U.S. Department of State Issues an Adoption Alert for Ethiopia

Ethiopia Plans to Reduce International Adoptions by 90%.  Here is the alert issued on March 9, 2011 by the U.S. Dept. of State:

Government of Ethiopia Plans Major Slow-Down in Adoption Processing


Citing the need to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues, the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) has indicated it will reduce to a maximum of five the number of adoption cases it processes per day, effective March 10, 2011. Under Ethiopian adoption procedures, MOWCYA approves every match between prospective adoptive parents and an Ethiopian child before that case can be forwarded for a court hearing. The U.S. Embassy is working with Ethiopian government officials and adoption agencies to learn more about this change in procedures. We will continue to share information as it becomes available.

Given MOWCYA's current caseload, the U.S. Embassy anticipates that this change could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90 percent. If this change is implemented as proposed, we expect, that parents who have begun the process of adopting from Ethiopia but have not yet been matched with a child could experience significant delays. It is not clear if this change in procedures would have any significant impact on cases in which MOWCYA has already approved matches.

Prospective adoptive parents should remain in close contact with their adoption service provider to obtain updates on individual cases.


The Embassy's Adoptions Unit can be reached at consadoptionaddis@state.gov.


Please continue to monitor http://adoption.state.gov/  for updated information as it becomes available.

Note:  Ethiopia is not party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Adoption Convention).

State Department Issues Warning About Adoption from Nepal

As reported by Adoption Today magazine:
In mid-February the U.S. State Department issued a statement warning prospective parents from adopting from Nepal. A report issued by the Hague Conference on Private International Law pinpointing the weaknesses of Nepal’s current adoption system prompted the warning. 
After a visit to Nepal in November 2009, a Hague delegate reviewed Nepal’s new terms and conditions that went into place in 2008.  Included in the report were concerns about falsification of documents, improper financial
gain and lack of a child protection system.  The report, in addition to one of the first adoption  cases from Nepal to the United States being questionable when the child was found not to be a true orphan whose biological parents were actively searching for him, caused the State Department to issue the warning. The State Department states on its Web site: “We caution prospective adoptive parents who have yet to choose a country that the intercountry adoption system in Nepal is not yet reliable. ”
For additional information, visit http://www.adoptinfo.net/.

Update on Guatemala from the Joint Council on International Children's Services

There has been a lot of activity and buzz on intercountry adoption in Guatemala over the past month. Virtually all of it was related to the announcement by the Guatemalan government of a pilot program for intercountry adoption. Much was written, blogged, tweeted and Facebooked about what is yet an ill-defined program with no transparent process and just as important, no timeline for implementation.

The Guatemalan government's announcement invited other governments to submit a letter of interest in participating in the pilot program. The U.S. Department of State, along with other Western governments, submitted a letter by the deadline in December. Many families, with hopes of providing a permanent home for a Guatemalan orphan, flooded Joint Council and other advocates seeking information and hoping for a positive reply.
For these families and more importantly, for those children living in Guatemalan orphanages, there is little hope.
Guatemala, having implemented the Hague Convention two years ago and having received considerable financial and technical assistance, remains out of compliance with the Hague Convention. As a result, the U.S. government, while hoping to participate in the pilot program, cannot approve any new Guatemalan adoptions nor issue a visa. If the pilot program was to begin tomorrow, no children would be adopted by a U.S. family.

For those children whose intercountry adoption was started over two years ago, before the 2008 Guatemalan Adoption Law took effect, most have found a permanent family. But many have not. They have been referred to a family, they have adoptive parents waiting and committed, but after two years of investigations, reviews and more investigations and reviews, they remain living outside of permanent parental care. They remain in foster care or in an institution. And they remain without a transparent process to finalize their adoption and to live in a family.

It is our understanding that despite universal claims of adoption corruption, the Guatemalan government, with one of the highest impunity rates and highest corruption rankings in the world, has yet to convict a single person of child trafficking. In 2007, UNICEF claimed that up to 80% of intercountry adoptions were corrupt. If true, that computes to over 3,200 claims of abuse, yet in 24 months not one adult is serving time in jail.

The disparities between the hundreds of children waiting over 26 months to finalize their adoption, the lack of child trafficking convictions, the non-compliance with the Hague Convention, the lack of progress in national adoption and family preservation and an announced intercountry adoption pilot program, calls into question how the best interest of children and families is being served.
The Guatemalan government's solution has not been to convict the guilty or to preserve families, but to subject innocent children to the proven detrimental affects of life outside a permanent family. With only seven government run orphanages, the vast majority of children live in private orphanages - many with depleting resources. The termination, rather than true reform, of intercountry adoption may have ended corruption and made for good PR, but it was not a solution in 2007 and it remains a travesty for thousands of children in 2010.

Despite the challenges, the lack of transparency and the suffering of children and families, many individuals, families, churches, organizations and governments remain committed to the children and families of Guatemala. Their efforts, along with Joint Council, continue to serve children and families in an ethical and legal fashion. We hope that the next Guatemala Update includes the fruits of those efforts...children living in families.

Cambodia Passes New Adoption Law

On October 23, the Cambodia National Assembly passed a law regarding intercountry adoption of the nation's children.  In the article, "Assembly passes bill on foreign adoptions," In the Phnom Penh Post, it states the new law will require prospective adoptive parents age 30- 45 to "undergo a rigorous screening before any adoption gets approval."  According to addtional news reports the law includes provisions to prevent fraud and coersion and will bring Cambodia in line with the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption guidelines.  Adoptions from Cambodia into the United States have been suspended since 2001 because of allegations of corruption and child trafficking.  To read the articles, visit
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
From Adoption Today magazine:  http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=27850&p=

News from China Center of Adoption Affairs

Issued by the Joint Council on International Children's Services:

"During a meeting with the China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, Director General Lu announced that beginning December 1, 2009, all adoptive families must be registered with a Hague Accredited Adoption Service Provider (ASP). If an adoptive family is currently registered with a non-Accredited ASP, they are required to transfer their adoption to a Hague Accredited ASP no later than December 1, 2009. Director General Lu also clarified: families currently using the I-600A and I-600 process (non-Hague) may continue with this process. Families are not required to transfer to the I-800A and I-800 process, unless deemed necessary by the United State Government."

International Adoptions will Continue to Decrease, then Stabilize

This is an article from Adoption Today magazine - http://www.bluetoad.com/display_article.php?id=169715

Legislative Update by John Towriss, Adoption Today Washington Bureau

Office of Children’s Issues: Adoption Downtrend Likely to Continue for Short Term

Director Sees Decline then Stabilization. Growth in African Adoptions

With the implementation of The Hague Treaty to regulate intercountry adoption, no department of the American government has become as central to the adoption process as the Office of Children’s Issues. Housed within the State Department in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, the Office of Children’s Issues was founded in 1994 to take on a variety of children’s issues around the globe. But, it was thrust into the forefront of the emotional and often volatile world of intercountry adoption in 2007 when it was appointed as the Central Authority representing the United States to other Hague compliant countries. Indeed, the primary role of the office is to implement the Hague Convention that has been in effect since November 2007. This has included establishing a process for certification of adoption agencies as Hague compliant, overseeing the consular process and determining if other Hague certified countries from which Americans are adopting are truly meeting Hague Convention standards. In short, the office oversees almost every aspect of the international adoption process. Recently, Adoption TODAY had the chance to speak with the director of the Office of Children’s Issues, Julia Furuta-Toy about present international adoption issues, future trends and the evolving role of the department she oversees. Furuta-Toy was appointed director of the Office of Children’s Issues in 2007, but has dealt with international adoption issues for nearly a decade. She has been posted to embassies overseas and positions at home in Washington and so has seen adoption issues play out from both ends. Even before being appointed director, Furuta-Toy was involved in some of the hot button issues and countries. She has worked through the closure, re-opening and now re-closure of Vietnam. She is working closely with the country of Guatemala, last year’s leading adoption sending country that is also now closed. She believes both programs will eventually open again. Earlier this year, she was instrumental in working with the government of Kazakhstan to get that program moving again after a significant slowdown.

Downtrend to Continue for Near Term

Furuta-Toy forecasts a continued short term decline in international adoptions. She has good reason. The decline has become significant and sustained. From a peak of more than 22,000 international adoptions in 2004, the numbers have slid to just more than 17,000 in 2008. The leading sending country in 2008 was Guatemala with more than 4,000 children finding American homes. But the Guatemala program is now closed, which will add even more downward pressure. Agencies report no significant let up of the number of prospective adoptive parents wishing to adopt which has in turn led to increased wait times in the programs that have remained open. Some critics have suggested one of the factors accounting for the decline is the Hague Convention itself, which will not allow one Hague compliant country to send or receive children to another if the strict conditions of the Hague Convention are not being met. Furuta-Toy denies the Hague Convention is causing a decline.“The Hague is not forcing a decline. The Hague Convention is trying to insure children have many options to find a home, including preserving the opportunity to stay in their birth family or their home country,” she said. Furuta-Toy sees the Hague Convention as ultimately smoothing out the adoption process as more countries become party To the Hague Convention. “The Hague Convention provides a framework for countries to communicate on issues of social welfare. Since we have established federal oversight of the adoption process we have found that more countries are willing to talk to the U. S. about establishing adoptions programs,” she said.

A Global Shift

Furuta-Toy noted recent studies that have shown there is a general decrease worldwide in the number of children younger than 2, which in some countries, has lead to fewer children being available for adoption. She says there are other natural factors, “Over the last few years, the four leading sending countries — Russia, China, Korea and Guatemala — have all had decreases. Korea and China have had increases in demand for domestic adoption and economies have improved in some of the traditional sending countries. She says the down trend will continue for the near term but once some countries are able to get their houses in order it should stabilize and there are others that will increase.“I think we will continue to see increases in the number of adoptions out of Africa even as some traditional sending countries slow down. We are also seeing an increase in non-infant adoptions and special needs adoptions,” Furuta-Toy said.

Role of the Office of Children’s Issues

Furuta-Toy says that until now the Office of Children’s Issues has largely been occupied with implementing the requirements of the Hague Convention. The office has grown to more than 60 employees since becoming the central authority for the United States and has spent much of its time handling questions from other countries. She says the central voice for American adoption procedure has been welcomed by other countries. In the future Furuta-Toy says the Office of Children’s Issues will evolve into a more technical focus on making sure regulations are followed. But as the office settles into its role she also expects more time to pursue bi-lateral and multi-lateral meetings with other countries to work through issues of adoption. She cites the current case of Guatemala where she says there are 15 countries that are assisting Guatemala in building an adoption infrastructure. Lastly, Furuta-Toy says new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has shown great interest in children’s issues and in improving the intercountry adoption process. She says adoption is one of the issues on her radar screen and she has shown her full support.

(John Towriss is the Washington Bureau Chief for Adoption Today. He has three children adopted from Kazakhstan and one biological child. To contact Towriss, e-mail him at Towriss@aol.com. )