DOS Adoption Alert: Families, Agencies Report Difficulties in Completing Russian Adoptions

Russia   January 11, 2013 Alert: Families, Agencies Report Difficulties in Completing Russian Adoptions On December 28, President Vladimir Putin signed into law Federal Law No. 272-FZ, which went into effect on January 1, 2013. The law bans the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens, bars adoption service providers from assisting U.S. citizens to adopt Russian children, and requires …

DOS Notice: U.S. Department of State Continues to Recommend Against Adopting from Nepal

Nepal December 31, 2012 Notice: U.S. Department of State Continues to Recommend Against Adopting from Nepal The Nepali Ministry of Women and Child Social Welfare (MWCSW) informed the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu that as of December 2012, there are seven U.S. adoption service providers authorized to facilitate adoptions in Nepal at this time, and another ten U.S. adoption service providers …

DOS Adoption Alert: Russian President Vladimir Putin Signs Legislation to Ban Intercountry Adoption by U.S. Families into Law

Russia  December 28, 2012 Alert: Russian President Vladimir Putin Signs Legislation to Ban Intercountry Adoption by U.S. Families into Law On December 28, President Vladimir Putin signed Federal Law No. 186614-6 which prohibits the adoption of Russian children by U.S. families.  This law will go into effect on January 1, 2013. The Department of State remains actively engaged with the …

DOS Announces Colorado Department of Human Services to end role as accrediting entity

Colorado Department of Human Services to end role as accrediting entity December 10, 2012 The U.S. Department of State and the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) signed a final one year extension of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) that designates CDHS as an accrediting entity for Hague adoption service providers. The MOA will expire on November 29, 2013, or the …

Ambassador Jacobs, Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Travels to Ethiopia

Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Travels to Ethiopia Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC December 6, 2012 Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs will visit Ethiopia from December 7-13. She will meet with Ethiopian Government officials to discuss intercountry adoptions and the implementation of the Pre-Adoption Immigration Review (PAIR) program. Jacobs will also meet with non-governmental …

Adverse Action: Children of Africa Enterprises/Hope Adoption Agency loses Hague Accreditation

DOS Notice: Children of Africa Enterprises/Hope Adoption Agency loses Hague Accreditation November 20, 2012 On November 8, 2012 the Council on Accreditation (COA) canceled the Hague accreditation of Children of Africa Enterprises/Hope Adoption Agency (“Hope”) for failing to maintain substantial compliance with the U.S. accreditation standards at 22 Code of Federal Regulations Part 96 Subpart F.  Prior to this date, …

Special Advisor’s Trip to Cambodia to discuss Hgaue Convention Advances

Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC October 22, 2012 Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Ambassador Susan Jacobs will visit Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK), Cambodia, and Vietnam October 22-November 1. While in the region, Special Advisor Jacobs will meet with non-governmental organizations and government officials to discuss the Hague Abduction and Adoption Conventions and the need to …

Update to Haiti’s New Adoption Procedures

On September 14, we published the US DOS Office of Children’s Issues latest Adoption Notice concerning changes to Haiti’s adoption laws and processes. That Notice can be found here: http://pear-now.blogspot.com/2012/09/dos-adoption-notice-haiti-announces-new.html Today, we were informed that God’s Littlest Angels, a children’s home in Haiti that facilitates adoptions, has published the following IBESR timeline for adoption processing in Haiti. The timeline was …

Philippines Program – New Requirements Reported by Australian Central Authority

According to an August 2012 statement by the Australian Central Authority, the Philippine Central Authority, ICAB, has announced the following changes in the adoption process effective August 1, 2012: Philippines Program – New Requirements – August 2012 Key Points:The Intercountry Adoption Board of the Philippines (ICAB) has introduced new requirements of interest to prospective adoptive parents (PAPs). The requirements are …