This, is a good thing!!

Dear Georgeanne,I wanted to let you know that it has been confirmed that JCICS will be hosting a 9-member delegation from Vientam from March 24th through April 2nd. The delegation, led by Vice-Minister of Justice Dinh Trung Tung, will attend the JCICS conference and Institutes, meet with adoptive families and participate in a planned series of meetings with leaders in the U.S. child welfare and government agencies.With a goal of advancing the relationship and understanding between the peoples and governments of the US and Vietnam, this visit will include an exchange of information on the Hague Convention and child protections along with discussions on key elements of and opportunities for an interim agreement.The delegation will arrive in the US on March 23rd and spend a few days in San Francisco before going to Indianapolis, IN for the conference. After the conference, they will fly to Washington DC on March 30th and spend several days there before returning to Vietnam.The goal of JCICS is to provide a social forum where adoptive families can offer their important perspectives, discuss the challenges unique to adoptive families and demonstrate the positive impact of intercountry adoption. The details and schedule of the social forums have not been fully developed but they will occur in Indianapolis IN and Washington DC. Once we receive the date and times we will forward to all adoptive families in case you are interested in attending one of these forums. It will be important for the delegation to hear from you, the adoptive family on how this is impacting each of you.I feel this is a very positive step towards a new agreement being reached. However, I still warn you not to get your hopes up that the delegation will return to Vietnam and sign an agreement with the US. However, this is a very important step towards that goal.As soon as I receive more information on the forums I will pass it along to everyone.

Take care Nicky