Category - Adoption News

8
Nov

Celebrating National Adoption Awareness Month

November is National Adoption Awareness month! In celebration of National Adoption Awareness, MLJ Adoptions International is offering a $500 grant to any family who becomes an MLJ client family by the end of November. National Adoption Awareness month helps us shed light on the need for forever families that are needed for the children in ...
11
Jun

Explaining Domestic, Foster Care and International Adoption

There are many options for building your family, including domestic, foster care and international adoption.
25
Apr

MLJ Can Assist with Relative Adoptions!

Relative adoptions, also known as a kinship adoption, are an option in many countries for vulnerable children. But the process is determined by several factors, including the sending and receiving country’s adoption laws and whether the countries are signatory to the Hague Convention. All countries however, must observe that the best interests of the child ...
16
Apr

Two Ways Your Family Can Help Vulnerable Children

Most will agree that all children deserve to grow up in a loving and protective family. All children deserve to be fed, receive an education, clothing and sleep in a warm and safe bed at night. All children deserve the warmth and love of a parent or parents. Yes, we agree. Most however, do not ...
14
Mar

MLJ Offers Primary Provider Services!

In 2016, MLJ Adoptions proudly assisted adoptive families to help bring children into their families from twenty-three different countries across the globe!  In addition to our full country programs that we are currently inviting families into (Burkina Faso, Bulgaria, Haiti, Ukraine, and Nicaragua), MLJ Adoptions also continues to provide Primary Provider services in many other ...
7
Mar

An MLJ Advocacy Update!

Advocacy has been part of international adoption since its inception! It is vital to nearly every important issue related to children and child welfare. In large part, the reason for it’s importance in these areas is because children, and especially children without families, require advocates to speak when they cannot. Adult decision makers, like our ...
7
Feb

URGENT! Make Your Voice Heard!

Have you ever wished international adoption was easier? Us, too. Well, it’s about to get even harder and even more expensive. Starting on February 15th, a new accrediting entity will be overseeing and monitoring international adoption agencies. This new accrediting entity, Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity (IAAME), appointed by the U.S. State Department, will ...
22
Jan

Adopt from Bangladesh with MLJ Adoptions!

Thinking of adopting a child in need from Bangladesh?  MLJ Adoptions International can help!  MLJ Adoptions, working in collaboration with an in-country attorney in Bangladesh, has successfully completed two adoptions, assisting families wishing to provide a home to a child in need from Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a densely populated country with 150+ million residents.  Of ...
13
Dec

International Adoption Advocacy: What You Can Do to Make a Difference

This past year has brought many blessings for MLJ Adoptions! Twenty-nine children have been matched with permanent and loving MLJ families in 2017. We have also seen 33 children arrive home with their parents from Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Samoa and Ukraine. We are so grateful to have been a part of ...
8
Nov

Announcing a New Country Program – Peru!

MLJ Adoptions just opened it’s newest adoption program! We can now assist families interested in adopting from Peru! MLJ Adoptions is now one of four agencies approved to work with families adopting from Peru, and we are eager to get to work on behalf of the country’s orphaned children. Peru is a Spanish-speaking country in ...
6
Nov

Celebrate National Adoption Month!

Every November, adoption agencies and child welfare organizations celebrate National Adoption Month! It’s a month, usually with a specific focus, designed to raise awareness of the need for families to adopt children locally and globally. In honor of National Adoption Month, MLJ Adoptions is reducing our Adoption Application Fee by $100. Begin your adoption journey ...
28
Aug

The Wonderful Power of Love

Our Ukraine Summer Hosting Program just finished. Sixteen orphaned children, from different regions of Ukraine, will return to their country after spending their summer vacation with American families. I was the lucky one, who met the kids at the airport and who observed their “American” life through the weekly photo reports of the hosting families. ...
5
Jul

Adopting from Africa, and the Importance of the Hague Convention

Adopting from Africa looks different than it used to. Mostly because the entire intercountry adoption landscape has changed tremendously from what it was twenty or thirty years ago. Sadly, there has been a dramatic decline in adoptions, as families are finding their options limited due to countries applying tighter restrictions, or even closing programs altogether. A number of ...
9
Jun

In Honor of Father’s Day – Start Your Adoption Journey Today!

Some of my fondest memories growing up are times I spent with my dad. He would let me ride my bike as he ran several times a week; we would talk a little bit, but mostly just spend time together. He often took me to the park to kick the soccer ball around. From a ...
6
Apr

Make a Difference During National Child Abuse Prevention Month

Since 1983, we have officially been celebrating and publicizing National Child Abuse Prevention Month in the United States. Designed to bring together families and communities to work to prevent child abuse and neglect, the month of April challenges all of us to promote abuse prevention within our cities and towns and to help strengthen the families ...
14
Oct

Leave your Comment on the Proposed Regulations!

Recently, the Department of State proposed new regulations that, if passed, will significantly and negatively impact international adoption. Read Familiarize yourself with the legislation at Regulations.gov to learn what is at stake. You can read more about our concerns about the proposed regulations on our blog. Leave a Comment by November 7th! Share your family’s personal testimony about ...
6
Oct

Important Potential Changes to International Adoption – What You Can Do!

Yesterday, we shared some information on the new proposed regulations by the Department of State, and the significant negative effects it could have on international adoption (you can read the post here.) Today, we’re sharing some of MLJ Adoptions’ advocacy efforts, including some ways that you can get involved. What is MLJ Adoptions Doing? MLJ ...
5
Oct

Important Potential Changes to International Adoption! (Part One)

Recently, the Department of State (DOS) proposed new regulations that, if passed, will significantly and negatively impact international adoption. If the regulations pass as they are, they have the potential to end adoptions from several country programs and may also negatively impact adoptions from the rest. This is worrisome for many of us, but the ...
15
Aug

Jordan Windle: Adoptee, Olympic Athlete, and Role Model

The Olympics are being held this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with opening ceremonies beginning on August 5th and continuing through the closing ceremonies on August 21st.  Going back as early as 776 B.C. in ancient Greece, the Olympic Games represent the pinnacle of sporting achievement for all athletes. The games and competitions provide a chance ...
9
Aug

Three Ways to Use the Olympics as a Learning Opportunity for Children

If your family is anything like mine, you may have a lot of Olympics television watching in your near future. While many of us may limit screen-time at home, the Olympics may be an exception in your home, and it is in mine. Thankfully, there are a variety of learning opportunities for our kids as ...
23
Jun

Proposed Fee Increases for USCIS

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a fee increase for some of their services, including those that will affect adoptive families. USCIS has announced these fees in the Federal Registrar for public comment. The proposed fee increases can be found here. The National Council for Adoption (NCFA) was kind enough to put together an ...
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