Alert: Government of Ghana Suspends Intercountry Adoptions May 13, 2013 The Government of Ghana has temporarily suspended processing of all adoption cases, including intercountry adoptions, pending Ghana’s review of its current adoption procedures. The U.S. Embassy in Accra is seeking further clarification of the scope and duration of this temporary suspension by the Government of Ghana and how this suspension …
Category: Intercountry Adoption
Department of State Alert: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Alert: Democratic Republic of the Congo Immigration Authorities Suspend Issuance of Exit Permits to Adoptees May 2, 2013 Democratic Republic of Congo On April 29, the Congolese Ministry of Interior and Security, General Direction of Migration (Direction Generale d’Immigration, DGM) informed the U.S. Embassy in Kinshasa that the DGM has temporarily suspended issuance of exit permits to adopted Congolese children …
Notice: Malian Law Restricts Intercountry Adoptions
Department of State Notice for Mali Mali May 1, 2013In December 2011, the Malian National Assembly passed a new Code of Person and the Family. The Code includes a provision that only Malian citizens will be able to complete intercountry or domestic adoptions from Mali. In the case of couples planning to adopt, both members of the couple must be …
DOS Adoption Notice: Bolivia/Procedural Barriers to Hague Adoptions
Bolivia April 26, 2013 Notice: Procedural Barriers to Hague Adoptions The Office of Children’s Issues and the U.S. Embassy in La Paz have received numerous inquiries from prospective adoptive parents interested in adopting children from Bolivia. Bolivia is a Party to the Hague Adoption Convention. Therefore, in order to adopt a Bolivian child, prospective adoptive parents are required to work …
DOS Adoption Alert: Haiti authorizes U.S. adoption service providers
Haiti February 8, 2013 Alert: Haiti authorizes U.S. adoption service providers Haiti’s adoption authority, Institut du Bien-Être Social et de Recherches (IBESR), has authorized a limited number of U.S. adoption service providers (ASPs) to provide adoption services in Haiti pursuant to its new administrative adoption procedures, which became effective on November 5, 2012. Although these new procedures are part …
DOS Notice: Korea Begins Implementing Special Adoption Act
South Korea January 25, 2013 Notice: Korea Begins Implementing Special Adoption Act On August 5, 2012, the Republic of Korea (ROK) Special Adoption Act, which governs intercountry adoptions from South Korea, went into effect. This law prioritizes domestic adoptions and endeavors to reduce the number of South Korean children adopted abroad. Under the Special Adoption Act, each intercountry adoption requires …
FY 2012 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption
DOS released the FY 2012 Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption on its website today: http://adoption.state.gov/ Ethics, Transparency, Support~ What All Adoptions Deserve.http://www.pear-now.org/ People for Ethical Adoption Reform www.pear-now.org
Cautionary Statement for Families In Process of Adopting from Russia
PEAR has become aware of possible scams and exploitative practices being aimed at families currently in the process of adopting from Russia. We would like to take this opportunity to encourage those caught in the adoption ban to proceed with caution, and to thoroughly investigate any individual or organization offering assistance. Of special concern are individuals and organizations offering private …
Special Appeal: Sponsorship of Panel Speaker at Pepperdine
Pepperdine University School of Law is holding a conference February 8 – 9, 2013 entitled “Intercountry Adoption: Orphan Rescue or Child Trafficking?” One of the invited panel speakers is Mark Riley, Alternative Care Consultant and Child Advocate at The Alternative Care Initiative. Mark is an international adoptive parent who has been an outspoken critic of unethical international adoption practices. He …
Universal Accreditation Act Becomes Law
President Obama signed the Intercountry adoption Universal Accreditation Act on January 14, 2013. The DOS published the following Announcement on the Universal Accreditation Act: On January 14, 2013, the President signed The Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (UAA), one of the last bills passed in the final days of the 112th Congress. The effective date of the …