The Oxygen Channel and On Demand (Comcast) are featuring a heart wrenching episode of "I'm Having Their Baby," titled "Megan & Renee." The episode features A Baby Step Adoption and gives a realistic picture of the birth families and adoptive families range of emotions and struggles during an adoption placement decision.  You can watch the show on the Oxygen Channel (check your local TV directory for times) and On Demand.  We would love and appreciate your feedback!
          We want to thank our birth family and our adopting family for opening up their lives at this difficult time.  We hope that others gain from their experience.
          Congratulations to Maggie and the staff of A Baby Step Adoption Agency for the wonderful work on making the twins adoption so successful. Also, another Congratulations to Abigail and Jace for their new, beautiful family!

Our agency is so excited by this news!  Adoption DOES break the cycle of violence and poverty, which are the two major factors that put babies at risk.

Study Results: The "Crack" Kids are All Right!
The findings of an exciting study conducted over a quarter century right here in Philadelphia came to the surprising above conclusion!

The years of tracking "addicted babies" led to an unexpected conclusion.  Neonatologist, Dr. Hurt found, "Poverty is a more powerful influence on the outcome of inner city children than gestational exposure to cocaine." Other researchers have also found cocaine exposure doesn't seem to effect overall cognition and school performance.

You can read the report of the long term study through this link...
http://articles.philly.com/2013-07-21/news/40709969_1_hallam-hurt-so-called-crack-babies-funded-study

Tips for Claiming the Adoption Tax Credit for a Failed Adoption

       By now, most of you know about the permanent adoption tax credit for each successful adoption attempt and for each adopted child.  The full credit is now $12,970.  The credit phases out for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income over $234,580.  You can carry the credit forward for up to five years.
       There is still confusion about failed adoption attempts.  Yes, each failed/disrupted attempts QUALIFIES for the credit.  Each client will need specific receipts that show that the adoption expenses came out of his/her account - not someone else's.  You will need back up documentation from your agency or attorney.
    

Mark T. McDermott, a D.C. adoption attorney raises some interesting points about the claiming of a tax credit for failed adoptions.  He writes..

      "When to claim is a separate issue.  In a failed adoption, of course, there is no finalization.  My position is that the equivalent of finalization is when the adoption fails, so you can take the credit in that year.  If you follow the IRS instructions to the letter, you claim the year after the expenses were incurred.  If you do this, you can adjust your withholding to get immediate use of the money. 
        IRS instructions also state that, if you take a credit for a failed adoption, and later adopt successfully, you have to offset the credit.  But nothing in the statutes or in legislative history supports this.  Each adoption or failed adoption involves a different child, so you can take a separate credit for each.  Every time my clients have fought the IRS on this matter, they've won."

Help Save the Adoption Tax Credit!

We need your help! The federal adoption tax credit is in jeopardy. The current credit expires at the end of this year. The adoption tax credit has made adoption a more viable option for many parents who might not otherwise have been able to afford adoption, allowing them to provide children with loving, permanent families. If the adoption tax credit has helped you to adopt a child, or children, or if it could help in the future to do so, call your Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives today and urge that he or she cosponsor H.R. 4373, the Making Adoption Affordable Act.

You can reach your Representative by calling the U.S. Capitol Operator at 202-225-3121 and asking for your Representative's office, then ask to speak to the Legislative Assistant who works on taxes or on adoption issues. If you don't know your Representative's name go to http://www.house.gov/ and enter your zip code in the box provided in the upper right corner.

When speaking with your representative make sure to mention that you are constituent. Urge your Representative to cosponsor The Making Adoption Affordable Act, H.R. 4373, introduced by Rep. Braley with bipartisan support. H.R. 4373 makes the adoption tax credit permanent; refundable; inclusive, by applying to domestic private, foster care, and international adoptions; and, available at the maximum amount for adopting a special needs child.

Please help us make the adoption tax credit permanent and to help make adoption affordable for all who build loving families through adoption. Make your voice heard and please contact your representative today!

National Infertility Awareness Week- Infertility Heroes

This week, April 22nd- April 28th marks Infertility Awareness Week. Infertility affects 7.3 million people in the U.S. This figure represents 12% of women of childbearing age, or 1 in 8 couples (2002 National Survey of Family Growth). Resolve, the National Infertility Awareness Association is celebrating this week with the theme Don't Ignore Infertility, in which they are calling on everyone in the infertility community to commit some act, large or small, to show that we cannot ignore infertility in order to educate or community members, health professionals, friends, and family on a issue that is so often overlooked. 


In recognition of this week, Resolve also honors Infertility Heroes, people in the public eye and celebrities who speak about their personal struggles with infertility, champion the cause, or cover issues that are pertinent to the infertility community.  See these heroes here and read about their stories!!

Mariska Hargitay shares Adoption Journey

In this month's edition of Good Housekeeping Magazine, Actress Mariska Hargitay shares her journey to build her family through adoption. It took nearly two years and included so many ups and downs, which we in the adoption world are certainly familiar with. However, after many months of waiting, and she and her husband were able to adopt a baby girl and sixth months later, surprisingly added another baby boy to their family (in addition to their almost 6 year old biological son!). In this article, Hargitay describes how her "Faith Pulled Me Through" and describes the many wrenching moments, along with the incredibly happy times, that she and her husband endured to grow their beautiful family.

We are huge fans of Hargitay and of course her character, Detective Olivia Benson on Law and Order SVU and this is a great article describing her adoption journey and her story is an inspiration to us all :)

Adoption Friendly Workplaces

Do you work in an adoption friendly workplace? The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is compiling its annual list of the companies that offer the best adoption benefits to its employees. Companies that offer adoption benefits, such as adoption cost reimbursement as well as paid time off, are encouraged to complete the 10 minute survey at adoptionfriendlyworkplace.org. The survey is open until April 30th and the results are published in September in Employee Benefit News Magazine.

This list helps to honor and recognize companies that offer adoption benefits to its employees as well as encourages companies who do not have adoption benefits to look into how easy and beneficial it is to offer adoption benefits to their employees.

Additionally, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption has free resources for employers on its website, including sample benefit plans. These are great resources to help employers become adoption friendly and support those who are building their family through adoption.