Save the adoption credit

First of all, thank you SO MUCH to all of you who have been so supportive through our adoption process so far.  Many of you have inquired of our progress, have offered prayers on our behalf and have supported Bezi's Creations in an effort to help us raise the funds necessary to bring our son home.  As many of you know, adopting a baby is certainly not a "cheap" endeavor.  When God told us to start this process, even before we had the money in the bank, we took a leap of faith and began walking down this road.  One crucial piece to the funding of our adoption is the adoption tax credit available to families, however this credit is set to expire on December 31, 2012.  If this happens, Toby and I will be unable to capitalize on this wonderful opportunity and great aid in bringing our son home.  The following is copied from another blog and I would appreciate the 5 minutes of your time it would require to help ensure the adoption credit gets renewed.  Also, please share this important information with your friends and families via email, FaceBook and the like.  Thank you so much for your continued support! 

Excerpt from Chapters blog:

Advocate for Kids

Before we started the process of adopting LC, we knew jack about adopting period.  As you can imagine, we've learned a lot recently about the ABC's of the adoption process and both how rewarding it can be emotionally and how draining it can be financially.  Please note: I'm not complaining.  Every penny we've spent has been over and over and over again worth it.  But if you are thinking about adoption or know someone who is or has...or just if you can find it in your heart to care at all about all the children who need a family, there's something you need to know. 

There is good news: there is a "adoption assistance" tax credit that, traditionally, has helped offset some (not all) of the costs of adoption.

The bad news: at the end of 2012, if people don't say something, its gone.  In fact, in 2012, it's already been changed from refundable (you get money back) to non-refundable (it just means you might not have to pay so much if you owe income taxes). 

What does that mean?  Or maybe why should you care?

To put it simply, it means good families who want to change a life and/or provide a loving, stable home but don't make quite enough money might not have the income to adopt a child in need.  (Just so you know, adoption can cost anywhere from $13-$40K on average if adopting privately.)

So this credit going away makes me incredibly sad. How many kids in the future are going to stay in the system because families just can't afford adoption?

I wrote my first ever letter to a Representative today and I'm asking if someone (ANYONE) would take the time to copy this letter (below) and click here to send (typically) a web form to your Representative. It will take 10 minutes of your life.  But it could change someone else's forever.

I hope I've made this really, really easy: 

Dear Representative INSERT NAME:

I am writing to ask you to support the adoption tax credit, which is set to expire on December 31, 2012. The adoption tax credit is especially important to me because INSERT REASON (like: you're planning to adopt, you know someone who has adopted, or you think adoption is a worthy cause).

The adoption tax credit is essential to ensuring that as many children as possible are able to find families and that the cost of adoption is not prohibitive to children being raised in loving, caring environments.  I am asking you to take action on behalf of those who have made both a personal and financial sacrifice to support children in our country and in other countries who are in need.

Please use your vote to make sure the adoption tax credit would be permanent, refundable, inclusive of all types of adoption, and remain a “flat” tax for children with special needs.

On behalf of the countless children waiting to be adopted, and the many thousands of families that stand to suffer financially with the loss of the adoption tax credit, thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,

NAME

CITY, STATE

EMAIL ADDRESS

PS: Will you consider re-posting to get the word out?