“Bottom line is, even if you see them coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does.
So, what are we, helpless? Puppets? Nah. The big moments are gonna come, you can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's
when you find out who you are." - Joss Whedon

Friday, January 4, 2013

Monday, February 13th is Adoption Tax Credit Awareness Day

Adoption Tax Credit Awareness Day

 
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, the North American Council on Adoptable Children and the National Resource Centers are forwarding information to states to help support the Adoption Tax Credit Awareness Day, set for Monday, February 13th. Please help us distribute information to families in your area who have adopted.

All parts of the adoption community including state agencies, child welfare programs, private child placing agencies, adoptive families, etc. are asked to take part in the first grassroots Adoption Tax Credit Awareness Day. Unfortunately, many adoptive families are still not aware that this tax credit exists. It is our goal to ensure all adoptive families who are eligible to receive this benefit are informed about how to claim the credit. Please help distribute information to adoptive families about the availability of this refundable tax credit. This tax credit is a benefit available to adoptive families including those families who adopted a child with special needs through a state agency. The credit is a potential resource to families who adopted children back as far as 2005 - especially if they were not able to take full advantage of the tax credit in those years, as the unused balance may still be refundable to families who had unused credit in 2010.

All families who completed adoptions in 2011 should be made aware of this refundable tax credit, which this year is set for $13,360.00 per child. Because many of the families that completed adoptions were relatives, they may not have been made aware of this tax credit.

Families that adopted children with special needs do not have to have qualified adoption expenses in order to claim the credit. If adoptive families have questions about this tax credit, they should contact their tax preparer.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Meet Brian and Chriss Butt - Who Are New to Our Area and Super Jazzed about Adoption!

Allow me (Tawnia) to introduce a new couple to our FSA group.  Brian and Chriss Butt recently moved to Washington from Utah with their son they adopted through Premier Adoption Agency. Here is what Chriss had to say about their adoption experience:

We started with LDS Family Services and actively waited a year and a half with no contact from expectant mothers. We were doing everything the agency suggested we do to spread our news we had our blog, our pass-along cards and talked to everyone we knew about our desire to adopt and if they would pass our information on to anyone they knew.  We had been to a workshop through Families Supporting Adoption about other agencies and foster care, we learned about Premier from some other couples that had been placed through them. After much prayer, we felt that our child would come to us through Premier.

Some of the things that we really liked about Premier were that they only work with a max of 40 adoptive couples at a time. When I called them they said they have been nowhere near this number in several years. We liked that they had full-time employees; we were always able to work with the same person. Most of all we liked that they had a sliding scale based off of income and not the race of the child as all the other agencies we had looked into did.

When you are presented with a situation they give you the medical and social history information and you know up front what, if any additional costs may be. This agency doesn’t move the expectant mothers to different States, so you would be dealing with ICPC, but the majority of expectant mothers medical expenses are covered by Medicare.  

We had our application in with them for two weeks when we were contacted about a situation, and two months before we were matched! We have a great semi-open adoption with our son’s birth parents and got to be there for the birth of our son in August. So far in 2012, they have had 28 placements, in the last two years we personally know of seven families that have been placed with them. They accept LDS FS homestudies and you can be with both agencies at the same time. LDS FS doesn’t release portions of the homestudy so you do have to get new originals for the background checks, reference letters, and medical forms.
 
If you have any questions about Premier you can check them out online at http://www.premieradoption.org/
 
Or feel free to contact us at: Brianandchrissadopting@gmail.com

We look forward to getting to know more of you and supporting adoption.

Brian and Chriss

Princess for A Day Sponsered by A Family for Every Child

Children throughout the country are waiting for loving homes and it is the goal of A Family For Every Child to find forever families for each one of these special children.

This year will be A Family For Every Child's 6th Annual Princess for a Day Event. Our annual gift to Foster Girls throughout Oregon. These well deserving girls ages 2-18 receive a special day full of the royal treatment; getting their hair and makeup done, picking out their ball gown, and finally having a tea party with prince charming.

In 2012 we served over 325 Princesses, because of the generosity of our community and families all over the country. We hope to serve more and more princesses each year and reach out to other communities to help them create their own Princess for a Day Event.





Did you find a Christmas Dress in the Closet that was too small this year?
We will take all your old dress off your hands for our Princess for a Day event. We will take dress donation of all sizes.
Drop off or mail your old dress to
1675 West 11th, Eugene OR 97402




Donation Timeline
We have created a timeline for each month, up until the event, for all the donations. This is so we can collect specific items for different months and anyone who would like to donate will have ideas of what we are in need of. However, we will still be accepting any donations during each month.
Feel free to visit our online Wish List for the list of items we need!


December:
This month is all about the DRESSES!

If there are any dresses sitting in your closet and collecting dust, donate them to us! We will gladly accept princess dresses of all sizes!
Clean out your closet and donate those Holiday Dresses that are to small!
January:
This month will focus on WANDS and TIARAS!
It will be the start of a new year, and the event will be just right around the corner! We will be in need of all the finishing touches to all the dresses we will collect the month before.
February:
One more month to go!

This month will be all about the BLING!
Anything pink and sparkly that the Princesses can wear will be greatly appreciated! Necklaces, bracelets, rings...you name it!


10am-5pm

$50 for non-foster girls
Admission free for foster girls

Contact for more information:

This is a special occasion
where girls (both in foster
care and general admission)
can come and get "Pampered"
and enjoy a Tea Party.



Watch a Video From Last Years Princess For A Day Event 2012
Watch a Video From Last
Years Princess For A Day
Event 2012

The Princess gets a gown to
take home, a crown and
slippers too. She has her hair
 and nails done, a photo shoot,
and a tea party. The parent, guardian, or foster parent who brings the Princess will also
have lunch as her royal guest!
Foster children are admitted
free. General admission for
other princesses is $50.00. Advanced registration is
required for all girls.
This is a girls only affair. All
girls are welcome to be accompanied by their King
or Queen.
Due to limited space we can
 only accommodate the
Princesses and one adult,
so please leave the extra
princess and wicked
step-sisters home at the
Castle.


princess 6


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

A Letter from Congressman Smith regarding The Making Adoption Affordable Act

Did you write your Congressman regarding The Making Adoption Affordable Act. H.R. 4373?? Sarah did and below is what Adam Smith had to say in response to her contact. 


December 21, 2012


Mrs. Sarah Rawls

Steilacoom, Washington 98388


Dear Sarah,

Thank you for contacting me regarding H.R. 4373, the Making Adoption Affordable Act. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this important issue and I value this opportunity to respond.

I support adoption and making it easier for families to bring children into a safe and nurturing environment. I have been a long supporter of legislation that supports families that seek to adopt and creates a smooth transition and a promising future for adopted children.

As you may know, the federal government provides assistance for the adoption of children through federal grants to states and through tax expenditures for families. Although federal assistance programs for adoption focus primarily on children adopted out of Foster Care, federal adoption tax provisions are available for all adoptions (except for adoptions of stepchildren). 

Congress created federal tax assistance for adoption by enacting the Small Business and Job Protection Act of 1996. The Act added tax incentives for adoption to the existing federal adoption assistance grant programs by creating a tax credit and an income tax exclusion of up to $5,000 per adoption and $6,000 per adoption of a special needs child. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act (EGTRRA) of 2001 provided an increase in qualified expenses for the credit and the income tax exclusion to $10,000 (indexed for inflation), but with a sunset period. Beginning in 2011, the prior law limits of $5,000 and $6,000 became effective again unless extended in new legislation.

For tax years 2010 and 2011, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) made the adoption tax credit refundable. The Affordable Care Act also increased the qualified expenses for the adoption tax credit and the income tax exclusion for employer provided adoption assistance to $13,170 for tax year 2010, with this amount indexed for inflation in 2011.

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 extended the EGTRRA provisions for adoption to tax year 2012. Unless EGTRRA is extended, prior tax exclusion limits of $5,000 and $6,000 will take effect beginning in tax year 2013.

The tax credit and the income tax exclusion significantly limit who may benefit from the tax provisions. Both provisions are subject to a phase-out rule, which creates an income cap, and puts in place a minimum income level on the use of the tax credit. These provisions limit the number of taxpayers who benefit from the credit. As a result, in tax year 2008, very few families with an adjusted gross income of less than $30,000, or with an adjusted gross income of $200,000 or more, claimed the credit. In tax year 2008, approximately 86,600 tax returns, or 06% of all tax returns, included a claim for the adoption tax credit, with a total credit value claimed of $353.5 million. 

Thank you for calling my attention to H.R. 4373, The Making Adoption Affordable Act. H.R. 4373 was introduced by Representative Bruce Braley on April 7, 2012. This legislation seeks to support families that wish to adopt by providing tax credit for adoption expenses increasing exclusion from gross income for amounts paid by an employer for adoption expenses that were enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. H.R. 4373 is currently pending with the House Committee on Ways and Means.

I look forward to reviewing this legislation. Should this or any other bill concerning adoption come to the House floor for consideration, please be assured I will keep your support in mind. Please feel free to contact me at any time should you have further questions or concerns on this or any other issue.



Sincerely,

Adam Smith
Member of Congress


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