Sir Elton John - Sir Elton John, after being not being allowed to adopt a Russian child last year, is allegedly trying to adopt a child from South Africa. Sir Elton John, now 63, and his partner David Furnish became interested in adopting a child from the country after playing a concert there earlier in the year.

Pauly Shore - Shore will be thrilled to hear of Sir Elton John's plans to adopt from Africa, if he makes a sequel to his latest movie, Adopted. Shore's mockumentary makes fun of celebrity international adoptions. Now, I have not seen this movie, but based on the reviews I've read, if you like Shore, you'll probably like this - if you're in the mood and perhaps slightly brain dead. However, according to these reviewers, while Shore attempts to pick up a child at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy (which I think I'd watch this show JUST to see that), his movie, with all it's silliness, attempts to shed light on the world's orphan population by sharing statistics at the end of the movie. Shore, also stated during a recent interview, that he feels that celebrities are forgetting that many American children need adoptive homes too and in Pauly Shore style, said, "That's not cool."

Keenen Ivory Wayans - Keenen Ivory Wayans has created a new movie premise entitled, It Takes A Village which is about a white woman who is interested in adopting a child from South Pacific island. However, the Chief and 7 elders from the island have to live with her for to make sure she is appropriate to be selected as the child's mother. So, the buzz on the Internet is this - what actress has not adopted internationally and would be interested in this project? hmmmm....... Do you think that there would be an audience for this film?

Share your thoughts on this celebrity news and more by clicking "comments" below.

SOURCES:
Sir Elton John `planning South African adoption`
Pauly Shore Mocks 'Mother Teresa' Angelina Jolie, Celebrities Who Adopt From Africa
DVD Review: Adopted (2009)
Great Role For 30-Ish Actress (Who Hasn't Adopted In A Third World Country)

Yesterday through tomorrow marks the fourth round of talks in Moscow between the United States and Russia. The two countries are working on a bilateral adoption agreement that should come into effect this November or December. This agreement has come to be a necessity due to the number of children that have been harmed or even murdered at the hand of adoptive parents.

Russia has yet to stop all adoptions by U.S. citizens, but the process has been slowed until an agreement can be reached and signed, which hopefully will occur within the next two or three weeks. Trying to decide on how Russian children will be monitored in their new American homes is still an issue to be resolved. The number of adoption agencies working in Russia will also be reduced and will need to be accredited which would mean that they are in compliance with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which has been ratified by the U.S., but not Russia. Gay couples from the United States will be banned from Russian adoptions as Russia does not recognize gay marriage.

The United States is not the only country working on an adoption agreement with Russia: Britain, France, Germany, Israel and Spain will also have an adoption agreement.

SOURCES:

• Russia-U.S. adoption agreement to come into effect by yearend - ministry
• U.S. Gay Couples Banned From Adopting Russian Children

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Suggested Reading:
Russian Adoption Problems In the Eyes of Russian Adoptive Parents
20/20's "From Russia With Love -- Dealing With Difficult Adoptions"

My foster parent friend is once again helping a foster child reunify back with a birth father. The social worker or case manager on the case has put into action a visitation plan and a reunification plan. A reunification plan lists out the dates of visits and usually the visits progress from a few hours, to an overnight, to a weekend, to several days in a row, before the child has completely moved back in with birth family.

This isn't easy work, but it is very rewarding. It is a valued skill of a great foster parent - to know how to work the reunification plan, and assist a nervous birth parent while parenting an excited foster child. It's also a confusing time for the children. They want to go back home, and it's never easy living in that middle ground - working towards home, but still in a foster home.

How do you best handle that transition period - whether transitioning a child home or into an adoptive placement?

Suggested Reading:
Great Foster Parents Work with Birth Family to Aid Reunification
Learn How to Be a Great Foster Parent in 5 Weeks

The Associated Press reported yesterday that 36-year-old birth mother, Aimee L. Sword of Michigan, plead guilty to having sex with her son that she placed for adoption at birth. She was sentenced to nine to thirty years in prison. Sword found her son through Facebook in 2008. He is now 16, so he probably was about 14 at the time of the incidents. He reported having sex with his birth mother in two different Michigan cities.

Since this happened due to a Facebook search, the adoptee probably didn't tell his adoptive parents of being found and didn't have anyone to talk to about his feelings. The birth mother obviously didn't have anyone to talk to about her attraction to her birth son. She lost control over her emotions and crossed the line.

Some call this Genetic Sexual Attraction, others believe that GSA doesn't exist and that it's just incest and occurs within adoptive situations as well as biological. I think there is something to GSA, not that it's an excuse, but that it exists. What do you think?

I think this situation is one of many very good reasons to talk with your adoptee about the need for Facebook and MySpace guidelines as an impromptu adoption reunion could happen at any time thanks to social media and social networking.

SOURCES:
Michigan woman sentenced for sex with birth son
Brother and Sister, and Lovers - Inside a Phenomenon Called Genetic Sexual Attraction

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Suggested Reading:
Tips for Better Handling Social Media, Your Teenager and Adoption Reunions
Helping Your Child Navigate Social Networking and Birth Family
Social Media and Adoption - the Good and the Bad