We have such awesome families

Look at this amazing cake one of our families made and brought to our training class last night!! We are so grateful for the opportunity to meet such wonderful, committed, caring people. You guys are all amazing and we truly appreciate you and all you do for Arizona's children.

Happy Birthday, Arizona!

Today our lovely state turns 100! To celebrate, I included some interesting trivia below. Who knew we had official state neckwear? Enjoy!

1. Arizona is a right-to-work state. The law states no person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of non-membership in a labor organization.


2. The Arizona trout is found only in the Arizona.


3. The saguaro cactus blossom is the official state flower. The white flower blooms on the tips of the saguaro cactus during May and June. The saguaro is the largest American cactus.


4. Arizona leads the nation in copper production.


5. Petrified wood is the official state fossil. Most petrified wood comes from the Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona.


6. The bola tie is the official state neckwear.


7. The Palo verde is the official state tree. Its name means green stick and it blooms a brilliant yellow-gold in April or May.


8. The cactus wren is the official state bird. It grows seven to eight inches long and likes to build nests in the protection of thorny desert plants like the arms of the giant saguaro cactus.


9. Turquoise is the official state gemstone. The blue-green stone has a somewhat waxy surface and can be found throughout the state.


10. Arizona is home of the Grand Canyon National Park.


11. The ringtail is the official state mammal. The ringtail is a small fox-like animal about two and one-half feet long and is a shy, nocturnal creature.


12. The amount of copper on the roof of the Capitol building is equivalent to 4,800,000 pennies.


13. Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time on a year round basis. The one exception is the Navajo Nation, located in the northeast corner of the state, which observes the daylight savings time change.


14. The battleship USS Arizona was named in honor of the state. It was commissioned in 1913 and launched in 1915 from the Brooklyn Navy Yard.


15. World War II brought many military personnel to train at Luke and Thunderbird fields in Glendale.


16. The Castilian and Burgundian flags of Spain, the Mexican flag, the Confederate flag, and the flag of the United States have all flown over the land area that has become Arizona.


17. In 1926, the Southern Pacific Railroad connected Arizona with the eastern states.


18. The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles (89 kilometers) southeast of Prescott.


19. Arizona's most abundant mineral is copper.


20. Bisbee, located in Tombstone Canyon, is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines. During its mining history the town was the largest city between Saint Louis and San Francisco.


21. The state's most popular natural wonders include the Grand Canyon, Havasu Canyon, Grand Canyon Caves, Lake Powell/Rainbow Bridge, Petrified Forest/Painted Desert, Monument Valley, Sunset Crater, Meteor Crater, Sedona Oak Creek Canyon, Salt River Canyon, Superstition Mountains, Picacho Peak State Park, Saguaro National Park, Chiricahua National Monument, and the Colorado River.


22. The Arizona tree frog is the state official amphibian. The frog is actually between three-quarter to two inches long.


23. Once a rowdy copper mining town, Jerome's population dwindled to as few as 50 people after the mines closed in 1953.


24. The original London Bridge was shipped stone-by-stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City.


25. The capital of the Navajo Reservation is Window Rock.


26. The state's precipitation varies. At Flagstaff the annual average is 18.31 inches; Phoenix averages 7.64 inches; and Yuma's annual average is 3.27 inches.


27. Crops include 2%; pastureland 57%; forests 24%; and other uses are 17% in land-use designation.


28. The Arizona ridge-nosed rattlesnake is perhaps the most beautiful of all eleven species of rattlesnakes found in Arizona.


29. The colors blue and gold are the official state colors.


30. Located in Fountain Hills is a fountain believed to be the tallest in the world.


31. Four Corners is noted as the spot in the United States where a person can stand in four states at the same time.


32. The age of a saguaro cactus is determined by its height.


33. The Apache trout is considered a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.


34. Arizona, among all the states, has the largest percentage of its land set aside and designated as Indian lands.


35. Rising to a height of 12,643 feet, Mount Humphreys north of Flagstaff is the state's highest mountain.


36. The Hopi Indians of Arizona are noted for growing their multicolored corn.


37. Barry Goldwater, a famous public official, senator, and presidential candidate was born in Phoenix.


38. In 1939 architect Frank Lloyd Wright's studio, Taliesin West, was built near Phoenix.


39. Oraibi is the oldest Indian settlement in the United States. The Hopis Indians founded it.


40. Grand Canyon's Flaming Gorge got its name for its blazing red and orange colored, twelve-hundred-foot-high walls.


41. Grand Canyon's Disaster Falls was named to commemorate the site of a previous explorer's wreck.


42. Grand Canyon's Marble Canyon got its name from its thousand-foot-thick seam of marble and for its walls eroded to a polished glass finish.


43. Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912.


44. The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitts Peak National Observatory in the city of Sells.


45. At one time camels were used to transport goods across Arizona.


46. Between the years 1692 and 1711 Father Eusebio Kino focused on area missionary work. During the time many grain and stock farms began.


47. A person from Arizona is called an Arizonan.


48. Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply Camp McDowell.


49. The famous labor leader, Ceasar Estrada Chavez, was born in Yuma.


50. Tombstone, Ruby, Gillette, and Gunsight are among the ghost towns scattered throughout the state.
    

For more fun and trivia, visit: www.50states.com/facts/arizona.htm

Arizona's Safe Haven Law

With the recent headlines about "baby Kathleen", the newborn baby who was found in the front yard of a Phoenix home on Tuesday, we feel compelled to remind everyone of Arizona's Safe Haven law that states that a person is not guilty of child abuse and will not face criminal charges for leaving an unharmed newborn baby, 72-hours-old or younger, with a Safe Haven provider.

Under Arizona's Safe Haven law, a newborn up to 3 days old can be dropped off at any hospital, fire station or church - no questions asked. Many people don't know about Arizona's Safe Haven law and we ask for your help in spreading this important message.

For more information on Arizona's Safe Haven law, please visit the Arizona Safe Baby Haven Foundation's website: http://www.azsbh.org/

In their own words

A couple of weeks ago I received an email with a link to this clip on YouTube. The film features children, teens and adults who have all been adopted. Some were adopted as infants, some were older, some were adopted through the foster care system, others were adopted privately and some internationally.

In the video, they each answer questions about their own experiences, challenges they have faced, birth families, adoptive families and more. Each shares their unique story and the special bond they have with their families.

Working in the adoption and foster care industry we are often asked to hear from the perspective of the child. This brief film shares exactly that.

Link to Video: http://bit.ly/zzMJwk

It's tax time!

I'm sure many of you are starting to work on your 2011 taxes, or are at least thinking about it, and if the adoption tax credit applies to you, please do yourself a favor and invest in an accountant who is well-versed in adoption tax credits. We have received lots of questions about the tax credit and our agency is unable to offer any tax advice however we hope that you will find the information below helpful. Your accountant (who is educated on the adoption tax credit!) will be able to answer questions specific to your situation.

Who Qualifies?

You qualify for the adoption tax credit if you adopted a child and paid out-of-pocket expenses relating to the adoption. The amount of the tax credit you qualify for is directly related to how much money you spent on adoption-related expenses. If you adopt a special needs child, however, you are entitled to claim the full amount of the adoption credit, even if your out-of-pocket expenses are less than the tax credit amount.

How much is the tax credit?
The adoption credit is calculated on Form 8839 Qualified Adoption Expenses (PDF). You may claim an adoption credit of up to $13,360 (for tax year 2011) per eligible child.

Adoption Tax Credit Amounts
2013: $5,000 or $6,000 for a special needs child (projected)

2012: $12,650, non-refundable

2011: $13,360, refundable

2010: $13,170, refundable

2009: $12,150, non-refundable

2008: $11,650, non-refundable

2007: $11,390, non-refundable

2006: $10,960, non-refundable

The adoption credit was scheduled to sunset at the end of 2010. However, the massive health care reform legislation extended and revised the adoption tax credit.

The health care legislation enhanced the adoption tax credit in three ways:

1. It bumped the maximum adoption credit from $12,150 to $13,170.

2. It extended this increased tax credit amount to the year 2011.

3. It made the adoption credit refundable.

The Tax Relief Act extended increased dollar amounts for an additional year, through 2012.
Taxpayers who adopt a special needs child can claim the full amount of the adoption credit without regard to the actual expenses paid in the year the adoption becomes final.

Adoption Tax Credit Resources and Information
Internal Revenue Code Section 23 (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School)
Adoption Credit (Tax Topic 607 from the IRS)
IRS Audit Guidelines and Required Documentation (from the Internal Revenue Manual)
Revenue Procedure 2010-40 for the year 2011 adoption credit and phase-out amounts.
Revenue Procedure 2011-52 for the year 2012 adoption credit and phase-out amounts.

Refundable Adoption Credit and Substantiation Requirements

Adoption Tax Credit Instructions from the IRS
Adoption Credit
Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN)
Instructions for Form 8839

Urgent Need for New Foster Parents

With more than 11,000 children currently living in out-of-home care in Arizona, there is a critical need for new foster and adoptive parents. Recent stories of abuse and neglect in our state have drawn attention to this urgent and growing need. A recent article in The Arizona Republic noted the significant gap between the number of new families becoming licensed to provide foster care and the number of families who are closing their homes. Becoming a foster or adoptive parent gives families the opportunity to have a positive, lasting impact on Arizona's most vulnerable children.

Who are the children?
Most children have been removed from their birth families' care due to abuse or neglect; they range in age from birth to 17 years and often consist of sibling groups. They come from a variety of backgrounds and cultures and have experienced loss and disappointment. These children all need the same things - love, comittment, patience, consistency, and someone to advocate for them.

Foster Care
Foster families are stable, nurturing individuals or families who, knowing that their time with the children is only temporary, provide them with love and consistency and are there to instill in them the skills they need to meet life's uncertainties. General foster care requirements include fingerprinting, criminal background check, home inspection, physician's statement verifying emotional and physical health, economic stability, 33 hours of training, must be 21 years or older.

Adoption
Adoptive families are committed to providing a permanent loving home where their children can grow and understand what it means to be a family. General adoption requirements include fingerprinting, criminal background check, physician's statement verifying emotional and physical health, economic stability, 36 hours of training, must be 18 years or older.

Arizona Adoption & Foster CareArizona Adoption & Foster Care (AAFC), a project of the Child Crisis Center, is a nonprofit organization that provides parents with exceptional training, child-family matching services, and post-placement support and services. Learn more about becoming a foster or adoptive parent by attending an orientation session.

Learn about how you can make a difference in the life of a child by attending an orientation session or by helping us spread the word about this critical need. Orientations are held in the Family Resource Center (817 N Country Club, Mesa)

Upcoming Sessions:

Jan 10: 6 pm - 8 pm
Jan 21: 10 am - 12 pm
Feb 7: 6 pm - 8 pm
Mar 6: 6 pm - 8 pm
Mar 17: 10 am - 12 pm
Apr 3: 6 pm - 8 pm
May 1: 6 pm - 8 pm

Life Book volunteers needed!

Photo by Rick d'Elia

Arizonans for Children needs help creating Life Books for children living in out-of-home care. Life Books are scrapbooks that include photos, artwork and other personal items that tell the story of children who are no longer living with their biological parents. The books connect the children to their biological family and early history, promoting a sense of identity and attachment.

Volunteer Job Description:

- 2 hours per week for six months (approximate commitment)

- Must have some time available during regular business hours (M-F, 8-5) in order to conduct the CPS File Research (during the initial phase of the project

- Meet with the case worker to develop a research plan

- Read the child's case file, collect information

- Conduct research:

*Contact previous foster parents, relatives, case workers, etc...

*Collect information, photos, letters, anecdotes, memorabilia

*Meet the child and caretaker

*Access child's memories through his/her storytelling, photos, drawings

* Maintain contact with the case worker and/or therapist regarding issues that arise for the child

- Write narrative
- Create scrapbook
- Attend presentation party
- Work with the program coordinator and case manager to ensure appropriate interaction with the child and meet the child's needs.

If you are interested in learning more about this program or would like to volunteer with the Life Book program, visit www.arizonansforchildren.org/page.php?link=life_book