URGENT Update for Illinois Adoptees from Melisha Mitchell

check your bookstore for this book!

DO NOT MAIL IN OBC REQUESTS BEFORE 11/15!!!     



November 1, 2011

PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE WIDELY!!!!!



Dear Friends:



Yes, it's me again. A little sooner than expected...but with important news for all of the post-1946 adoptees who plan to request their OBC's on November 15th.

We learned yesterday from Illinois Vital Statistics that they WILL NOT ACCEPT any OBC Request Forms that arrive in their offices before November 15th. Yes, you read that correctly. They are not going by the postmark, but by the date the Request Form arrives! And, all Request Forms received in

Springfield prior to November 15th are being RETURNED TO SENDER!

According to Vital Statistics, accepting Request Forms prior to that date "would be like breaking the law." I am surprised by this interpretation, but time is of the essence here... As I type this, the checks of hundreds among you who planned ahead, and thought you were going to be at the front of the

class, are weaving their way back to your mailboxes... and you'll soon find out that you've been sent to the back of the line. 

What do do???

If you've already sent your Request Form in, don't panic..just keep reading!

And, if you haven't, below you'll find complete instructions on how to make sure your Request Form is among those that Vital Statistics receives on the morning of November 15th, and not a second before (or after).

Scenario 1:

You've already mailed in your Request Form.

If you've already mailed in your Request Form, trust me, it's on its way back. They have reportedly returned "hundreds" of forms in the past two weeks. If yours is one of them, don't wait for it to come back (hoping they made an exception in your case--they didn't). Unfortunately, returned mail

travels very slowly...November 15th could very well come and go before your envelope works its way back to you. 

Void the check you sent with your original Request Form, if you don't feel comfortable having a $15 check that won't be cashed floating out there.

Otherwise sit tight...and then choose one of the options below for Scenario 2.

Scenario 2:

You have not yet mailed in your Request Form (but you sure would like to learn more about being among those who are being sent to the head of the class).

Since learning about this latest glitch in the unrolling of the second phase of the new law, we have come up with five ways to allow you to make sure that your obc will be among the thousands that will be sitting on Vital Statistics' doorstep on Tuesday, November 15th:

1. You can mail your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to me at our offices, 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, Chicago, IL 60642.  DO NOT USE the PO Box address which appears on the website. I am asking that

Request Forms mailed directly to me be sent via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation (cost is $5.65 in the U.S.) or via any other method of your choice that can be tracked via the internet (eg. Fedex, if you have a Fedex account). All mailed Request Forms must reach me by Friday, November 11th at the latest to be part of "Operation Pony Express" (see below).



2. You can bring your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to in a SEPARATE envelope and hand-deliver it to me at White Oak's offices, at 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, on November 9th, 10th or 11th, or at the

informational table we'll be hosting in the Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, on November 8th or November 14th. Drop-off times on the 9th, 10th and 11th will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all three days. We will be at the Thompson Center between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 11/8 and 11/14. All request forms received during the 3-day open house and the two days at the Thompson Center will be included in "Operation Pony Express" (more on that after #3).



3. You can join me, along with Rep. Feigenholtz, and film-maker Jean Strauss, and many of those who played a pivotal role in the passage of this ground-breaking legislation. ..at a party being held to celebrate this historic event on the evening of November 14, 2011. I can't yet tell you where exactly we'll be celebrating (but it will be somewhere in Chicago), nor the exact time (6 to 10 is my best guess), but I can promise you that we'll have a lot to celebrate (99.9% of 250,000 original birth certificates unsealed in a single day)!

All of the Request Forms received by mail or in person at our offices prior to November 11th, along with all the Request Forms gathered at the Thompson Center on November 8th and 11th, and all those received at the celebration party on the evening of the 14th, will be hand-delivered to Vital Statistics

on November 15th via what I am calling "Operation Pony Express."



On the morning of November 15th, Rep. Feigenholtz, along with Jean Strauss and members of Rep. Feigneholtz' s staff, will be hand-delivering the hundreds of Request Forms we've gathered between now and November 14th to Vital Statistics. If we can get press coverage for "Operation Pony Express,"

you may even get to see your Request Form, rolling among all those delivered to Vital Statistics that day, on the evening news.  If you'd like to be part of "Operation Pony Express"...and Illinois adoption history ....and are interested in taking advantage of Options 1, 2 or 3 above, please email me at iltreesurgeon@ aol.com as soon as possible. 

And, if you'd like to get your Request Form in on the 15th, but without being involved in all the hoopla, you can:



4. Send your Request Form via Overnight Delivery on November 14th, using FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service's overnight service.



5. Walk, drive or fly to Springfield, IL and hand-deliver your Request Form to Vital Statistics on the 15th (you might run into Jean Strauss and her film crew, if you do!). However, be advised that, even if you hand in your Request Form on the 15th, you will have to wait just as long as anyone who chose option 1, 2, 3 or 4 above to receive a non-certified copy of your original birth certificate.



WEBINARS

We've been overwhelmed by your response to our free webinars this week! The 2 p.m. Thursday webinar is nearly full (two spots left), and there are five spots left for the Friday, 6 pm seminar. We are looking into recording one of the webinars and making it available online throughout the month of

November. 

I will be emailing all those who signed up for either seminar later with instructions on how to find us on Thursday or Friday, along with a Pdf file that includes the materials we'll be covering during the webinar.

Thanks for all the letters of support and solidarity that have been pouring in since Friday night...I'll try to get back to everyone individually once the 15th has come and gone, but it looks like I am going to be REALLY busy between now and then!

If you live anywhere in the Chicago area, hope to see you at one of the events above!!!

Warm regards,

Melisha Mitchell, Illinois Dept. of Public Health



(I know several adoptees in Illinois who are Lost Birds - I send you strength and patience for the journey ahead....Trace)

URGENT Update for Illinois Adoptees from Melisha Mitchell

check your bookstore for this book!

DO NOT MAIL IN OBC REQUESTS BEFORE 11/15!!!     

November 1, 2011
PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE WIDELY!!!!!

Dear Friends:

Yes, it's me again. A little sooner than expected...but with important news for all of the post-1946 adoptees who plan to request their OBC's on November 15th.
We learned yesterday from Illinois Vital Statistics that they WILL NOT ACCEPT any OBC Request Forms that arrive in their offices before November 15th. Yes, you read that correctly. They are not going by the postmark, but by the date the Request Form arrives! And, all Request Forms received in
Springfield prior to November 15th are being RETURNED TO SENDER!
According to Vital Statistics, accepting Request Forms prior to that date "would be like breaking the law." I am surprised by this interpretation, but time is of the essence here... As I type this, the checks of hundreds among you who planned ahead, and thought you were going to be at the front of the
class, are weaving their way back to your mailboxes... and you'll soon find out that you've been sent to the back of the line. 
What do do???
If you've already sent your Request Form in, don't panic..just keep reading!
And, if you haven't, below you'll find complete instructions on how to make sure your Request Form is among those that Vital Statistics receives on the morning of November 15th, and not a second before (or after).
Scenario 1:
You've already mailed in your Request Form.
If you've already mailed in your Request Form, trust me, it's on its way back. They have reportedly returned "hundreds" of forms in the past two weeks. If yours is one of them, don't wait for it to come back (hoping they made an exception in your case--they didn't). Unfortunately, returned mail
travels very slowly...November 15th could very well come and go before your envelope works its way back to you. 
Void the check you sent with your original Request Form, if you don't feel comfortable having a $15 check that won't be cashed floating out there.
Otherwise sit tight...and then choose one of the options below for Scenario 2.
Scenario 2:
You have not yet mailed in your Request Form (but you sure would like to learn more about being among those who are being sent to the head of the class).
Since learning about this latest glitch in the unrolling of the second phase of the new law, we have come up with five ways to allow you to make sure that your obc will be among the thousands that will be sitting on Vital Statistics' doorstep on Tuesday, November 15th:
1. You can mail your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to me at our offices, 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, Chicago, IL 60642.  DO NOT USE the PO Box address which appears on the website. I am asking that
Request Forms mailed directly to me be sent via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation (cost is $5.65 in the U.S.) or via any other method of your choice that can be tracked via the internet (eg. Fedex, if you have a Fedex account). All mailed Request Forms must reach me by Friday, November 11th at the latest to be part of "Operation Pony Express" (see below).

2. You can bring your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to in a SEPARATE envelope and hand-deliver it to me at White Oak's offices, at 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, on November 9th, 10th or 11th, or at the
informational table we'll be hosting in the Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, on November 8th or November 14th. Drop-off times on the 9th, 10th and 11th will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all three days. We will be at the Thompson Center between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 11/8 and 11/14. All request forms received during the 3-day open house and the two days at the Thompson Center will be included in "Operation Pony Express" (more on that after #3).

3. You can join me, along with Rep. Feigenholtz, and film-maker Jean Strauss, and many of those who played a pivotal role in the passage of this ground-breaking legislation. ..at a party being held to celebrate this historic event on the evening of November 14, 2011. I can't yet tell you where exactly we'll be celebrating (but it will be somewhere in Chicago), nor the exact time (6 to 10 is my best guess), but I can promise you that we'll have a lot to celebrate (99.9% of 250,000 original birth certificates unsealed in a single day)!
All of the Request Forms received by mail or in person at our offices prior to November 11th, along with all the Request Forms gathered at the Thompson Center on November 8th and 11th, and all those received at the celebration party on the evening of the 14th, will be hand-delivered to Vital Statistics
on November 15th via what I am calling "Operation Pony Express."

On the morning of November 15th, Rep. Feigenholtz, along with Jean Strauss and members of Rep. Feigneholtz' s staff, will be hand-delivering the hundreds of Request Forms we've gathered between now and November 14th to Vital Statistics. If we can get press coverage for "Operation Pony Express,"
you may even get to see your Request Form, rolling among all those delivered to Vital Statistics that day, on the evening news.  If you'd like to be part of "Operation Pony Express"...and Illinois adoption history ....and are interested in taking advantage of Options 1, 2 or 3 above, please email me at iltreesurgeon@ aol.com as soon as possible. 
And, if you'd like to get your Request Form in on the 15th, but without being involved in all the hoopla, you can:

4. Send your Request Form via Overnight Delivery on November 14th, using FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service's overnight service.

5. Walk, drive or fly to Springfield, IL and hand-deliver your Request Form to Vital Statistics on the 15th (you might run into Jean Strauss and her film crew, if you do!). However, be advised that, even if you hand in your Request Form on the 15th, you will have to wait just as long as anyone who chose option 1, 2, 3 or 4 above to receive a non-certified copy of your original birth certificate.

WEBINARS
We've been overwhelmed by your response to our free webinars this week! The 2 p.m. Thursday webinar is nearly full (two spots left), and there are five spots left for the Friday, 6 pm seminar. We are looking into recording one of the webinars and making it available online throughout the month of
November. 
I will be emailing all those who signed up for either seminar later with instructions on how to find us on Thursday or Friday, along with a Pdf file that includes the materials we'll be covering during the webinar.
Thanks for all the letters of support and solidarity that have been pouring in since Friday night...I'll try to get back to everyone individually once the 15th has come and gone, but it looks like I am going to be REALLY busy between now and then!
If you live anywhere in the Chicago area, hope to see you at one of the events above!!!
Warm regards,
Melisha Mitchell, Illinois Dept. of Public Health

(I know several adoptees in Illinois who are Lost Birds - I send you strength and patience for the journey ahead....Trace)

URGENT Update for Illinois Adoptees from Melisha Mitchell

check your bookstore for this book!

DO NOT MAIL IN OBC REQUESTS BEFORE 11/15!!!     

November 1, 2011
PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE WIDELY!!!!!

Dear Friends:

Yes, it's me again. A little sooner than expected...but with important news for all of the post-1946 adoptees who plan to request their OBC's on November 15th.
We learned yesterday from Illinois Vital Statistics that they WILL NOT ACCEPT any OBC Request Forms that arrive in their offices before November 15th. Yes, you read that correctly. They are not going by the postmark, but by the date the Request Form arrives! And, all Request Forms received in
Springfield prior to November 15th are being RETURNED TO SENDER!
According to Vital Statistics, accepting Request Forms prior to that date "would be like breaking the law." I am surprised by this interpretation, but time is of the essence here... As I type this, the checks of hundreds among you who planned ahead, and thought you were going to be at the front of the
class, are weaving their way back to your mailboxes... and you'll soon find out that you've been sent to the back of the line. 
What do do???
If you've already sent your Request Form in, don't panic..just keep reading!
And, if you haven't, below you'll find complete instructions on how to make sure your Request Form is among those that Vital Statistics receives on the morning of November 15th, and not a second before (or after).
Scenario 1:
You've already mailed in your Request Form.
If you've already mailed in your Request Form, trust me, it's on its way back. They have reportedly returned "hundreds" of forms in the past two weeks. If yours is one of them, don't wait for it to come back (hoping they made an exception in your case--they didn't). Unfortunately, returned mail
travels very slowly...November 15th could very well come and go before your envelope works its way back to you. 
Void the check you sent with your original Request Form, if you don't feel comfortable having a $15 check that won't be cashed floating out there.
Otherwise sit tight...and then choose one of the options below for Scenario 2.
Scenario 2:
You have not yet mailed in your Request Form (but you sure would like to learn more about being among those who are being sent to the head of the class).
Since learning about this latest glitch in the unrolling of the second phase of the new law, we have come up with five ways to allow you to make sure that your obc will be among the thousands that will be sitting on Vital Statistics' doorstep on Tuesday, November 15th:
1. You can mail your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to me at our offices, 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, Chicago, IL 60642.  DO NOT USE the PO Box address which appears on the website. I am asking that
Request Forms mailed directly to me be sent via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation (cost is $5.65 in the U.S.) or via any other method of your choice that can be tracked via the internet (eg. Fedex, if you have a Fedex account). All mailed Request Forms must reach me by Friday, November 11th at the latest to be part of "Operation Pony Express" (see below).

2. You can bring your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to in a SEPARATE envelope and hand-deliver it to me at White Oak's offices, at 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, on November 9th, 10th or 11th, or at the
informational table we'll be hosting in the Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, on November 8th or November 14th. Drop-off times on the 9th, 10th and 11th will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all three days. We will be at the Thompson Center between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 11/8 and 11/14. All request forms received during the 3-day open house and the two days at the Thompson Center will be included in "Operation Pony Express" (more on that after #3).

3. You can join me, along with Rep. Feigenholtz, and film-maker Jean Strauss, and many of those who played a pivotal role in the passage of this ground-breaking legislation. ..at a party being held to celebrate this historic event on the evening of November 14, 2011. I can't yet tell you where exactly we'll be celebrating (but it will be somewhere in Chicago), nor the exact time (6 to 10 is my best guess), but I can promise you that we'll have a lot to celebrate (99.9% of 250,000 original birth certificates unsealed in a single day)!
All of the Request Forms received by mail or in person at our offices prior to November 11th, along with all the Request Forms gathered at the Thompson Center on November 8th and 11th, and all those received at the celebration party on the evening of the 14th, will be hand-delivered to Vital Statistics
on November 15th via what I am calling "Operation Pony Express."

On the morning of November 15th, Rep. Feigenholtz, along with Jean Strauss and members of Rep. Feigneholtz' s staff, will be hand-delivering the hundreds of Request Forms we've gathered between now and November 14th to Vital Statistics. If we can get press coverage for "Operation Pony Express,"
you may even get to see your Request Form, rolling among all those delivered to Vital Statistics that day, on the evening news.  If you'd like to be part of "Operation Pony Express"...and Illinois adoption history ....and are interested in taking advantage of Options 1, 2 or 3 above, please email me at iltreesurgeon@ aol.com as soon as possible. 
And, if you'd like to get your Request Form in on the 15th, but without being involved in all the hoopla, you can:

4. Send your Request Form via Overnight Delivery on November 14th, using FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service's overnight service.

5. Walk, drive or fly to Springfield, IL and hand-deliver your Request Form to Vital Statistics on the 15th (you might run into Jean Strauss and her film crew, if you do!). However, be advised that, even if you hand in your Request Form on the 15th, you will have to wait just as long as anyone who chose option 1, 2, 3 or 4 above to receive a non-certified copy of your original birth certificate.

WEBINARS
We've been overwhelmed by your response to our free webinars this week! The 2 p.m. Thursday webinar is nearly full (two spots left), and there are five spots left for the Friday, 6 pm seminar. We are looking into recording one of the webinars and making it available online throughout the month of
November. 
I will be emailing all those who signed up for either seminar later with instructions on how to find us on Thursday or Friday, along with a Pdf file that includes the materials we'll be covering during the webinar.
Thanks for all the letters of support and solidarity that have been pouring in since Friday night...I'll try to get back to everyone individually once the 15th has come and gone, but it looks like I am going to be REALLY busy between now and then!
If you live anywhere in the Chicago area, hope to see you at one of the events above!!!
Warm regards,
Melisha Mitchell, Illinois Dept. of Public Health

(I know several adoptees in Illinois who are Lost Birds - I send you strength and patience for the journey ahead....Trace)

URGENT Update for Illinois Adoptees from Melisha Mitchell

check your bookstore for this book!

DO NOT MAIL IN OBC REQUESTS BEFORE 11/15!!!     

November 1, 2011
PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE WIDELY!!!!!

Dear Friends:

Yes, it's me again. A little sooner than expected...but with important news for all of the post-1946 adoptees who plan to request their OBC's on November 15th.
We learned yesterday from Illinois Vital Statistics that they WILL NOT ACCEPT any OBC Request Forms that arrive in their offices before November 15th. Yes, you read that correctly. They are not going by the postmark, but by the date the Request Form arrives! And, all Request Forms received in
Springfield prior to November 15th are being RETURNED TO SENDER!
According to Vital Statistics, accepting Request Forms prior to that date "would be like breaking the law." I am surprised by this interpretation, but time is of the essence here... As I type this, the checks of hundreds among you who planned ahead, and thought you were going to be at the front of the
class, are weaving their way back to your mailboxes... and you'll soon find out that you've been sent to the back of the line. 
What do do???
If you've already sent your Request Form in, don't panic..just keep reading!
And, if you haven't, below you'll find complete instructions on how to make sure your Request Form is among those that Vital Statistics receives on the morning of November 15th, and not a second before (or after).
Scenario 1:
You've already mailed in your Request Form.
If you've already mailed in your Request Form, trust me, it's on its way back. They have reportedly returned "hundreds" of forms in the past two weeks. If yours is one of them, don't wait for it to come back (hoping they made an exception in your case--they didn't). Unfortunately, returned mail
travels very slowly...November 15th could very well come and go before your envelope works its way back to you. 
Void the check you sent with your original Request Form, if you don't feel comfortable having a $15 check that won't be cashed floating out there.
Otherwise sit tight...and then choose one of the options below for Scenario 2.
Scenario 2:
You have not yet mailed in your Request Form (but you sure would like to learn more about being among those who are being sent to the head of the class).
Since learning about this latest glitch in the unrolling of the second phase of the new law, we have come up with five ways to allow you to make sure that your obc will be among the thousands that will be sitting on Vital Statistics' doorstep on Tuesday, November 15th:
1. You can mail your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to me at our offices, 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, Chicago, IL 60642.  DO NOT USE the PO Box address which appears on the website. I am asking that
Request Forms mailed directly to me be sent via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation (cost is $5.65 in the U.S.) or via any other method of your choice that can be tracked via the internet (eg. Fedex, if you have a Fedex account). All mailed Request Forms must reach me by Friday, November 11th at the latest to be part of "Operation Pony Express" (see below).

2. You can bring your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to in a SEPARATE envelope and hand-deliver it to me at White Oak's offices, at 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, on November 9th, 10th or 11th, or at the
informational table we'll be hosting in the Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, on November 8th or November 14th. Drop-off times on the 9th, 10th and 11th will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all three days. We will be at the Thompson Center between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 11/8 and 11/14. All request forms received during the 3-day open house and the two days at the Thompson Center will be included in "Operation Pony Express" (more on that after #3).

3. You can join me, along with Rep. Feigenholtz, and film-maker Jean Strauss, and many of those who played a pivotal role in the passage of this ground-breaking legislation. ..at a party being held to celebrate this historic event on the evening of November 14, 2011. I can't yet tell you where exactly we'll be celebrating (but it will be somewhere in Chicago), nor the exact time (6 to 10 is my best guess), but I can promise you that we'll have a lot to celebrate (99.9% of 250,000 original birth certificates unsealed in a single day)!
All of the Request Forms received by mail or in person at our offices prior to November 11th, along with all the Request Forms gathered at the Thompson Center on November 8th and 11th, and all those received at the celebration party on the evening of the 14th, will be hand-delivered to Vital Statistics
on November 15th via what I am calling "Operation Pony Express."

On the morning of November 15th, Rep. Feigenholtz, along with Jean Strauss and members of Rep. Feigneholtz' s staff, will be hand-delivering the hundreds of Request Forms we've gathered between now and November 14th to Vital Statistics. If we can get press coverage for "Operation Pony Express,"
you may even get to see your Request Form, rolling among all those delivered to Vital Statistics that day, on the evening news.  If you'd like to be part of "Operation Pony Express"...and Illinois adoption history ....and are interested in taking advantage of Options 1, 2 or 3 above, please email me at iltreesurgeon@ aol.com as soon as possible. 
And, if you'd like to get your Request Form in on the 15th, but without being involved in all the hoopla, you can:

4. Send your Request Form via Overnight Delivery on November 14th, using FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service's overnight service.

5. Walk, drive or fly to Springfield, IL and hand-deliver your Request Form to Vital Statistics on the 15th (you might run into Jean Strauss and her film crew, if you do!). However, be advised that, even if you hand in your Request Form on the 15th, you will have to wait just as long as anyone who chose option 1, 2, 3 or 4 above to receive a non-certified copy of your original birth certificate.

WEBINARS
We've been overwhelmed by your response to our free webinars this week! The 2 p.m. Thursday webinar is nearly full (two spots left), and there are five spots left for the Friday, 6 pm seminar. We are looking into recording one of the webinars and making it available online throughout the month of
November. 
I will be emailing all those who signed up for either seminar later with instructions on how to find us on Thursday or Friday, along with a Pdf file that includes the materials we'll be covering during the webinar.
Thanks for all the letters of support and solidarity that have been pouring in since Friday night...I'll try to get back to everyone individually once the 15th has come and gone, but it looks like I am going to be REALLY busy between now and then!
If you live anywhere in the Chicago area, hope to see you at one of the events above!!!
Warm regards,
Melisha Mitchell, Illinois Dept. of Public Health

(I know several adoptees in Illinois who are Lost Birds - I send you strength and patience for the journey ahead....Trace)

URGENT Update for Illinois Adoptees from Melisha Mitchell

check your bookstore for this book!

DO NOT MAIL IN OBC REQUESTS BEFORE 11/15!!!     

November 1, 2011
PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE WIDELY!!!!!

Dear Friends:

Yes, it's me again. A little sooner than expected...but with important news for all of the post-1946 adoptees who plan to request their OBC's on November 15th.
We learned yesterday from Illinois Vital Statistics that they WILL NOT ACCEPT any OBC Request Forms that arrive in their offices before November 15th. Yes, you read that correctly. They are not going by the postmark, but by the date the Request Form arrives! And, all Request Forms received in
Springfield prior to November 15th are being RETURNED TO SENDER!
According to Vital Statistics, accepting Request Forms prior to that date "would be like breaking the law." I am surprised by this interpretation, but time is of the essence here... As I type this, the checks of hundreds among you who planned ahead, and thought you were going to be at the front of the
class, are weaving their way back to your mailboxes... and you'll soon find out that you've been sent to the back of the line. 
What do do???
If you've already sent your Request Form in, don't panic..just keep reading!
And, if you haven't, below you'll find complete instructions on how to make sure your Request Form is among those that Vital Statistics receives on the morning of November 15th, and not a second before (or after).
Scenario 1:
You've already mailed in your Request Form.
If you've already mailed in your Request Form, trust me, it's on its way back. They have reportedly returned "hundreds" of forms in the past two weeks. If yours is one of them, don't wait for it to come back (hoping they made an exception in your case--they didn't). Unfortunately, returned mail
travels very slowly...November 15th could very well come and go before your envelope works its way back to you. 
Void the check you sent with your original Request Form, if you don't feel comfortable having a $15 check that won't be cashed floating out there.
Otherwise sit tight...and then choose one of the options below for Scenario 2.
Scenario 2:
You have not yet mailed in your Request Form (but you sure would like to learn more about being among those who are being sent to the head of the class).
Since learning about this latest glitch in the unrolling of the second phase of the new law, we have come up with five ways to allow you to make sure that your obc will be among the thousands that will be sitting on Vital Statistics' doorstep on Tuesday, November 15th:
1. You can mail your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to me at our offices, 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, Chicago, IL 60642.  DO NOT USE the PO Box address which appears on the website. I am asking that
Request Forms mailed directly to me be sent via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation (cost is $5.65 in the U.S.) or via any other method of your choice that can be tracked via the internet (eg. Fedex, if you have a Fedex account). All mailed Request Forms must reach me by Friday, November 11th at the latest to be part of "Operation Pony Express" (see below).

2. You can bring your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to in a SEPARATE envelope and hand-deliver it to me at White Oak's offices, at 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, on November 9th, 10th or 11th, or at the
informational table we'll be hosting in the Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, on November 8th or November 14th. Drop-off times on the 9th, 10th and 11th will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all three days. We will be at the Thompson Center between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 11/8 and 11/14. All request forms received during the 3-day open house and the two days at the Thompson Center will be included in "Operation Pony Express" (more on that after #3).

3. You can join me, along with Rep. Feigenholtz, and film-maker Jean Strauss, and many of those who played a pivotal role in the passage of this ground-breaking legislation. ..at a party being held to celebrate this historic event on the evening of November 14, 2011. I can't yet tell you where exactly we'll be celebrating (but it will be somewhere in Chicago), nor the exact time (6 to 10 is my best guess), but I can promise you that we'll have a lot to celebrate (99.9% of 250,000 original birth certificates unsealed in a single day)!
All of the Request Forms received by mail or in person at our offices prior to November 11th, along with all the Request Forms gathered at the Thompson Center on November 8th and 11th, and all those received at the celebration party on the evening of the 14th, will be hand-delivered to Vital Statistics
on November 15th via what I am calling "Operation Pony Express."

On the morning of November 15th, Rep. Feigenholtz, along with Jean Strauss and members of Rep. Feigneholtz' s staff, will be hand-delivering the hundreds of Request Forms we've gathered between now and November 14th to Vital Statistics. If we can get press coverage for "Operation Pony Express,"
you may even get to see your Request Form, rolling among all those delivered to Vital Statistics that day, on the evening news.  If you'd like to be part of "Operation Pony Express"...and Illinois adoption history ....and are interested in taking advantage of Options 1, 2 or 3 above, please email me at iltreesurgeon@ aol.com as soon as possible. 
And, if you'd like to get your Request Form in on the 15th, but without being involved in all the hoopla, you can:

4. Send your Request Form via Overnight Delivery on November 14th, using FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service's overnight service.

5. Walk, drive or fly to Springfield, IL and hand-deliver your Request Form to Vital Statistics on the 15th (you might run into Jean Strauss and her film crew, if you do!). However, be advised that, even if you hand in your Request Form on the 15th, you will have to wait just as long as anyone who chose option 1, 2, 3 or 4 above to receive a non-certified copy of your original birth certificate.

WEBINARS
We've been overwhelmed by your response to our free webinars this week! The 2 p.m. Thursday webinar is nearly full (two spots left), and there are five spots left for the Friday, 6 pm seminar. We are looking into recording one of the webinars and making it available online throughout the month of
November. 
I will be emailing all those who signed up for either seminar later with instructions on how to find us on Thursday or Friday, along with a Pdf file that includes the materials we'll be covering during the webinar.
Thanks for all the letters of support and solidarity that have been pouring in since Friday night...I'll try to get back to everyone individually once the 15th has come and gone, but it looks like I am going to be REALLY busy between now and then!
If you live anywhere in the Chicago area, hope to see you at one of the events above!!!
Warm regards,
Melisha Mitchell, Illinois Dept. of Public Health

(I know several adoptees in Illinois who are Lost Birds - I send you strength and patience for the journey ahead....Trace)

URGENT Update for Illinois Adoptees from Melisha Mitchell

check your bookstore for this book!

DO NOT MAIL IN OBC REQUESTS BEFORE 11/15!!!     

November 1, 2011
PLEASE CIRCULATE THIS MESSAGE WIDELY!!!!!

Dear Friends:

Yes, it's me again. A little sooner than expected...but with important news for all of the post-1946 adoptees who plan to request their OBC's on November 15th.
We learned yesterday from Illinois Vital Statistics that they WILL NOT ACCEPT any OBC Request Forms that arrive in their offices before November 15th. Yes, you read that correctly. They are not going by the postmark, but by the date the Request Form arrives! And, all Request Forms received in
Springfield prior to November 15th are being RETURNED TO SENDER!
According to Vital Statistics, accepting Request Forms prior to that date "would be like breaking the law." I am surprised by this interpretation, but time is of the essence here... As I type this, the checks of hundreds among you who planned ahead, and thought you were going to be at the front of the
class, are weaving their way back to your mailboxes... and you'll soon find out that you've been sent to the back of the line. 
What do do???
If you've already sent your Request Form in, don't panic..just keep reading!
And, if you haven't, below you'll find complete instructions on how to make sure your Request Form is among those that Vital Statistics receives on the morning of November 15th, and not a second before (or after).
Scenario 1:
You've already mailed in your Request Form.
If you've already mailed in your Request Form, trust me, it's on its way back. They have reportedly returned "hundreds" of forms in the past two weeks. If yours is one of them, don't wait for it to come back (hoping they made an exception in your case--they didn't). Unfortunately, returned mail
travels very slowly...November 15th could very well come and go before your envelope works its way back to you. 
Void the check you sent with your original Request Form, if you don't feel comfortable having a $15 check that won't be cashed floating out there.
Otherwise sit tight...and then choose one of the options below for Scenario 2.
Scenario 2:
You have not yet mailed in your Request Form (but you sure would like to learn more about being among those who are being sent to the head of the class).
Since learning about this latest glitch in the unrolling of the second phase of the new law, we have come up with five ways to allow you to make sure that your obc will be among the thousands that will be sitting on Vital Statistics' doorstep on Tuesday, November 15th:
1. You can mail your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to me at our offices, 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, Chicago, IL 60642.  DO NOT USE the PO Box address which appears on the website. I am asking that
Request Forms mailed directly to me be sent via Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation (cost is $5.65 in the U.S.) or via any other method of your choice that can be tracked via the internet (eg. Fedex, if you have a Fedex account). All mailed Request Forms must reach me by Friday, November 11th at the latest to be part of "Operation Pony Express" (see below).

2. You can bring your completed Request Form, along with the $15 check made out to the Illinois Dept. of Public Health and a photocopy of your state ID to in a SEPARATE envelope and hand-deliver it to me at White Oak's offices, at 525 N. Halsted, Suite 203, on November 9th, 10th or 11th, or at the
informational table we'll be hosting in the Thompson Center, 100 West Randolph, on November 8th or November 14th. Drop-off times on the 9th, 10th and 11th will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. all three days. We will be at the Thompson Center between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on 11/8 and 11/14. All request forms received during the 3-day open house and the two days at the Thompson Center will be included in "Operation Pony Express" (more on that after #3).

3. You can join me, along with Rep. Feigenholtz, and film-maker Jean Strauss, and many of those who played a pivotal role in the passage of this ground-breaking legislation. ..at a party being held to celebrate this historic event on the evening of November 14, 2011. I can't yet tell you where exactly we'll be celebrating (but it will be somewhere in Chicago), nor the exact time (6 to 10 is my best guess), but I can promise you that we'll have a lot to celebrate (99.9% of 250,000 original birth certificates unsealed in a single day)!
All of the Request Forms received by mail or in person at our offices prior to November 11th, along with all the Request Forms gathered at the Thompson Center on November 8th and 11th, and all those received at the celebration party on the evening of the 14th, will be hand-delivered to Vital Statistics
on November 15th via what I am calling "Operation Pony Express."

On the morning of November 15th, Rep. Feigenholtz, along with Jean Strauss and members of Rep. Feigneholtz' s staff, will be hand-delivering the hundreds of Request Forms we've gathered between now and November 14th to Vital Statistics. If we can get press coverage for "Operation Pony Express,"
you may even get to see your Request Form, rolling among all those delivered to Vital Statistics that day, on the evening news.  If you'd like to be part of "Operation Pony Express"...and Illinois adoption history ....and are interested in taking advantage of Options 1, 2 or 3 above, please email me at iltreesurgeon@ aol.com as soon as possible. 
And, if you'd like to get your Request Form in on the 15th, but without being involved in all the hoopla, you can:

4. Send your Request Form via Overnight Delivery on November 14th, using FedEx or the U.S. Postal Service's overnight service.

5. Walk, drive or fly to Springfield, IL and hand-deliver your Request Form to Vital Statistics on the 15th (you might run into Jean Strauss and her film crew, if you do!). However, be advised that, even if you hand in your Request Form on the 15th, you will have to wait just as long as anyone who chose option 1, 2, 3 or 4 above to receive a non-certified copy of your original birth certificate.

WEBINARS
We've been overwhelmed by your response to our free webinars this week! The 2 p.m. Thursday webinar is nearly full (two spots left), and there are five spots left for the Friday, 6 pm seminar. We are looking into recording one of the webinars and making it available online throughout the month of
November. 
I will be emailing all those who signed up for either seminar later with instructions on how to find us on Thursday or Friday, along with a Pdf file that includes the materials we'll be covering during the webinar.
Thanks for all the letters of support and solidarity that have been pouring in since Friday night...I'll try to get back to everyone individually once the 15th has come and gone, but it looks like I am going to be REALLY busy between now and then!
If you live anywhere in the Chicago area, hope to see you at one of the events above!!!
Warm regards,
Melisha Mitchell, Illinois Dept. of Public Health

(I know several adoptees in Illinois who are Lost Birds - I send you strength and patience for the journey ahead....Trace)

250,000 adoptees in Illinois can access records on November 15

Illinois adoptees will have access to birth parents’ names

By: Jim Anderson |   10-30-11

Source: http://wjbc.com/illinois-adoptees-will-have-access-to-birth-parents-names/

State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz was adopted and plans to take advantage of the new law she helped pass. (WJBC file photo)

A new law takes effect in November regarding birth certificates for those who were adopted.
Adoptees born 1946 or after will be able to apply for their original birth certificates, which contain the names of their birth parents, as of Nov. 15. Starting last year, those born prior to 1946 could apply. The law was structured that way because the law sealing the records took effect in 1946. The pre-1946 records were sealed retroactively by a 1986 law.
Birth parents may prevent the release of the original birth certificate, but they would have to step forward and do so. They also may attach other restrictions, such as “do not contact.” Any restrictions will remain in place until the birth parent changes them or dies.
State Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago), who sponsored the law and who herself will take advantage of it, expects few birth parents to place restrictions on access.
Feigenholtz says those who do apply probably just want the piece of paper. She says those looking for a reunion have, for some time now, had other ways to accomplish that.
The law affects 250,000 people.
Applicants must be over 18. Applications are available from the Department of Public Health, office of Vital Records.

[Here's the raw deal - it's conditional access - which means restrictions - which is NOT GOOD!  I cannot believe the ignorance of these legislators, including Feigenholtz - who caved to adoption lobbyists apparently.  If you are an Illinois adoptee, please comment here when you have opened your records.  I pray for all of you and your success with reunion.... Trace]

NPR's ICWA investigation (Parts 2 and 3, links and transcript)

NPR's year-long investigation has produced startling evidence the certain states are ignoring the Indian Child Welfare Act - and as you have read on this blog, this is often unquestioned criminal behavior, illegal by federal law and overt racism againt Indian People with the abduction of Native Children to foster care and adoption...   and today, some tribes ARE hiding the children they rescue from foster care...

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141728431/native-survivors-of-foster-care-return-home



Tribes Question Foster Group's Power and Influence (Part 2)

Transcript from "All Things Considered":

http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=141700018

Copyright ©2011 National Public Radio®. 

October 26, 2011 -

MELISSA BLOCK, host: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.

MICHELE NORRIS, host: And I'm Michele Norris.

There's a federal law that says Native American children who are removed from their homes should be placed with their relatives or tribes. The idea is to stay close to their culture. But this week, an NPR News investigation finds that in South Dakota's foster care system, that's not happening. Hundreds of Native children are placed instead in private group homes. The homes get paid millions of dollars to care for the kids.

BLOCK: The largest is a place called the Children's Home Society. South Dakota's governor used to run Children's Home, and he was on its payroll while he was lieutenant governor. As NPR's Laura Sullivan reports, that arrangement highlights the influence of South Dakota's powerful child welfare system.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Get ready. Set. Who's on first?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Let's go, dude.

LAURA SULLIVAN: On a small crest deep in South Dakota's Black Hills, a dozen children jump on sleds and float across the snow. These kids are wards of the state. This is their home, the western campus of the Children's Home Society.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: OK. Let's go. Let's go.

SULLIVAN: There are rolling hills, a babbling brook, even a new school. On a visit last winter, Children's Home Director Bill Colson says it's a place to help children who can't make it in regular foster care.

We want to solve the problems. And sometimes, it just seems like you're beating your head against the wall, but the reality is we are making progress. And I feel great about it, and our agency feels good about it.

State officials say Children's Home and other organizations like it are necessary. But Native American tribes say the homes are overused on kids who don't need to be there - kids who should be placed with relatives or their tribes.

That's what Congress mandated 30 years ago when it passed the Indian Child Welfare Act. But a 2005 government audit found 32 states are failing, in one way or another, to abide by it. One those states is South Dakota, where 90 percent of Indian children in foster care are placed in non-Native homes or privately run group homes; a generation of children torn from their traditions, cultures and tribes.

Many wind up here at Children's Home. Director Bill Colson says he's heard the tribe's complaints. And he says returning children to their relatives is a top priority

It's hard. It's frustrating for us, too, because we want to see children be successful. Our goal is to have kids, be in a family and be successful.

Children's Home provides services for almost 2,000 children. It's one of the largest nonprofits in the state. But it wasn't always. Ten years ago, this group was in trouble. Tax records show it was losing money. Then in 2002, a former banker named Dennis Daugaard took over as chief operating officer. A year later, he was promoted to executive director, and things began to change.

Money from the state doubled under his leadership. Children's Home grew seven times its size financially. It added two facilities. It seized on a big opportunity when the state began outsourcing much of its work, like training foster parents and examining potential foster homes. Children's Home got almost every one of those contracts. The group paid Daugaard $115,000 a year. But that wasn't his only job.

(SOUNDBITE OF A POLITICAL AD)

Governor DENNIS DAUGAARD: I'm Dennis Daugaard, and I want to be your next governor.

SULLIVAN: At the same time he was getting paid to be director of Children's Home, Daugaard was also the state's lieutenant governor and a rising star in state politics. He had just taken office at lieutenant governor when Children's Home promoted him to its top post. The years he spent running the place and his ability to turn it around were prominent features of his 2010 bid for governor.

(SOUNDBITE OF A POLITICAL AD)

DAUGAARD: I left the bank then and joined Children's Home Society, a home for abused and neglected children, and became their executive director.

SULLIVAN: He won. He is now South Dakota's governor. It could be that Children's Home was the best organization for the job, at the best price for all of those contracts it got. But it would be difficult for taxpayers to know. That's because in just about every case, the group did not compete for the contracts. They didn't have to bid against any one else. For almost seven years, until this year, Daugaard's colleagues in state government just chose his organization and sent it money - more than $50 million.

MELANIE SLOAN: It's a massive conflict of interest.

SULLIVAN: Melanie Sloan is the executive director of a government watchdog group called Citizens for Responsible Ethics in Washington. She says any private organization run by a lieutenant governor would have a lot of power in that state.

When you're lieutenant governor, people are anxious to curry favor with you.

Daugaard declined NPR's repeated requests for an interview. In a statement, his office said Children's Home was the only viable organization that could have done the work, and that Daugaard never used his influence as lieutenant governor to secure the contracts.

Tribal leaders, though, say the unusual relationship provides a window into the role money and politics place in South Dakota's foster care system. They say Children's Home's dominance in this area is but one more example of the interests of the state trumping the interests of Native children.

JUANITA SHERICK: They make a living off of our children.

SULLIVAN: In a basement office on the Pine Ridge Reservation, Juanita Sherick manages foster care cases for her tribe.

(SOUNDBITE OF TELEPHONE RINGING)

SHERICK: Hello. May I help you?

SULLIVAN: She says the state pushes aggressively to place kids in Children's Home. Kids, she says, would be better off with their own grandmothers, aunts and uncles.

Give the children back, you know, to their relatives. The Creator gave those children to those families.

In recent years, Children's Home has become a powerhouse. It examines potential foster families and homes, houses the most kids, trains the state's case workers; holds all of the state's training classes; does all examines of children who may have been abused.

Children's Home gets paid millions of dollars every year for this work, and Rose Mendoza says that's ridiculous. She runs social services for the Standing Rock Sioux, and she says her group would do it for free, especially the home studies, the job of examining tribes' potential foster homes.

Why is there no private agency onto our reservation? We can send our worker, our licensing worker out to go do a home study.

In a state where the majority of foster children are Native, Mendoza and many other tribal officials say home study, social worker training and family placements should be done by people who know and understand the children's culture.

ROSE MENDOZA: Everybody says, well, its cultural difference. Cultural difference, but it's a way of life. Our way of life is different.

SULLIVAN: Native tribes weren't the only ones left out. Troy Hoppes ran a similar group called Canyon Hills Center at the time. He says he didn't know about contracts until after they were doled out.

I just remember in the news there were some grants that were awarded, and I was envious. We wanted to get some grants for ourselves, as well.

Hoppes says his organization would have jumped at the chance.

TROY HOPPES: Facilities love the opportunity to branch out with things like that.

SULLIVAN: In its statement, Governor Daugaard's office says any group home with a license can care for kids. But Hoppes says Canyon Hills had a license, yet it struggled to fill its beds, while at the same time, Children's Home had a waiting list.

The statement also emphasizes that lieutenant governor was a part time job, and that Governor Daugaard never supervise any of the people who approved government contracts. Social service officials in their statement said Children's Home was treated the same way as every other organization.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: But I'm so excited. On Saturday is my grandmother's birthday.

SULLIVAN: On Children's Home campus, kids walk through the hallways to get to their next class. This place has won many state accolades for its work with these kids. But none of that means much to Suzy Crow or her granddaughter, Brianna.

SUZY CROWE: She was over there most of three years.

SULLIVAN: Suzy Crow was taken from her family and forced into boarding school like thousands of other Native American children over the past century.

CROWE: Every night, me and my sister would meet at her bed, and we would say, let's run away tomorrow, just to comfort ourselves that we're still there. This foster system reminds me of that.

SULLIVAN: Crow didn't want Brianna to grow up like she did, not knowing who she was or where she belonged. It took a court order for the state to finally send Brianna home.

CROWE: I didn't care what it took. I battled with them.

SULLIVAN: State records show South Dakota paid Children's Home almost $50,000 over three years to care for Brianna. And all across the state, grandmothers, aunts and uncles, family and tribal members would have cared for Brianna and hundreds of other Native American children like her for free; close to their tribes and culture like federal law intended.



Part 3  (October 27, 2011) Native survivors of Foster Care Return Home:

http://www.npr.org/2011/10/27/141728431/native-survivors-of-foster-care-return-home



Disproportionality Rates of Native American Children In Foster Care (statistics)

click here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141475618/disproportionality-rates-of-native-american-children-in-foster-care

Native foster care providers are not getting children in South Dakota? 32 states are failing to abide by the ICWA.... A Congressional Investigation by the Federal Government will be one way to solve this... prosecution of social workers and state government officials? Stop their funding? I am grateful to NPR for this ground-breaking investigation and shining a light on this... 

Please email me if you are interested in providing testimony to Congress... It will take time but We must act...   Trace (my email: tracedemeyer@yahoo.com)

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.

* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.

* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.

* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.

* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR

Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.



Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system

and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/



This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

Part 1 of 3: NPR Investigation in ICWA Compliance

Key Findings Of This Investigation

* Each year, South Dakota removes an average of 700 Native American children from their homes. Indian children are less than 15 percent of state’s the child population, but make up more than half the children in foster care.
* Despite the Indian Child Welfare Act, which says Native American children must be placed with their family members, relatives, their tribes or other Native Americans, native children are more than twice as likely to be sent to foster care as children of other races, even in similar circumstances.
* Nearly 90 percent of Native American children sent to foster care in South Dakota are placed in non-native homes or group care.
* Less than 12 percent of Native American children in South Dakota foster care had been physically or sexually abused in their homes, below the national average. The state says parents have “neglected” their children, a subjective term. But tribe leaders tell NPR what social workers call neglect is often poverty; and sometimes native tradition.
* A close review of South Dakota’s budget shows that they receive almost $100 million a year to subsidize its foster care program.

John Poole/NPR
Derrin Yellow Robe, 3, stands in his great-grandparents’ back yard on the Crow Creek Reservation in South Dakota. Along with his twin sister and two older sisters, he was taken off the reservation by South Dakota’s Department of Social Services in July of 2009 and spent a year and a half in foster care before being returned to his family.

Read more here: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/25/141662357/incentives-and-cultural-bias-fuel-foster-system
and here:

http://turtletalk.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/part-one-of-three-part-npr-investigation-in-icwa-compliance/

This must end now, today, forever...Trace

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!

A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!

This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.

Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!

Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.

Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.

For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.

A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  



Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439

Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 

After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.

Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.



If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!

Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.



FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children

Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.

Read the complete report here:

http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf

BAD NEWS: Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care

young Indian men in residential boarding school, the first step in assimilation

Yes, more bad news!
A new report Children of Color Disproportionally in State Foster Care published in May 2011, proves there are still persistent problems of Native children living in state foster care in America.  Native children are still being lost to their system today!
This 2011 study shows Native American children represented 2.6% of the foster care population, yet only encompassed 1.2% of the general child population.
Why is this? Traditional kinship adoption (children being cared for by relatives) is not implemented as in past centuries. State social workers are rarely trained on Indian customs and tradition. They do not appreciate our long history and many lack formal education about Indians.  Tribes have insisted, over and over, they want to run their own programs to care for their children, but monies from the federal government are still channeled to the states instead of the tribes!
Add to that, there are not enough Native people providing foster care services to raise these children.
Programs of assimilation, like residential boarding schools, attempted to end Indian Country by stealing children to erase tribal culture and languages.
For over a century now, Indian Country barely survived these genocidal practices of rampant racism.
A few tribes do well now with economic development like casino gaming, but most tribes suffer devastating cycles of poverty, the result of America's neglect or misguided programs.  

Regular Americans had a glimpse of rez reality with Diane Sawyer's recent 20/20 program Hidden America: Children of the Plains that aired on 10-10-11. In case you missed it, watch a clip here: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/hidden-america-children-plains-14708439
Pine Ridge (where they filmed over one year) is only one rez - many more Indian children suffer and are hidden right here in America. 
After the wars, Indian Reservations were isolated for a reason - out of sight, out of mind; this is one reason why Indian Country has such severe epidemics and no one in America seems to know.
Indian's isolation in grass prisons was on purpose.

If you are reading this blog and thinking or writing about adoption, the figures in this report are recent and evidence that the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 is not working as it was intended and enacted! State systems are violating federal law!
Who can stop this? Educated politicans who are made aware by voters.

FROM THE REPORT:  Comparisons of Disproportionality by State: Native American Children
Across the United States, Native American children are overrepresented in foster care at a rate of 2.2 times their rate in the general population. While not all state show disproportionality, 21 states do have some overrepresentation. Twenty-six percent of the states that have overrepresentation have a disproportionality index of greater than 4.1.  In Minnesota, the disproportionality is index 11.6.
Read the complete report here:
http://www.ncjfcj.org/images/stories/dept/ppcd/pdf/disproportionality%20tab.pdf