Adoption Exchange Association Newsletter

In May, a group of us met outside Denver, CO, at the offices of The Adoption Exchange, to discuss The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids. With a much leaner budget in the second five years, we all get to see each other much less frequently. The meeting in May was a rare opportunity to talk face-to-face with the collaborative partners who make all of the parts of AdoptUsKids run on a daily basis.

This is far from a perfect world or a perfect system. Children should never know the trauma that our children know. They should never be in foster care as long as they are. They should never have to choose between their siblings or a new family. And every single child in foster care should leave foster care to join their birth family or a new permanent family. But the reality is that 26,000 children still age out of foster care every year without a family.

In that room for two days with my colleagues, I was reminded of how lucky we are, as a country, to have a government that is committed to giving us tools—the training and technical assistance, websites, evaluation, fulfillment, and post-adoption support of AdoptUsKids— to find families for waiting children. Using all of the resources that we are given and have created, lets together put an end to any child aging out of care!.

This past month AEA added functionality to its website that allows donations online. We will expand this soon to allow membership renewal as well. Some members expressed an interest in understanding which on-line payment mechanism we chose and why.

1) Name Recognition. There is enough worry using a credit card on-line, so we had to choose a tool with tremendous name recognition so that people paying on-line would feel safe and reassured. That narrowed my list to two: Paypal and Google.

2) Per Transaction Fees: Google is running a special for non-profits right now--no transaction fees until January 2009. After that, fees are $.20 per transaction. Paypal charges a non-profit rate of $.30 per transaction.

3) Fees Based on Transaction/Donation Amount: Google has a flat 2% fee for all non-profits. Paypal has a rate that varies--from 1.9% to 2.2%, and it is was unclear to me how the level is determined with each transaction.

AEA chose to use Google because it seemed that overall costs would be a bit lower with no loss of confidence by users.

Email me (rpratt@adoptea.org) if you want additional information about setting up your own on-line payments.

An annual awards program, the Adoption Excellence Awards grew out of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. The awards recognize outstanding accomplishments in achieving permanency for America's children waiting in foster care. The Adoption Excellence Awards honor States, local agencies, private organizations, courts, businesses, individuals and families who are making key contributions to increasing the number of children from the foster care system who are adopted or placed in other permanent homes. The awards are presented in November, National Adoption Month. The President's Proclamation of National Adoption Month is also available.

As you know, AdoptUsKids is dedicated to increasing the public awareness of children in foster care who are available for adoption. Members of the Adoption Exchange Association are an important part of our national media outreach. We receive many requests from radio, television and print reporters across the country. We have available spokesfamilies who are willing to participate in these interviews. However, we still need more families! If you know families who might be interested—families who speak either Spanish or English and who have experience with adoption and foster care— please ask them to contact:

English-Speaking Families
Kate Kirkpatrick
kkirkpatrick@adoptuskids.org
(717) 545-5251

Spanish-Speaking Families
Carmen Hernandez
chernandez@adoptuskids.org
570-426-9169

Please tell your families that they they are the best voices for adoption! We also understand that each family has many commitments and therefore may need to decline an invitation to participate in an event or interview. By agreeing to be a spokesperson, it is not assumed that they will be available to participate at all times! Please contact Kate directly if you have questions. Thanks so much!


June 2008
In This Issue: Message from Rachel Pratt, CEO Choosing an On-Line Payment Tool Adoption Excellence Awards Help AdoptUsKids Find More Media Families Nationwide Member News: Member Highlights	Message from Rachel Pratt, CEO In May, a group of us met outside Denver, CO, at the offices of The Adoption Exchange, to discuss The Collaboration to AdoptUsKids. With a much leaner budget in the second five years, we all get to see each other much less frequently. The meeting in May was a rare opportunity to talk face-to-face with the collaborative partners who make all of the parts of AdoptUsKids run on a daily basis. This is far from a perfect world or a perfect system. Children should never know the trauma that our children know. They should never be in foster care as long as they are. They should never have to choose between their siblings or a new family. And every single child in foster care should leave foster care to join their birth family or a new permanent family. But the reality is that 26,000 children still age out of foster care every year without a family. In that room for two days with my colleagues, I was reminded of how lucky we are, as a country, to have a government that is committed to giving us tools—the training and technical assistance, websites, evaluation, fulfillment, and post-adoption support of AdoptUsKids— to find families for waiting children. Using all of the resources that we are given and have created, lets together put an end to any child aging out of care!. back to top Choosing an On-Line Payment Tool This past month AEA added functionality to its website that allows donations online. We will expand this soon to allow membership renewal as well. Some members expressed an interest in understanding which on-line payment mechanism we chose and why. 1) Name Recognition. There is enough worry using a credit card on-line, so we had to choose a tool with tremendous name recognition so that people paying on-line would feel safe and reassured. That narrowed my list to two: Paypal and Google. 2) Per Transaction Fees: Google is running a special for non-profits right now--no transaction fees until January 2009. After that, fees are $.20 per transaction. Paypal charges a non-profit rate of $.30 per transaction. 3) Fees Based on Transaction/Donation Amount: Google has a flat 2% fee for all non-profits. Paypal has a rate that varies--from 1.9% to 2.2%, and it is was unclear to me how the level is determined with each transaction. AEA chose to use Google because it seemed that overall costs would be a bit lower with no loss of confidence by users. To view AEA’s donation page, click here Email me (rpratt@adoptea.org) if you want additional information about setting up your own on-line payments. back to top Adoption Excellence Awards An annual awards program, the Adoption Excellence Awards grew out of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997. The awards recognize outstanding accomplishments in achieving permanency for America's children waiting in foster care. The Adoption Excellence Awards honor States, local agencies, private organizations, courts, businesses, individuals and families who are making key contributions to increasing the number of children from the foster care system who are adopted or placed in other permanent homes. The awards are presented in November, National Adoption Month. The President's Proclamation of National Adoption Month is also available. For more information on the Adoption Excellence Awards, past recipients and how to submit a nomination, please visit the Children's Bureau website: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/current_initiatives/aeawards.htm or contact La Chundra Lindsey at 202.205.8252 or lachundra.lindsey@acf.hhs.gov. back to top Help AdoptUsKids Find More Media Families Nationwide As you know, AdoptUsKids is dedicated to increasing the public awareness of children in foster care who are available for adoption. Members of the Adoption Exchange Association are an important part of our national media outreach. We receive many requests from radio, television and print reporters across the country. We have available spokesfamilies who are willing to participate in these interviews. However, we still need more families! If you know families who might be interested—families who speak either Spanish or English and who have experience with adoption and foster care— please ask them to contact: English-Speaking Families Kate Kirkpatrick kkirkpatrick@adoptuskids.org (717) 545-5251 Spanish-Speaking Families Carmen Hernandez chernandez@adoptuskids.org 570-426-9169 Please tell your families that they they are the best voices for adoption! We also understand that each family has many commitments and therefore may need to decline an invitation to participate in an event or interview. By agreeing to be a spokesperson, it is not assumed that they will be available to participate at all times! Please contact Kate directly if you have questions. Thanks so much! back to top
Our Mission
Because all children need families, the Adoption Exchange Association serves its members by stimulating innovative solutions, eliminating barriers, advocating, educating, and sharing excellent practice. Our central goal is to assist and encourage our members nationwide as they find adoptive families for all children and youth who wait in foster care.
	Member News Member Highlights NACAC’s (MN) 34th Annual Conference will be held from July 31—August 2nd in Ottawa, Ontario. This year’s theme is “Coming Full Circle, Linking to Tradition. Make sure your passports are current! AEA members are going paperless! The Adoption Information Center of Illinois published it last paper newsletter! All future issues will be published on-line at www.adoptinfo-il.org. NACAC also announced the availability of its newsletter, Adoptalk, on–line. To change your Adopttalk subscription from paper to electronic, send an e-mail to dianeriggs@nacac.org, including your current address, phone number, and the email address where you want the newsletter to be sent. Adoption Rhode Island is holding its 16th annual Tuesday’s Child Golf Classic on Monday, July 14th. The event is sponsored by Arpin Van Lines, and includes an 18-hold golf tournament followed by a dinner and auction. For more information about this event, contact Adoption Rhode Island at adoptionri@adoptionri.org. Make sure AEA is on your mailing list so that all members can hear about your upcoming events, promising practices, and successes. back to top
Adoption Exchange Association \| 8015 Corporate Drive, Suite C \| Baltimore, MD 21236 \| 410.933.5700
www.adoptea.org