What's New...What's Happening...What God is doing!

A Helping Hand Receives 5 Referrals on May 2nd:

Today, May 2nd  of 2008, A Helping Hand received five referrals of beautiful baby girls. All girls are from Sichuan Province and their ages range from 6 to 16 months. The families who received these referrals had a LID date of 1-10-2006.

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The CCAA Document Processing (04/24/2008)

The CCAA announced that they have finished the review of adoption application documents registered with their office before December 31, 2006.

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The CCAA Document Processing

The CCAA announced that they have finished the review of adoption application documents registered with their office before October 31, 2006. The CCAA issued referrals to the families whose dossiers were logged in from December 28, 2005 through January 04, 2006. A Helping Hand has not received any referrals since we did not have any dossiers logged in for this time period.

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A Helping Hand Receives Hague Accreditation

For several months A Helping Hand worked hard to receive Hague accreditation in order to continue ministering to families and children through intercountry adoptions. We have completed the necessary steps and have been anxiously awaiting the announcement from the US Department of State. On February 29, 2008, the date designated by the Department of State for making Hague accreditation and approval decisions public, Council on Accreditation, A Helping Hand’s Hague accrediting entity, announced that 143 adoption service providers had achieved accreditation, temporary accreditation, or approval. The list of accredited, temporarily accredited, and approved providers was posted on the Department of State website, http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/convention/convention_4169.html

Council on Accreditation calls this “a significant achievement and represents the fulfillment of countless hours of hard work and the dedication of many people.” I am blessed and honored to announce that A Helping Hand is the first agency on the list of accredited entities. I praise the Lord and commend our staff for this achievement.

Victor Bondarenko
Executive Director
A Helping Hand Adoption Agency

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A Helping Hand Receives 10 Referrals on February 4th:

We were blessed today, February 4th of 2008 with 10 referrals of beautiful girls from Jianxi, Guanxi and Gansu provinces in China. The girls’ ages ranged from 7 months to 5 years and 9 months. The families who received these referrals had a LID date of 12-27-2005

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A Helping Hand Receives 4 Referrals on November 5th:

We were blessed today, November 5th of 2007 with 4 referrals of beautiful baby girls from Jiangxi and Heilongjiang Provinces, China. The girls’ ages ranged from 11 months to 30 months. The families who received these referrals had a LID date of 12-07-2005.

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A Helping Hand Opens Kyrgyzstan Adopton Program:

We are excited to announce that we have added KyrgyzstanAdoption Program to our list! Please visit our Kyrgyzstan Adoption Program page for more information.

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A Helping Hand Receives 5 Referrals on October 3rd:

We were blessed today, October 3rd of 2007 with 5 referrals of beautiful baby girls from Fujian Province, China. The girls’ ages ranged from 7 months to 18 months. The families who received these referrals had a LID date of 11-28-2005

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A Helping Hand Re- Opens Kazakhstan Adopton Program:

A Helping Hand is excited to announce that we have re-opened our Kazakhstan Adoption Program! Please visit our Kazakhstan Adoption Program page for more information.

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A Helping Hand Opens Ukraine Adopton Program:

We are excited to announce the opening of Ukraine Adoption Program! Please visit our Ukraine Adoption Program page for more information.

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A Helping Hand Receives 8 Referrals on September 4th:

We were blessed with 8 referrals for baby girls from Guangxi Province on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007. The 8 girls' ages ranged from 10 to 24 months. The families who received these referrals were LID 11-22-2005.

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A Helping Hand Receives 9 Referrals on August 2nd:

We were blessed with 9 referrals for baby girls from Hunan Province on Thursday, August 2nd, 2007. The 9 girls' ages ranged from 7 to 21 months. The families who received these referrals were LID 11-18-2005.

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A Helping Hand Receives 8 Referrals on July 6th:

We were blessed with 8 referrals for baby girls from Guangxi Province on Friday, July 6, 2007. The 8 girls' ages ranged from 6 to 17 months. The families who received these referrals were LID 11-10-2005.

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A Helping Hand Receives 8 Referrals on June 6th:

Today, June 6, we were blessed with 8 referrals for baby girls from ChongQing. The 8 girls' ages ranged from 7 to 9 months. The families who received these referrals were LID 11-4-2005! We rejoice with the families and pray the Lord’s blessings upon them!

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A Helping Hand Receives 10 Referrals on May 1st:

We are thrilled to announce that AHH received 10 referrals of precious baby girls from China!  The girls' ages ranged from 7-15 months. They are all from Congqing Province.  These 10 families were all LID 10-28-2005. We thank God for each little girl and pray for each family whose lives were changed!

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UPDATE ON GUATEMALAN ADOPTIONS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF RE-OPENING OF GUATEMALA PROGRAM

A Helping Hand has consulted with, and is continuing to consult with, God Bless the Children (its Guatemalan attorney's affiliate agency), the Joint Council on International Children's Services (a national association of international placing agencies), the National Council for Adoption (an national association of licensed adoption agencies), the Department of State, and the Association of Adoption Defense (a group of Guatemalan attorneys). At this point we feel that one thing is a certainty that the processing time for Guatemalan adoptions will increase. We do not know how much of an increase there will be, but certainly the increase could be several weeks.

The future is not risk-free, but we have reached the opinion that we should not stop taking applications or giving referrals for families who know the situation and who wish to proceed largely because:

• There are many children that need a good loving home and adoptive parents that want to give them love and security.

• The U.S. Department of State reports that it has no immediate plans to stop Guatemalan adoptions.

We want you to prayerfully consider your decision. It is our sincere hope that we can continue to assist you in bringing home your child from Guatemala. -Tony Brewer, Executive Director

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Adoptive Parent Records a Song for Orphans

Jeff Fannin, AHH board member, and adoptive parent, has written and recorded a beautiful song called Orphan's Cry. This song is available on CD with the original recording and performance track. The song has been featured live at several churches, sung by the original, vocal performer Bryan Hatton. The response has been trememndous. If you would like a copy mailed to you, send any size donation to A Helping Hand, 1510 Newtown Pike, Ste 146, Lexington KY 40511. Please note Orphan's Cry CD on your check. All proceeds from your donation will benefit orphan relief. Click here to read the lyrics to Orphan's Cry. If you would like more information on how to incorporate this song in your church services, or make a request for A Helping Hand to conduct an Orphan Relief Celebration at your church, please contact us. Thanks!

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A Helping Hand to Benefit from Corporate Sponsors

One Club Golf Chooses A Helping Hand as Non-Profit Partner

For more information about the tournament go to http://www.oneclubgolf.com

Papa Johns online pizza sales donate 10% to A Helping Hand. This special offer applies to online orders placed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday the second week of each month, June through October. It is necessary to enter a special code for one of two pizza promotions available. Click on the following coupon for more info -- one_club_pizza_specials.pdf

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AHH Newsletter for March 2006 Touchpoint

AHH Newsletter for April 2006 Touchpoint

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CCAA Website Changes

May 8, 2006

At the beginning of the year, the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) presented a new and improved website.  It does have several good features and is much more user friendly than the old site.  One of the reasons for the change/update is to help communicate any changes with the China adoption program that may be implemented.  As you know, the rumor mill on the internet can be deadly; their hopes is that this will help squelch the rumors and develop more confidence in the overall adoption program.  This new “current news and information” section should help accomplish this.

The English version of the CCAA website is:

 http://www.china-ccaa.org/frames/index_unlogin_en.jsp

You will see that the CCAA has officially renamed and reorganized its departments.  Probably the most important to you are:

• Review Room I    is now:  Department of Review of Adopters’ Eligibility
• Review Room II  is now: Department of Inter-Country Adoption Placement
• The Department of Finance is now responsible for any donations.

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AHH Adoptive Family Receives Extreme Home Makeover:

April 14, 2006

Brian and Michelle Hassal, adoptive parents through a Helping Hand have been selected by ABC's Extreme Makeover

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AHH Receives Grant - $10,000 will be used in Cambodia

March 21, 2006

Joseph A Burt, CLU, RHU, of Louisville, Kentucky secured a $10,000 grant...

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A Helping Hand Adoption Updates

February 21, 2006

AHH February '06 Update covers updated information for the following areas: AHH China Special Needs Program; Guatemala Program; Reasons for the China Referral Slow Down; AHH "Touchpoint" Newslatter; AHH Fees Increase; Document Updates.

A Helping Hand News letter for February:

February 5, 2006

You can download the AHH monthly newsletter "Touch Point". From the newsletter you can go ahead and sign up for your monthly email copy. In this issue: Spiritual Adoption; Staff Spotlight:Carly Stoeckle; Welcome Home!; AHH in the Lone Star State; Happy Feet Dance: February 25th; Angel in Adoption; Referrals!; Vietnam Outreach.

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The Hope for Children Adoption Tax Credit continues to help 1000's of Children:

February 5, 2006

A Helping Hand Honors Lexmark for Years of Support with AHH Adoptive Family Reunions:

February 1, 2006

Lexmark Recognized for Support

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A Helping Hand's Guatemala Program Continues to Grow:

January 23, 2006

These past 2 months in Guatemala have been very busy! Here is a brief overview of what has been happening.

BABIES HOME:
In 2005 A Helping Hand helped bring 24 children home. This month, 2 children have come home.

REFERRALS:
The number of families in process in Guatemala is 23. Two families are adopting 2 children, so 25 children are currently in process. Of those children, 11 are in the DNA/Family Court process, 10 are either in PGN or should be going in within the next day or two, and 4 are getting ready to come home to be with their families.

WAITING:
There are currently 7 families on the waiting list for girls and no families on the waiting list for boys.

I hope this encourages those of you who are in the waiting stages of your adoption. As you can see, there are other adoptive parents to be in the same place you are and that people are bringing their children home!

Andrea Phillips
Family Advocate

KENTUCKY PARENTS: Finger Print Updates Not Renewable More Than 30 Days Out:

January 20, 2006

Kentucky Families: We just learned today that families who need to update their fingerprints before travel can not do this until 30 days before their prints are set to expire. One of our families encountered this problem when they drove to Louisville to get their finger prints redone, only to be told they couldn’t renew them until their prints were 1 month from expiring. NOTE: The FBI will not accept your prints sooner than that date.

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A Helping Hand Receives 11 Referrals January 4th:

January 6, 2006

We send you warm wishes from all the staff at A Helping Hand and pray that the new year of 2006 finds you happy and well.  I am thrilled to announce that that last week AHH received referrals!  It was a happy way to begin the New Year, and our hope and prayer is that we will be able to unite many more of our families with their children in the year 2006.

Referral Update:  Wednesday, January 4th, we received 11 referrals from the CCAA.  The children referred were from 2 different provinces, Hubei and Guangzhou.  There were 5 Social Welfare Institutes included in this referral batch, including Guilin, DaWu, Xuan’en, Xingye, and Mother’s Love.   This particular batch of referrals only included Dossiers from one log in date, April 19, 2005.  All of the children referred were girls, and their ages ranged from 9 to 20 months of age.  Most of these children were approximately 12 months old at the time of referral.  It has been 8 weeks since our last referral.   The families that received these referrals waited 8.5 months for their referral.  There were no special needs referrals in this batch.

Referral Time Frame Increases: We are so grateful and extremely delighted to receive these referrals. However,we also see evidence of China’s decision to slow down the referral process.  The wait time is extending, and the CCAA is currently only issuing referrals for Dossiers logged in during a two week period, as opposed to the monthly time period that we have enjoyed in the past.  We do not know how long the wait is being extended.  The CCAA has not confirmed any specific time period, so please be advised that any dates you may hear via the internet are speculations, at best. We ask that you remain patient during this transition time.  A Helping Hand promises to provide you updated information as soon as we receive it ourselves.

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Important Information Concerning Certain Document Expirations Due To Increased ReferralTimes:

January 9, 2005

Document Expiration Update:  One direct result of the apparent CCAA implied extended wait time is that most families will encounter some of their documents expiring before their travel date.  Your Family Advocate will track these dates for you, but we also want to advise you review your documents so that you know when these documents are set to expire.  The expiration dates that are most at risk to expire are the following three:

1.  Home Study:  Most home studies are valid for one year from the date of notary.  When your home study is approximately 11 months old, please contact your home study provider so that you can schedule whatever appointment(s) are necessary under your state’s requirements.  Normally a family will only need to have their h/s updated, rather than redone completely.  Laws and requirements vary from state to state, so please contact your social worker directly to obtain the specific  requirements for your state. 

NOTE: Once the home study is updated, you will only need to bring a notarized copy of it with you to China for your adoption.  The home study update does not need to be state certified or authenticated.

2.  I-171H Expiration:  This document is valid for 18 months, so most families will not be at risk for it expiring.  If it appears that your I-171H will expire before you adoption is completed, then you will need to reapply for a new I-171H.  This means that you will need to complete a new I-600A application, as well as pay the fees, provide the supporting documentation, and have new FBI fingerprints taken.  If you need to obtain a new I-171H, your Family Advocate will be able to provide you new forms and instructions.

3.  I-171H Fingerprints:  The fingerprints for your I-171H are only valid for 15 months.  If you are unsure when your fingerprints expire, please take a look at your I-171H form: the fingerprint expiration is documented on that form.  If you need to redo your fingerprints before you travel, it is quite simple to do.  Simply contact your local BCIS office or schedule an appointment online via https://infopass.uscis.gov/info_en.php. 

NOTE: The fingerprint results normally clear within 48 hours and will be automatically transmittedto the US Consulate in Guangzhou, PRC. 

Again, your Family Advocate will also be tracking these expiration dates for you, but it is good for you to know when your paperwork is set to expire.  Most of the other documents in your Dossier do not need to be tracked or renewed.  China retains the right to ask a family to redo documents at any time, but it is very rare for the CCAA to require a family to renew any other documents before travel. 

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A Helping Hand's Travel Web Site Is On Line:Click here to go to the AHH Travel Web Site:

December 7, 2005

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A Helping Hand's Travel Group 34 returns from to China:

November 11, 2005

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Further Information and Advice Regarding the Rumors About a Possible Extended Wait Time for Referrals from China: November 23, 2005

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AHH Group 34AHH Families receive 16 Referrals From China on November 10, 2005:

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Guatemala Wait Expected to Average 45 Days for Pre-Approval: (about  the CIS)

November 07 , 2005

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Today's latest Rumors and Answers About CCAA and the China Program:

November 1, 2005

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A Helping Hand's own Brian Taylor (The Travel Guy) Escorting Parents to China:

October 29 , 2005

Brian Taylor's China trip BLOG: http://travelguyahh.blogspot.com/. 

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A Helping Hand's Guatemala program continues to grow:

October 15 , 2005

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A Helping Hand opens Texas office: 

September, 2005

A Helping Hand is proud to announce the opening of a new branch office located in Irving, Texas. click for more on Texas office

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A Helping Hand Families Receive Seventeen New Referrals for the Month of September:

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China Joins the Hague Inter country Adoption Convention

September 16, 2005 - China joins the Hague Inter country Adoption Convention
The People’s Republic of China deposited its instrument of ratification of the Hague Convention with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China will enter into force and become a "Hague Country" on January 1, 2006. China is the 67th State to join this global Convention.

What does this mean for A Helping Hand?
It is not anticipated that adoptions from China will be impacted at this time. AHH is planning on continuing to work in China ..click here for more information

Friendship Teams
Last year we were blessed to be able to go to Lanzhou and help the orphans there. We also went to Shenyang and met some wonderful people while loving on the orphans. This spring we sent a team to Lanzhou and Xining. Read more about our trips and Friendship Teams and people's testimonies.

Humanitarian work in China
We just got some exiting news from China. Two projects that we have been working on, the purchase of a van for Xining orphanage and a playground in Western China, are completed! See the projects' report.

A Helping Hand goes to Cambodia
A Helping Hand is branching out again. We want to help the orphan in need wherever they are. Check out what we are doing. Let us know if you want to be involved in some way.

Waiting Children Program
We have a new batch of waiting children. Please visit them and let us know which one you would like to adopt.