deep, personal level because we are an adoptive family. We could never have navigated our three adoptions without the assistance and sacrifice of others. Helping ...
25
Nov

Indiana RAPT Conference 2019

Every year Indiana’s Department of Child Services hosts a conference for adoptive and foster parents. This conference is known as the RAPT Conference which stands for Resource and Adoptive Parent Training.  It is rich in education and information for families who are involved in foster care, domestic adoption, as well as international adoption.  I was ...
22
Nov

Photo of the Week!

20
Nov

Adoption – the Impact on Parents and Tools for Self-Care (Part 2)

“Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.” Parker Palmer You have chosen to adopt. You have changed the trajectory of your life, forever. And now it’s hard, really hard. You are doing life, and ...
18
Nov

Adoption – the Impact on Parents and Warning Signs of Trouble (Part 1)

Our adoption journey begins full force with passion and an excitement which we can barely contain. Who would not want to give an orphan a loving, forever family, we ask ourselves? It’s hard to imagine saying “NO” to 147 million orphans. We dream of bringing our child or children home, and new ways of sacrificial ...
15
Nov

Photo of the Week!

13
Nov

National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption month, a time set aside each year to celebrate the uniqueness of families who have been formed through adoption.  Each adoptive parent and adoptee has their own special story regarding how their lives have been transformed through adoption.   Although November is a month set aside as a time to celebrate and ...
11
Nov

Filing Immigration Forms During Your Ukrainian Adoption Process

If your family has already started the process of adopting from Ukraine, or is thinking about adoption from this country, it would be helpful to learn about the immigration process and forms you will need to file during your adoption process from Ukraine. It is very important to remember that you are required to use ...
8
Nov

Photo of the Week!

6
Nov

English as a Second Language for Internationally Adopted Children

Many internationally adopted kids can struggle with learning English after being adopted. They can have a hard time communicating with their new family and understanding what is being taught at school. Angela Zickmund is a ESL (English as a second language) teacher at Frankfort high school. She has worked with elementary, middle school, and high ...
4
Nov

MLJ is Celebrating 10 years!

This year MLJ Adoptions is celebrating our 10-year anniversary! MLJ Adoptions International was initially founded in 2009 by Michele L. Jackson, Attorney at Law and an international adoption advocate.  When founded the agency was known at the time as “MLJ Adoptions Inc.” Licensed in the state of Indiana in 2009 MLJ soon received our first ...
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