- Compiled from the June 2010 issue of Adoption Today magazine.
Haiti
Haiti is now accepting adoption applications for children who were documented as orphans before Jan. 12 or who have been relinquished by thier birth parents since the the earthquake.
Kyrgyztan
All intercountry adoptions have been suspended and the U.S. State Dept. has issued a travel warning about traveling there.
Kazakhstan
All intercountry adoptions have been halted by Kazakhstan until the government implements a system that is in compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention (goal: September 2010). This does not affect adoptions that are already in process.
Liberia
Liberia has suspended all adoptions due to finding of corruption. It is not accepting any new applications nor making any referrals for existing applications.
For more information: http://adoption.state.gov/
Showing posts with label Liberia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Liberia. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
40 percent decline in overseas adoptions by Americans since 2004
Idaho's Impact
Haiti scandal overshadows bigger threat to evangelical adoption efforts.
from Christianity Today
The high-profile legal saga of the 10 Idaho-based Baptists arrested in January for attempting to smuggle 33 Haitian children into the Dominican Republic is winding down. But evangelical adoption advocates wonder what the long-term impact will be.
Leading orphan care advocate Russell Moore suggested in the days following the arrests that the scandal might be a black eye to evangelicals' adoption efforts worldwide. But two months later, Moore said he is no longer worried about a fallout.
"In many ways, the controversy served as an opportunity to clarify what we mean and what we do not mean," said Moore, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "No one in the Christian orphan care community is calling for children to be adopted who are not in fact orphans. And no one is calling for children to be adopted apart from the legitimate processes."
A larger hurdle for international adoptions by evangelicals may be new restrictions on adoptions in countries where they have been most prevalent, including China, Guatemala, Russia, Vietnam, and Liberia.
China, which has traditionally accounted for the majority of adoptions to the U.S., rewrote its qualifications for adoptive parents in 2007. Guatemala, the second-largest source of American adoptions, completely shut down its program in 2008 due to widespread corruption, though it will launch a new adoption system this June. Since 2004, these and other restrictions have resulted in a 40 percent decline in overseas adoptions by Americans—from an all-time high of almost 23,000 in 2004 to fewer than 12,800 in 2009, according to the U.S. State Department.
Read the complete article here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/may/2.14.html?start=1
Haiti scandal overshadows bigger threat to evangelical adoption efforts.
from Christianity Today
The high-profile legal saga of the 10 Idaho-based Baptists arrested in January for attempting to smuggle 33 Haitian children into the Dominican Republic is winding down. But evangelical adoption advocates wonder what the long-term impact will be.
Leading orphan care advocate Russell Moore suggested in the days following the arrests that the scandal might be a black eye to evangelicals' adoption efforts worldwide. But two months later, Moore said he is no longer worried about a fallout.
"In many ways, the controversy served as an opportunity to clarify what we mean and what we do not mean," said Moore, dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. "No one in the Christian orphan care community is calling for children to be adopted who are not in fact orphans. And no one is calling for children to be adopted apart from the legitimate processes."
A larger hurdle for international adoptions by evangelicals may be new restrictions on adoptions in countries where they have been most prevalent, including China, Guatemala, Russia, Vietnam, and Liberia.
China, which has traditionally accounted for the majority of adoptions to the U.S., rewrote its qualifications for adoptive parents in 2007. Guatemala, the second-largest source of American adoptions, completely shut down its program in 2008 due to widespread corruption, though it will launch a new adoption system this June. Since 2004, these and other restrictions have resulted in a 40 percent decline in overseas adoptions by Americans—from an all-time high of almost 23,000 in 2004 to fewer than 12,800 in 2009, according to the U.S. State Department.
Read the complete article here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/may/2.14.html?start=1
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Liberia Begins Issuing Exit Clearances on Pending Adoptions
From Adoption Today Magazine (http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=29697&p):
Liberia recently informed the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia that it will soon issue exit clearances, on a case-by-case basis, to children whose full and final adoption was completed prior to Jan. 26, 2009 and approved by Liberia’s Ad-hoc Central Adoption Authority. Prospective adoptive parents who believe their case might fall into this category should contact the Consular Section at adoptionsmonrovia@state.gov to discuss next steps in the visa process. Prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers are reminded that a consular officer is required, by law, to complete a Form I-604 (determination of orphan status) before issuing a visa in all IR-3 and IR-4 adoption cases. In some cases this may require only a conversation with the birth parent, but in others it may require a full field investigation possibly lasting several weeks. Because verifying the parent-child relationships in Liberia is difficult, the State Department also expects that in most cases where the child was relinquished by the birth parent, DNA testing will be recommended in order to establish a blood relationship between the adopted child and claimed birth parents.
Liberia recently informed the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia that it will soon issue exit clearances, on a case-by-case basis, to children whose full and final adoption was completed prior to Jan. 26, 2009 and approved by Liberia’s Ad-hoc Central Adoption Authority. Prospective adoptive parents who believe their case might fall into this category should contact the Consular Section at adoptionsmonrovia@state.gov to discuss next steps in the visa process. Prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers are reminded that a consular officer is required, by law, to complete a Form I-604 (determination of orphan status) before issuing a visa in all IR-3 and IR-4 adoption cases. In some cases this may require only a conversation with the birth parent, but in others it may require a full field investigation possibly lasting several weeks. Because verifying the parent-child relationships in Liberia is difficult, the State Department also expects that in most cases where the child was relinquished by the birth parent, DNA testing will be recommended in order to establish a blood relationship between the adopted child and claimed birth parents.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
International Adoption News: China, Guatemala, Liberia
CHINA The China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) announced on September 15 that, beginning December 1, 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. Families currently using the I-600A and I-600 process (non-Hague) may continue with this process.
GUATEMALA In an effort to improve communication with families who have pending adoption cases in Guatemala, the Department of State will be creating a listserv. If you have a pending Guatemala adoption case and would like to be included, e-mail AskCI@state.gov , and provide the information listed at adoption.state.gov/guatemala.html
LIBERIA The Government of Liberia informed the U.S. Embassy in September that it will not process any adoption cases during its suspension of intercountry adoptions, including those that were in progress before the suspension was announced, on January 26, 2009, and that it will not permit adopted children to depart Liberia. The Liberian government has made no provisions to grandfather cases under the existing laws. Therefore, any case in which a full and final adoption was not completed prior to January 26 is on hold. The Liberian government is willing to consider exceptions for certain special needs children. There is no indication when the moratorium might be lifted, and prospective parents should not apply to adopt there at this time.
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/news.php
GUATEMALA In an effort to improve communication with families who have pending adoption cases in Guatemala, the Department of State will be creating a listserv. If you have a pending Guatemala adoption case and would like to be included, e-mail AskCI@state.gov , and provide the information listed at adoption.state.gov/guatemala.html
LIBERIA The Government of Liberia informed the U.S. Embassy in September that it will not process any adoption cases during its suspension of intercountry adoptions, including those that were in progress before the suspension was announced, on January 26, 2009, and that it will not permit adopted children to depart Liberia. The Liberian government has made no provisions to grandfather cases under the existing laws. Therefore, any case in which a full and final adoption was not completed prior to January 26 is on hold. The Liberian government is willing to consider exceptions for certain special needs children. There is no indication when the moratorium might be lifted, and prospective parents should not apply to adopt there at this time.
http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/news.php
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Child Trafficking in Liberia
Here's a story from Frontpage Africa about how international adoption has led to child trafficking in Liberia.
http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=8387&z=2
http://www.frontpageafrica.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=8387&z=2
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