Commonwealth Adoptions International, Inc., plans to close because it is unable to get the accreditation required by many countries. The agency has offices in Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and Arizona.

"The agency learned in July that it had been denied accreditation required by the Hague convention - a treaty that governs international adoption, signed by the United States and nearly 75 other countries."

The agency intends to transfer most of its existing clients to other agencies, while other families that are further along in the adoption process will be able to complete it with Commonwealth. Source: Arizona Daily Star

Labels: agencies, accreditation, inter-country_adoption

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It's a long name: the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. Typically referred to simply as The Hague Convention, it's an international policy that goes into effect on April 1st in the United States.

"The convention outlines the process by which a child becomes eligible for adoption and also outlines the processes whereby a family is deemed eligible to adopt a child. This protects children because it ensures that every attempt has been made to keep the child in his or her birth family and birth country. It protects adoptive families, who can be confident that any child they are considering for adoption has been previously designated as eligible for adoption."

Few adoptive families will notice any changes in their adoption process as the convention primarily impacts record-keeping and internal communications between adoption agencies and governmental agencies. Read more at Press-Citizen.com.

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption, protection

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From 2003 to 2005, the U.S. government suspended adoption of Vietnamese children, citing corruption in the Vietnam adoption process. Now, as an adoption agreement between Vietnam and the United States is about to expire, families who have nearly completed adoptions are having to fight to get the necessary visas to bring their children home.

"Twenty-one entry visas for children have been rejected in the last two years, according to the State Department. More than half the denials have come since last October, prompting complaints that the department is singling out individual cases to embarrass the Vietnamese government into changing its adoption process."

Two California families have elicited the help of the state's Senators, one of whom has promised to lobby the State Department for approval of the visas. One couple, Tom and Wendy Mills, have been separated off and on for nearly 5 months while Tom has stayed in Hanoi caring for their adopted daughter and waiting for her visa to be approved. Read more at TheDispatch.com.

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption, state_department

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At the end of the month, the United States will enter into an agreement known as the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. It's an agreement between 70 countries that will regulate the adoption processes between them.

"The regulations also try to ensure adopted children are not exploited. It's a process [Jamie] Chmielewski says will give comfort to parents like [Stefanie] Leist who is now looking to adopt her fourth child from China... With the regulations ensuring consistency, Chmielewski says she expects the numbers of people adopting from countries like China to only grow from here."

The Hague Convention requires all participating countries to give accreditation to adoption agencies that assist in international adoptions. Requirements for the accreditation are spelled out in the Convention. Read more at 13MAZ.com.

Find an accredited private boarding school for teens with Attachment Disorder at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: agencies, inter-country_adoption, rules

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In 1997, just one American adoption agency was licensed to operate in Ethiopia. Today, there are twenty-two. Though Angelina Jolie's adoption of an Ethiopian child has certainly helped bring the country to the fore-front of international adoptions, its popularity had already been on the rise.

"Ethiopia, with a population of 76 million, has an estimated 5 million orphans, according to aid organizations. Many African nations have outlawed or impeded the adoption of their children by foreigners. Ethiopia has welcomed American and European families who are willing to provide homes for children who have lost both parents to AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis or starvation, or who come from families too destitute to feed and clothe them."

The two things that set Ethiopia's adoption system apart from others are transitional homes in which the orphans are very well cared-for, and the opportunity for adoptive parents to meet birth families and even visit their villages.

Read more at TwinCities.com.

Labels: international, ethiopia, inter-country_adoption

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Work on foreign adoptions in Russia came to a halt on Thursday as the licenses of dozens of adoption agencies expired. Many of the agencies have applied for license renewals, but recent changes in the approval process have created a bottleneck.

"[Sergei] Vitelis [an official at the Education Ministry's department in charge of adoptions] said 76 foreign adoption agencies have applied to operate in Russia, and their applications must be reviewed by the Education Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the Health Ministry's oversight agency."

Russian officials estimate that it will be at least two months before adoption agency applications are approved. The changes took place in light of reports that some Russian children who were adopted by foreigners were being abused. The Russian Education Ministry says that 11 Russian children who have been adopted by U.S. families have died from abuse since 1991. Read more online.

Labels: international, Russia, inter-country_adoption

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In an attempt to meet the growing number of Hispanic people who are interested in being foster or adoptive parents, Lutheran Social Services has opened a child services center in which the caseworkers are bilingual.

"'There are people in the Hispanic community who want to foster or adopt a child in need,' says Angelica Villastrigo, who will be the director of the South Side office. 'By offering both languages when they walk through the door, we can maximize the opportunities for anyone who has ever thought of opening their heart and home to a new family member, whether for a few weeks or for a lifetime.'"

The center will be located on San Antonios South Side and will open in May. Read more at BizJournals.com.

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption, bilingual

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The Women and Child Development Ministry of India is devising adoption mechanisms that will make it easier for Indian children to be adopted. It currently takes three to six months to adopt a child from India. The new procedures would facilitate adoptions in two months or less.

"WCD minister Renuka Chowdhury told reporters on Tuesday that Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA) is revising the guidelines for adoption by foreigners to reduce the time and ensure that there is some monitoring for children during the probation period."

Currently about 4,000 Indian children are adopted each year. The Indian government also plans to launch a campaign to promote the adoption of children with special needs or who are infected with HIV/AIDS. Read more online.

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption, adoption_procedures

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Ukraine's central adoption authority (the State Department for Adoptions and Protection of the Rights of the Child, known as the SDAPRC) has said it will resume accepting new adoption dossiers from non-Ukrainian prospective adoptive parents, starting December 19, 2006.

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption

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When Kim Wendel and Dustin Bugg boarded an Air Ethiopia flight on August 30, 2006 in Washington, D.C., they knew that although it was a round-trip flight, they'd never return to the life they'd known. Instead of a married couple, they'd be coming home a family, parents of a two-year-old boy named Brehanu whom they knew only through the photographs and written descriptions in his adoption file. Read more from The Hook.

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption

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Jenny Gordon and her husband have completed all the paperwork. Sometime in the next 18 months they will fly to China to adopt the newest member of their family. The adoption will be uniquely special because it will be a link to Jenny's past.

"I can hardly believe it myself at times, but sometime in the next 18 months we'll be flying to the other side of the world, to the country where my grandfather was born: China."

The Gordons will make just one trip to China, which will last about two weeks. They may or may not ever meet the birth parents. They don't know when they're going. All they know is that when they come back, their dream of being parents will be realized. 

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption, heritage

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The first ever international conference on inter-country adoption began on Sunday in Katmandu. The conference was jointly organized by several Nepal organizations and will be attended by 150 delegates from 15 countries.

"The adoption conference is being held amid growing concern about the illegal activities of agencies working for children in Nepal in the name of facilitating adoption..."

The conference continues through Tuesday. Read more at NepalNews.com.

Labels: international, inter-country_adoption, conference

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