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 To potential adoptive parents:  CHASK's ministry is birth parent focused. This means we are more interested in helping birth moms or adoptive parent finding out God's will for their (and their child's) life.  If you are seeking to add a child to your home, minus the ministry aspect, then CHASK is not the right situation for you. 

            Adoption scams are extremely unusual in a special needs adoption situation.  We have parents that have all kinds of special needs themselves.  As a CHASK adopting family, we ask for your patience with birth moms and adoptive parents that are struggling and may be under emotional stress. Contact an attorney that will represent the birth parent(s).  Offer your listening ear and be a friend, until the relationship is established and you are ready to more forward in a legally proper manner.

            Families who are seeking a new home for a child that they cannot parent, are trusting that you will provide verification via a current home study, lots of references, including name of pastor, social worker, immediate family and the lawyer you will be using. You should be willing and able to provide references.  We advise you to submit a CHASK adoption application, and to keep your CHASK application updated. When requesting further information regarding a child, consider  asking about US citizenship and who is on the birth certificate.  Further helpful information will be custody status or any CPS proceedings you need to be aware of.

 To families seeking to re-home a child:  Although CHASK has many potential adoptive families viewing your child's situation, an internet user or adoption yahoo group may pick up your child's availability and pass it on to others who are not part of CHASK.  CHASK does not have control over who contacts you via e-mail. Please be aware of people who "child-gathering". We suggest that you be sure they have a home study, make a personal home visit, ask for lots of references, including the name of their social worker, pastor and the lawyer they will be using to facilitate the adoption. 

           Please be prepared  to send information about your child (medical, previous adoption finalization, US citizenship status, and any testing) to the attorney the adoptive family has provided.  

            CHASK should be considered a "last resort" avenue for finding a new adoptive home for a previously adopted child. Adoptive families seeking to re-home a child may not ask for reimbursement of any previous adoption costs, if that potential adoptive contact has come from the CHASK web site.

  11-Year-Old Boy Needs New Family

 Adopted from Russia three years ago

 If you saw my son on the playground kicking ball and laughing with other kids, your heart would melt. He has the greatest smile and sunshiny face (blond/blue). He's athletic, full of life, handsome, agile, independent and can figure his way out of every situation. He's got such a good sense of direction, I call him the human GPS. And you have no chance against him at a game of Connect 4. He also loves animals and has an artistic strand. And during the best of times he can be very affectionate. I'll always treasure the wonderful bear hugs I got from him over the years.

 But this is not the full story. He's also a very depressed little boy and, as he gets older, this is turning him into an increasingly angry child, who occasionally explodes into big tantrums. For most of his time with me he’s been stable emotionally, but his anger escalated suddenly this summer and he ended up being hospitalized for unspecified mood disorder. He's on medication now and doing better.

 My son never wanted to be adopted. At the time I believed he was simply afraid of strangers and that he'd adjust once he got settled at home. He did in some ways, but even during the best of times the adoption stood between us. My son keeps saying he's Russian, not American, and he keeps reminding me that I had no right to take him away. He did attach to me in his own very conflicted way, but he still remembers and misses his birth mother. I truly believe at the heart of our problems was always his unshakable resentment that I took him away from Russia — and, in the process, shattered his fantasy of someday being reunited with his mother (an alcoholic who neglected and abandoned him at the age of 6).

 There are other reasons for his difficulties adjusting here. My son has a language disability.  After more than three years here and intensive therapy he's able to express himself and speak pretty normally at a conversational level. But he can't communicate on a level with other 11-yo's, nor understand easily in a classroom or large group situation. He's very social by nature and loves to have fun with other kids, but the difficulties communicating and making friends are getting worse as he gets older. He has other learning issues as well, although it's hard to tell if they're language related or not. 

 I believe he would do well in a new family because I'm a single mom with no other kids and he has often expressed to me that he wants a father and/or siblings. I know he'll miss me, but overall he'd be much happier in a bigger family — and especially one he won't hold responsible for yanking him away from Russia. 

   HOPE FOR RIKER

        We are looking for a family to adopt our son Riker.  Riker was adopted from Ukraine 6 ½ years ago and is now 13.  He is in the 7^th grade.

Riker is very bright.  Has has an exceptional memory and gets mostly A's in school.

 Riker loves to read, and is gifted in drawing. Riker is very athletic likes to play video games in his free time.  He is in excellent health and is never sick. 

Riker would benefit most being in a large family with other children. The new adoptive family needs to be understanding of what it takes to help him overcome his remaining challenge in attaching to a family. 

Riker has a problem with stealing and then lies to cover up being caught.   He realizes stealing is wrong, but cannot seem to stop. He has never been arrested, as most of the stealing involved money from us.  He can be impulsive but has shown improvement in this area, sometimes for months at a time.  

He plays well with other children and is very personable, although he seems to need help in being able to commit to longer-term friendships. Riker has been diagnosed with RAD, but is not aggressive or hurtful to animals.

Unfortunately my wife has been battling breast cancer for the last 2 years and the additional stress of caring for Riker has taken a toll on our family. We are exhausted, and really need some help getting Riker moving forward the rest of the way.  He has made incredible progress so far and we have high hopes for him in the future.   He needs a fresh start. 

If you feel Riker would be a fit for your family please contact us at jmelston@prodigy.net.    A completed home study and references will be required.