Spring in New Mexico

Here's a quick look at the great events FIESTA has planned for the next few months...

Spring in Albuquerque!

Love Obama?

Okay, that was a shameless title to get you to read this post. I've noticed on my Facebook page that any time Obama is mentioned, there are an immediate slew of comments. So whether you love him or not, his recently signed Health Care Reform Bill has something in it that relates to adoptive families. This information is hot-off-the-presses-brand-new and you may not hear it anywhere else. So read on.

Public Law 111-148, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, was signed into law on March 23, 2010. Section 10909 of the Act Extended the adoption tax credit for one more year (to December 31, 2011) and expanded the program in two ways:

a. For tax year 2010, the amount of the credit was increased from $12,170 to $13,170.

b. The credit was made refundable for all types of adoption for tax years 2010 and 2011. Because the adoption tax credit will be refundable, families who have smaller tax liability will now be able to benefit from the credit for adoptions finalized in 2010 and 2011.

The IRS has not yet released any guidance on the change.

To learn more about taxes and adoption (excluding these newest updates) visit  http://www.nacac.org/postadopt/taxcredit.html

Census

What do you think about the questions on the census? Did the adoption questions take you by surprise? Were you offended? Invaded? Validated? What is the deal with those questions?

INTENTIONAL RE-PARENTING (Alamogordo)

FRIDAY, MARCH 26TH
5:30-9:30

Holiday Inn Express
100 Kerry Ave.
Alamogordo, NM

Dinner & Child Care provided

Contact Monica Cohu if interested...
1-877-380-3595

AFRICAN DANCE CLASS

$12/ea drop-inno registration/RSVP necessary6+ LIVE DRUMMERS = pure energy?
Lead by: Romy Keagen, owner of Maple Street Dance Space
Moms & Dads, you are invited to a MNO/DNO @ Maple Street Dance Space, 111 Maple St SE (Central & Maple intersection, next to Knadjian's) http://www.maplestreetdancespace.com/classDesc.php? Friday Wednesday 3/24 starts5:30pm BEGINNINGAFRICAN DANCE CLASS

A Fun Website to Develop Emotional Vocabulary

According to Tracy Tippett (The Dance of Attachment) and Monica Cohu (Intentional Reparenting), it’s important to teach adopted kids, especially those who struggle with attachment, to recognize emotions. They may say, “I’m angry,” for example, when they are sad. They need practice and activities geared toward identifying what is going on in themselves and others. Monica suggests using non-traditional adjectives to name a feeling, asking the child, “What color is happy?” or "What does frustrated sound like?". Photographs, mobiles, magazine collages, and movie clips are all tools that can help you teach your child not only the obvious emotion, but also the underlying cause. “That boy is sad. He is crying because his dog ran away.” It’s important that we don’t assume that our child has picked this foundational skill up on her own, but spend time making sure that she is gaining the vocabulary and understanding of herself and also pick up on cues from others.

Recently, I found this great website, makebeliefscomix.com. It’s a fun activity, and although the purpose is not in teaching emotion, I decided to try it out with my kids. You choose a comic character (from twenty choices of people or animals) and then an emotion to go with it. You then add props and other characters, fill words into the bubbles and make a comic strip. Then you can email it or print it out. My son who is developmentally around four had trouble naming the emotions, so I used the opportunity to help him figure that out. My daughter who is about six developmentally had more of a challenge with the dialogue. All of my kids enjoyed making their own comic strip and I decided that it is another tool to use in my arsenal of helping tune in to emotions. Check it out.

LONG DISTANCE GRANDPARENTING IDEAS...

My folks are 13 hrs away. They aren't able to come out for kids b-days, holidays, special occasions, etc... But, this Spring we will be seeing them on vacation. My mom came up w/ a great idea....
AN EVERYTHING PARTY!!!

She and my dad are getting one cake for all the kids, w/ their names on it; even our kiddo that we're caring for, who is a ward of the state (we're foster parents too). Then they'll have a little party.

Their very good at recognizing all the kids on their special days & events. BUT WHAT A GREAT IDEA!!!

When I do trainings, I am continually asking the question...
"What's the message the child is receiving?"

Little things go along way!!!!

Hello Everyone!
I hope all is well with all of you! 
Coming up very soon is a training that will be held in Taos, NM on
Intentional Re-Parenting. Sunday March 14th. Noon-5:00pm

Topics:
 Neurobiology of Trauma
 Discipline vs. Punishment
 Using the 5 Senses to Heal
 Coming Alongside Anger
 Avoiding Power Struggles 
 The Healing Power of Play and Imagination
 What to do with Lying
 And Much More!

Taos Youth and Family Center Room C
Paseo del Canyon East - Taos, NM 87571
Please call Monica to RSVP 1.877.380.3595 or                   Tim Martinez
FIESTA Family Contact 505.470.6941

Also scheduled is a training and panel for inter-racial adoptions, past or
future. Donna Payne is teaching this very informative class being held in
Santa Fe, NM on Sunday March 28th 2-4pm. Training location is to be confirmed
soon!

Adoption Conference in ABQ, NM on April 17th. I hope you have registered!

Professional Fishing Clinic held just for NM FIESTA!! April 24th-Monastery
Lake, Pecos, NM. Starting at Noon. More information will be available soon!

Please feel free to call 505.470.6941 or message me with any questions or for
more information!
I hope you all have a wonderful day! 
TM

Tax Information You’ll Want to Know About

This was supposed to be a simple assignment, given by my fearless leader, to write something up about the federal adoption tax credit. Simple enough. Once I started looking into the details though, my brain got tangled up in knots. I’m still not sure if I can figure out every detail, but it’s important to at least know what to ask about. So here’s the general idea- families who adopt a child with special needs (using the term broadly, which includes almost all CYFD adoptions, and some others as well) from foster care can claim a federal adoption tax credit without needing to incur or document expenses. This credit is worth looking into for any adoptions after 2003. The per-child tax credit is $12,150 for adoptions finalized in 2009, and families have six years to use the entire credit. That’s a lot of money and guess what! In 2004, only about a quarter of qualifying families took advantage of this policy.

Here are a few key points-

*There are some guidelines on income levels

*You can find Form 8839 at

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8839.pdf or by requesting it from 800-829-1040. This is the official form to claim your credit.

*Because you do not need to document expenses for children with special needs, simply enter $11,650 for adoptions finalized in 2008 (and $12,150 for 2009) as long as your child receives adoption subsidy.

*If you can claim your child as a dependent, then you should also look into the Child Tax Credit. The Child Tax Credit and the Adoption Tax Credit interact and may reduce the Child Tax Credit you can claim.

*If you finalized an adoption in 2003 or a later year for which you have already filed your taxes, you can amend your return to take advantage of the federal adoption tax credit.

Talking about adoption subsidies or tax rebates is sometimes awkward. (And like my granddaughter said recently, even the very spelling of “awkward” is awkward.) So I decided to share my favorite analogy- winning a new car. When we were offered a two-for-one out of the blue adoption a few years ago, I felt like I had won the lottery. What a surprise and blessing to be offered two actual beautiful children for free! Unbelievable! But a subsidy! That’s like winning a brand new car and then finding out that the gas is included! And a $12,150 tax credit! Oh my gosh! That’ll buy new tires and oil changes (or new shoes and toothpaste) for a long time.

If you want more specifics, email me at carol.gloetzner@la-familia-inc.org and I’ll forward you more specific information and contact numbers.

Book Club

Hey all of you online book club members! We are in need of ideas! We need to pick a book for our next discussion. Log onto Facebook group "NM Fiesta Book Club" and leave your suggestions. Do you have a favorite adoption book? Are you tired of self-help and heavy topics and want to relax with some fiction? Do you want to explore something controversial? Let me know what you think either on the fb site, here as a comment, or give me a call. Can't wait to start reading!

Basic Child Development Class

If you’ve ever thought (or said),“Stop acting like a two-year-old,” this class is for you. I don’t know about you, but after several years of parenting kids who can’t “act their age,” I sometimes forget what that is. I need a reminder on what a typical three-year-old, or ten-year-old, or fifteen –year-old is going through. I can then rearrange my expectations to parent my child where he is. He may be seven, but in every way other than chronologically, he is three.

This two-hour class, on March 13^th starting at 10 am, will give you a quick introduction or review on basic child development. It will be taught by John Chimarusti the social worker at Carrie Tingley Hospital. John has his PHD in social work and years of experience and awards in helping families who have kids with disabilities. He also teaches at UNM. There are many reasons that John is fantastic at his job- he’s a caring father, a good communicator, and knows every imaginable program and group in New Mexico that serves disabled kids. But one of the reasons John is so respected is that he has cerebral palsy himself. He truly understands the pain and joy that families are going through.

Please call me at 573-0674 to reserve a spot. There is free childcare if you call ahead, as well, and a certificate for hours for those who need them.

Carol

The Ultimate Insult

An adoptive dad told me last week that he was surprised and pleased when his struggling twelve year old son asked him some "get to know you" questions. "Who was your favorite cartoon character when you were a kid?" his son asked.

The dad said, "Thor. Thor was the coolest cartoon character ever."

"That's so stupid," the boy said. "Thor is a stupid cartoon character."
"Nothing is sacred," the dad told me. "He even makes fun of my cartoon character! How low is that!" Funny.
Proof again that we're all crazy:)