Finding an International Adoption Doctor

If you are considering an intercountry adoption, if you already have a referral, if you are in-country and facing a medical issue with your new child, or if you are back home and your child is facing health or developmental concerns you may need to consult with a doctor who specializes in international adoptions.  An international adoption doctor can help you review the medical records you receive as part of your referral.  They can also help you if your new child presents with unexpected symptoms or health issues while you are in-country completing your adoption.  Finally, an international adoption doctor can help treat your child once you return home.  Usually, international adoption doctors are also well-versed in medical issues that may be more prevalent amongst internationally adopted children -- issues related to tropical medicine, attachment, developmental delays, etc.  The Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform (PEAR) has created a database organized by state of international adoption clinics and doctors.  PEAR updates this list quarterly.  Check it out!!   http://www.pear-now.org/PEAR_IA_Doctor_E-Directory.pdf
   

Russian Adoption News

Russia Adoption News – Possible Training Requirements for Prospective Adoptive Parents and New Bilateral Adoption Agreements with Five European Countries:

According to a November 17, 2011 article published by the Russian International News Agency (RIA Novosti), the lower house of the Russian parliament recently passed a law requiring special training for those who want to adopt Russian children.  In particular, this article noted:  

The lower house of Russian Parliament, the State Duma, adopted on Thursday a law that prescribes couples who want to adopt Russian children to undergo special training in the basics of teaching, psychology and first aid.

The law says that “the implementation of the parental classes is based on the necessity to provide citizens’ pedagogical and legal readiness for accepting abandoned children into their families.”

The aspiring parents will have to pass parental classes, including basics of teaching, psychology and first aid, vice-speaker Oleg Morozov said.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called for the introduction of parental classes for Russians and foreigners who adopt Russian children in July, 2011, after the outrageous story with an eight-year-old named Artyom adopted by American Torry Hansen and then shipped back to Moscow on a plane, alone and with a note citing Artyom’s psychological problems.

According to the Russian Education and Science Ministry, about 150,000 children were available for nationwide adoption in 2009. Almost 9,000 of them were adopted and 77,000 were placed in foster families.  U.S. citizens have adopted 60,000 Russian children since the adoptions started more than 15 years ago. As of January, 17 Russian children adopted by U.S. parents have died as a result of child abuse.

In a separate article dated November 14, 2011, RIA Novosti noted that it will sign bilateral child adoption agreements with France, UK, Holland, Spain, and Germany.  The text of this short article is below:

Russia plans to sign bilateral agreements on child adoption with France, the U.K., Holland, Spain and Germany, the country's ombudsman for children's rights, Pavel Astakhov, said on Monday.

“The agreement between Russia and France is ready to be signed...and hopefully will be signed on November 18. Agreements with the UK, Holland, Spain and Germany are being worked on,” Astakhov said.

He added that the international child adoptions should be carried only on the basis of bilateral agreements. “If we do not sign bilateral agreements, we should stop child adoption processes with these countries.”

Astakhov said that he still wanted Russian children to stay in Russia. “It is a shame that we export oil, gas and children,” Astakhov went on.

The first bilateral agreement on child adaption between Russia and Italy was signed in 2008. Russia and the U.S. signed an agreement in July 2011 in Washington. At the end of October, Russia finalized an agreement on child adoption with France. Talks on the same deals are being held with Ireland and Israel.

Ireland Will Resume Adoptions From Vietnam

On November 11, 2011, the Irish Times published the article set forth below which indicates Irish citizens may soon be able to again adopt from Ireland thanks to Vietnam's ratificaiton of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption: 

The Irish Times - Friday, November 11, 2011

Irish adoptions from Vietnam to resume

CAROL COULTER, Legal Affairs Editor

VIETNAM HAS ratified the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, allowing Irish couples to adopt children from the country once more. The ratification will come into force on February 1st.
Until 2009, adoptions into Ireland from Vietnam took place under a bilateral agreement between the two countries.

Following controversy concerning adoptions out of Vietnam, the agreement lapsed in May 2009, when adoptions were suspended. Meanwhile, Ireland passed the Adoption Act ratifying the Hague Convention which sets standards for intercountry adoption.

This meant that only children from other Hague convention countries, or those with which there was a bilateral agreement, could be adopted into Ireland.

Following the concerns about its adoptions process, Vietnam undertook to introduce changes to its procedures to enable it to ratify the convention. Contacts continued between the Irish and Vietnamese governments, stressing the desire of the Irish Government to see the situation resolved and adoptions resumed.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has welcomed Vietnam’s decision to ratify the convention.
“Last month I met the Vietnamese ambassador to Ireland, Mr Vu Quang Minh,” Ms Fitzgerald said, “and I impressed upon the ambassador Ireland’s wish to continue to see Vietnam as a country of choice for adoption for prospective Irish adoptive parents.

“The Vietnamese authorities have worked assiduously over recent months in preparing to ratify the Hague Convention and to develop an adoption process that supports safe and secure domestic and inter-country adoptions.

“The necessary diplomatic engagements will continue between Ireland and Vietnam to ensure these final steps are now taken and I have already arranged to again meet the Vietnamese ambassador to Ireland before the end of the month,” she added.

Adoption Nutrition

Nutrition and Adoption

Adopted children – especially those adopted outside the United States – often do not receive enough food or proper nutrition during their time spent in an orphanage or foster care placement.  Food in many overseas orphanages is bland and mushy and the menu can be repetitive.  Sometimes, institutionalized children will not be exposed to fresh fruits and vegetables at all.  Also, institutions frequently take shortcuts in order to ensure all the children get fed.  For example, caretakers frequently enlarge the holes in bottle nipples so the children can eat more quickly.  Caretakers have also been known to keep children on a bottle well after the age of one because it is easier to ensure the children get fed.

These and many other features of institutionalized living can create growth, feeding, and behavioral issues in adopted children.  For example, an adopted child may hoard food and gorge on food at meal times.  An adopted child may also refuse to eat anything but formula from a bottle, may choke easily, may not know how to chew, and may not even be able to swallow anything other than liquids.  Because of their living situations prior to adoption, some children may even be malnourished.

It is common for adoptive parents to want to compensate for their child’s potentially poor nutritional start in life by immediately feeding them a varied diet of healthy foods.  This, however, can be very difficult for an adopted child to handle – especially if they are suffering from under-developed facial muscles that can make chewing and swallowing difficult if not impossible.  Even if a child can chew and swallow properly, texture and taste issues or an unfamiliar method of feeding can cause lots of stress at meal time. 

If you are facing any nutrition or feeding issues or if you are in the process of completing an intercountry adoption and you want to learn more about the issues you and your child may be facing, please consider visiting two websites dedicated to helping families learn about and work through these types of issues:

-         Adoption Nutrition (http://adoptionnutrition.org/)

-         Spoon Foundation (http://spoonfoundation.org/)

Vietnam Ratifies the Hague Adoption Convention

The notice below appeared this month on the State Department's website at http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=vietnam_3.  This appears to be one of the necessary steps Vietnam must take along its path towards once again participating in the inter-country adoption process.  

Vietnam

November 2011

Notice: Vietnam ratifies the Hague Adoption Convention

The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption will enter into force in Vietnam on February 1, 2012, following Vietnam's ratification on November 1, 2011.

The United States recognizes Vietnam's initiatives leading to this significant development and applauds the Government of Vietnam's renewed commitment to strengthen its child welfare system and the integrity of its domestic and international adoption process. We continue to caution adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents that, to ensure that adoptions from Vietnam can be compliant with the Convention, important steps must still take place before intercountry adoptions between the United States and Vietnam resume. We further caution adoption service providers against initiating, or claiming to initiate, adoption programs in Vietnam until they receive authorization from the Government of Vietnam.

The Department of State will provide updated information on http://adoption.state.gov/index.php as it becomes available. If you have any further questions about this notice, please contact the Office of Children's Issues at 1-888-407-4747 within the United States or 202-501-4444 from outside the United States.

Taiwan May Soon Change Its Adoption Laws and Process

Set forth below is a recent article published in The China Post.  It appears Taiwan will soon no longer allow intercountry adoptions to proceed through the courts: 

Updated Thursday, November 10, 2011 1:11 am TWN, The China Post news staff

Government expected to pass strict laws regarding adoption of children

The China Post news staff--The Legislature is expected to pass a law tomorrow to impose stricter regulations on child adoption, a newspaper reported yesterday.  The proposed revisions to the child welfare law address concerns over buying and possible human trafficking arising from Taiwan's lax regulations, the United Evening News reported.   Currently, adoption can be processed in two ways: one through government-approved organizations and the other through the courts.

 

It is the court process that has been problematic, the paper said. Any parties can work out a deal for “selling” a child in the form of adoption and then seek the court's approval without needing to conduct any assessments.  If the proposed changes are implemented, the adoption of children can only be handled by government-approved organizations, unless the children are adopted by their relatives, the paper said.

 

According to the proposal, organizations will have to conduct family visits and assessments after receiving adoption applications.   Taiwan citizens will have the priority to adopt children over foreigners.  The government will also have to set out clear fees for handling adoptions, including the costs of assessments and paper translations services.  Any person found to be illegally arranging adoptions could be fined a maximum of NT$300,000.  Currently, there are go-betweens who arrange adoptions. They may charge as much as NT$300,000 for each case, the paper said.

 

Child welfare groups lauded the proposed changes, which are expected to pass their third reading at the Legislature tomorrow, according to the newspaper.  They said children will be given more protection and stand much better chances of being adopted by good parents. The selling of children and unsupervised adoptions will be rooted out, they said.

 

The changes may deter some families from adopting children because they may think it too tedious to go through the strictly monitored process, the welfare groups said.  But it is the right direction in the long run, and conforms to the international trend, the welfare groups were cited as saying.  The paper said the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) supports the proposed changes that will make the adoption process more transparent, as U.S. citizens have adopted many children from Taiwan.

 

Last year, almost 400 children from Taiwan found their adopted families in other countries, and 285 of them were adopted by U.S. parents, the paper said.

Current status for Americans hoping to adopt from Cambodia

In 2002, the US State Department decided it would no longer allow American citizens to adopt from Cambodia due to concerns about the integrity of the adoption process.  Since this suspension on adoptions from Cambodia by American citizens first took effect, most families then in the process of adopting from Cambodia were allowed to complete their adoptions.  However, no new adoption cases were allowed.  According to http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_info.php?country-select=cambodia, the last intercountry adoption of a Cambodian child by an American citizen took place in 2006.   

Now, however, Cambodia is a Hague Adoption Convention Country and it continues to develop and implement a child welfare system.   After this lengthy suspension on adoption from Cambodia, it appears adoptions may resume at some point in 2012.  Set forth below is the most recent update on the status of Cambodian adoptions by American citizens. 

Cambodia

June 6, 2011

Notice: Update of status of adoptions in Cambodia

The Office of Children's Issues wishes to provide a further update for American Citizens interested in intercountry adoptions with Cambodia. Although Cambodia is a party to the Hague Adoption Convention, they are still working to establish the necessary internal child welfare structures to function as a Hague partner.
The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation recently announced to all embassies with diplomatic and consular missions in Cambodia that the Cambodian Government has decided to delay the date that it will begin receiving adoption petitions until April 1, 2012. The delay provides additional time for Cambodia to implement all necessary prakas (regulations), add staff, and complete training necessary to meeting its obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention.
The Special Advisor for Children's Issues, Ambassador Susan Jacobs met with Cambodian officials in March 2011, and explained what protections must be in place from the U.S. perspective before we will be able to resume adoptions between our two countries. She also encouraged the Cambodian Government to finalize and implement procedures that will enable Cambodia to operate as a Hague Convention partner country.
The United States continues to support Cambodia's efforts to create a child welfare system and an intercountry adoption process that fulfills its obligations under the Hague Adoption Convention. We welcome Cambodia's efforts to fully implement its new law on intercountry adoption.
Updated information will be provided on http://adoption.state.gov/ as it becomes available.

Educational Resources for Kids from Ethiopia

If you have adopted from Ethiopia, you may be looking for books, music, and everyday items (like placemats) to connect your child with their Ethiopian heritage.  Please consider checking out Abshiro Kids (http://www.abshirokids.com/home.php). This website offers a wide variety of items designed to help your child learn Amharic and about Ethiopian culture.    

Travel -- Singapore Air is offering great fares to Asia through March 2012

I opened my work email this morning and, among other things, saw an email from Singapore Airlines offering great fares out of JFK to Singapore and numerous other Asian destinations for just $888 to $999.  The fares are good through the end of March 2012 although they must be purchased by 11/7/2011.  I don't know if you've been looking around for airfare to Asia, but if you have, this is probably cheaper than what you have found other airlines are currently offering.  If you are interested, you should check out Singapore Air's website at http://www.singaporeair.com/.

Update on Vietnam's Adoption Reform

Below is a recent release from the US Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam concerning the current status of  Vietnam's ongoing adoption reform.  Please keep in mind, though, that citizens of other countries may currently be able to adopt from Vietnam.  For example, citizens of the UK may be able to adopt from Vietnam (http://ukinvietnam.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-vietnam/adoption-from-vietnam).     

September 27, 2011
From The Embassy of the United States, Hanoi, Vietnam:

General Information
The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Adoptions between the United States and Vietnam expired on September 1, 2008. Intercountry adoption from Vietnam to the U.S. is not possible at this time, including exceptional cases. 
Vietnam Adoption Reform
Vietnam has made immense progress on adoption reform over the last 2 years.  In June 2010, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed a new adoption law which took effect on January 1, 2011. The Vietnamese Prime Minister subsequently signed the new adoption decree on March 21 and it took effect on May 8. The Ministry of Justice issued Circular 12/2011/TT-BTP on Promulgation and Usage of Adoption Forms on June 27, 2011 and plans to introduce a new Circular on Management of foreign Adoption Service Providers in the near future.
Currently, Vietnam continues their efforts to implement the new law and achieve Vietnam’s stated goal of ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Hague Adoption Convention).
Vietnam signed the Hague Adoption Convention on December 7, 2010 and is in the process of depositing its ratification instrument.  It is expected that the Convention would enter into force (and Vietnam would become a party) in the near future. Under U.S. law, if/when Vietnam becomes a party to the Convention, the United States Central Authority (USCA) must evaluate whether procedures leading to the adoption of a child in Vietnam conform to the standards established by the Convention and the U.S. Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA).  At this time it is not possible to estimate when adoptions between the United States and Vietnam may resume.
Updated information will be provided on http://adoption.state.gov/ as it becomes available.

.

Update on Orphanage Closures in Ethiopia

Below is a notice recently released by the US Department of State confirming and clarifying the Ethiopian government's closure of several orphanages:

Ethiopia

October 17, 2011

Notice: Confirmation of Orphanage Closures in Ethiopia

Ethiopian government officials confirmed the closure of several orphanages in the Southern Nations state due to revocation of the orphanages' operational licenses. Each orphanage in Ethiopia receives an operational license that the Charities and Societies Administration administers and monitors to ensure compliance with Ethiopian regulations. This is an update to the previous Adoption Notice posted on August 3, 2011.
These orphanages are:

• SOS Infants Ethiopia (Arbaminch, Dila and Awassa branches)
• Gelgella Integrated Orphans (Tercha and Durame branches)
• Bethzatha Children's Home Association (Sodo, Hosaena, Dila, Haidya, Durame, and Hawassa branches)
• Ethio Vision Development and Charities (Dila and Hawassa branches)
• Special Mission for Community Based Development (Hosaina branch)
• Enat Alem Orphanage (Awassa branch)
• Initiative Ethiopia Child and Family Support (Hawassa branch)
• Resurrection Orphanage (Hosaina branch)
• Musie Children's Home Association (Hadiya, Hosaina, Dila, and Kenbata branches)
• Organization for Gold Age (Kucha, Dila, Hawassa branches)
• Hidota Children's Home Association (Soto branch)
• Biruh Alem Lehisanat, Lenatochina Aregawiyan (Hosaina branch)

According to officials in the Charities and Societies Agency office, which oversees the licensing and regulation of orphanages in Ethiopia, the children in the care of those facilities have already been transferred to other orphanages.
Ethiopian officials indicate that cases involving orphaned children from these facilities which are already pending with the Federal First Instance court will continue to move forward. The Embassy in Addis Ababa is working closely with Ethiopian officials to determine if children from these facilities who had been previously referred for matches will be allowed to continue in the adoption process. Regional officials have confirmed that the affected children's case files are currently being reviewed on a case by case basis by regional Ministry of Women's Affairs offices.
We continue to ask prospective adoptive parents and agencies that are hearing news of specific closures to inform the Department. Please send any specific information regarding orphanage closures to AskCI@state.gov with the subject line "Ethiopia Orphanage Closures."
Prospective and adoptive parents are encouraged to remain in contact with their adoption service provider to stay up-to-date on any information pertinent to their individual case. The Department will post any confirmation on http://adoption.state.gov/ as we receive it.