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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.
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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, |
