Attachment Conference April 19th and 20th in Lancaster, PA

Adoption Friends,

Wanted to let you know about an outstanding opportunity to learn about attachment from some of the most respected leaders in the field on April 19th and 20th in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The Institute for Children and Families is presenting "The Face of Trauma, the Heart of Healing", a two day conference led by Daniel Hughes, author of Building the Bonds of Attachment: Awakening Love in Deeply Troubled Children and Facilitating Developmental Attachment: the Road to Emotional Recovery and Behavioral Change in Foster and Adopted Children. Also appearing during the conference are Art Becker-Weidman, Janice Goldwater, and Lark Eshleman.

I feel very fortunate to know Dr. Lark Eshleman, Director of the Institute for Children and Families and author of Becoming a Family: Promoting Healthy Attachments with Your Adopted Child. Helping individuals and their families overcome early childhood trauma, especially trauma that often leads to attachment challenges, is something she is truly passionate about. I've had the pleasure to listen to her first hand as she appeared several times on ThinkingOfAdopting.com and as she developed her webinar, Attachment and Adoption: What is it and Why is it so Important?, a great introduction to attachment for pre- or post-adoptive parents. It's so obvious that she puts her heart and soul into her work.

According to Dr. Eshleman, day one of the conference features a full-day, parent focused (and therapist informative) presentation by Dan Hughes on how to facilitate the connection between a resistant (frightened) child and eager but perhaps frustrated parent. Day two features Dr. Eshleman, Art Becker-Weidman, Janice Goldwater and other members of the Board of ATTACh (Association for the Treatment and Training in the Attachment of Children), parents and other professionals who will offer presentations directed towards both parents, therapists, school personnel, law enforcement, adoption workers, medical professionals, and others who work with children, adolescents and adults who have experienced disruptions in attachment and other traumas in their early lives. The conference will also feature numerous information-sharing booths, a bookseller, and opportunities to meet others who share your interests.

Dr. Eshleman says, "Children who are in foster care, have lived in orphanages, have been abused,neglected or lived with severe medical issues in their early life, or whose parents may have struggled with their own mental health or high stress issues during the child's early years, show a significantly higher rate of difficulty learning how to trust even caring, safe adults in their lives. And yet, children need to learn to trust adults who are trustworthy; young ones cannot live on their own and clearly need and deserve to learn and live with the freedom to be children, not 'mini adults' who have to always be in control, or fear that life will continue to hand them 'bad luck' situations."

To learn more or to register, go to www.InstituteForChildren.org or www.ATTACh.org, or call 717-290-7040.

My best to Dr. Eshleman for the success of this conference, and my sincere hope that many children and their parents will have stronger, healthier attachments as a result!

Robin Bartko

Visit ThinkingOfAdopting.com for independent information and inspiration for your international adoption journey, including adoption telecourses and webinars that let you learn from the comfort and privacy of your own home.

Angelina Jolie to Adopt from Vietnam

Adoption Friends:

Angelina Jolie is going to be adopting internationally for the third time. According to press reports, papers have been filed on her behalf for an adoption from Vietnam.

Angelina Jolie previously adopted internationally from Cambodia and Ethiopia, and has a biological daughter with Brad Pitt. According to an article by E! Entertainment Television, "Word that the couple was planning to adopt from Vietnam was first reported by Us Weekly last week, when the magazine claimed to have learned from unnamed sources that Jolie and Pitt had their sights set on a boy from the Tam Binh orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, a spot they visited in November [2006]." You can read the E! article for more information.

Vietnam reopened for international adoption relatively recently (2005, with placements beginning in 2006), and according to US Department of State statistics 163 children were adopted by parents in the United States in fiscal year 2006 (October 2005 through September 2006, the most recent period for which statistic are available), ranking Vietnam 14th on the list of US international adoptions.

However, US international adoptions from Vietnam were once much more popular. Between 1998-2002 US adoption from Vietnam number approximately 600-700 per year (ranking Vietnam as high as 5th and as low as 7th on the list during this period), and decreased to 382 in fiscal year 2003 when Vietnam closed for adoption. We've compiled the last 17 years of US Department of State data on our International Adoption Statistics Page for you to review.

According to data on FindingYourChild.com, Vietnam does not have an age limit for adoption, single women can adopt, and some provinces allow single men to adopt. Only one trip is required and the duration of the trip is generally two-three weeks. Children are in government orphanages and while the youngest age of children available for adoption are 6 months old, typically the children are between 10-12 months old. Of note is that post placement reports are required every six months for the first three years, then yearly until the child is 18 years old. I recommend that you go to FindingYourChild.com for more information.

I'm excited for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and I wish them the best on their adoption journey. While I'd assume, like many of us, they'd rather have kept their adoption journey private, I believe that many more will learn that adoption from Vietnam is an option and, as a result, more children will find their forever families. And for that I'm sure we're all thankful!

Robin Bartko

Visit ThinkingOfAdopting.com for independent information and inspiration for your international adoption journey.