Russian officials call for suspension of adoptions to U.S. parents after death of Dillsburg-area boy

By LARA BRENCKLE, The Patriot-News

March 05, 2010, 12:00AM

Provided by ITAR-TASS News Service

Nathaniel Craver and his twin sister pose in this undated photograph.

Change in Processing Timeline for Adoption Cases

March 5, 2010

The Department of State shares families’ concerns about recent media reports alleging direct recruitment of children from birth parents by adoption service providers or their employees. In response to these reports, the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa has implemented some changes to adoption visa processing. Adoptive parents should be aware that an I-604 (Determination on Child for Adoption, sometimes referred to as “orphan investigation”) must be completed in connection with every I-600 application. Depending on the circumstances of the case, this investigation may take up to several weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, adoptive parents should not plan to travel to Ethiopia until they have confirmed with their adoption agency that their visa interview appointment has been confirmed.

Adoption agencies submit case paperwork to the U.S. Embassy for review before the Embassy schedules the immigrant visa appointment. In some cases the I-604 determination could take several weeks or more from the time a case is submitted to the U.S. Embassy to the scheduling of a visa interview appointment. We understand that in such cases this will result in a longer period before parents are able to bring their adopted children to the U.S. However, this additional scrutiny is required to ensure that the adoption is legal under both U.S. and Ethiopian law. The U.S. Embassy will work with adoptive parents and their adoption agency to ensure that each case is processed in the most expeditious manner possible in accordance laws and regulations. Families should continue to work through their agency to schedule immigrant visa appointments and answer questions regarding pending cases.

If families have concerns about their adoption, we ask that they share this information with the Embassy, particularly if it involves possible fraud or misconduct specific to your child’s case. The Embassy takes all allegations of fraud or misconduct seriously.

INDIA - MC nuns struggle to give babies for adoption

Published Date: March 5, 2010

Missionaries of Charity nuns and volunteers at a home for ‘unwanted’ children

RAIPUR, India (UCAN) — A bureaucratic tangle is delaying attempts by Missionaries of Charity (MC) nuns to give orphan babies up for adoption.

On Aug. 31, 2009, the Chhattisgarh state government allowed the nuns to give babies up for adoption, listing the nun’s center as a licensed agency for promoting domestic adoption.

Adoption Alert

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Bureau of Consular Affairs

Office of Children’s Issues

Caution About Pursuing an Adoption in Nepal

Future of the Ethiopia–Australian Intercountry Adoption Program

The Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, has decided to lift the suspension of the Ethiopia–Australia intercountry adoption program. The program will recommence accepting new referrals of children in need of intercountry adoption and matching these children with prospective adoptive parents as at 6 April 2010.

The Ethiopia–Australia program was suspended in November 2009 due to concerns that Australia could no longer conduct intercountry adoptions in Ethiopia in a manner consistent with its obligations under the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption.

In January 2010 an Australian delegation travelled to Ethiopia to discuss the current suspension with the Ethiopian Government and to investigate options for the future of the program. The delegation obtained additional information about the requirement for Australia to provide development assistance and how this might be done in a manner consistent with the Hague Convention. The visit also provided the Department with an enhanced understanding of the practical challenges facing the program.

Information gathered during the delegation visit was incorporated into the Department’s formal review of the program, which has been underway since June 2009. The Department received over 400 submissions about the program, which were also considered in the review process.

Deutschland verweigert indischer Leihmutter die Einreise

Artikel Bilder (1) Kommentare (2)

Neu Delhi/Ulm. Seit zwei Jahren kämpft eine deutsche Familie darum, ihre in Indien geborenen Kinder nach Deutschland bringen zu dürfen. Weil eine Leihmutter die Buben ausgetragen hat, verweigern die Behörden ihre Zustimmung.

Es ist ein nicht enden wollender behördlicher Albtraum, mit dem das Ehepaar aus Bayern wohl nicht gerechnet hat: Seit zwei Jahren streitet das Paar mit den Behörden darum, seine in Indien geborenen Zwillinge nach Deutschland holen zu dürfen. Doch die deutschen Behörden wollen den Kindern keinen Pass ausstellen. Das Problem: Eine Leihmutter hat die Jungen geboren. Dies ist aber nach deutschem Recht verboten. Indien - wo Leihmutterschaft legal ist - hält die Kinder wegen ihrer Eltern für deutsche Bundesbürger. Reisedokumente für sie gibt es deshalb auch in Indien nicht. Die zweijährigen Buben sind somit staatenlos. Nun drängt die Zeit, denn dem Vater, der seit der Geburt bei den Kindern lebt, droht nach Ablauf seines Visums die Abschiebung - ohne die Zwillinge.

Gestern äußerte sich der 47-jährige Kunsthistoriker, der anonym bleiben will, gegenüber der ARD. Die rechtliche Lage in Deutschland hätten er und seine Frau gekannt, sagte der Mann. Weil die Kinder im Ausland zur Welt kamen, habe er darin aber kein Problem gesehen: "Wir haben eine Woche nach Geburt der Kinder mit der Botschaft telefoniert und denen gesagt, dass es eine Leihmutterschaft ist." Die Botschaft habe daraufhin mitgeteilt, dass man die Familie nicht unterstützen könne. "So saßen wir dann allein in einem fremden Land fest."

Woman Denies Trying to Sell Baby for Dh8,500 Mary Nammour

4 March 2010, DUBAI — A woman cook denied in court on Wednesday that she had surreptitiously tried to sell another woman’s newborn baby boy to undercover police officers for Dh8,500 in October.

The 24-year-old Indonesian cook claimed before the Court of First Instance that she had only wanted to give away the baby for adoption with his biological mother’s consent. Denying that she asked for any money in exchange, she pleaded not guilty to the human trafficking charge against her that was read out by the presiding Judge Fahmi Mounir.

However, according to court records, the cook had initially offered the baby for Dh10,000 before settling for Dh8,500. She told the baby’s biological mother that the baby was being given away to an Emirati family for adoption.

An woman sergeant from the Anti-Organized Crime Department’s Human Trafficking Section told the prosecutors that on October 30 she had received a telephone call regarding the case. She added, “I was informed that the defendant was about to sell a newborn (baby boy) for Dh10,000. I was given her number.”

Parliamentary questions

4 March 2010

E-1084/10

WRITTEN QUESTION by Cristiana Muscardini (PPE) to the Commission

Subject: Abandoned children in Romania

`Forgeries and lies' in Australian adoptions of Ethiopian children - Rory Callinan - From: The Australian - March 03, 2010 12:00AM - *A SECRET government investigation uncovered major flaws in Ethiopian adoptions to Australia, with some children falsely represented as being abandoned, not having siblings and being healthy despite having serious illnesses. * Others were found to be years older than what was listed on their official documents while some adoptions were processed using a forged Ethiopian Foreign Office seal, according to an interim report into Australia's and Ethiopia's bilateral intercountry adoption program, which was obtained by The Australian. *Email Rory Callinan if you know of other cases * The program, under which about 450 children have been adopted by Australians over the past 10 years, has been suspended while the federal government negotiates with Ethiopian officials over a push by the African nation for aid to be linked to adoptions. Canberra is concerned the move is "inconsistent with its obligations" under the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in respect of Intercountry Adoption. The program's representative, Ethiopia-based Ato Lakew Gebeyehu, denied any impropriety in his operations or any knowledge of the report. The investigation was launched after a group of Victorian parents approached the state's Human Services Department to complain in 2005. Investigators reviewed 117 Ethiopian adoption files from 2002 to 2004 and found "issues of concern" in 44 cases. In 10 cases, wrong information about the history and circumstances of abandoned children was allegedly provided to Ethiopia's Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Previously unknown siblings were uncovered in nine cases and previously unknown relatives found in five cases after the adoptive families travelled to Ethiopia to do their own research. The report said such discoveries had left some families questioning "the integrity of the program and the process of children being placed for overseas adoption". It said evidence suggested the relinquishing family or community might have misrepresented the family situation to secure care for a child who could not be looked after for reasons such as extreme poverty. One of the most significant findings was that, in 25 cases, the recorded age of the child was wrong -- more than a year out in 11 cases -- "which had impacted on some children's socialisation and enrolment at school". In eight cases, the child's health problems were not properly recorded in the allocation documents. And limited information had been recorded about the child's overall development. The report recommended the program continue but be further investigated to ensure it complied with the Hague Convention. Mr Gebeyehu said he was aware a family from Victoria had raised concerns after a child was found to be older than thought but he was unaware of any investigation or negative finding about the program. Mr Gebeyehu said there had been only two or three cases in 20 years where ages were wrong. "We have no birth certificates," he said. He said cases where siblings had been found could occur but some were false claims. Mr Gebeyehu confirmed one of his employees had been using a forged seal but said the documents were replaced and the individual responsible was jailed.

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Couple on probation in Samoan adoption case adopt child

Placement dispute » Kansas couple also wanted the girl.

By Pamela Manson

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 03/03/2010 10:52:51 PM MST