Adoption Law Institute 2009 (Live Webcast)

Dec. 18, 2009

Overview

Live Webcast on December 18, 2009 (E.S.T.)

This is a webcast of the live New York session.

Special Note - New York Transitional credit for this program is only available to New York licensed attorneys practicing law outside the U.S.

Why You Should Attend

By attending PLI's sixth annual Adoption Law Institute, you will learn from a distinguished and experienced faculty from throughout the United States about the latest developments in the fast-changing field of adoption law, and the implications of these developments for your practice. The faculty and the course handbook materials will provide practice tips and practical solutions to a broad range of issues that legal, medical, and social work professionals commonly confront in adoption cases.

What Past Attendees Have Said...

“I thought the program was comprehensive and thought-provoking with a range of perspectives presented.”
Natalie Zwerger, Legal Intern, Lawyers for Children

What You Will Learn

Representing birth parents in termination of parental rights and voluntary relinquishments/surrenders: state and national practice and issues
Adoption from the "Consumers" Perspective by adoptive parents
Adoption of adolescents from foster care
Ethical issues in adoption: the costs of both domestic and international adoptions, a panel discussion of standards for international adoptions.
Financial support for adoption: the Family Medical Leave Act, adoption tax credits, social security, and health care coverage

Who Should Attend

This program is designed especially for family law attorneys, social workers, adoption advocates, adoption agency professionals, mental health professionals, and other related professionals seeking to expand their knowledge of this growing field.

Scholarships to attend this program are available for qualified individuals. Please visit http://pro-bono.pli.edu for scholarship information.

Special Bonus to all Registrants

All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of PLI's comprehensive Course Handbook. This softcover, bound volume was written to augment the program and to stand alone as a permanent reference. PLI's Course Handbooks represent the definitive thinking of the nation's finest legal minds, and are often the standard reference in the field.

Please Note: Webcast attendees will receive a downloadable version of the Handbook one business day prior to the program.

PLI Group Discounts

Groups of 4-14 from the same organization, all registering at the same time, for a PLI program scheduled for presentation at the same site, are entitled to receive a group discount. For further discount information, please contact membership@pli.edu or call (800) 260-4PLI.

PLI Can Arrange Group Viewing to Your Firm

Contact the Groupcasts Department via email at groupcasts@pli.edu for more details.

Schedule

All times are E.S.T.

9:00 Introduction & Welcoming Remarks

Douglas H. Reiniger

9:15 Representing Birth Parents in Termination of Parental Rights & Voluntary Relinquishments/Surrenders

Practice considerations in representing birth parents in defense of termination of parental rights proceedings
Counseling and legal and ethical issues in representing birth parents who wish to voluntary surrender their parental rights
Identified adoptions and post-adoption contact agreements
Comparisons of adoption laws and birth parent representation practice in California and New York
National policy issues related to the rights and legal representation of birth parents

Michele Cortese, Hon. Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, Elizabeth A. Thornton

10:15 Networking Break

10:30 Adoption from the Consumer's Perspective

Panel discussion by parents who have adopted children within the United States (in New York and in other states) through adoption agencies and foster care agencies, and from other countries
Discussion of the adoption experience in finding a child and working with agencies and adoption attorneys

Tom Chiodo, Hon. Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, Rebecca L. Mendel, Kim Susser

11:30 Adoption of Adolescents from Foster Care

A discussion of the resources available for adoption of older children in foster care
Strategies for recruiting adoptive parents for adolescents
Private and government grants and financial support available to recruitment programs and individuals for adoption of older children from foster care

Hon. Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, Pat O'Brien, Douglas H. Reiniger

12:30 Lunch

1:45 Serving Vulnerable Children at Home and Abroad: A Medical and Legal Perspective

National experts in adoption law and children’s health discuss their opinions on the ways government and non-governmental agencies can help orphans and dependent children
The legal and medical significance of nurturing and early permanency on the long-term development of children
A discussion on the proper consideration of heritage and culture when matching children and adoptive parents
The obstacles to permanency: politics and attitudes

Dr. Jane Aronson, Elizabeth Bartholet

2:45 Costs of Adoption: A Survey and Ethical Considerations

Survey results in comparative costs of domestic and international adoptions
Review of the comparative costs of adoption in some foreign countries
Budgeting for adoption in Russia, China, and for independent domestic, agency domestic and foster care adoptions
Discussion of individual cases that may have deviated from averages
Ethical and practical concerns about the high cost of adoption

Susan Caughman, Gregory A. Franklin, Mirah Riben

3:45 Networking Break

4:00 Financial Support for Adoption: update on FMLA, Adoption Tax Credit, Social Security, Health Care Coverage

An update of Federal Adoption legislation, with special emphasis on financial issues
Recent amendments to the Family Medical Leave Act relating to adoption
The end of the Adoption Tax Credit? Current status and benefits, and the possible termination of the program
Discussion of other financial support for adoptive parents and children: social security, health care coverage

Laurie B. Goldheim, Mark T. McDermott

Faculty

Chairperson(s)

Douglas H. Reiniger, The Reiniger Law Firm

Speaker(s)

Dr. Jane Aronson, CEO & Founder, Worldwide Orphans Foundation; Director, International Pediatric Health Services, PLLC
Elizabeth Bartholet, Morris Wasserstein Professor of Law, Faculty Director, Child Advocacy Program, Harvard Law School
Susan Caughman, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Adoptive Families Magazine, Adoptive Families Annual Adoption Guide, Adoptive Families Circle Social Network
Tom Chiodo, Adoptive Parent
Michele Cortese, Deputy Director, Center for Family Representation, Inc.
Gregory A. Franklin, Ashcraft Franklin Young & Peters, LLP
Laurie B. Goldheim, Law Offices of Laurie B. Goldheim
Mark T. McDermott, Law Office of Mark T. McDermott
Rebecca L. Mendel, Rosin Steinhagen Mendel
Pat O'Brien, MS, CSW, Executive Director, You Gotta Believe!
Mirah Riben, Lecturer & Author, "The Stork Market: America's Multi-Billion Dollar Unregulated Adoption Industry", Advocate Publications
Hon. Edwina G. Richardson-Mendelson, Administrative Judge, New York City Family Courts
Kim Susser, Director, Matrimonial and Family Law Unit, New York Legal Assistance Group
Elizabeth A. Thornton, Staff Attorney, ABA Center on Children & the Law

Program Attorney(s)

Janet L. Siegel, Practising Law Institute

CLE Credit

PLI makes every effort to accredit its Live Webcasts. Please check the CLE Calculator above for CLE information specific to your state.

PLI's Live Webcasts are approved for MCLE credit (unless otherwise noted in the product description) in the following states/territories:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho*, Illinois, Indiana¹, Iowa*, Kentucky*, Louisiana, Maine*, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Hampshire*, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York², Ohio³, Oklahoma, Oregon*, Pennsylvania⁴, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming*.

*PLI will apply for credit upon request.

Arkansas, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island: Audio-only live webcasts are not approved for credit.

¹Indiana: Considered a distance education course. There is a 6 credit limit per year.

²New York: Newly admitted attorneys may not take non-transitional course formats such as on-demand audio or video programs or live webcasts for CLE credit. Newly admitted attorneys not practicing law in the United States, however, may earn 12 transitional credits in non-traditional formats.

³Ohio: To confirm that the live webcast has been approved, please refer to the list of Ohio’s Approved Self Study Activities at http://www.sconet.state.oh.us. Online programs are considered self-study. Ohio attorneys have a 6 credit self-study limit per biennial compliance period. The Ohio CLE Board states that attorneys must have a 100% success rate in clicking on timestamps to receive ANY CLE credit for an online program.

⁴Pennsylvania: A live webcast may be viewed individually or in a group setting. Credit may be granted to an attorney who views a live webcast individually. There is a 4.0 credit limit per year for this type of viewing. A live webcast viewed in a group setting receives live participatory credit if the program is open to the public and advertised at least 30 days prior to the program. Live webcasts viewed in a group setting that do not advertise at least 30 days prior the program will be considered "in-house", and therefore denied credit.

Running time and CLE credit hours are not necessarily the same. Please be aware that many states do not permit credit for luncheon speakers.

Note that some states limit the number of credit hours attorneys may claim for online CLE activities, and state rules vary with regard to whether online CLE activities qualify for participatory or self-study credits. For more information, refer to your state CLE website or call Customer Service at (800) 260-4PLI (4754) or email: info@pli.edu.

If you have already received credit for attending some or the entire program, please be aware that state administrators do not permit you to accrue additional credit for repeat viewing even if an additional credit certificate is subsequently issued.