Grant funding is offered for specific children within the Special Waiting Child Program and this funding is made possible by La Vida International and in some cases, an outside source, Brittany’s Hope Foundation. Grants are made in an effort to make a family more readily available to a child with a special medical need(s). The grants are not based on family need, they are based on a child’s need. However, if your family has the resources to adopt this child without utilizing the grants, the funding can be transferred to another waiting child. If your family does truly need these resources, we are happy to make them available. Please note that if grant funding is requested, and both La Vida and Brittany's Hope Foundation are offering grants then both must be accepted simultaneously and associated responsibilities fulfilled. Below is a summary of the grant process, and responsibilities associated with being a grant recipient. Please note that not all children are assigned grants and in many cases, a grant is available only from La Vida.

1. Sign and return this information sheet to La Vida International acknowledging your understanding and acceptance of grant distribution, adoption process withdrawal criteria outlined below and your expressed request to receive the above grant.
    

2. Agree to share your experience, both pre and post adoption, with others who are interested in adopting a child with a medical need. This sharing is anticipated to include being available as a telephone reference, assisting in the development of a written description of your experience (which would include only non-identifying information about your family and child), and providing photographs of your child which can be used for community outreach and the encouragement of the adoption of children with special needs.
    

3. Agree to share your experience with others who are interested in better understanding the grant process and how it works. As above, this sharing is anticipated to include being available as a telephone reference and assisting in the development of a written description of your experience with the grant process.

Source: Brittany’s Hope Foundation
1160 North Market Street
Elizabethtown, PA 17022

1.) Review, understanding, acceptance and execution of the following Brittany’s Hope Documents: Click each document to review it.

To download and open the below documents you must have Adobe Reader installed. If you do not have Adobe Reader installed on your computer. Click this button to download the most current free Adobe reader program.

1. Agreement of Commitment (Adobe PDF file)

2. Event Planning Proposal (Adobe PDF file)

3. Overview of Event Requirements (Adobe PDF file)

Please carefully read each of these documents, as they outline all grant criteria including, but not limited to, a minimum volunteer commitment to 1 planned event over a 3-year period and provision of photographs and videotape of your child. (The number of planned events is dependent upon the amount of your grant. A grant of $5,000 - $7,500 carries with it a responsibility of holding 2 planned events.)

2.) After signing and returning this document to La Vida International, La Vida will notify you when to contact Brittany’s Hope Foundation to arrange to make arrangements for receiving your pledge documents. Please note that families who live within 3 hours of Brittany’s Hope Foundation must visit Brittany’s Hope to sign their pledge documents. Families who live further than 3 hours from the offices may sign and have their signatures notarized before returning the pledge documents to Brittany’s Hope.

3.) Development of and commitment to completion of an event planning proposal and follow-up which outlines your volunteer commitment to Brittany’s Hope Foundation. The event planning proposal and follow-up form will be provided to you directly by Brittany’s Hope.

4.) Work cooperatively together with the Coordinator of the Volunteer/Recipient Family Events Plan program toward fulfilling the volunteer commitment to Brittany’s Hope.

5.) Within 6 weeks of your arrival home, provide 1 or 2 (depending on source of grant funding) provide 8" x 10" professional photographs of your child, and a heartfelt letter regarding your adoption to Brittany’s Hope. Inform La Vida International when this task has been completed.

6.) If the source of your grant is corporate based (Brittany’s Hope will inform you if this is the case), compose and send a thank you letter to your corporate sponsor within 14 days of your return home with your child. Inform La Vida International when this task has been completed.

7.) Execute and return the Permission to Release Information and Indemnification and Hold Harmless Agreement to La Vida International.

If a family does not complete the adoption process and has utilized grant funds from either Brittany’s Hope Foundation or La Vida, then it will be the responsibility of the family to reimburse La Vida for the amount of the grants utilized. The reason for this reimbursement requirement is that the grants are child specific and may only be utilized by the family that ultimately adopts him or her. In order to minimize the chances of this occurring, the grant funding is applied to services / costs in the reverse order that they delivered or incurred.  In other words, grant funds are applied to the last fees payable and then they are applied up the fee schedule.

After payment of the initial fee, United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) application fee, home study fee (if La Vida will be completing the home study) and completion and submittal of an approved home study, grant funds will be credited against remaining fees in the reverse order that they are rendered, incurred, or due.

Grant funds received from Brittany’s Hope and La Vida will then be credited against remaining fees in the reverse order that they are rendered, incurred, or due. Please view individual fee schedule / grant allocation charts for each child to see detail of grant allocation.

Please note that families are responsible for payment of any incurred fees, costs and expenses that are in excess of grant funds. Fees and costs are subject to change.