Nepal’s Adoption System Unreliable: US KIRAN CHAPAGAIN KATHMANDU, Feb 23: The United States has accused Nepal´s inter-country adoption of being unreliable and cautioned prospective adoptive US parents to find out orphan status of the minors before taking any decision on adoption from Nepal. “We caution prospective adoptive parents who have yet to choose a country that the inter-country adoption system …
Month: February 2010
Call for Full Investigation into Amelya Frances Kirkpatrick’s Adoption in Utah
According to a court document obtained by PEAR, on February 9, 2010, Scott and Karen Banks, former owners of adoption agency Focus on Children, were allowed to adopt another child, originally from China. The Banks were indicted on 135 Federal counts in 2007 for a fraudulent adoption scheme in Samoa. In 2009, they pled guilty to Aiding and Abetting the …
DOS Adoption Notice December 24, 2009
Cambodia Adoption Notice U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues December 24, 2009 On December 3, 2009, a new law on intercountry adoption was signed by the King of the Government of Cambodia. The new law seeks to create a country-wide comprehensive child welfare system and an intercountry adoption process in compliance with the Hague Intercountry Adoption …
Announcing Ethica’s Ethiopia Transparency Survey
In the interest of advancing transparency in adoptions in Ethiopia, Ethica has invited all U.S. agencies with Ethiopia international adoption programs to provide information about their Ethiopia program by taking part in a brief survey. Agency responses will be posted and participating Adoption Service Providers will be acknowledged on Ethica’s website. All agencies known by Ethica to have licensed Ethiopia …
“Choose a different country” — Dawn Davenport
“Choose a different country” — Dawn Davenport I urge potential adoptive parents to be extremely cautious before choosing Nepal as a country from which to adopt. Adoptions from Nepal are highly unstable now. The Nepali government has said each agency may only process 10 adoptions per year. Children that have already been referred but not adopted are not grandfathered in …
Two articles in the Nepali Times
Two viewpoints on suspending adoptions from Nepal: Looking for a home A suspension on inter-country adoption will give the government time to work on strict adoption legislation MALLIKA ARYAL FROM ISSUE #490 (19 FEB 2010 – 25 FEB 2010) The Nepal Government suspended inter-country adoption in 2007 following evidence that Nepali ‘orphanages’ were selling children for thousands of dollars to …
UPDATE: Haiti Teleconference
Today PEAR took part in the first hour of a teleconference with USCIS International Operations Division, DHS, DOS and other government agencies to discuss the ongoing process of bringing children into the US on Humanitarian Parole visas. The primary discussion was effect that resumption of commercial flights will have on getting HP children to the US. Once commercial flights resume …
STUDY: Assessment of Child Protection Needs in Post-Earthquake Haiti
The New England Journal of Medicine published the following on February 17, 2010http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMp1001820 Protecting the Children of HaitiSatchit Balsari, M.D., M.P.H., Jay Lemery, M.D., Timothy P. Williams,M.S.W., M.Sc., and Brett D. Nelson, M.D., M.P.H., D.T.M.&H Haiti has long had difficulty in protecting its children from harm. The earthquake that struck the country on January 12 destroyed much of the capital, …
UPDATE: DOS Notice – Nepal
Nepal Adoption Notice U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues February 17, 2010 The Hague Conference on Private International Law has recently released a report on its Intercountry Adoption Technical Assistance Program, based on a visit by the Hague delegate to Nepal in November 2010 (http://www.hcch.net/upload/wop/nepal_rpt09.pdf). This report is based on an independent analysis of Nepal’s inter-country …
UPDATE: DOS Notice – Uganda
Uganda Adoption Notice U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues Status of Adoptions from Uganda February 17, 2010 Contrary to rumors that have been circulating, the U.S. Embassy in Kampala has NOT ceased processing adoption cases, but legal complications in Uganda have arisen that are likely to cause significant delays in the processing of most adoption cases. …