Hunan Foster Care Update

by Renee Thweatt-Smith

We have some exciting news regarding the Hunan Foster Care Program. With the generosity of our supporters, the Hunan Foster Care program continues to make positive strides in serving children. We have recently increased the number of children served at any given time from fifty to sixty. Since the inception of the foster care program in 2001, we have served 230 children. Of the 230, 160 children have been adopted internationally with 140 being adopted by Americans. We are so very enthusiastic about the addition of ten new foster families to help these children to have the very best start in life they can.

FTIA has been contacted by families who have adopted children from Changsha First Social Welfare Institute to see if their children were in the foster care program. We are pleased that we have been able to share photographs and medical/developmental reports from these children's early months as these children were cared for in the Foster Care Program. To date we have been able to provide 40 families with their child's first photos and developmental reports. We still have many more children's information. If you know of a family that has adopted a child from the Changsha First Social Welfare Institute since summer of 2001, please have them contact Nikki at nbilderback@ftia.org. She will be happy to look up their information to see if their child has been in FTIA's foster care program.

In the first quarter of 2004, the Hunan Foster Care Program incurred expenses of $9,042.43. FTIA has directly sponsored administrative costs of $1,115.08. Of the remaining $7,927.35 in quarterly expenses, family donations have raised $6,284.63 (much of this amount is from families who have fulfilled their annual sponsorship commitment at one time). So far the first quarter of 2004, FTIA's out-of-pocket contribution totalled $2,757.80. This amount does not include staff costs in Evansville and China to oversee the foster care program. We continue to be tremendously thrilled for all of the generosity of our donors, but there continues to be a deficit between the monies raised for this program and the monies needed. Please let others know of this project - maybe in your local FCC group or play group.

We still have a long way to go!!!! Please help us get the word out on this wonderful project. Help us get other families involved so we can all continue to be part of enriching the lives of the children involved. We want to continue to grow so we can extend the program to support so many more children!!! We can do that through your continued support. Thank you so much. We truly appreciate you.

Please remember that monies donated for the Hunan Foster Care Program are completely separate from other adoption related expenses. Also, note that 100% of all monies donated for foster care go directly to the Hunan Foster Care Program. FTIA covers all administrative costs.

If you have questions or would like more information, please email Nikki at nbilderback@ftia.org.