By the adoption101.com staff
Big news for adoptive parents...
Congress passed the passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the "fiscal cliff" deal) on January 1, 2013, and it was signed into law by President Obama the following day. Part of the new law is the extension of the federal Adoption Tax Credit.
And more good news...
In past years, the Adoption Tax Credit always had a sunset provision, where it expired within a yeor two, requiring it to be passed again by Congress (leading us the the recent worry if the tax credit would be extended into 2013). The bill which just past made the Adoption Tax Credit permanent. Yes, permanent, so absent some major legislative change in the......
The internet has changed the lives of everyone regarding access to information, and the same is true of its role in adoption. The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a highly respected organization, has issued a detailed 70 page report on the subject, authored by Jeanne A. Howard, Ph.d., covering how it impacts independent, agency and international adoption, from family formation to birth parent searches.
For the full report go to: PDF Full Report. The article, released in December 2012, concludes that social media and other elements of this modern technology are having both positive and negative "transformative" effects on adoption policy and practice, touching millions of people&.........
The adoption community is well aware that the federal adoption tax credit expires as of January 1, 2013. Vigorous efforts have been underway by countless adoption groups to renew the credit. On September, 21, 2012 Senator Landrieu (D-LA) introduced Senate Bill 3616 to not only continue
the adoption tax credit, but also make it permanent and refundable. In prior years, the credit was for only a limited period, as evidenced by its present expiration at the end of 2012. Also, for most years in which the Adoption Tax Credit has been in effect, it has been a credit against tax owed, not a full refundable tax credit. This new bill, if it passes, will make the Adoption Tax Credit both permanent and refundable. As with the earlier ............
The federal adoption tax credit for 2012 is $12,650. (Please see our detailed article on the tax credit for details). If no further action is taken by Congress to extend the tax credit, it will expire in 2013, with the exception of a smaller credit continuing to exist ($5,000), and only for special needs children.
On April 17th, Representative Bruce Braley (Iowa) introduced the Making Adoption Affordable Act (Bill number: H.R. 4373). If enacted, it will not only renew, but also expand, the federal adoption tax credit, making it permanent and refundable. (For 2012, the credit is not refundable - meaning you must have paid federal taxes to obtain the credit, and every year or two legislation is introduced to extend the......
As is the norm, California only allows children to have no more than two lawful parents for a child. Although in most states the limitation for these two parents is mother and father (e.g. female and male), in some states, the parents may be of the same gender, typically through adoption, step-parent adoption or surrogacy. Now, a new bill is pending in California which would allow a child to have more than two legal parents.
The bill pending in the California Senate (SB 1486), was introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D) from San Francisco. “The bill brings California into the 21st century, recognizing that there are more than Ozzie and Harriet families today,” Leno told the Sacremento Bee. He said the bill is not ...
There is an old adage that "the younger the child being adopted, the better." The reasoning is clearly understandable and does not require a degree in sociology or psychology to understand. If a child has been removed from a bad situation, such as parental unfitness (usually drug addition leading to poor parenting, or outright abuse or neglect), the child will likely have suffered trauma that may haunt him or her throughout their childhood and beyond. For the adoptive parents, no matter how well-intentioned, taking over these parental responsibilities for an older child in need of extraordinary parenting, the challenges can be severe. It is due to these concerns that so many adoptive parents seek to adopt newborns via independent .........
It was in early 2010 when a Tennessee adoptive mother put her adopted seven year old son, Artyom, on a plane with a one way ticket back to Russia and a note saying: “I am sorry that for the safety of my family, friends, and myself, I no longer wish to parent this child.” She went on to write, “He is a Russian national, I am returning him to your guardianship.” As reported by CBS News, she said, “He is violent and has severe psychopathic issues,” and she alleged the Russian orphanage lied about the child because they “wanted to get rid of the boy.” Needless to say, her action set off a storm of anger and shock not just in the adoption community, but ............
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