An article from CQ Almanac 2000

Document Outline

Senate Committee Approves Treaty On Adoption

House Passes Bill To Implement Adoption Treaty

Senate Passes Bill; Quick Conference Expected

Shown Here:

Agreed to Senate (11/30/2021)

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. RES. 464

See meeting minutes Interservice group Ask the EU

U

12 juilliet 1994

La traite des enfants en Roumanie est florissante comme jamais auparavant

ROTTERDAM - Des centaines d'enfants disparaissent de Roumanie chaque semaine. Les travailleurs humanitaires estiment que leur nombre est encore plus élevé qu'en 1991, lorsqu'au moins quinze mille bébés, tout-petits et enfants d'âge préscolaire roumains ont été vendus à l'étranger en un an. Dans aucun autre pays d'Europe centrale et orientale, il n'y en a autant. les enfants comme marchandise.

Il y a plus de deux ans, sous la pression des organisations internationales, la Roumanie a promis de durcir les lois sur l'adoption. Mais en pratique rien n'en sort ; l'application de la loi est constamment retardée et des avocats rusés continuent à éluder les nouvelles dispositions. Selon des initiés, le rôle joué par le ministère roumain de la Santé dans cet horrible commerce est "très douteux".

La police roumaine a récemment admis ouvertement pour la première fois que les nombreuses activités des organisations criminelles roumaines et étrangères

Senator Klobuchar recently brought up international adoption in a Judiciary Committee hearing with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Below is a brief transcript of the exchange.

Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security

November 16, 2021

KLOBUCHAR: Thank you. Last question here; along with Senator Blunt, I co-chair the congressional Coalition on Adoption Caucus. Many of the members on this committee are members; it’s very bipartisan. Over in the house, it is Adam Smith and Representative Aderholt that chair the commission. And that’s why we’ve introduced the Adoptee Citizenship Act to make citizenship automatic for all international adoptees who were legally adopted by U.S. citizens as kids, regardless of when their adoption was finalized. Since 2004, international adoptions have fallen nearly 93 percent. And I have always viewed this, and part of it, of course, is a pandemic; part of it is things that Russia did, things that China did. But there’s a whole lot of kids in other countries as well that need a loving family, and there’s a whole lot of Americans that would like to adopt kids. We are proud that the domestic numbers have actually gone up during the last few administrations; with foster kids getting adopted, that’s all good. But international adoption has actually been a part of the way that our country is connected to the rest of the world. Not to mention the humanitarian issues. Will you work with me to identify barriers and find ways to ease the citizenship process for foreign-born adoptees and also in general, as we’re talking to the State Department, Senator Blunt and I about this issue to work to get back to the situation where we were welcoming adopted kids into our country?

MAYORKAS: Senator, I would be privileged to do so. I was privileged to work with then-Senator Mary Landrieu on international adoptions as well as with Ranking Member Grassley on that valiant effort.

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 26, 2022 – The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), partnered nonprofit to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCA), is pleased to welcome Angelique Salizan as the organization’s Policy Director. As of January 31, she will lead CCAI’s government relations, education, and advocacy strategies in domestic and international child welfare, permanency, and adoption policy.

“There are various challenges when it comes to addressing the needs of children and families. I am eager to build on the established advocacy and policy efforts at CCAI. My priority is to collaborate with Members of Congress, child welfare leaders, and impacted voices to holistically resource and educate the caucus on nonpartisan policies to ensure children all over the world have a permanent, safe, and loving family,” said Angelique Salizan, CCAI Policy Director. “I look forward to reconnecting with Members of Congress and their staff as well as forge new relationships with congressional partners and the community to address policy challenges and opportunities.”

Prior to joining CCAI, Angelique’s work in child welfare advocacy, policy, and reform dates back to 2013 when she participated in a New York State campaign advocating for support services for foster youth pursuing a higher education with the Children’s Aid Society, a program that is still in existence today. These efforts led to an internship and career working for the United States Senate as a congressional staff member.

In fact, Angelique was first introduced to CCAI through her participation in the 2015 Foster Youth Internship Program® where she worked as a congressional intern with the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Angelique is a published author in CCAI’s Embracing Our Past, Empowering Their Future: Why Child Welfare Reform Matters on the topic of closing the educational gap for foster youth by addressing the need for educational-vocational specialists.

Angelique has a wealth of policy experience and is skilled in facilitation, community and outreach engagement, public advocacy campaigns, government and constituent relations, and has been successful at coalition and capacity building among youth, personnel, and leaders in the child welfare community locally and nationally. Her career includes roles with the offices of U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (OR) and Debbie Stabenow (MI) – both members of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption – as well as U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (OH).

That's a very difficult question. Cases with old adoptions (according to the old adoption law before 1977) are complicated. It depends, among other things, on whether you were of legal age on December 31, 1977 or not and whether the inheritance and/or compulsory portion rights of the adopting party were excluded in the adoption contract at the time. In the case of a minor adoption, those involved could also object to the application of the new law.

Normally, an adult on January 1, 1977 has an inheritance and compulsory share right over his or her birth parents and adoptive parents. However, the right of inheritance towards his adoptive parents can be excluded in the acceptance contract (= adoption contract), which still applies today.

In the case of minors as of December 31, 1977, the adopted child normally has an inheritance and compulsory portion right vis-à-vis the adoptive parents and their relatives, but no longer vis-à-vis the biological parents and biological relatives. In the event of an objection to the new adoption law, which was possible up until December 31, 1977, the legal effects are the same as for an adult on December 31, 1977 (see above).

The following description must be worked through in detail in order to determine your entitlement to an inheritance and/or compulsory portion.

1. Overview of legacy adoption

Gurgaon: In a step to make the process of adoption of children hassle-free and to end the ambiguity around the process, the district administration on Sunday announced that a new state-backed adoption agency will come up at the Old Age Home in Sector 4. The centre will be inaugurated by the vice-chairperson of the state child welfare council, Parisha Sharma, Monday.

“There are many orphaned kids in the city, but the process of adoption of such kids involves a lot of legal aspects and that’s where this agency will be of help. It will assist childless couples adopt orphan kids and raise them responsibly,” said deputy commissioner Yash Garg.

“The Central government has constituted Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) to adopt a child. Any couple in the district will be able to adopt children following the rules laid down by this adoption agency,” he added.

“Online applications can be made on the official website of CARA. Besides this, there are some conditions for the adopting couple to satisfy, as well. It is necessary for the couple to be physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially capable,” Garg added.

A single woman can adopt a child of any gender while a single man can only adopt a boy.

Scottish mothers who endured the forced adoption of their babies have said an national apology for their losses was “not enough” and called for deep reforms to allow them to heal from the “atrocity” of being separated from their children.

The Movement for Adoption Apology in Scotland has stressed calls for much-needed mental health support for mothers and changes to the management of adoption records, which remain closed for 100 years to parents.

The campaign has also called for a permanent memorial to those affected, with adoption often presented as the only option, both by many families and health professionals, given social attitudes of the day towards unmarried mothers. Many women have spoken of a lifetime of shame, trauma and secrets that followed.

It is estimated around 60,000 women in Scotland were affected by such adoptions, with the period between the 1950s and early 1980s now in sharp focus.

Jeannot Farmer, 65, of MAA Scotland, spoke out as the Scottish Government announced it would start collecting experiences of women with a view to establishing support and action required.

A 31-year-old woman accused of leaving her baby in an underground waste container in Amsterdam-Slotermeer in 2014 should be convicted and sent to a prison cell for four years, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) said in court on Thursday. The prosecutor said that Todisoa R. deliberately tried to kill her one-month old daughter when the child was abandoned in an underground dumpster.

On Sunday, 26 October 2014, the child was found around 4:15 a.m. by a passerby who heard crying noises coming from within the waste bin on Fritz Conijnstraat. The police and fire brigade together managed to rescue the baby girl.

Nothing was known about the child’s birth parents, or how she ended up in the garbage, until nearly seven years later. During that time, she was adopted into another family. The police identified the mother, R., thanks to a fingerprint left on the bag in which the baby was found in 2014. Last May, Germany extradited the woman to the Netherlands.

Her attorney said that the R has an intellectual disability. Originally from Madagascar, R. moved to the Netherlands as an undocumented immigrant in 2014. She denied leaving her child in the dumpster later that year. She alleged an alternative scenario claiming that the father absconded with the child while R. was sleeping, and then came back to say that the girl was dead.

R said in court that she, "didn't throw Nomena in the trash." When explaining further, she added, "But I didn't do it. I did not do it. I only want a future for my children.” Her attorney said that there was not enough evidence to convict her and called for an acquittal.