NEWS

ASC Director Awarded Congressional Angels in Adoption Award

October 2009

Steve Cohen selected Michael McDonald, Director of the Adoption SupportCenter, as a 2009 Angel in AdoptionTM for his outstanding          advocacy of adoption issues.  The Congressional Coalition on Adoption         Institute (CCAI), which orchestrates the Angels in Adoption program,      honored Michael McDonald, along with more than 190 Angels, at an              awards ceremony and gala event in Washington, DC, September 30, 2009
 
 The Angels in Adoption program is CCAI's signature public awareness    campaign and provides an opportunity for all members of the U.S.            Congress to honor the good work of their constituents who have enriched          the lives of foster children and orphans in the United States and abroad.
 
 In addition to the more than 190 local angels from around the country, several National Angels were also recognized at the ceremony and gala for their dedication and commitment nationally and internationally to child welfare on a grand scale.  Former "National Angels" include First Lady Laura Bush, Patti LaBelle, Jane Seymour, Muhammad Ali, the late Dave Thomas, Steven Curtis Chapman, Bruce Willis, Alonzo Mourning, and Marcus Samuelsson.
 
 “We are so proud of Michael for his dedication and accomplishments,” said David Jordan, executive director of Agape Child & Family Services.  “His service and his love for the work he does are an inspiration to all those who know him.”  Some of Michael’s accomplishments include:

  • Since the Adoption Support Center (formerly known as The Adoption Center of the MidSouth) was launched in 2005, this community and collaborative effort to serve anyone touched by adoption has grown from serving 280 adopted youth and family members (in 2004…just prior to the opening of the Adoption Support Center) to serving nearly 2,750 children and their families touched by adoption this fiscal year.
  • Since the nationally awarded and collaboratively driven TN ASAP program (Adoption Support and Preservation Program) began, 98.9% of the adopted families served in the ASAP program have remained intact, a phenomenal success rate.  Besides providing in-home therapy for children adopted through the State of Tennessee, this program also provides a pre-adopt curriculum, which Michael was instrumental in developing, to help prepare parents and children for the difficulties they are facing.
  • Michael has successfully planned 3 annual regional conferences, with the help of his staff, featuring internationally recognized authorities in the adoption field.
  • And, since 2005, Michael, along with his staff, have trained 2,924 healthcare and service professionals in TN, MS and AR, who interact with women and men dealing with unplanned pregnancies, to teach these professionals how to present adoption as an option to these families when interacting with them…through the Infant Adoption Training Initiative.

TN ASAP Adoption Tour 2009

 October 5th-9th

The 2009 Adoption Tour marked the 5th

Anniversary of the event, and with it came

a brand new route and a 70% increase in

participation!  This year the tour riders began

 their “Journey Home” on October 5th in

Johnson City and rode 433.7 miles through

beautiful countryside, through welcoming

towns and cities, and along the way they celebrated with the most amazing people.  The riders experienced many exciting firsts on this year’s tour and all the while one thing will remained unchanged - they experienced one of the most meaningful weeks of their life as they rode for adoptive families and the children who are still on their journey home!  Fatigue and suffering, joy and celebration, purpose and meaning … all are aspects that they came to know well as they reached their final destination on October 9th in Nashville! Find out more about the adoption tour ride and the TN ASAP program by clicking here.

ASAP Receives National Award

December 3, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

In October 2008, the Tennessee ASAP (Adoption Support and Preservation program) received the 2008 Adoption Excellence Award in the category of Support for Adoptive Families.

ASAP is a highly successful statewide collaborative program which serves families who have adopted youth through the TN Department of Children’s Services. ASAP provides support, counseling, and any other services that help adoptive families remain together and functioning well. Since ASAP began providing post-adoptive services in 2004, approximately 98% of those served have remained together and are functioning well.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services established the Adoption Excellence Awards program in 1997 to recognize outstanding accomplishments in achieving permanency for America’s children waiting in foster care. These awards honor states, child welfare agencies, organizations, courts, businesses, individuals and families. There are 20 individuals and agencies honored every year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for their contributions in all areas of adoption. Up to three awards are given every year in the category of Support for Adoptive Families.

In May of 2004, Agape joined two other adoption agencies in Tennessee, one in Nashville and the other in East Tennessee, to start this new collaborative program called Tennessee Adoption Support and Preservation (TN ASAP). ASAP is designed to help support adoptive families who adopted children from the state foster care system. The program provides support through counseling, adoptive family groups, education and advocacy. The TN ASAP program has experienced many wonderful successes since it began in 2004. Nationally, up to 25% of all adoptions end with the child leaving the adoptive home and the adoption being legally dissolved or the child being “given back to the state.” Of all the families that TN ASAP has served, the percentage of adoptions dissolving or the children returning to Tennessee state custody has been less than 2%.

Agape is truly honored to be a part of such a wonderful program with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Harmony Adoptions and Catholic Charities in Nashville. If you are interested in learning more about the TN ASAP program, you can call Agape at (901) 323-3600 or log on to the following websites: www.tnasap.org, www.agapemeanslove.org,