Adoption of Teens on the Rise in Minnesota - Minnesota Family Law ...

Minnesota has seen a rise in the adoption of teens due in large part to a refocused effort to find parents for an age group that often gets overlooked during the adoption process.

Teens, siblings and foster children often have a more difficult time getting adopted than infants, but the state is continuing its effort to find a home for each and every child.

?Any waiting child is too many,? said Erin Sullivan Sutton, who directs the state?s foster care and adoption center for the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

Although Minnesota had fewer adoptions this year than in 2011, the 376 adoptions have helped to reduce the number of children waiting for adoption from 1,200 to 428 over the past decade.

The state made two significant changes to aid in the adoption process.? First, it began by reinforcing its diversion programs, which help keep families from putting children up for adoption.? Also, there has been added focus on making the adoption process quicker and more aggressive.? Over the past decade, these changes have reduced the time it takes to move children from state guardianship into an adoptive family from 24 months to 16 months.

The changes have helped to find homes for more children, especially teens.? Over the past two years the state has cut the number of children who reach 18 without adoptive parents in half.

Another way government officials are helping find homes for teens is by seeking out adults who have made an impact on their life or influential relatives to see if they?d be willing to adopt the child.? Also, pre-adoption classes are placing an extra emphasis on the needs of teens and how they benefit from adoption.

?What kids will tell you is their sense of belonging and security is so much greater having been adopted,? said Sullivan Sutton. ?It?s not always easy, but knowing somebody is going to stick with them through it all is extremely powerful.?

Tia Vasquez, who lives in Inver Grove Heights, said she and her husband had considered adopting a child to fulfill their dream of having one birth child and one adoptive child.? Before they could really consider their options, Vasquez?s husband died from complications of a rare brain disorder.

A few years later, Vasquez once again considered adopting a child, but it was her daughter who pushed Vasquez to consider adopting a teen.

?You know, Momma,? said her daughter Mia, ?I would like to have an older sister.?

Through her research, Vasquez came across the story of 15-year-old Brianna, who had been abused by her birth parents and then again by adoptive parents.? Vasquez said she knew right away she wanted to make Brianna part of their family.

The family recently celebrated their first Christmas together, and although they have experienced their ups and downs along the way, Brianna said she is thankful to finally have a supportive family.

?I thought I would never get adopted,? she said. ?I?ve been told at my age that it?s rare.?

Related source:? Star-Tribune

Source: http://www.minnesotafamilylawblog.com/adoption-teens-rise-minnesota.html

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Stealthy Collaboration Platform For Developers, VictorOps Raises $1.6M From Foundry Group

VictorOps, a stealthy enterprise startup based in Boulder has raised $1.58 million in seed funding led by the Foundry Group with participation from Chris Marks at Tango Investments and the startup's three co-founders, Todd Vernon, Bryce Ambraziunas and Dan Jones.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/hVVNt2n3Ras/

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Ideal Motivating Exercise Suggestions For A Healthy Life | Fitness ...

December 27, 2012 ‐ Posted by Fitness Tips ‐ Under: Fitness Tips

Lack of motivation is what usually keeps people from getting in shape even with total health and fitness exercise programs. If you know how to go about it the right way, working out can be quite enjoyable. A workout routine can be a lot of fun. There is no need to make it a chore. Many workout options exist which can make exercise seem like fun. Think about the advice given here, so you can start the best workout possible for you.

Music is a key motivator when working out. Your body naturally moves to the music. The amazing thing about dancing is that you can carry on for ages without getting exhausted. Dancing takes the tedium out working out because it?s fun to do.

TIP! Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. -Mahatma Gandhi

If someone close to you has their own weight loss goals, think about teaming up. You can work together on your weight loss plan, keeping a note of your progress. Not only that, it?s fun to have a workout buddy. Workout with a friend if you want your workout to go faster. You can focus on the conversation instead of focusing on how hard you are working out which will make exercising more fun and encourage you to stick with it.

Workout-centered video games can be extremely helpful in getting you to concentrate on enjoying yourself, rather than fixating on the difficulty of the actual exercises you are performing. Lots of cool video games are out there that can aid you in fitness and weight loss. You will get great rewards when you find fun ways to work out because you will spend less time worrying and more time having a good time.

Think about what workout clothes will look good on you and go get them. Sporting some appealing new attire may help you maintain a high level of enthusiasm for your workout program. There are various styles and colors to select from. New workout clothes will really make you want to move.

TIP! If you want pancake-flat, carved-up lower abs and a razor-sharp V-cut, consider The Lower Abs Trifecta your little secret weapon. Comprised of 3 different ab exercises back-to-back, it?ll absolutely demolish your lower abs and leave you sore for days.

Switch the order of your routines or do something entirely differently to avoid becoming bored. If you get bored with the same exercises, you won?t want to keep going, so you need to mix things up. It is important to stay motivated. When you take a break from exercise, it?s hard to rebuild the momentum you had going.

After every fitness milestone you need to reward yourself with something special. I am sure you understand what I mean. You do not have to give yourself a huge reward, it can be simple such as some new clothes or a tasty treat. No matter what the reward is, make it is something that you will look forward to acquiring and can actually obtain when the time comes. You should do everything you can to keep your fitness enthusiasm high.

Ideal Motivating Exercise Suggestions For A Healthy Life

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Source: http://www.fitnessspotlight.net/ideal-motivating-exercise-suggestions-for-a-healthy-life/

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Smart Magazine | Earthy and Expecting: Remembering to celebrate

If you?ve been following my column (thank you!), you know that the ?expecting? part of ?Earthy and Expecting? is deceiving.

You also know that my own pregnancy journey took a very unexpected twist on October 25, when I was hospitalized for contractions and put on bed rest that lasted all of four days before I delivered my son nearly three months early.

Since then, nothing in our lives ? mine and Jon?s, Jackson?s father ? has gone as ?expected.? What once was intended to be a quirky column on a New Age-style pregnancy, with an emphasis on alternative and green living, morphed into a NICU stay?s timeline alongside my personal experience of getting to know Jax, or as we call him, Superpreemie.

Talk about ?alternative.?

And ?earthy?? Try ?down to earth.?

The heady experience of realizing you?ve created a life with the person you love most in the world comes crashing into a reality you didn?t choose when you give birth early and even your doctors don?t know why, or what will happen next. It does so again when you first attempt to negotiate between your responsibility for this tiny life and the fact that the NICU staff are his primary caretakers, and again when you take your first steps toward incorporating a new being into your family and world.

This holiday, I took a break from dashing back and forth between the NICU, work and home to remember myself, who I am, and who comprises my family.

It started when my company surprised me with a baby shower that I thought was just a standard-issue holiday potluck.

Unexpected? You bet. At the ?SURPRISE!? and applause, I actually turned around to make sure no one was behind me, that I didn?t sneak in ahead of the ?real? guest of honor. Then I saw my name on a sheet cake and remembered: Oh yeah, I had a baby!

Not that I?d actually forgotten about Superpreemie. But I?ve been so wrapped up in Jax?s treatment and weight gain and progress, plus just getting my clothes to match and not totally messing up at work, that a party was the last thing on my mind; I brought a batch of Jon?s mom?s Christmas cookies to the ?potluck? and was just happy for a quick, free, hot lunch.

What I got was a reminder to celebrate. I can?t express how invaluable a gift that is ? and believe that, because I also got a money tree, to which everyone contributed in lieu of the usual Secret Santa tradition.

Jon and I had been so busy that we hadn?t even gotten a Christmas tree, so my coworkers urged me to take home the artificial tree, thick with bills and a homemade newspaper-chain strand of ?garland.?

Thanks to Erin McCracken for the gift of this ornament, and for coordinating my YDR surprise baby shower!

The lesson is, while I?ve waxed poetic about ?choosing blessed,? gone to my family-sponsored baby shower, kept near-daily updates on Jax?s progress via his CaringBridge site, shared baby pictures and enthused about his absurdly impressive weight gain, I haven?t actually celebrated.

Jon and I were so touched by the surprise shower and my coworkers? generosity that we dug out last year?s Christmas ornaments, and even went out to purchase a new one together, as is our yearly tradition. We decorated our little tree, took some time to purchase and wrap presents and write cards for those who?ve been so good to us. We threw some snowballs on Christmas Eve. I even baked a little!

Clockwise from left are Kim Moore (Mom-Mom), Delbert Moore (Papaw), Jonathan Moore (Dad), me, and Baby Jax, Superpreemie.

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And on Christmas Day, we went to the NICU to see Superpreemie, all snuggled up in red-and-white-striped footie pajamas with a reindeer on the tush, and a red and green elf hat. Jon?s parents were with us, and we asked Jax?s nurse to take a family picture. My parents, three hours away and not going anywhere because of the weather forecast, will be in that picture next year.

I was a little sad leaving the NICU, leaving my baby behind on Christmas. He?s my family now, and so is everyone who supports us and celebrates him.

Looking ahead to 2013 ? the year Jax will come home with us, the year we?ll celebrate our first Christmas with him in our house, how can it not be a happy new year?

How can we not celebrate?

PS?Check out this story by coworker Stephanie Reighart about another NICU family Christmas. Baby Callan and Baby Jax were neighbors for a bit!

York Daily Record features multiplatform journalist. Degrees in creative writing from Lycoming College and Spalding University, and a coupla books with my name on them. Central PA native who came home after floating around for a while, but always grounded by words and the places and people I remember.

Source: http://www.yorkblog.com/smart/2012/12/27/earthy-and-expecting-remembering-to-celebrate/

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The Constitution in 2013: Gains or losses on rights?

The Supreme Court?the place in America where the Constitution most often gets new meaning?moves into 2013 after a momentous year of re-examining the core constitutional structure of the U.S. government. As the New Year unfolds, the court switches its center of attention from constitutional architecture to constitutional rights.

350px-Supreme_Court_US_2010Many other public actors, of course, contribute to constitutional development every year, but often that merely sets the stage for the court to have the final word.

In a series of decisions in 2012, the court did some alterations on the constitutional division of power between national and state governments.

It gave Congress power to move toward nationwide health insurance even while giving states more veto power over some federal spending. It narrowed somewhat the authority of states to limit the rights of undocumented immigrants living within their borders. It reminded federal judges not to go too far to second-guess the states? legislative redistricting process. And it restricted the power of states to curb heavy political campaign spending by corporations.

The net effect of that was twofold: the court?s own powers were enhanced, along with those of the other two federal branches, and the long-term trend of shifting power toward Washington and away from state capitals was not significantly interrupted.

What comes next for the court?partly by its own choice, partly by the actions of other public actors?is a heavy concentration on individual rights. But there is no certainty that, when the final decisions emerge by next summer, the results will expand rather than narrow those rights.

The justices will be deciding two major cases dealing with race relations. They will decide whether public colleges and universities may continue to use race as a factor in choosing their new freshman classes, and they will decide whether history?s most successful voting rights law?the Voting Rights Act of 1965?has outlived its constitutional justification.?? Both college affirmative action plans and minority voting rights appear to be at some risk.

The court will get its first close look at recent efforts to make voting more difficult, especially for the poor, when it examines whether states can demand documentary proof of U.S. citizenship before a voter may register.? Moreover, the court will probably be examining anew the constitutionality of requiring photo IDs for voters at the polling place.

On affirmative action, the court is likely to decide whether a states? voters have the power to direct a complete end to college affirmative action plans, even if those survive the year?s basic constitutional test before the court.

The justices will be making a historic foray into the newest cultural clash in America, over whether gay and lesbian couples will be allowed to marry, and whether they will qualify for federal marital benefits. The court has taken on two cases that potentially could result in either a sweeping decision on same-sex marriage, or a narrower ruling that puts off the ultimate constitutional reckoning on such unions.

There very likely will be a review of the constitutionality of at least a part of the new federal health care law that was not examined at the court?s last term: the Affordable Care Act?s mandate that employers provide for their workers, free of charge, health insurance coverage for the leading forms of birth-control drugs and methods. That mandate has been challenged by a wide array of religious schools, colleges, and hospitals, and by profit-making businesses run by religious families or executives whose faith counsels against medical methods that may lead to abortion. They argue that the contraceptives mandate violates their right to religious freedom.

A spate of new anti-abortion laws passed by state legislatures over the past year may also begin to put that issue back before the justices in 2013.

It is almost a certainty that there will be attempts to induce the court to spell out further the scope of gun-bearing rights under the Second Amendment. The most important single issue is whether those rights extend beyond the home, and beyond self-defense at home?the only site and activity so far recognized by the justices for the exercise of the right to ?keep and bear arms.? Other gun rights issues may arise if the federal government takes new steps to deal with mass shootings like that earlier this month in Newtown, Connecticut, but test cases over any such initiatives may take some time to reach the justices.

In the field of international human rights, the court is expected to decide whether multinational corporations may be sued in U.S. courts for their role in atrocities committed in foreign lands.

The court also may be drawn into new constitutional controversy over the government?s use of military courts at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to try those suspected of acts of terrorism. Among the key issues is whether foreign nationals held at the Navy prison on the island of Cuba have constitutional rights during their war crimes trials.

All of this array of rights issues is expected to be faced by the same nine justices. At this point, there is no sign that any of the justices is considering retirement, and all appear to be in good health. Openings, or at least one, may be more likely later in President Obama?s second term in the White House.

Lyle Denniston is the National Constitution Center?s Adviser on Constitutional Literacy. He has reported on the Supreme Court for 54 years, currently covering it for SCOTUSblog, an online clearinghouse of information about the Supreme Court?s work.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/constitution-2013-gains-losses-rights-110210028--politics.html

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Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale: Merry XXXMas!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/12/vanessa-hudgens-and-ashley-tisdale-merry-xxxmas/

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