Competent Providers: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to an adoption service provider with appropriate high-quality adoption services. Prospective adoptive parents have the right to receive a complete list of qualifications of all providers of adoption-related services. Qualifications include both adoption-related education and training. Ethical Program: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to an ethical and economical adoption program. Prospective …
Category: Ethics/Unethical Practices
UPDATE: DOS Notice on Nepal June 5, 2009
Adoption Notice U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ ______ June 05, 2009 On January 1, 2009, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MWCSW) announced procedures for processing adoptions pursuant to the Government of Nepal’s (GON) new Terms and Conditions for adoptions. The initial announcement stated that only 10 applications will …
UPDATE: DOS Alert for Ethiopia – Addis Ababa Abandonment Cases
From: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues May 26, 2009 Adoptions of Abandoned Children Halted by Ethiopian Court On May 4, 2009 the Ethiopian First Instance Court temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children referred by orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing a substantial increase in the number of children being brought for adoption. The number of …
UPDATE: Ethiopia
From the US Consular Office in Addis Ababa concerning the Ethiopian courts’ suspension of hearing cases involving abandoned children from orphanages in Addis Ababa: “According to the Ethiopian First Instance Court and the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA), the Court has temporarily stopped accepting cases involving abandoned children referred from orphanages in Addis Ababa, citing concern over a recent increase …
UPDATE: Vietnam – DOS Statement May 1, 2009
http://www.adoption.state.gov/news/vietnam.html VietnamAdoption NoticeU.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATEBureau of Consular AffairsOffice of Children’s Issues May 1, 2009 U.S. citizens are not able to register a new adoption in Vietnam at this time. The Government of Vietnam has stated its intention to introduce new adoption legislation and to institute reforms in the adoption process, and has indicated that the anticipated new legislation and …
The best interests of the child: Children stolen for adoption- Guatemala and beyond
In 2006, 4 Guatemalan girls were stolen from their mothers. One of those girls was identified just prior to adoption and returned to her mother Ana Escobar. The other 3 girls are believed to be adopted by US adoptive parents who, through no fault of their own, are now faced with difficult issues. I cannot imagine the fear, anger, and …
Mothers in Guatemala Demand Justice
Norma Cruz and members of The Survivor’s Foundation (La Fundacion Sobrevivientes) are on the fourth day of strike in front of the Family Court Building in Guatemala City today. They are demanding justice be served for those responsible for the processing of four illegal adoptions. In a shocking decision two weeks ago, attorneys and facilitators involved in the processing of …
Voices of the Victims of Focus on Children Utah’s Samoa Scam
PEAR is giving to voice to the victims of FOC Utah: below is the first statement, from Elizabeth Muenzler, Adoptive Mother of a trafficked child. Many thanks for your invitation to write a statement on your blog concerning the recent Focus on Children case. We are the parents of one of the children involved and after having been vilified in …
Focus On Children – Sentencing scheduled for February 19
Sentencing for Focus on Children’s Karen and Scott Banks, Dan Wakefield, Coleen Bartlett and Karalee Thornock is scheduled for February 19, 2009. In January, they pleaded guilty to counts of aiding and abetting the improper entry of an alien for putting false information on immigration forms during the performance of adoption services relating to FOC’s Samoa program. Although the plea …
Announcing Ethica’s Webinars for Prospective Adoptive Parents
http://www.ethicanet.org/item.php?recordid=webinars&pagestyle=default Ethica is pleased to offer its first webinar series for prospective adoptive families as they begin to pursue the adoption process. Please join us as we explore issues surrounding adoption fraud, how to choose an agency, and the implications of adopting from a “Hague” country. Note that *space is limited* so please register early. Thank you! *Webinar** 1: February …