One of the things I had to get used to when we switched from Korean adoption to Ethiopian adoption was the fact that we would not know our children's actual birthdates. Korea is good about documenting such facts. Not only do I know the dates that our Korean boys were born, I also know the time of day and how much they weighed at birth.

For our Ethiopian children there is no such precision. Some folks do indeed learn exact birthdates. And in the case of kids who came into care as tiny babies, you'll probably get a birthdate estimate that is within a few weeks of correct. But for older kids it is a very inexact guessing game.

The various methods of estimating children's... more

One of the many paperwork tasks facing the parent of a newly arrived adopted child is to apply for the child's social security card. You will need a social security number or an ATIN (alternative tax identification number) to claim your child for taxes.

To get the social security number you will need to go to your local social security office and bring the following documents

-parents' birth certificates -Ethiopian adoption decree -child's green card

If you have legally completed your child's readoption in the U.S., you should bring that court decree as well. I have always... more

Social Security Card

It is possible to obtain a social security number for your child with Ethiopian paperwork, and if you are going to be filling out your taxes very soon, you may want to go ahead and do this with just the Ethiopian paperwork. But many families decide to wait until after re-adoption to avoid the name change process.

We usually head straight for the social security office as soon as we leave court with our copies of the adoption decree. The social security office needs all the same paperwork that the court does (birth certificates, marriage license,... more

Green Card

You'll want to keep an eye on your mail box. Within a couple months you should be receiving your child's 'welcome letter' and green card in the mail. The timing of this varies widely. Some families receive these within a few weeks of arrival. Some families get two 'welcome letters'. Some families wait up to a year to get anything in the mail. And some families never get a green card. if you do not get your child's green card within a couple months, you may want to contact your local USCIS office just to... more

So you finally have your child home. Finally the paperwork is all behind you, right? Wrong. There are several things that still need to be done. First on the list are the reports you agreed to supply to the Ethiopian government to let them know that your child is well and thriving.

Family Reports

One of the things that you commit to when you adopt a child from Ethiopia is to provide the Ethiopian government with regular updates about your child. Your letters need to be written 3 months after homecoming, 6 months after homecoming, and then on the yearly anniversary... more

Around this time of year many new adoptive families are working on gathering documents for taxes and wondering just how last year's adoption will affect their taxes. If you have questions you would be wise to speak with a tax advisor. However, there are some general rules that might help you know at least a little more what to expect.

In general you can file taxes with your children as dependents if they arrived on or before December 31 of the tax year. This works just as it does with birth children. You don't have to figure what percent of the year they were home-- it is enough that they arrived sometime during the tax year in question. This means you can take the Dependent... more

Here's the letter I wrote to the Ethiopian government reporting on the well-being of our older daughter from Ethiopia. Sometimes it is easy to get intimidated by writing this letter. But really it does not have to take very long or be very complicated.

******

Dec. 4, 2006

Attn.: MOLSA Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Hello!

We just wanted to write to give you an update on our precious Tsion, whom we brought home from Kidane Mehret in February of 2004 at the age of 1-1/2 years.

Tsion is now 4½ years old and continues to be a delightful child. She can write her name and is learning the sounds of the ABC’s in preparation for reading. Tsion enjoys... more

One of the requirements of adopting from Ethiopia is that families write a letter to the Ethiopian government once a year giving a report on the adopted child. Complying with this requirement is a very important part of helping the Ethiopian government continue to feel positive about international adoption. Don't forget to do it!

Here is one of my letters this year. I'll share the other one tomorrow. Along with the letters, I'll be sending half a dozen pictures of each child, including this great one I got of all our kids the other day.

******

Attn.:MOLSA... more

Per US immigration requirements, all adoption agencies that work in Ethiopia are required to find out enough about children to be adopted to certify that they are legal orphans. Agencies rarely have the resources to conduct an exhaustive search for birth family, however, especially in the case of a child who was abandoned.

But at least some agencies realize that knowing as much as possible about a child's past is an important thing to many adoptive families. My adoption agency, Adoption Advocates International, recently began making available to interested families the services of an investigator.

There is... more

One of the things that families agree to do when adopting from Ethiopia is to file reports on their child with the Ethiopian government. Three reports are required during the first year home, at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months after the child/ren arrive in family. After the first year is done, one report per year is required until the child turns 18 years old.

Your adoption agency will be in charge of forwarding your letters to the Ethiopian government. Be sure to do this, as this is a very important thing to the government. They want to know that their children are doing well in their new lives, and really, it is a small thing to ask compared to the gift we receive when these... more