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An Update on New International Adoption Laws and Regulations

April 29, 2008 - Tuesday
8:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EST)
Guest Speakers:

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[Tue Apr 29 16:58:57 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanHi, welcome to tonight's chat. I'm Corey Whelan, The AFA's Director of Development and your chat moderator. Tonight's chat is an update on new international adoption laws and regulations. Sam Pitkowsky of the Adoptive Parents Committee will be joining us shortly.
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[Tue Apr 29 17:00:58 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanWe will be beginning shortly, we're just waiting for Sam.
[Tue Apr 29 17:03:36 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanHi guys, I'm looking for Sam, will be back in a few minutes
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[Tue Apr 29 17:06:06 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanguys, I'm really sorry, I'm still looking for Sam
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[Tue Apr 29 17:08:49 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanguys, Sam is having some trouble logging on, but he should be here in a minute, hang in there
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[Tue Apr 29 17:10:28 PDT 2008] ledjanyone there?
[Tue Apr 29 17:10:49 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanyes, Sam is having trouble logging on, he is trying
[Tue Apr 29 17:12:39 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanwhere are you guys at in your adoption process? thinking about it, doing it?
[Tue Apr 29 17:12:59 PDT 2008] Lauriebee We are adopting from China - our log in date is July 2007. We are being told the wait is going to be 20-24 months:-( Long wait. --- We are hoping for a child no older than a year.
[Tue Apr 29 17:13:35 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanwow, was that what you expected when you first began your adoption plan?
[Tue Apr 29 17:14:13 PDT 2008] LauriebeeNOAlso now that we are adopting we are asked about other countries fr
[Tue Apr 29 17:14:29 PDT 2008] LauriebeeNo 16 months max. It is very hard waiting.
[Tue Apr 29 17:14:59 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanchart, ledg, what about you guys - are you in the middle of this or just thinking about it?
[Tue Apr 29 17:15:23 PDT 2008] ledjstill thinking about it
[Tue Apr 29 17:15:33 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanI spoke to Sam's wife - I don't know if he will be able to figure out how to join us, I'm sorry folks. We can see what happens.
[Tue Apr 29 17:15:36 PDT 2008] ledjwhere would be the best country to adopt from
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[Tue Apr 29 17:16:24 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanThat's a hard question to answer - it counts on what you are looking for - if you want a newborn, then you need to adopt domestically. Different countries have different criteria for what they will accept
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[Tue Apr 29 17:17:29 PDT 2008] ledjwe are looking to adopt a child around 6 months - any recommendations as to which is the best country?
[Tue Apr 29 17:18:17 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanIt is hard to narrow the time frame down to that specific a number - you should look into south american adoption. China would be difficult
[Tue Apr 29 17:19:52 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanfolks, I'm really not sure what is going to happen with Sam Pitkowsky, but you are welcome to hang out and chat
[Tue Apr 29 17:21:09 PDT 2008] ledjfor someone who is just about to adopt, any tips (from personal experience)?
[Tue Apr 29 17:22:38 PDT 2008] LauriebeeIf it is something you want - Get started asap. It is a lot of paperwork and homestudy. It took us 6 months to do the paperwork.
[Tue Apr 29 17:23:28 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanthat's exciting ledj, good luck!!!! Do you know what kind of adoption you will be pursuing?
[Tue Apr 29 17:23:55 PDT 2008] ledjwe're probably going to try domestic adoption since that's cheaper, and see how that will work
[Tue Apr 29 17:24:20 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanwhat makes you think that is less expensive? Sometimes yes, someitmes no
[Tue Apr 29 17:24:22 PDT 2008] ledjBUT i am definitely interested to see what international adoption is all about
[Tue Apr 29 17:24:42 PDT 2008] ledjwe found this agency that charges around 10% of income
[Tue Apr 29 17:25:01 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanwhat agency?
[Tue Apr 29 17:25:22 PDT 2008] LauriebeeIn researching adoptions I found from my research for China to be best for us because it only required 1 trip. Some other countries (Russia for instance) requires 2 trips. With my research I found it to be the same price basically as domestic.
[Tue Apr 29 17:25:29 PDT 2008] ledjspence - chapin
[Tue Apr 29 17:26:02 PDT 2008] ledjlauriebee, how much are you expecting in terms of payment when this is all over?
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[Tue Apr 29 17:27:51 PDT 2008] Lauriebee$20,000 (could be as high as 25,000) this includes all agency fees and the trip. One thing I found out was that there is a 10,000 tax credit so we will get 10,000 back on our taxes once we complete the adoption.
[Tue Apr 29 17:28:20 PDT 2008] ledjlauriebee, what agency are you using?
[Tue Apr 29 17:28:35 PDT 2008] babyblessingsI thought you get a 10,000 credit not money back?
[Tue Apr 29 17:29:27 PDT 2008] babyblessingsWhat country are you looking at lauriebee?
[Tue Apr 29 17:29:33 PDT 2008] Lauriebeeisn't a credit just like getting it back?
[Tue Apr 29 17:29:35 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanfolks, I just got off the phone with Sam, his computer is just not cooperating. He did graciously offer to answer any questions via telephone and will be standing by for approx. two hours - if you would like to talk to Sam you can call him at 212-304-8479.
[Tue Apr 29 17:30:37 PDT 2008] babyblessingsI guess I'm also confused about the credit as well. Can someone verify that?
[Tue Apr 29 17:30:43 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanAnd of course, you can hang out and chat here. Btw, for tri state area residents, the New York Family Matters Conference is coming up - Sunday Oct 5th - at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn. Lots of adoption and medical information from the podium and in the exhibit hall
[Tue Apr 29 17:31:21 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelana tax credit is not a refund
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[Tue Apr 29 17:32:05 PDT 2008] LauriebeeCCAI Chinese Children Adoption International. Very good. (except for the wait - but that is not their fault)
[Tue Apr 29 17:33:11 PDT 2008] ledjlauriebee, is that adoption only for chinese children
[Tue Apr 29 17:33:20 PDT 2008] LauriebeeDo you know the difference between a credit and deduction. I just know it is a credit and should be very helpful on our taxes.
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[Tue Apr 29 17:35:42 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelanhi dimic, Sam Pitkowsky wasn't able to log on but we're chatting about adoption
[Tue Apr 29 17:39:46 PDT 2008] LauriebeeI am going to sign off. Thanks
[Tue Apr 29 17:40:00 PDT 2008] ledjI will sign off as well
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[Tue Apr 29 17:40:54 PDT 2008] babyblessingshow can we get financial help for international adoption?
[Tue Apr 29 17:41:43 PDT 2008] Corey_WhelanI honestly don't know, I'm sorry. That might be a good question for Sam
[Tue Apr 29 17:42:33 PDT 2008] dimicDo you know which are the fastest moving countries right now? My husband and I are thinking about switching from domestic to intl.
[Tue Apr 29 17:44:57 PDT 2008] babyblessingsThanks for everything. Have a good night everyone.
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[Tue Apr 29 17:46:49 PDT 2008] Corey_Whelansorry it didn't work tonight folks.
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