MAPS - In the News

Adoption from Haiti

Since the terrible earthquake, we have heard from many people wondering about adopting children from Haiti.

Currently, the US State Department is prioritizing the adoption of children by Americans who were already in the process when the quake struck. Here is a link for more info: http://adoption.state.gov/news/parents_with_pending_haitian_adoption.html
The State Department site also addresses questions about adopting newly orphaned Haitian children: "Americans have opened their hearts to children who are affected by this devastating earthquake. But before a child can be legally taken to the United States for adoption, the governments of both Haiti and the United States must determine if the child is an orphan. It can be extremely difficult during the aftermath of a natural disaster to ascertain whether children who appear to be orphans are truly eligible for adoption. Efforts to reunite children with close relatives or extended family should be given priority."

MAPS does not currently have an adoption program in Haiti. However, we offer homestudy and adoption preparation services for families in MA, ME, VT, and NH who are adopting from any country, including Haiti. We also offer other international programs to find homes for children in need. Please visit our adoption pages and consider joining us at one of our adoption info sessions or webinars.

You can also visit the website of the Joint Council on International Children's Services for much more info on Haiti.

We will continue to monitor the situation in Haiti and the effects on its children, so please check back for more information as it becomes available.

Book sales to benefit MAPS

Adoptive mom Vikke Ford is donating a portion of the sales of her new children's book, Anya's Magic Heart, to MAPS. Visit her website to place your order:
http://askspiritnow.com/home?d=1265293876749

Many thanks to Vikke for supporting our efforts to help children here in the US and around the world.

Cisco employees build hope!

Cisco crew For the past four months, employees in Cisco sales offices from Maine to New York collected donations of new and gently used household items for families graduating from Stepping Stones Family Services, a residential family services program with locations across Maine. On October 23, they delivered a U-Haul truck of goods and erected a small building to serve as the "Hope Chest Store", where families in Stepping Stones programs earn credits toward basic household and child care supplies that they need as they move into their own homes and toward stability, self-sufficiency, and lives free of government assistance.

Stepping Stones services include infant/child assessment and mental health intervention; teaching and assessment for parents; evaluative services for mothers and fathers; life skills classes; nurturing/parenting groups; on-site childbirth education; and other programs to meet the needs of homeless, pregnant, parenting, and at-risk young people and their children.

New MAPS StepUP! program in the news

Bangor Daily News and WABI-TV Bangor

Adoption and finance offices have moved

Our Maine adoption and finance/administration departments have relocated. Our new address is:

100 Brickhill Ave.
South Portland, ME 04106
Our phone number will remain the same: (207) 775-4101.
Click here for printable directions to the new location.

MAPS Receives Grant from Maine Community Foundation to Help Homeless Children

(Portland, Maine) MAPS, a Maine non-profit agency, has received a $2,500 grant from the Maine Community Foundation to help homeless children through the MAPS Maine Homeless Children’s Program, which serves children (from birth to 18 years old) whose families are in crisis and who are staying with their mothers in MAPS’ Portland shelter.

Children often arrive at the shelter without even the most basic necessities. The Maine Homeless Children’s Program supplies clothing, healthy and age-appropriate food, diapers and baby supplies, hygiene supplies, and other equipment to make the children’s lives safer and more comfortable.

The goal of the shelter is to stabilize, rehabilitate and reunify families in crisis by providing safe housing, case management, training programs, and parenting education for pregnant and parenting young women.

Luetta Goodall, Director of Residential Programs at MAPS, says, “This grant helps us give homeless children the stability they need in order to grow and learn while their mothers receive support and counseling. The Maine Community Foundation’s support will make a difference in the lives of the children staying in our shelters - the difference between going hungry and having proper nourishment, between being cold and having warm, comfortable clothing, and between uncertainty and stability.”

Ethiopia Adoption

MAPS is partnering with Children's Home Society and Family Services to offer an information session on adopting from Ethiopia. Check back for meeting dates.

We are Hague Accredited

We have received notification from the Council on Accreditation (COA) that we have been granted accreditation under the new Hague regulations. This is important news for MAPS and for our clients because once the US ratifies the Hague treaty, those adopting from other Hague-ratified countries (such as China and India) can only do so through an accredited agency. We are very proud to be in the first group of US agencies to receive this designation.

The goal of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is to ensure that the best interests of children are considered with each intercountry adoption and to prevent the abduction, exploitation, sale, or trafficking of children around the world. 68 nations, including China, India, Guatemala, and Peru, have already ratified the treaty, and the US is expected to become a member nation on April 1. Once the US legislation is ratified, all US adoption agencies must be accredited under rigorous guidelines in order to place children from other Hague Convention nations into American families.

In order to receive accreditation, MAPS had to meet stringent requirements regarding licensing and corporate governance, financial and risk management procedures, ethical practices, professional qualifications and quality control policies.

More about Accreditation HERE.

Russia News : We Are Accredited in Russia!

After a long wait during Russia’s reaccreditation process, we are now reaccredited by Russia’s Ministry of Education! With this new accreditation in place, we can begin processing waiting families, have reopened our Russia adoption program to new applicants, and can start placing babies, toddlers, and older children again. The accreditation is non-expiring and ensures that we can continue our work in Russia for years to come.

MAPS families whose paperwork is up to date and already submitted should contact Kate or Jill at (207) 775-4101 to discuss specific time frames. We thank all of you for your patience during this delay and look forward with joy to helping you bring your new child/ren home. We also urge new families to contact us to learn more about adopting through our Russia program.

In 1991, we were the first American agency to begin placing children from Russia with families in the United States. Since then, we have found homes for 1200 Russian children throughout the US and have funded humanitarian aid programs to improve the lives of the children who remain in Russia’s orphanages and foster homes.

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