Cara L. Cassella This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. www.shorepublishing.com

   www.shorepublishing.com/archiv - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/3/2006   Last Visited: 3/3/2006

   "Historically, (Chinese) families prefer a son," said Cara Cassella, director of China Adoption With Love's Connecticut office. "The son is the one who carries the family name, does the physical labor and takes care of the parents. Daughters take care of their in-laws."
   
   In an informational session last week at the Mystic-Noank Library, China Adoption With Love Inc., a non-profit adoption agency that has placed more than 1,500 children since its start 10 years ago, gave prospective parents a look at the facets of child adoption in China.
   
   "Babies have been found in marketplaces, bus stops, on busy streets ... where orphans are primarily picked up," Cassella said of Chinese children who are abandoned.
   ...
   "Couples must complete the entire process," Cassella said. "The cost is approximately $16,500 for a couple and the wait time (for a child) is a year and a half process, from start to finish."
   
   Cassella also stressed that potential parents must be able to deal with any issue that comes up with a child.
   
   "You have to assess your readiness on raising a child," Cassella said. "China places about 7,000 children a year. They don't like to go higher and don't want to rush the process because it will lead to corruption."
   
   Cassella noted that China is the No. 1 country with high health standards when it comes to adoption. The goal is to have the healthiest children before they leave for their new home.
   
   There are a number of children with special needs. Up to 85 percent will have some form of developmental delay, according to Cassella. They are also prone to social and developmental disorders and cognitive delays.
   
   "It takes between three and four months to catch up (to other children the same age)," Cassella said of children with developmental delays.
   
   Cases of parasites, worms, ear infections and bronchitis are fairly common with the children in the orphanages, and there have been a few cases of hepatitis B, scabies and upper respiratory malfunctions.
   
   "We don't want to scare you, but we want to inform you," Cassella said.

2. 2. Case Study: China Adoption With Love, Inc.

   www.hswsolutions.com/work/stud - [Cached]

   Published on: 2/2/2006   Last Visited: 1/26/2008

   Cara L. Cassella, LCSW Social Work Manager, China Adoption With Love, Inc.

3. 3. www.nhregister.com

   www.nhregister.com/site/news.c - [Cached]

   Published on: 4/1/2007   Last Visited: 4/1/2007

   Members of the Chinese adoption community are starting to see teens and preteens having issues of their own, said Cara Cassella, director of the Connecticut office of China Adoption with Love Inc. in Old Saybrook.
   
   Based in Brookline, Mass., the group educates adoptive parents about the Chinese culture, history and language prior to adoption, and has post-adoption support groups, said Cassella. The agency has placed 1,500 children in the last decade.
   
   The group has pre- and post-adoption support and is starting to think about support groups for pre-adolescents and adolescents. "We're just now seeing kids where issues of identity are starting to show up," but it's tough to distinguish whether they're about being adopted or being a teen-ager, Cassella said.
   
   Some children in their system are also benefiting from a mentorship program, the Chinese Adopted Siblings Program, where children are matched with Asian students from Yale University.
   
   "The goal is for kids to see other Asians in the United States who are successful, teaching them about the Chinese culture," Cassella said.
   
   Crowder, for one, is still processing what it means to be adopted.
   
   She said there is a need for more post-adoption services for both the adoptive family and adoptees, because of questions that will arise about race, culture and identity. "All parties need to be more equipped to have open discussions about it," she said.