Adoption News

September/October 2006Intercountry adoption update

Ukraine will not accept any new international adoption dossiers before January 1, 2007. This temporary suspension applies to all adoptions, including applications for biological siblings of previously adopted children. Families whose dossiers were registered with the old adoption authority must resend their applications. Find more information at kiev.usembassy.gov.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow reports that visas issued for newly adopted children from Russia were down by 19 percent during the period of October 2005 through March of this year, compared to the previous six months. The number of visas issued during the same period was down 36 percent versus 2004's numbers.

Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare recently said that healthy children would be eligible for intercountry adoption only after they had waited five months to be adopted domestically. The waiting period does not apply to disabled children. The Ministry did not indicate when the regulations would take effect.

The time it takes to match prospective adoptive parents with children in China has increased to approximately 10 to 11 months, up from six months in spring 2005. The U.S. Embassy in Beijing attributes the delay to two reasons: First, the China Center for Adoption Affairs has upped its scrutiny of the ways children enter into state care. Second, the increasing number of foreign adoptive parents, compared to the relatively stable number of eligible children, has allowed the CCAA to be more selective.

Despite rumors to the contrary, there is no moratorium on intercountry adoptions from Bulgaria. However, the U.S. Department of State reports that only one or two visas are being processed each month. Under an adoption law passed in 2003, a Bulgarian child is eligible for intercountry adoption only after three domestic families have declined to adopt him.

There are 1,200 international families who wish to adopt from Bulgaria and only 120 eligible children, 80 percent of whom have serious medical conditions, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Hague treaty update
The U.S. Department of State recently chose two organizations—the state of Colorado and the Council on Accreditation of Services to Children and Families—to approve adoption agencies and professionals under Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption standards before the U.S. implements the treaty by early 2008.

The State Department has also defined the process for issuing Hague certificates. These will verify that adoptions were completed in accordance with the treaty and are subject to its safeguards.

A second ruling revised the visa processing procedure for children coming to the U.S. from Hague countries. The new regulations will require pre-approval from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security before parents take custody/adopt a child in the sending country. Parents will still need to obtain final visa approval from the U.S. consulate within the sending country.

The Hague Convention imposed this additional step in an effort to protect newly adopted children from being refused entry into the receiving country. The step will likely lengthen the time it takes to adopt internationally. Just how much time it will add, or if it will require parents to stay in-country longer, is unknown at this point.

Final details about the provisional approval process are expected from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by the end of 2006.

Adoption assistance benefits grow—slowly
The Society of Human Resource Management found that 20 percent of its members offered adoption assistance benefits, up from 16 percent in 2003.

But the rate nationwide is still climbing slowly. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says that only 9 percent of companies currently offer adoption assistance. Of the 915 employers who offer adoption assistance in the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption database, only 29 offer $10,000 or more. More than 235 employers offered a benefit of $5,000.

States investigate prospective parents
As part of a comprehensive new federal law to protect children, states are now required to investigate adoptive and foster parents in national crime and state child abuse registries prior to approving them to take custody of a child.

"The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006" is intended to improve protection of adoptive and foster children and accelerate placements across state lines. Under the law, a state receiving a request to place a child for adoption or foster care must complete a home-study within 60 days; the state making the request must respond within 14 days of receiving the homestudy. The law also authorizes an incentive program which will grant states $1,500 for every homestudy completed within 30 days. To read the law, go to thomas.loc.gov and search by public law number 109-248.

Ohio law focuses on large families
Legislation in Ohio mandates more-thorough assessments of prospective adoptive families who already have four or more children. Supporters say the requirement is meant to provoke discussions about the current methods of placing children. They say that the number of children in need of permanent homes could lead caseworkers to "overload" willing prospective parents.

Open records setback
Connecticut governor M. Jodi Rell vetoed legislation that would have granted original-birth-certificate access to anyone adopted after October 1, 2006. The governor cited concern that removing the option of confidentiality would discourage both prospective birthmothers and adoptive parents from pursuing adoption.

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	Did You Know?
	Children can be adopted from other countries Adopting children from all over the world has become something U.S. residents and citizens have been doing more and more when starting or expanding their families. Over 20,000 inter-country adoptions are taking place per year in addition to the more than Adoption assistance is available Monthly or one-time only subsidy payments to help adoptive parents raise children with special needs. These payments were initially made possible by the enactment of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272) which provided Federa Most adoptive parents are two parent families Most adoptive parents are two parent families aged 31 to 40. A growing number of parents are aged 41 to 49. Most parents attended or completed college.