~9/09~

IFI LAUNCHES THEIR NEW WEBSITE!

~CONGRATULATIONS!~

IFI would like to congratulate all the families who recently arrived home from a successful adoption! Below is a picture taken of the Pal Family a few days after receiving their son, Akash.  IFI's Pal family is seen here with India's prime minister Sonia Gandhi.  The Pal family adopted baby Akash through IFI in June 2009.  

~GOOD NEWS!!~

According to the US Embassy in Nepal; as of January 1, 2009, the Government of Nepal announced that it has resumed intercountry adoptions following implementation of new terms and conditions passed by the Nepali Cabinet on May 2, 2008.  The Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (WCS), the Ministry in charge of International adoptions in Nepal, had suspended the adoption of Nepalese children by foreigners on May 8, 2007, pending approval of reforms of the adoption process by the Nepalese Cabinet.  Now that new terms and conditions have been implemented, Nepal has resumed intercountry adoptions.

Please read this article about a recent successful adoption from Nepal! 

~9/01/09~

Transracial Adoption Study Needs Participants

The University of Maryland’s Department of Family Science, in conjunction with The Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE), are initiating a national survey of transracially adopted adolescents and their families. The specific focus of the study is to examine the impact of family characteristics on the overall adjustment, self-esteem and racial identity of racial minority youth adopted by white parents.  They are currently looking for participants for this important research project.

Who can participate? If the parent or parents in your family are white and there is a least one racial minority adolescent (currently aged 14-18) who was adopted by the age of 3, you may qualify to participate.

What will I be asked to do? Both parent and child will be asked to complete an on-line survey that will take approximately 20 minutes. Upon completion, participating adolescents will receive a $10 iTune gift card (some restrictions apply).

We believe this research will benefit us in providing better services to the youth and families we serve. We encourage you to consider participating.

For more information about the study and to see if you qualify, please contact:

Dr. Leigh Leslie

Department of Family Science

The University of Maryland, College Park

301-405-4011,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it