Letter from the FSGV Adoption Agency Administrator 2015-2016
Dear Families,
As we welcome 2016 and say good bye to 2015 I want to take a moment to share some highlights from the past year. I share this in the hope that it helps you to understand the work that we do. Also it gives me the opportunity to reflect on our year’s successes and challenges in hopes to continuing to improve our service and support.
For FSGV Adoption Agency, 2015 was a year of growth, change and continued support to BC’s adoption community. This past year we facilitated 11 Adoption Information Sessions, 3 Adoption Education programs, 4 Waiting Parents Groups and 4 Post Adoption Group sessions. Additionally we hosted 2 summer picnics, an afternoon of family bowling and a trip to the pumpkin patch. During this year we had an increase from 2014 in adoption applications and a 50% increase in domestic placements. We placed children (orphan and relative) from China, Taiwan, Nicaragua, Sierre Leone, Guyana, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, the United States and Japan. In the last fiscal year we served 199 new clients, including 39 birth parents and 9 children.
French author, Francois de la Rochefoucauld wisely says, “The only thing constant in life is change” and this has been true for our administration team over the past year. In the spring Delaine moved on to a management position, in September Celie welcomed a baby and in October Kereth moved to another country! During this time we welcomed Amna (full-time administrative assistant), Alana (part time administrative assistant) and Olga (full time administrative manager). What they may have initially lacked in adoption experience they have made up for in their passion for adoption and a commitment to excellent customer service. We thank you for your patience and understanding over this past year as we assembled and began training our new administration team.
2015 has also brought about change in the adoption community we say farewell to some adoption colleagues and look forward to working with current and new agencies. Bob and Yulin are retiring (Family Outreach International) and CAFAC Adoption Agency closed its doors after facilitating international adoptions for 20 years. We thank them for both for their years of service supporting international adoption and wish them well in their future endeavors. Family by Adoption changed their name from Mission of Tears and while their Ethiopia program is currently closed, they are facilitating adoptions from Haiti and South Africa. During this year FSGV signed an agreement with Faith Hope International to facilitate adoptions from Japan and with Heart of Alliance in the United States for newborn placements. We also worked with a lawyer to facilitate our first adoptions from Nicaragua. We continue to work with Children’s Bridge in Ontario (China Waiting Child Program), Cornerstone (Guyana), World View Adoptions (India) and Terre Des Hommes (TDH) (Haiti and Vietnam).
According to the Adoptive Families Association of BC website, there are over 900 children in BC waiting to be adopted (https://www.bcadoption.com/node/5180/). FSGV continues to contract with the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) and completed over 46 assessments this year to assist in placing BC’s Waiting Children. We are proud to be a part of the goal of working towards every child in BC having a family.
For our waiting parents, our wish for this year is to help fulfill your dreams of having a child. We understand that waiting can be difficult and the New Year brings a time of reflection and hope. As we contact you to complete your home study update it is an opportunity to meet with your social worker to discuss your plans and options for adoption. We ask that you inform us immediately if there has been a change in your situation, such as a pregnancy, placement from another agency or a move so that we can keep your file up to date. When birth parents choose a family, only to find out that they are not available for placement it can be very emotional and it may mean that a baby spends extra time in the hospital. We thank you for your understanding.
For our adoptive families we wish for you a year filled with new experiences with your family. Please let us know if there are events that you would like us to host during the year. We welcome you to join us at our annual events: summer picnic, bowling and visiting the pumpkin patch. Please check our website for updates www.fsgvadoptionagency.ca. We are always looking for adoptive parents to share their story at an information or education session. Your stories are very valuable to new families embarking on their adoption journey. If you are interested in speaking at one of these sessions please contact Gurjyot at 604.736.7613 (4034) or by email grai@fsgv.ca.
For our birth parents we hope for all the best for you in the coming year. We are here to help if needed with a compassionate ear or a referral to resources. We are so thankful for those of you who come to speak at our information or education sessions. Our families tell us that your presentation is the most meaningful part of the session. If you are interested in being a part of our sessions please contact Gurjyot at 604. 736.7613 (4034) or by email grai@fsgv.ca.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our agency and contract social workers for all of their dedicated work that they do for our families through out the year. I am so grateful for their work and their commitment and passion for adoption. I am especially thankful for the social workers who work with our birth parents. Their willingness to respond immediately, whether it is in the evening or on the weekend and to sacrifice their personal time to spend with birth parents demonstrates their passion for this work. Thank you.
For 2016 we have updated our Adoption Education Program and we are planning to offer an upgrade for those families that are interested in MCFD adoptions. We have started a study group for our families and social workers to learn more about attachment and adoption. There is still time to join this group - please contact Andrea if you are interested at 604.736.7613 (4003) or by email aflanderkova@fsgv.ca. Also we are planning a gathering for our families with children between the ages of 5 and 11.
We continue to pursue opportunities in other countries and to engage with our community for opportunities for waiting parents. We continue to focus on quality improvements at the agency and we strive to provide timely and knowledgeably customer services to all of our clients.
It is an honour for me to do this work and it is a privilege to have a part in building families through adoption. Our families are important to us and we strive to provide support for all members of the adoption triad: birth parents, adoptees and adoptive parents. We realize that you have a choice in Adoption Agencies and appreciate your continued trust in us. We welcome any feedback or suggestions that you may have for us as we strive to improve our services for the adoption community in BC.
I wish for you a new year filled with happiness, hope and good health.
Warm regards,
Shelley Brownell
As we welcome 2016 and say good bye to 2015 I want to take a moment to share some highlights from the past year. I share this in the hope that it helps you to understand the work that we do. Also it gives me the opportunity to reflect on our year’s successes and challenges in hopes to continuing to improve our service and support.
For FSGV Adoption Agency, 2015 was a year of growth, change and continued support to BC’s adoption community. This past year we facilitated 11 Adoption Information Sessions, 3 Adoption Education programs, 4 Waiting Parents Groups and 4 Post Adoption Group sessions. Additionally we hosted 2 summer picnics, an afternoon of family bowling and a trip to the pumpkin patch. During this year we had an increase from 2014 in adoption applications and a 50% increase in domestic placements. We placed children (orphan and relative) from China, Taiwan, Nicaragua, Sierre Leone, Guyana, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, the United States and Japan. In the last fiscal year we served 199 new clients, including 39 birth parents and 9 children.
French author, Francois de la Rochefoucauld wisely says, “The only thing constant in life is change” and this has been true for our administration team over the past year. In the spring Delaine moved on to a management position, in September Celie welcomed a baby and in October Kereth moved to another country! During this time we welcomed Amna (full-time administrative assistant), Alana (part time administrative assistant) and Olga (full time administrative manager). What they may have initially lacked in adoption experience they have made up for in their passion for adoption and a commitment to excellent customer service. We thank you for your patience and understanding over this past year as we assembled and began training our new administration team.
2015 has also brought about change in the adoption community we say farewell to some adoption colleagues and look forward to working with current and new agencies. Bob and Yulin are retiring (Family Outreach International) and CAFAC Adoption Agency closed its doors after facilitating international adoptions for 20 years. We thank them for both for their years of service supporting international adoption and wish them well in their future endeavors. Family by Adoption changed their name from Mission of Tears and while their Ethiopia program is currently closed, they are facilitating adoptions from Haiti and South Africa. During this year FSGV signed an agreement with Faith Hope International to facilitate adoptions from Japan and with Heart of Alliance in the United States for newborn placements. We also worked with a lawyer to facilitate our first adoptions from Nicaragua. We continue to work with Children’s Bridge in Ontario (China Waiting Child Program), Cornerstone (Guyana), World View Adoptions (India) and Terre Des Hommes (TDH) (Haiti and Vietnam).
According to the Adoptive Families Association of BC website, there are over 900 children in BC waiting to be adopted (https://www.bcadoption.com/node/5180/). FSGV continues to contract with the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) and completed over 46 assessments this year to assist in placing BC’s Waiting Children. We are proud to be a part of the goal of working towards every child in BC having a family.
For our waiting parents, our wish for this year is to help fulfill your dreams of having a child. We understand that waiting can be difficult and the New Year brings a time of reflection and hope. As we contact you to complete your home study update it is an opportunity to meet with your social worker to discuss your plans and options for adoption. We ask that you inform us immediately if there has been a change in your situation, such as a pregnancy, placement from another agency or a move so that we can keep your file up to date. When birth parents choose a family, only to find out that they are not available for placement it can be very emotional and it may mean that a baby spends extra time in the hospital. We thank you for your understanding.
For our adoptive families we wish for you a year filled with new experiences with your family. Please let us know if there are events that you would like us to host during the year. We welcome you to join us at our annual events: summer picnic, bowling and visiting the pumpkin patch. Please check our website for updates www.fsgvadoptionagency.ca. We are always looking for adoptive parents to share their story at an information or education session. Your stories are very valuable to new families embarking on their adoption journey. If you are interested in speaking at one of these sessions please contact Gurjyot at 604.736.7613 (4034) or by email grai@fsgv.ca.
For our birth parents we hope for all the best for you in the coming year. We are here to help if needed with a compassionate ear or a referral to resources. We are so thankful for those of you who come to speak at our information or education sessions. Our families tell us that your presentation is the most meaningful part of the session. If you are interested in being a part of our sessions please contact Gurjyot at 604. 736.7613 (4034) or by email grai@fsgv.ca.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our agency and contract social workers for all of their dedicated work that they do for our families through out the year. I am so grateful for their work and their commitment and passion for adoption. I am especially thankful for the social workers who work with our birth parents. Their willingness to respond immediately, whether it is in the evening or on the weekend and to sacrifice their personal time to spend with birth parents demonstrates their passion for this work. Thank you.
For 2016 we have updated our Adoption Education Program and we are planning to offer an upgrade for those families that are interested in MCFD adoptions. We have started a study group for our families and social workers to learn more about attachment and adoption. There is still time to join this group - please contact Andrea if you are interested at 604.736.7613 (4003) or by email aflanderkova@fsgv.ca. Also we are planning a gathering for our families with children between the ages of 5 and 11.
We continue to pursue opportunities in other countries and to engage with our community for opportunities for waiting parents. We continue to focus on quality improvements at the agency and we strive to provide timely and knowledgeably customer services to all of our clients.
It is an honour for me to do this work and it is a privilege to have a part in building families through adoption. Our families are important to us and we strive to provide support for all members of the adoption triad: birth parents, adoptees and adoptive parents. We realize that you have a choice in Adoption Agencies and appreciate your continued trust in us. We welcome any feedback or suggestions that you may have for us as we strive to improve our services for the adoption community in BC.
I wish for you a new year filled with happiness, hope and good health.
Warm regards,
Shelley Brownell
