http://www.pollentree.com/feed/ Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:18:45 +0000 PollenTree en http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/q-and-a/question/show/how-do-i-delete-my-profile http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/q-and-a/question/show/how-do-i-delete-my-profile Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:54:57 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adoption-scam-and-trafficking-663 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adoption-scam-and-trafficking-663
While the lawyer at the centre of the baby trafficking plot remains on the run, the families who returned home last weekend have insisted they believed they were acting legally.


Trafficking racket
Offices belonging to the Lopez Y Lopez firm in Guadalajara have been raided and documents seized and six employees detained by police. Carlos Lopez, who claims to have arranged the adoption of up to 60 children from Mexico to Ireland since 2004, is wanted over the apparent trafficking racket.


Irish couples
The 11 couples, in their 30s and 40s and mainly from Dublin, are said to have followed official rules to the letter and only remained in the country after the affair broke more than a week ago to give statements to authorities.

Carlos Montoya, a lawyer from Guadalajara, western Mexico, acting for the couples, said they were carrying all relevant documentation needed to complete legal adoption in Mexico. “All the families believed they were involved in public, Hague-compliant, legal adoptions.


All families had valid Declarations to Adopt from Mexico as issued by the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI).” Mr Montoya added: “I can tell you this much: they are innocent. They tried to adopt children legally. “They did not know what was going on, they had no suspicions of wrongdoing and they called the Irish embassy when police started asking questions.”


US adoption agency
A US-based adoption agency is believed to have put the couples in contact with Lopez, who has claimed to have acted as a go-between for 20 years with families from around the world. The scam involved mothers of babies being paid about 755 US dollars or their youngsters to take part in photoshoots for a number of days. Instead they were being groomed for trafficking in illegal adoption.


Adoption cost
Prosecutors believe childless couples seeking a youngster from Mexico, who went through rigorous checks under the Hague Convention, were charged expenses to cover medical bills, lawyers’ rates, nanny services and expensive flat charges, up to 30,000 US dollars.


Irish authorities
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the couples only remained in Mexico to give statements. No Irish people have been arrested.

Read more at: irishexaminer.com]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:54:55 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/khloe-and-kim-kardashian-to-adopt http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/khloe-and-kim-kardashian-to-adopt
With their sister Kourtney Kardashian pregnant with her second child, it seems that Kim and Khloe are looking into adoption.


Khloe Kardashian IVF
Khloe and her husband Lamar Odom would like a large family, but after almost two years of trying, the impatient couple has started to explore other options, including in vitro fertilization (IVF). However, so far, all their efforts at IVF have been unsuccessful.


Khloe & Lamar adoption
Now it seems that Khloe and Lamar are seriously considering adoption. Insiders who know the couple say they would have no trouble loving a baby that is not biologically theirs.


Kim Kardashian Haitian adoption
Kim Kardashian may be fresh from her divorce from Kris Humphries but she too wants a baby. But it’s not for the honourable motives that Khloe and Lamar have. It seems that after Kim’s recent charity trip to Haiti, she apparently decided she wanted to adopt a Haitian baby, just like Angelina Jolie has done from other countries.

Read more at: celebritynewsandstyle.com]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:54:04 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/northern-ireland-gay-and-unmarried-adoption-challenge http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/northern-ireland-gay-and-unmarried-adoption-challenge Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has brought a legal challenge against the Stormont government executive in a bid to force a legislative overhaul of adoption law.

The Commission claims the current arrangements discriminate against unmarried and civil partnership couples and so breach human rights.

Gay and unmarried couples in Northern Ireland are being denied adoption rights without any consideration of their ability to provide a loving home, the High Court has heard.

It is argued that the current law is at odds with the rest of the UK. It was also claimed that the law was not in the best interests of children.


Judicial review
Beginning the application for judicial review, Monye Anyadike-Danes QC said: "Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom which provides a gateway for adoption through which only couples who are married may pass."


Lesbian couple challenge
The challenge has been backed by an unidentified lesbian woman and her partner who want to adopt a child together.   


House of Lords
Reference was also made to an unmarried couple from Northern Ireland who won an exceptional right to adopt after taking their case to the House of Lords.


Success
If the Commission succeeds it would remove the adoption ban completely. It is seeking to ensure everyone, irrespective of sexual orientation or marital status, has the opportunity to provide a loving and secure home, the court was told.


Eligiblity for adoption
She stressed that the case was focused on the eligibility stage of the adoption process, rather than the later assessment stage. "That is the right time to look at circumstances," the barrister said. "Not to exclude people with a blanket barrier without even knowing whether they have the qualities to offer a child a nurturing and loving and permanent home." She argued that there was no justification for the alleged discrimination. "The current state of the law, we say, is not something that has been established to be in the best interest of the child." 

Read more at: bbc.co.uk/news
]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:29:35 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/brooke-shields-adoption-joking-654 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/brooke-shields-adoption-joking-654
Shields and screenwriter Chris Henchy have two daughters, Rowan and Grier, and the actress is dying to add another child to their brood.

The actress jokingly said, “I would die for one (baby). Unfortunately, my husband is not as amenable. So I either have to trick him or lie to him to get knocked up. “He said to me the other day, ‘I’m beginning to think that if I don’t give this to you, you’ll do it on your own.’ It’s like, ‘Don’t test me. I’m very independent.’

But I’m older so my eggs probably need a chisel. “Maybe I should wait and then adopt. We have a lovely home and life and I want to be able to share it with a big family. But maybe it’s supposed to be done in a different way, an altruistic way.”

Read more at: opposingviews.com]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:56:23 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/gay-adoption-stopped-by-columbian-authorities-653 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/gay-adoption-stopped-by-columbian-authorities-653

Sexuality issue
The authorities acknowledge that his sexuality was an issue but claim it was the that fact he kept it a secret from the children that they objected to - a claim Chandler Burr says is totally false.

Mr Burr, (a novelist, former New York Times columnist, and museum curator) described his stuggle after the adoption process was halted at the last minute.


Adoption approved
In 2009 Burr travelled to Colombia and, through the Colombian Family Welfare Unit (ICBF), began the process of adopting the two boys, now aged 9 and 13. The institute approved the application, allowing the children to spend the summer of 2009 in New York. It was only during the final preparations in May 2011 that problems arose.


Children removed
According to Burr, after mentioning his sexuality in an informal conversation, a lawyer representing the ICBF removed the children from his care and interrogated them on the issue, before notifying Burr that he would not be able to take them back to the U.S.

The new director of ICBF, Diego Molano, has defended the decision on the basis that the children have "a right to know who their father is", and that Mr. Burr had hidden this important information about his sexual orientation from them.

Mr. Burr says the children knew that he was gay and didn't have any problem with it. Burr reported, "When the lawyer asked them if they knew I was gay, my eldest son Brian, who is 13, responded 'I know and I don't care.'"


Court case
According to former judge Eduardo Montealegre, "Colombian law allows a single person to adopt a child. Furthermore, there is no prohibition or limitation restricting adoption based on the sexual orientation of the individual."

However the reality is that adoption by gay men in Colombia is seldom allowed. Burr has vowed to fight the Colombian authorities on the issue.

Read more at: colombiareports.com
]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 08:54:17 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/gay-adoption-fight-in-illinois-649 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/gay-adoption-fight-in-illinois-649
The Thomas More Society, the law firm representing the agencies in their fight with the state, announced it will file a motion to dismiss their lawsuit because they claim "the actions of the State have prevented the Charities from being able to obtain relief from the Illinois court system."


Appeal too late
Because the state already began transferring the charities' case load to other agencies willing to work with same-sex couples months ago, the agency says even a future court decision in favor of their appeal would come "too late."


State cancels contracts
Earlier this year, the state moved to cancel $30.6 million worth of contracts with the charities because they were not following state non-discrimination laws in denying adoption and foster care placements for couples entered into the state's newly-approved civil union law.

The charities argued that they shouldn't be forced to place children in families whose lives don't align with Catholic teaching, namely unmarried couples.

The judges ultimately agreed with the state in the lawsuit, originally filed in June.


LGBT view
Anthony Martinez, executive director of Illinois LGBT advocacy group The Civil Rights Agenda, said in a statement that the charities dropping the lawsuit "is a step in the right direction for what is best for all the citizens of this great state." "Finding a loving home for the thousands of children in the foster/adoption system should be the priority, not trying to exclude people based on religious dogma."


Legislative move
Last month, state Senator Kyle McCarter (R-Lebanon) filed legislation that would amend the state's civil union law to allow for the charities to continue to not serve same-sex couples in licensing foster and adoptive parents on the state's behalf. It is as yet unclear what impact the charities' motion to dismiss its case against the state will have against that pending legislation.

Read more at: huffingtonpost.com]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:42:35 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adoption-over-ivf-treatment http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adoption-over-ivf-treatment
Carole, who asked to be identified by her first name only, is proud mother to five-year-old Bea, and says it’s the best decision she and her husband Andy ever made.


Raising adoption awareness
They are helping Hampshire County Council raise awareness of adoption. The council is especially keen to hear from prospective adopters who are happy to become parents to children aged two and above, sibling groups and children with special needs.


Infertility
Carole had resigned herself to being childless after IVF and a frozen embryo transfer treatment failed. “Infertility can be so crushing,” she said.


Adoption option
“I thought I wasn’t going to be a mum then I bumped into a friend who was leaving work to become an adoptive parent. She encouraged me to make some inquiries, I’d heard it was tough but she said it was nowhere near as tough as IVF and the outcome was so positive so that set us thinking.”


Adoption process
Carole said she found it a tough but really interesting process and said social workers assigned to her and her husband were very supportive throughout. She and Andy are now embarking on a second adoption to find a sister for Bea and say the process for second timers is much easier.

Read more at: salisburyjournal.co.uk
]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:20:00 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adopted-children-to-be-given-priority-for-school-places http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adopted-children-to-be-given-priority-for-school-places
The move means adopted children and those subject to special guardianship or residence orders will receive the same priority for school places as children in care.


5,000 children to benefit
UK schools minister Nick Gibb said up to 5,000 children could benefit from the changes every year. "Many of these children have had traumatic experiences in their early lives," he said. "They don’t stop being vulnerable just because they are now in a loving home. This will also speed up some adoptions – we know that some adoption orders are delayed until a child has started school because priority currently ends when that child leaves care."


School places
Meanwhile, academies and free schools will be permitted to prioritise pupils from the poorest backgrounds and councils will be banned from using area-wide "lotteries" as the principal method of allocating places across a local authority area.


New code in February
Successful schools will be allowed to expand and increase the number of places they offer to children in their area The revised codes may still be amended before being approved by parliament on 1 December. Government intends to bring them into force on February 2012.

Read more at: cypnow.co.uk
]]> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:49:23 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/parents-sued-for-returning-russian-boy-636 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/parents-sued-for-returning-russian-boy-636

Put on a plane
An adoption agency, the World Association for Children and Parents, filed the lawsuit after Nancy Hansen put then- 7-year-old Artyom Savelyev alone on an airline flight to Moscow in April 2010. She sent with him a note from her daughter and Artyom's adoptive mother, Torry Hansen, which said the boy was violent and she no longer wanted to keep him.


Russian orphanage
The boy was placed in a Russian orphanage two months later, according to the U.S. adoption agency. The act sparked international outrage. Russian authorities barred U.S. citizens from adopting children, the ban was lifted in June of this year.


No investigation
Attorneys for the adoption agency said they filed the lawsuit because no one was investigating claims that the Hansens abandoned and endangered the child.


No charges
Bedford County authorities said when the child was sent back that there was no evidence that a crime had occurred in local jurisdiction and no charges could be filed. If the lawsuit is not settled by the end of this year, a trial date is scheduled.

Read more at: seattlepi.com
]]> Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:20:43 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adoption-review-concentrates-on-black-children-in-care http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/adoption-review-concentrates-on-black-children-in-care

Foreign adoption
In his speech to delegates at the Tory party conference, David Cameron asked why "people are flying all over the world to adopt babies while the care system at home agonises about placing black children with white families". He announced a "new focus on the 65,000 children in care".

It is important to note the figure of 65,000 children in care only relates to England, and that in the UK there are in fact 90,000 chidren in the care system waiting to be adopted.


Fewer black children adopted 
The government's adoption adviser Martin Narey said: "This was no urban myth. Black children are three times less likely to be adopted than white children. Over time, a practice has developed where there is a great emphasis on finding a cultural and ethnic match for non-white children.


Ignore ethnic considerations
This despite the fact that Tony Blair issued guidance to local authorities in 2000 asking for no ethnic considerations to be made." Narey, who has been asked by the government to come up with solutions to the problem, said he had "seen correspondence, met parents and countless couples turned away from local authorities because they were white. If the reverse happened, we'd put social workers in handcuffs".


1,300 days to be adopted
The Department for Education said the number of children placed for adoption fell from 2,700 to 2,300 last year and black children aged under five remained in care for 1,300 days on average before they were adopted, compared with 955 days for white or Asian children. Official guidance says a child should be placed within 12 months of a decision to go ahead with adoption. That decision should be made within six months of the child entering care. However, the data shows that, in the past three years, children were placed for adoption 20 months after entering care on average.


British Association of Social Workers
Nushra Mansuri, the British Association of Social Workers' professional officer, said: "The prime minister would do well to consider the complex realties of adoption before he opines so simplistically – social workers have no wish to be part of delays in placing children for adoption and find bureaucratic processes just as frustrating as everyone else involved."

Read more at: guardian.co.uk
]]> Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:15:00 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/low-adoption-figures-due-to-poor-economy http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/low-adoption-figures-due-to-poor-economy
Social care chiefs believe the state of the economy has affected people’s confidence in starting a family, adding that looked-after children are now spending an average of two-and-a-half years in care.

Cllr Jenny Whittle – cabinet member for specialist children’s services – admitted the figures were of serious concern to the authority.

She said: “Every child needs a stable, loving home, and the worst of all worlds is to leave a child languishing in care when an adoptive place is the best possible solution. “I can understand the economic climate has an effect but how many people realise they may qualify for a means-tested adoption allowance?


Financial support
There’s lots of financial support and training on offer, and what I don’t think we do enough of is market what’s available and what a rewarding experience it can be to offer a child a home.


Marketing push
“I think we need to pursue a much more aggressive marketing strategy. I’ve brought it up with officers and we will be doing much more over the next few months to recruit adopters. It needs to be an ongoing campaign and not just something based around National Adoption Week.”


Poor adoption figures
Just 44 adopters were approved in 2010/11 compared to 50 the year before, with 72.9 per cent of children given a new home within 12 months of being put up for adoption – a figure described as “poor” by the council. Of the 40 adopters recruited over the last 12 months, one was single and another was a same-sex relationship.


Martin Narey
Former Barnardo’s chief executive Martin Narey – now the Government’s ‘adoption czar’ – is currently reviewing Kent’s adoption service and will file a report before the end of the year. Cllr Whittle, who asked Mr Narey to carry out the review before he landed his new role in July, is also setting up a working party to identify ways to speed up the system.


Yes
Kent County Council should be applauded for asking Martin Narey to review their adoption service. Please let's have more of this.

Read more at: kentnews.co.uk

]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:40:59 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/gay-couples-can-adopt-in-mexico-city-but-not-applying http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/gay-couples-can-adopt-in-mexico-city-but-not-applying
Curiously, however, almost no one has taken the government up on its offer.

It has been just over a year since the Mexican government settled the question of gay couples’ adoption rights in Mexico City, yet so far only one couple has filed for permission to adopt a child, according to the city’s System for Integral Family Development.


Legal battle
The city’s recognition of gay couple’s legal adoption rights sparked vocal rejection from the Catholic Church and the conservative National Action Party.

The federal Attorney General sued the city over the law, arguing that altering the definition of marriage violated the Constitution.

Instead of overturning the law, however, in August 2010 the Court mandated all the states in the union must recognize gay couples’ rights to marriage and adoption.


Still discrimination
But despite legal guarantees, the majority of Mexicans continue to view adoption by gay parents negatively. The National Survey on Discrimination conducted in late 2010, found that some 80 percent of Mexicans older than 50 opposed adoption by gay couples. While rejection of the idea of adoption by gay couples is widespread in Mexico — where violence against the LGBT community continues — it tends to decrease with age. Seventy percent of adults between the ages of 30 and 49 opposed the idea. The youngest group surveyed — those aged between 12 and 17 — polled the most favorably, with 23.3 percent supporting adoption by gay men and 30 percent supporting adoption by lesbian couples.


Foreign marriages
More than 1,000 gay couples have married in Mexico City since the new law took effect in December 2009. Foreigners, however, make up six percent of those marriages, according to the city government.

Read more at: latindispatch.com]]> Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:20:44 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/rihanna-seeking-to-adopt-haitian-child http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/rihanna-seeking-to-adopt-haitian-child
Rihanna is reportedly making arrangements to adopt a child from Haiti. According to sources, the 23-year-old R&B singer is "dead-set on becoming a mom to a child from Haiti, and she's just had lawyers make contacts."

She previously expressed an interest in adoption last year. In an interview with Liverpool's Radio City 96.7, she confessed her maternal aspirations and reservations. "I'm really scared of the actual childbirth situation," confessed Rihanna. "but I do want to be a mom one day. Even if I have to adopt, I want to be a mom."

Well, it seems that now, a year later, she's ready.

She says her good friends, newly expectant couple, Beyonce and Jay-Z, are encouraging her to proceed with the adoption process. "She's getting enthusiastic support from mentor Jay-Z and wife Beyonce," claims the source, adding: "[and] she asked them to be godparents! "

"Rihanna doesn't see herself having a biological child anytime soon because she doesn't have a man in her life."

Read more at: celebs.gather.com ]]> Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:34:34 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/chinese-government-increases-anti-child-trafficking-efforts-625 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/chinese-government-increases-anti-child-trafficking-efforts-625

Orphanages
The China Daily newspaper says only orphanages will be able to offer abandoned infants and children for adoption.

Adults who adopt children without official registration will not be recognized as their legal guardians. The government has said that the new rules are to be introduced by the end of the year.

Scores of exploited children are bought or kidnapped by criminal gangs who force them into non-violent crimes such as petty theft.

China Daily says a study by the country's Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption has found that other children are sold to childless couples to carry on the family line and guarantee the parents security in their old age.


Official channels
Ji Gang, an official at the Centre, tells the newspaper that forcing adults to go through official channels will reduce the demand for abducted children. Though this remains to be seen. Given that the problem is so widespread it may take considerable time and effort to combat trafficking and illegal adoption.


Conviction
Recently 8 people were convicted of kidnapping or murdering children in five separate cases.

Read more at: blogs.voanews.com]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:14:28 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/facebook-reunites-mother-and-daughter-after-63-years http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/facebook-reunites-mother-and-daughter-after-63-years

17 years old
Helen Torres was 17 years old in 1948, when she became pregnant and was sent to a home for unwed mothers. When she gave birth to Christina she was forced to hand her to a couple that had the means to take care of the baby.

Helen did attempt to stay in the child’s life from a distance for the next 12 years, but lost track of her over time.

Helen went on to get married and had five more children.

After Helen told her children that they had a sister, the youngest child, Deneen, attempted to track down Christina through public records.


Facebook group
However, this proved unsuccessful, so Deneen collected all the photos and other information about Christina to create a Facebook group about her in late January. The title of the group was “Searching for my sister, Mary Christine Bustamante (Gray) DOB 3/8/1948″. Deneen also included details about the parents that adopted Christina.

In April 2011, Deneen was contacted on Facebook by a now 63-year old Chris Gray, living only 70 miles east of the family in Riverside, California.


Never told
Ms. Gray was shocked to learn that she was adopted as her now-deceased parents never told her of the adoption.


Emotional meeting
In June 2011, Helen Torres and Chris Gray finally met. After a tearful reunion, Ms. Gray also met her siblings as well as nieces and nephews. Without siblings when she was growing up, Ms. Gray has decided to move closer to her newly found family in Yuba City, California.

Read more at: digitaltrends.com]]> Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:26:46 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/guatemala-court-orders-us-couple-to-return-child http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/guatemala-court-orders-us-couple-to-return-child
Judge Angelica Noemi Tellez Hernandez ruled in favor of the mother, who is represented by the human rights group Survivors' Foundation.


Kidnap
It is alleged that the girl was kidnapped in 2006 by a child trafficking ring and put up for adoption, she was subsequently taken out of the country two years later under a new name.


Court order
The court ordered that if the girl is not returned within two months, Guatemalan authorities should solicit help locating the girl from Interpol, the international police organisation. Nine Guatemalans, including a judge, have been charged in the case.

The Survivors' Foundation doesn't allege the American couple knew the girl had been kidnapped. The court identified the couple as Timothy James Monahan and Jennifer Lyn Vanhorn Monahan of Liberty, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City.


Adoption fraud
Guatemala's adoption system once sent more than 4,000 children every year to the United States. However, adoptions were suspended in 2007 amid widespread claims of kidnapping and fraud by suspect adoption brokers. Guatemala started a small, reformed program of international adoptions later but the United States has declined to participate.


Court first
This is apparently the first time that a court in Guatemala has ordered the return of a child on the basis that the adoption was fraudulent.

Read more at: msnbc.msn.com]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 17:53:49 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/amy-whitehouse-and-adoption-620 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/amy-whitehouse-and-adoption-620
Apparently Ms Whitehouse was planning to adopt the girl who was from the island of St Lucia, she had already obtained permission from the girl's parents to proceed with the adoption process.

The claim has been made by the girl's grandmother, Marjorie Lambert, who runs a beach bar next to the hotel where Amy spent a considerable amount of time.

She said: ‘Amy loved Dannika with all her heart. I don’t know why Amy took to Dannika above all the other children on the island, but from the moment they met they were inseparable. They would spend all day playing, horse-riding and walking up and down the beach hand-in-hand. ‘Amy used to beg me: “I want to adopt Dannika. I want to take her to England.” She was prepared to move to St Lucia to be her full-time mum. ‘Amy wanted to have a child so bad. If she had not died, there is no doubt she would be here in St Lucia completing the adoption process.’

However, the claim has been denied by Amy's management.

Read more at: metro.co.uk]]> Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:12:53 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/us-international-adoptions-fall http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/news/adoption-news/us-international-adoptions-fall
In the US the number of internationally adopted children has fallen by 52 percent in recent years. In 2004 there were 22,991 international adoptions, in 2010 this fell to 11,058.

However, at the same time the number of children adopted through private agencies was 25,000 - 30,000 and 50,000 were adopted through the foster care system in 2009.


Adoption abuses
International adoptions have critics in the US. Critics say that international adoption should be a last resort and that more emphasis should be place upon domestic adoptions. They also point to large sums of money changing hands in overseas adoptions and the corruption that this has caused in foreign countries. Many of these countries have now stopped or severely restricted overseas adoptions due to the level of corruption.


International Social Service
Julie Gilbert Rosicky, executive director of the American branch of the International Social Service, a nonprofit active in 140 countries. "We should not be adopting children when children are being bought and sold or being stolen."


Hague Convention
81 countries have ratified the Hague Convention on Adoption, drafted to protect both children and their birth parents. However, from the top 5 countries popular with Americans, only China is actually a member.

The other countries popular with Americans - Vietnam, Nepal and Guatemala have shut down their overseas adoption programs, whilst Ethiopia has announced stricter controls.


Joint Council on International Children's Services
Thomas DiFilipo, president and CEO of the Joint Council on International Children's Services, a nonprofit that advocates for orphaned and vulnerable children, states "No one is saying that international adoption is the only or even the primary solution. The solution is in-country. But until we get to that point, adoption internationally might be the most viable (alternative)."

Rosicky also stated, "Inter-country adoption is not the first solution. It should be the last solution. Countries should come up with alternatives for permanency in their own countries first."

Read more at: yourlife.usatoday.com
]]> Fri, 03 Feb 2012 03:12:50 +0000 http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/information/overseas-adoption/the-hague-adoption-convention http://www.pollentree.com/adoption/information/overseas-adoption/the-hague-adoption-convention
The UK, Canada, US, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, South Africa are just some examples of countries who have signed the Hague Adoption Convention.

If you are a resident of a country who has signed the Convention the you will need to undergo a "home study" by an adoption agency in your country to confirm that you meet the criteria for adoption set by the country from where you will be adopting a child.

Your government must issue a certificate of eligibility to the country from which you will be adopting.

Before they do this however, the adoption agency must carry out a ‘home study’ and write a report confirming that your home environment is suitable for an adopted child.

In some countries the government charge a fee for this.

In the UK the fee is currently £1,775 (as of April 2011) for most applications although there are some exclusions.

You will also need to meet the immigration requirements of your country when bringing the child back into your country and this will require special entry clearance.]]> Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:14:05 +0000