Archive for the ‘Info’ Category

Teenage Jesus & the Jerks- Orphans (6.13.08)


one-off no wave reunion. teenage jesus & the jerks perform ‘orphans’ to a sold out crowd @ new york’s knitting factory. this is from the first of two back to back shows.

Mishka: An Adoption Tale

Product Description
Mo lives high on a shelf in an airport gift shop. All day he watches as families walk past. He can’t help but feel lonely. Mo wants a family. He wants a home. Then one day Mo’s wish for a family comes true as a special couple take him on a marvelous journey to meet his new best friend, Yuri. Mo has lots of questions once he gets to his destination. Where is he? What’s a mishka? And most importantly, will the man and the woman who brought him and Yuri together come back? Will Mo ever have a family of his own?

Mishka: An Adoption Tale

Adoption Law

Adoption is defined as the legal process by which a person becomes a lawful member of a family different from their birth family. An order of adoption is ruled by the court, granting adoptive parents the same rights and responsibilities as parents whose children are born to them. The adopted child therefore receives the rights to inheritance, child support, having their name legally changed and an issuance of an amended birth certificate.

There are different types of adoption. They are classified as independent, agency, stepparent, relative placement and adult adoption. An independent adoption occurs when adoptive families and birth parents find each other on their own or through the assistance of an adoption intermediary. Agency adoptions are different in that they are handled through a child placement agency that is licensed by the State Department of Social Services. Stepparent adoptions are defined when a family adopting is a birth parent with a new spouse and if the other parent has relinquished rights. Adult adoption is the process whereupon a person eighteen years or older is legally adopted by one or more persons eighteen years or older. Last, relative placement adoption is when the birth parent(s) is still a minor, has died or is disabled, or the child has been removed due to abuse or neglect, and another relative assumes physical custody and responsibility for a child.

In the United States, two-thirds of all adoptions are agency adoptions.

Who may adopt? The U.S. Constitution does not outline fundamentally the right to adopt. Requirements for adoption are based on individual state law. Most states have modeled their adoption statues upon the Uniform Adoption Act. This act provides that any individual may adopt another individual in an effort to create the legal relationship of child and parent, subject to the adopting individual having reached adulthood. In regards to factors that may disqualify one who can adopt, differs by states. The Uniform Adoption Act does not prohibit the unmarried from adopting but some states do. Other states disqualify those suffering from physical or mental disabilities from adoption and/or have ‘reputability requirements’.

With reputability requirements, an individual cannot petition for adoption unless the court makes an official finding that the individual is acceptable as an adoptive parent. This requires that an investigatory report be submitted by a state agency qualifying the individual. Details such as the potential adoptive parent’s religion, social history, financial status, moral fitness, mental and physical fitness and criminal background are weighed.

In many states, gays and lesbians are restricted from adopting.  Some jurisdictions consider sexual orientation as one factor when considering if a parent fits the acceptability requirement. Yet, out-of-state adoptions must be recognized per Adar v Smith. In the U.S. there are 270,000 children living with same-sex couples, one quarter of these or 65,000 have been adopted.

Before adoption can occur, the birth mother and birth father, (if he has properly established paternity) hold the primary right of consent to adoption of their child. Either one or both parents could have their rights terminated for reasons that include abandonment, failure to support the child, mental incompetence, or parental unfitness due to abuse or neglect. When neither parent is able to give consent, legal entities are given this responsibility. These entities include agencies that have custody of the child such as a person who has been given custody, a guardian, a court having jurisdiction over the child, a close relative of the child or a ‘next friend’ of the child who is a responsible adult appointed by the court.

Older children must give consent to their adoption. Most states age of consent is at 14. Each state’s law specifies when consent can be executed. Most states specify that a birth parent may execute consent to adoption any time after the birth of the child. Other states require a waiting period. The shortest waiting periods are 12 and 24 hours – the longest are 10 and 15 days. The right of a parent to revoke their consent is strictly limited and some states it is irrevocable.

Steven Medvin is the Executive Director of SMP Advance Funding, LLC, which provides lawsuit funding to individuals who need a lawsuit loan for pending lawsuits. For more information please visit: http://www.smpadvance.com

The Passionate Orphan

Product Description
MOUNTAIN ORGY! Rita was just a houseguest at the Kirbys’ mountain cabin; a pleasant outing from the orphanage. Until two escaped convicts broke in?-armed to the teeth and horny as hell!

The Passionate Orphan

Adoption Laws in the United States; A Summary of the Development of Adoption Legislation and Significant Features of Adoption Statutes, With

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher’s website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Title: Adoption Laws in the United States : a Summary of the Development of Adoption Legislation and Significant Features of Adoption Statutes, With the Text of Selected Laws; Original Publisher: Washington : U.S. Dept. of Labor, Children’s Bureau; Publication date: 1925; Subjects: Adoption; Children;

Adoption Laws in the United States; A Summary of the Development of Adoption Legislation and Significant Features of Adoption Statutes, With

Requirement of International Adoption

According to international adoption a child is from the different country and parents belong to different country.  Each and every country has its own rules and regulation regarding the adoption of the child. The adoptive parents have to follow all the rules of their country as well as the rules of the adopted child’s country. Though the adoptive parents finally become the legal parents of the adoptive child, there are many things that are considered.

The policies of the international adoption vary from country to country in a wide range. Many points of the adoptive parents are under consideration such as financial status, their history and marital status, level of education, number of children dependent in the house, weight, psychological health, history of ancestors and also the sexual orientation. These things are under consideration by the authority to decide properly whether the adoptive parents are eligible to adopt a child or not from another country.

Even the points such as the age of the child, in the child’s birth country the amount of required time, fees and expenses also vary from country to country in a wide range. For the process of special needs adoption, each country sets its own rules, laws and regulations, timelines and requirements. Even in the United States the rules regarding adoption of the child varies within the states.

Reliability and verifiability of the information also differs in some states and in country. Different countries or even different parts of the country follow its own rules and regulation regarding the information shared and the ways by which it should be shared. According to most of the countries parent should travel to bring the child home and some are in favor of escorting the child to his or her homeland.

There are negative and positive consequences of the international adoption while adopting the child. There is a possibility of child trafficking or child laundering, illegal transportation or buying and selling of the children. There is a possibility of stealing of the children also.  One cannot forget the loss of culture, identity or family in international adoption, as there are huge differences in these aspects.

The authoress is an experienced Content writer and publisher on the topics related to International Adoption and Special needs Adoption.

Risk and Promise: a handbook for parents adopting a child from overseas

Product Description
Risk and Promise is designed to help prospective international adoption parents better understand the risk factors as well as the protective factors a child from overseas is presenting, support the parents through the decision-making process, and guide them during the period of transition in their lives as their new child moves into their family. The premise of Risk and Promise is that the success of any adoption, both international and domestic, is a function of not only the capabilities and needs of the child, but also the expectations, characteristics, and lifestyle of the adoptive family members. It is important that prospective adoptive families assess their tolerance for uncertainty, for the potential challenges that the child may bring, and the parents ability (financial and otherwise) to modify their lifestyle in order to accommodate the demands of a child who may be quite challenging. Along these lines, a secondary objective of this book is to enlighten prospective adoptive parents regarding the extent of what may be required of them if, indeed, they are to fulfill the commitment that they are making in taking on the responsibility for a child whose needs will unfold over time.

Risk and Promise: a handbook for parents adopting a child from overseas

In Search of a Family: A Story of an International Adoption

Product Description
In Search of a Family: A Story of an International Adoption takes the reader inside a personal journey through the unknowns of an international adoption. This true story takes place in the ex-Soviet bloc country of Ukraine. As they travel through this young, independent republic, Kevin and Ginger Carlisle encounter numerous obstacles that could derail their hopes of achieving their dream of creating a new family. Braving Ukrainian election tensions and protestors, heartbreaking events, financial concerns, and changing adoption policies, they navigate the emotional and psychological maze of the bureaucracy and physical logistics of an international adoption. An eleventh hour attempt by the children’s family member jeopardizes their attempt in searching for a family. The Carlisles endure the hardships of the language barrier and infrastructure but are able to uncover the little-known beauty of Ukraine and its people, all while placing their life in the United States on hold. As their destiny patiently waits, they keep reciting the mantra of all those who had come before them: Keep your focus on the goal of bringing home your children.

In Search of a Family: A Story of an International Adoption

Adopting An Abandoned Farm

Product Description
The idealized farmer, as he is depicted by these white-handed rhetoricians who, like John Paul, “would never lay hand to a plow, unless said plow should actually pursue him to a second story, and then lay hands on it only to throw it out of the window,” and the phlegmatic, overworked, horny-handed tillers of the soil are no more alike than Fenimore Cooper’s handsome, romantic, noble, and impressive red man of the forest and the actual Sioux or Apache, as regarded by the cowboy of the West.

Adopting An Abandoned Farm

An Informal Network Of Philanthropists

“There is a natural law, a Divine law, that obliges you and me to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute”. ~ Conrad Hilton

One person can make a difference. A group of Friends can make a very big difference. A few years ago, a single philanthropist supporting a single institution had an idea. Why not invite some friends to help support the institution? And why not have the friends share their ideas for other causes and organizations and programs that might be worthy of support?

Today that group – it has no official name or charter, but the informal members of the network call it “Caring Friends” – includes more than 200 people supporting 35 institutions in nine different states in India.

One of the Friends, retired businessman Ramesh Kacholia, recently told me that the sole objective is helping truly outstanding humanitarian institutions working in the tribal, backward rural areas or slums of big cities in any part of our country.

When a Friend suggests an organization, a few core Friends personally visit and assess the cause. If they make a donation themselves, the other Friends know it is indeed a good cause, and many of them make donations, too.

Among the causes that Rameshbhai and his network support is Parivaar – an orphanage run by a dedicated IIM Calcutta alumnus, Vinayak Lohane. My wife Girija and I visited Parivaar and were inspired by the tremendous work Vinayak is doing to take care of orphaned children roaming the red light districts of Kolkotta as well as tribal children from the interiors of West Bengal and Jharkand.

In many cases, those kids have been hungry all their lives; their health must be restored before they can begin learning. For example, many of the tribal children grew up eating only two meals a day – a small portion of rice from government rations, and then barely edible wild potatoes that the kids dug up, boiled and then flavored with crushed red ants. We saw how a few weeks of a healthy diet – three nutritious meals a day – can turn emaciated, listless children into enthusiastic and energetic young learners.

I first met Rameshbhai when my company called Vinayak to Mumbai to grant him the ‘Spirit of Mastek’ award – a quarterly award that our team gives to people who make an outstanding contribution to the society at large.

Last week, Rameshbhai took me to another educational venture that the Friends are supporting: a government-aided school in Bandra, Mumbai, where Rajiv Vartak and his team are doing a wonderful job making science and math come alive for children through experiments and more hands-on pedagogical methods.

With their seven years of experience in this school, this group had now ventured into training teachers in dozens of other schools. Rajiv, a committed and enthusiastic teacher and Ashoka scholar, has dedicated his life to making science and math fun for children.

What Rameshbhai and the other Friends have achieved is truly phenomenal. His personal mission, after a long and successful business career, is to discover and nurture causes that have not yet achieved widespread awareness. His network is like an ‘Angel funding network’ – aimed at social ventures rather than business ventures. A few of the angels spend more time in mentoring the causes, while others provide the funding.

What stops any of us from forming such a network and spending a little time and money is supporting a few causes? Please do share your insights and aspirations in this regards.

The New Constructs is an initiative to examine our beliefs and assumptions – about life and living – that we need to reinvent in order to create a more inclusive and sustainable world. It is an opportunity for each one of us to connect, collaborate and co-create the world that we will rebuild for posterity. Do post your own examples on the Wall.

Sudhakar Ram is Chairman and Co-Founder of IT solutions provider, Mastek. He believes that creating a sustainable world would require a shift in the “constructs” that drive our attitudes and actions.