ADVOCACY ALERT: ADOPTION TAX CREDIT - CALL-IN DAY 

USE YOUR VOICE: 

ASK YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
TO CO-SPONSOR H.R. 4373

Dear Supporter of Adoption: 

If Congress does not act - the tax credit as we now know it - will expire on December 31, 2012.

If the adoption tax credit helped you or someone you know to adopt a child or if it could help you in the future to adopt a child, call your Representative today and urge that he or she cosponsor the bipartisan bill H.R. 4373, the Making Adoption Affordable Act.

Action:

We are asking supporters of adoption to make a phone call today! We ask that you call your Congressional leader in the U.S. House of Representatives. You can reach your Representative by calling the U.S. Capitol Operator at 202-225-3121. Ask for your Representative's office. If you don't know your Representative's name go to http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/ and enter your zip code in the box provided.

Message:

• I am a constituent in your district and the adoption tax credit is important to me. (It matters to me because…)
• I urge the Representative to become a co-sponsor of The Making Adoption Affordable Act, H.R. 4373.
• If Congress does not act – the credit as we now know it – will expire in December 2012.
• H.R. 4373 is bipartisan and it supports all types of adoptions (foster care, domestic private, and international adoptions).
• This tax credit has made adoption a more viable option for many parents who might not otherwise have been able to afford adoption, allowing them to provide children with loving, permanent families.
• Thank you for your support of H.R. 4373.

If you want to learn more about the adoption tax credit go to http://adoptiontaxcredit.org/

Also, “like” the Save the Adoption Tax Credit mission on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/AdoptionTaxCredit

Thank you for taking a few minutes to make this important phone call! Feel free to let me know who you contacted and if you received positive feedback from your call today. 



Christian Child Placement Service, Adoption Agency
e-mail: adopt@nmcch.org
http://www.LovingAdoptionOptions.org/
http://www.facebook.com/Adoption.aChoiceforLife
twiter: @pregnancy_adopt
1-800-553-2229 (BABY) ex. 14

5 Comments NOT to say to Birthparents

Do you wonder what to say to birthparents that have placed their child for adoption? Are you afraid to say the wrong thing? 5 comments NOT to say to Birthparents who have placed a child for adoption:

1. "I could never place my baby for adoption."

This comment makes the loving birthmother feel heartless to be able to do such an act. When in fact she made a plan for her child and provided her child a home that he or she would have all of its needs provided for.  The birthmother is not inferior,

Be secure in your role as a mother; that comment has more to do with the person making it, than the birthmother. Secure women in her role as a mother don’t make that comment; only the doubting, struggling-to-get-by mothers say comments like that.

2. "What a wonderful gift you have given to a childless couple"

There has to a higher reason for placing the child for adoption.  The gift of parents to the child, that is my intention of birth parents. They want the child to have a mother and a father. As an added benefit, the child’s parent’s lives are enriched by the child’s existence. Together, birth parents and adoptive parents celebrate the gift of knowing their child. 

3. "You can have other children"

You can never replace another child with another! To try and do so is to dishonor the child you have placed for adoption and the child you use to fill the void.

Adoptees hold a special place in birthparents hearts where their names are etched forever.

No matter how many babies you carry out of the hospital with you, you never will forget the one you did not.

4. "That sure is nice of the adoptive parents to communicate with you about the adoptee."

Sending pictures and letters through the adoption agency or having visits all together reassures birth parents that their baby is healthy, loved, cared for and happy in the home they placed them in. 

5. The fifth response a Birthmother does not want to hear is an awkward silence.

If birthparents are open to others about their adoption they want to talk about their children. They want to remember them.  Birthparents love it when others ask how their child is doing and to ask to see the pictures. They also enjoy swapping labor and delivery stories with other mothers.

It is okay to talk about the children they placed for adoption. The birthparents placed them for adoption. They did not place them out of their thoughts and hearts.

Educating others how a Birthmother may feel about these five comments is important because birthparents have feelings, hearts and immense emotion surrounding the placement of their child for adoption. Since not every Birthmother is the same, some may disagree or not be affected by the above but please take each individual birthmothers feelings into account. 

Be confident and comfortable when speaking with a Birthmother. Please do not think birthparents would rather not talk about their children. 

Christian Child Placement Service, Adoption Agency
e-mail: adopt@nmcch.org
http://www.LovingAdoptionOptions.org/
http://www.facebook.com/Adoption.aChoiceforLife
twiter: @pregnancy_adopt
1-800-553-2229 (BABY) ex. 14

Governor Martinez to sign Senate Bill 27 (Child Adoption Changes)

Bring your family and bring your Friends to celebrate two wonderful adoption events!

Governor Susana Martinez will sign Senate Bill 27 (Child Adoption Changes) into law this Saturday, March 3rd following the grand opening of CYFD’s Heart Gallery Display in Los Lunas, NM.  The Governor will be the keynote speaker, and will sign our bill into law soon after she’s finished speaking.  SB27 carried an emergency clause and will take effect immediately!

The venue is the Los Lunas Transportation Center, corner of NM Hwy 314 and Courthouse Rd (101 Courthouse Rd, Los Lunas, NM).

Doors will open at 5pm; speakers will start at 5:30pm.

SB27 Child Adoption Changes- Last Action

Last Action:
Monday 2/13 or Tuesday 2/14

Please call the Office of Governor Susanna Martinez 505 476 2200 Leave a message for her.

          1) Thank her for her support for Senate Bill 27 (Child Adoption Changes)

          2) Ask her to please sign  it into law as soon as it is possible for her to do!

          3) They will ask for your name, address & phone number

(Fyi, This legislation carries an “emergency clause” and therefore will become law as soon as she signs it.)

2012 House Judiciary Ethical Adoption Practice

February 7, 2012 

Dear Ethical Adoption Advocate: 

SB27 got a “Do Pass” out of House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee today thanks to all your efforts! We’re on to our last committee, House Judiciary! 

We believe  that SB27 will be heard before House Judiciary Committee either Friday Feb 10^th or Saturday the 11^th  Remember that members of a committee represent the whole state so it is alright for you to contact each of them. Give your name and address, or county of residence.

1) Call or email the committee members below. Ask them to VOTE YES on SB27 sponsored by Senator John Ryan.  Thank them for their big YES VOTE only ten months ago as (HB125 & 158 sponsored by Rep. Al Park) that nearly made it through both Chambers. They’re now combined into one Bill (unchanged except for an emergency clause). 

2) Ask if  they will help SB27 get on House Judiciary Committee’s consent calendar at the soonest possible time.  Remind them that House Judiciary has given this legislation a “Do Pass” the last three times it has been before them (2011, 2009, 2007).  

RECAP OF THE PROBLEM          Over the last ten years, adoption in New Mexico has fallen prey to profit-driven, out of state adoption businesses not licensed here.  NM licensed professionals and vulnerable residents involved in an adoption process often face a serious crisis. These Predatory adoption businesses attract unsuspecting birth parents and adoptive parents to them through large-scale advertising. Everyone is fooled by their advertising, even unsuspecting crisis pregnancy centers, churches and  medical clinics. NM is losing our licensed agencies that  simply cannot compete with these million dollar advertising budgets. They provide informal but costly adoption services for months. They wait until the last moment to contact NM licensed professionals to furnish the minimum legally required adoption service. They promise mothers money for surrendering their baby for adoption. That is child trafficking! With much hanging in the balance, we discover at the last most vulnerable moments that those involved in these predatory adoption processes have been misinformed of the facts involved in their adoption process, and their rights and requirements in adoption.  

Please let the Members of House Judiciary  Committee know how you’re connected to the adoption community and why ethical adoption practice is important to you. Paste pictures of your children into your emails or speak passionately of how important it is to you that birth parents, adoptees and adoptive parents are supported in an ethical, fully legal adoption process in our State.

It’s preferable to send a separate letter or email addressed to each committee member but if you are short on time send an email to all committee members at the same time by

 1) highlighting all the email addresses in the last column (sometimes you have to hit reply to sender first in order for this to work)

 2) click on “copy”

 3) “paste” the email addresses into “Bcc” (preferable) or “To” on your email page. (Send a copy to yourself) so your letter will be ready  when SB27 reaches the the House Floor (last stop before the Governor)!  You can also cut and paste our flyer into your letter if you want.

If you send a group email, address it to: Mr. Chair, Members of House Judiciary Committee:

House Judiciary Committee 2012  * voted against it in 2011

Name, Title	Email	Phone	District
Rep. Al Park,   Chair House Judiciary Committee (Thank him for being the sponsor of this legislation last year. He  will sponsor it on the House Floor this year!)	alpark.nm@gmail.com,	505) 986-4413	26 Bernalillo
Rep. Joseph Cervantes, Vice Chair House Judiciary Committee	Joseph@cervanteslawnm.com,	505) 986-4234	52 Dona Ana
Rep. Eliseo Alcon, Member House Judiciary Committee	eliseoalcon@msn.com,	505 986 4243	6 Cibola & McKinley
Rep. Paul Bandy, Member House Judiciary Committee	paul@paulbandy.org,	505 986-4243	3 San Juan
Rep. Cathrynn Brown Member House Judiciary Committee	c.brown.nm55@gmail.com,	505 986.4211	55 Eddy
Rep. David Chavez, Member House Judiciary Committee	David.chavez@nmlegis.gov,	505 986 4451	7 Valencia
Rep. Zachary Cook, Member House Judiciary Committee	zachjcook@gmail.com,	505 986 4454	56 Lincoln & Otero
Rep. Brian Egolf, Member House Judiciary Committee	brian@brianegolf.com,	505 986 4423	47 Santa Fe
Rep. Nate Gentry, Member of House Judiciary	natefornm@gmail.com,	505 986 4249	30 Bernalillo
Rep. Bill Rehm, Member of House Judiciary Committee	Bill.rehm@nmlegis.gov,	505 986 4248	31 Bernalillo
Rep. Mimi Stewart, Member House Judiciary Committee	mstewart@osogrande.com,	505 986 4344	21 Bernalillo

The three members of House Judiciary (below) are also members of House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee and voted YES in that committee this year and last year. Please just write a short note thanking them for their consistent support for restricting predatory adoptions in NM.

Rep. Gail Chasey, Member House Judiciary Committee	gailchasey@msn.com,	505 986 4944	18 Bernalillo
Rep. Bill O’Neill, Member of House Judiciary Committee	Oneillhd15@fastmail.us,	505 986 4464	15 Bernalillo
Rep. Moe Maestes, Member of House Judiciary Committee	Rep16@moejustice.com,	505 986 4233	16 Bernalillo

Senate Judiciary- Support Ethical Adoption Practice

January 27^th, 2012

Dear Advocates for Ethical Adoption Practice in NM:

We got our “Do Pass” out of Senate Public Affairs Committee today with your help. Thank you for your passion and commitment to getting this ethical adoption passed.

We’re on to Senate Judiciary (below) - this SATURDAY JAN 28^th but for sure  Monday Jan 30^th. From now on watch your email LIKE A HAWK as things may move fast during the remaining two weeks of this short-session and we need your help and that of those you know to get this passed!.

Please let members of this committee  know how you’re connected to the adoption community and why ethical adoption practice is important to you. Paste pictures of your children into your emails or speak passionately of how important it is to you that birth parents, adoptees and adoptive parents are supported in an ethical, fully legal adoption process in our State.

To see the full legislation go to www.nmlegis.gov Legislation SB 27

RECAP OF THE PROBLEM          Over the last ten years, adoption in New Mexico has fallen prey to profit-driven, out of state adoption businesses not licensed here.  NM licensed professionals and vulnerable residents involved in an adoption process often face a serious crisis. These Predatory adoption businesses attract unsuspecting birth parents and adoptive parents to them through large-scale advertising. They provide informal but costly adoption services for months. They wait until the last moment to contact NM licensed professionals to furnish the minimum legally required adoption service. They promise mothers money for surrendering their baby for adoption. That is child trafficking! With much hanging in the balance, we discover at the last most vulnerable moments that those involved in these predatory adoption processes have been misinformed of the facts involved in their adoption process, and their rights and requirements in adoption.

See the fast-facts sheet below for how SB27 will help restore ethical adoption practice in New Mexico. 

1) Call Senator Ryan’s legislative office at 986-4373 and thank him for sponsoring SB27. 2) Call (weekdays)  or email ASAP the members of Senate Judiciary Committee (below). Ask them to VOTE YES on SB27 sponsored by Senator John Ryan. Include your name and your address. Committees represent the whole state so it does not matter if you are in their district.  If you can, please attend this committee meeting to stand in support of SB27. It would be nice to have friendly support with us! It’s preferable to send a separate letter or email addressed to each committee member but if you are short on time you send an email to all committee members at the same time by:             1) highlighting all the email addresses in the last column (sometimes you can’t do this unless you have clicked on “reply to sender firs”).             2) click on “copy”  3) “paste” the email addresses into “Bcc” (preferable) or “To” on your email page. (Send a copy to yourself) so your letter will be ready to when SB27 reaches the next committee.  You can also cut and paste our flyer into your letter if you want. If you send a group email, address it to: Mr. Chairman, Members of Senate Judiciary Committee : SENATE JUDICIARY Meets Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays – 2:30 p.m. - Room 321

Name of Senator /  Role on  Senate Judiciary Committee	District / County	Capitol Phone	Email
Sen. Richard C. Martinez, Chair	Dist. 5, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe Co.	986-4487	rcmartinez@email.com,
Sen. Peter Wirth, Vice Chair	Dist 25, Santa Fe	986-4276	Peter.wirth@nmlegis.gov.
Sen. Lisa Curtis	Dist 21, Bernalillo & Sandoval	986 4589	lisa@curtislawfirm.org,
Sen. Tim Eichenberg, member	Dist. 15, Bernalillo	986-4859	Tim.eichenberg@nmlegis.gov,
Sen. Eric G. Griego	Dist. 14, Bernalillo & Valencia	986-4862	Eric.griego@nmlegis.gov,
Sen. Clinton D. Harden	Dist. 7, Colfax, Curry, Quay, San Miguel, Taos & Union	986-4369	charden@theosogroup.com,
Sen. Linda M. Lopez	Dist. 11, Bernalillo	986-4737	Linda.lopez@nmlegis.gov,
Sen. Cisco McSorley	Dist. 16, Bernalillo	986-4389	Cisco.mcsorley@nmlegis.gov,
Sen. Sander Rue	Dist. 23, Bernalillo & Sandoval	986-4375	sanderrue@comcast.net,
Sen. John C. Ryan	Dist. 10, Bernalillo & Sandoval	986-4373	johnchrisryan@yahoo.com,
Sen. Michael S. Sanchez	Dist. 29, Valencia	986-4727	senatormssanchez@aol.com,
Sen. William H. Payne	Dist. 20, Bernalillo	986-4703	William.payne@nmlegis.gov,

Ethical Adoption Legislation

Dear Ethical Adoption Advocate:

Let the Members of Senate Public Affairs Committee (below) know how you’re connected to the adoption community and why ethical adoption practice is important to you. Paste pictures of your children into your emails or speak passionately of how important it is to you that birth parents, adoptees and adoptive parents are supported in an ethical, fully legal adoption process in our State.

To see the full legislation go to http://www.nmlegis.gov/ Legislation SB 27

1) Call or email the members of Senate Public Affairs Committee (below). Ask them to VOTE YES on SB27 sponsored by Senator John Ryan. Include your name and your address. If you can, please attend this committee meeting to stand in support of SB27.

It’s preferable to send a separate letter or email addressed to each committee member but if you are short on time send an email to all committee members at the same time by

1) highlighting all the email addresses in the last column 2) click on “copy” 3) “paste” the email addresses into “Bcc” (preferable) or “To” on your email page. (Send a copy to yourself) so your letter will be ready to when SB27 reaches the next committee. You can also cut and paste our flyer into your letter if you want.

If you send a group email, address it to: Madam Chair, Members of Senate Public Affairs Committee Member:

RECAP OF THE PROBLEM Over the last ten years, adoption in New Mexico has fallen prey to profit-driven, out of state adoption businesses not licensed here. NM licensed professionals and vulnerable residents involved in an adoption process often face a serious crisis. These predatory adoption businesses attract unsuspecting birth parents and adoptive parents to them through large-scale advertising. They provide informal but costly adoption services for months. They wait until the last moment to contact NM licensed professionals to furnish the minimum legally required adoption service. They promise mothers money for surrendering their baby for adoption. That is child trafficking! With much hanging in the balance, we discover at the last most vulnerable moments that those involved in these predatory adoption processes have been misinformed of the facts involved in their adoption process, and their rights and requirements in adoption.

SENATE PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Meets 2:30pm Tuesday, Thursday in Room 321 & Fridays Room 303

Name of Senator                    Phone                    Email
Sen. Dede Feldman, Chair      505-986-4482  Dede.Feldman@nmlegis.gov
Sen. Tim Eichenberg, Vice      505-986-4859  Tim.eichenberg@nmlegis.gov
Lisa Curtis                                505-986-4392  lisa@curtislawfirm.org
Sen. Eric G. Griego, member   505-986-4862  Eric.griego@nmlegis.gov
Sen. Vernon Asbill, member    505-986-4393  vernon@asbillforsenate.com,
Sen. Mark Boitano, member   505-986-4366  boitanom@aol.com
Mary Jane Garcia, Member   505-986-4726  Maryjane.garcia@nmlegis.gov
Cynthia Nava, Member           505-986-4834  Cynthia.nava@nmlegis.gov
William F. Burt     505-986-1414   Bill.burt@nmlegis.gov