A couple of months ago I wrote a blog on a Saturday desperately seeking immediate advice from my knowledgeable readers. I thought you might be interested in an update on how it has turned out. The first/birth father of one of our children had just called me that day from jail. He was asking for bail money. Actually, this was the first time anyone had asked me for bail money. I was somewhat at a loss on how to handle the situation, which is why I brought it to my readers for advice.

I had known this man for about three years and to my knowledge,... more

A reader recently made a comment on one of my blogs that I feel compelled to address in depth. Usually special needs adoption through a state agency includes a subsidy. In some states like Michigan and New York, that subsidy is equal to the foster care rate. Other states, such as Florida, Oregon, and Texas have fixed subsidy rates for special needs adoption, which are considerably lower than their foster care rates. There is also a special needs adoption credit currently available on Federal Income Tax in the United States... more

Our lawyer has set up "Last Will and Testaments" for many families. He has updated ours several times over the past 15 years, usually after we complete each adoption. During our most recent update, he advised converting our will and transferring our assets to an unbreakable living trust.

We agreed, but then set out to explain the individual needs of each of our 10 (at that time) legal children. Since our oldest children are 24, (not twins – 27 days apart) and our youngest child isn’t even one-year-old yet, we couldn’t have one regular trust fund.

He determined that at the time... more

Here in Michigan there is something called Community support subsidy. I don't know if it's available in other states but it couldn’t hurt to check. Here you contact the community mental health provider it's not part of the Department of Human services. If your child has multiple impairments, which can be a combination of mental and physical impairments then they can qualify for respite. Respite money is about 120 dollars a month that they will pay to a sitter to give the parents a break.

If you can get the school to say that your child is SXI or has multiple impairments you can also get the monthly community support subsidy that is currently $222.11 a month in Michigan. It's... more