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Report: Wasted Time, a Wasted Opportunity (EU funds for Bulgaria)

http://www.community-living.info/documents/ECCL-StructuralFundsReport-final-WEB.pdf page 3: This report was written by Camilla Parker, with input from Ines Bulic´. The European Coalition for Community Living (ECCL) and the authors would like to thank the following organisations and individuals for their helpful comments on various parts of the report and for providing information about the use of Structural Funds in their countries: Elena Iorga and Loredana Ercus¸ from the Institute for Public Policy, Laila Onu and Nicoleta Foica from the Pentru Voi Foundation and Mariela Neagu, an expert on social assistance, for providing information on Romania and commenting on several drafts of the report; Zsolt Bugarszki, Orsolya Eszik and István Sziklai and all members of the Soteria–ELTE research team, for providing information on Hungary and commenting on several drafts of the report. page 26: An example of collaboration: Bulgaria15 A current initiative in Bulgaria provides an example of how the European Commission can facilitate collaboration across different agencies for the development of plans to establish community-based services and to consider how Structural Funds can best be used to implement these plans. In early 2009, the European Commission launched a collaborative exercise with the Bulgarian Government. This involved the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional Policy and Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities taking an active role in the implementation of Bulgaria’s Operational Programme for Regional Development (OPRD) (2007–2013). The European Commission decided to intervene following the poor response of the agencies responsible for managing long stay institutions for children to a call for proposals for the renovation of the social infrastructure. The Commission wanted to ensure that the available funding was used to address the situation of children in long stay institutions in the light of a BBC documentary that had depicted the appalling conditions, poor quality of care and extreme neglect of children with disabilities in one of these institutions.16 This OPRD covers a range of areas including investments into social infrastructure, with a budget of 1.6 billion EUR. The European Commission and the Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works agreed that approximately 20 million EUR from the OPRD would be allocated to investments into alternative services for children currently living in residential institutions due to poverty, disability or lack of access to other services. It was also agreed that additional funding would be allocated from the European Social Fund (ESF) for staff training. The Commission Directorates of Regional Policy and of Employment had worked together, in consultation with civil society representatives, to draft an Action Plan which proposed that the Structural Funds (European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and ESF) should be invested to support the process of de-institutionalisation in Bulgaria. This allowed investments to be made in both the infrastructure (funded under the ERDF) and in the training of staff who will work in the newly established services (funded under the ESF). In addition, the European Commission and the Bulgarian authorities convened a workshop to discuss the practicalities and challenges in the implementation of the Action Plan and share information on best practice in developing community-based services from other countries. Participants included European and international civil society representatives. Following the workshop an inter-ministerial working group was established to assist the Managing Authority17 in the planning and implementation of the project.

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Ghana Programme

Overview

Ghana is a beautiful country about the size of Oregon, situated in the heart of West Africa. Ghanaian people feel a great responsibility to be friendly and welcoming to visitors of their country. Foreigners are greeted with “Akwaaba! You are welcome!“ Ghana is one of the most stable countries in Africa. Unfortunately the economy has struggled and, like most African countries, the majority of people live in poverty. 45% of Ghana’s people live on less than $1 per day, and up to 60% of Ghana’s children are involved in child labor or child slavery. UNICEF estimates that there are 1,000,000 orphans in Ghana. Traditionally the extended family would take on orphaned family members. But in today’s Ghana many children are not able to remain with their biological families. AAI’s Ghana program began in 2007. Ghana families should be flexible and have a pioneering attitude that will help to pave the way for future families when unforeseen delays or changes in the process occur.

Available Children

Ghana Social Welfare prefers to place children through domestic adoptions, but when no Ghanaian family can be located for an adoptable child, they may be placed with an international family. Babies 0-36 months may be in need of adoption from time to time, but this is not an “infant/toddler program.” The large majority of children available for adoption are age 3 and up. There are many sibling sets available. HIV+ children may be adopted from Ghana. There is a great need for families who will adopt children 6 years old and older. Most all children in Ghana have at least some English skills by the time they are adopted (many with moderate English). Children adopted through our program may reside in foster homes or children’s homes in any region within Ghana.

Parent Eligibility

Article Particuliers mais adoptables

Janvier 2010

Article Particuliers mais adoptables

On les appelait encore récemment "enfants à particularité" avant qu'un nouveau vocable moins stigmatisant n'ait pignon sur milieu de l'adoption. La réalité de ces enfants "à besoins spécifiques " a-t-elle changé pour autant ?

En 1997, Pierre Verdier et Marieke Aucante parlaient, eux, dans leur ouvrage éponyme de « ces enfants dont personne ne veut », constatant ce « douloureux paradoxe » entre le volume de parents candidats à l'adoption et l'existence de ces enfants, en France, «seuls, promis à une enfance en institution » ou en famille d'accueil.

Quelles sont les spécificités qui font que ces enfants sont difficilement adoptables ? Ce sont des enfants qui souffrent de maladies, de pathologies, de handicaps plus ou moins invalidants, de déficience mentale, des enfants plus âgés déjà " cabossés ", des fratries... Les situations, on le voit, sont extrêmement diverses, entre l'enfant trisomique abandonné à la naissance, l'enfant prématuré pour qui il y a beaucoup d'incertitude ou celui sur lequel plane le risque d'un syndrome d'alcoologie fœtale (SAF), l'enfant de plus de 6 ans, l'enfant séropositif ou atteint d'une hépatite, l'enfant avec une fente labiopalatine (bec-de-lièvre) ou un doigt surnuméraire rejeté dans son pays pour cause de superstitions...

Djibouti

DJIBOUTI

? consulter la fiche pays du SAI

Nombre d'enfants adoptés (en France) :

Année : nombre : Année : nombre :

2004 31 2008 43

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InAsMuch Children's Homes

Let the children come to me. Don't stop them. For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Luke 18:16 N.L.T.

INASMUCH CHILDREN'S HOMES

Dr. Ronald S. Federici - Clinical Developmental Neuropsychologist @ Neuropsychological and Family Therapy Associates PC

Dr. Ronald S. Federici

McLean, Virginia - United States

Clinical Developmental Neuropsychologist @ Neuropsychological and Family Therapy Associates PC

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Die schönsten Geschichten aus dem Jahr 1990 (adoption from Cluj)

20 Jahre SZ-Magazin | Heft 20/2010

Die schönsten Geschichten aus dem Jahr 1990

In diesem Jahr haben wir rumänische Waisenkinder auf dem Weg nach Westen begleitet, der Stadt New York eine düstere und eine paar Nachwuchskickern eine glänzende Zukunft prophezeit, das Aussterben der Nashörner beklagt und die Frau des Republikaner-Vorsitzenden Franz Schönhuber porträtiert.

Foto: Ernst Fesseler

1990: Acht deutsche Ehepaare fahren im Konvoi nach Rumänien, um Waisenkinder zu adoptieren. So kommen die Zwillinge Maria und Magnolia nach Ravensburg. 2010: Die beiden müssen immer noch an ihre Schwester denken.

Dream Foundation: Three exceptional ladies

Eugenia Stoyanova

Zorka Aphusova

Galina Kubratova M.Sc, Ps.D

These three exceptional ladies have valuable and rich experience with international adoptions. Galina Kubratova is Director while Zorka Aphusova and Eugenia Stoyanova were Members of a Team organized as Advisory Office for prospective adoptive parents and adoptive parents. This Advisory Office operated during the period 2000-2003 on the territory of Sofia and three other big cities in Bulgaria. That was the only and unique project carried out ever in Bulgaria. For its three years of existence the Advisory Office provided counseling to tremendous number of prospective and adoptive parents.
These three professionals practice in the field of international adoptions. Zorka Aphusova has been Director of Orphanage “Nadejda” in Sofia since 1993 and as such she helped dozens successful international adoptions by monitoring, facilitating and following them. Even more, she keeps track of her former alumni’s development even today and observes the main problems arising after completion of adoptions as well as the tools to resolve them. Eugenia works at the Orphanage “Nadejda” too (since 1998). She provides one-on-one services to the children who are in process of international adoption and corrects their multiple problems, such as speech, auditory, intellectual and developmental ones. Galina Kubratova is operating Medical Psychologist and Therapist and both children and parents are within the scope of her patients. Galina was also a lecturer in Developmental Psychology in the Department of Social and Personal Psychology at the SofiaUniversity. She is author of over 40 publications in national newspapers and is a court expert with rights on independent psychological evaluation.
Zorka, Galina and Eugenia are co-authors of a manual forstudents of pedagogy – “Integrated Education Project”, in twoparts – “Theory” and “Empirism”, published in 2001 and 2003, which deals with the problems of education of children with specific educational needs (hearing, speech, intellectual problems, etc.).
Zorka is also co-author of monographical collection "Orientation, Motivation, Adaptation - "Hope" Ideological Project (Patterns for socialization of children with different family status). This collection summarizes long-lasting research experience of the team at Orphanage "Nadejda" regarding integrated socialization of children at age 3-7.

Child Protection Bulgaria

CHILD PROTECTION

Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria has the highest rate of child institutionalisation in Europe, with an estimated 16,000 – 20,000 children living in orphanages. Less than 2% of these children are thought to be orphans.

ARK has worked in partnership with the Bulgarian Government since 2006 to plan and support reform of long-term institutional care in the Municipality of Stara Zagora (home to the highest number of institutionalised children in the country). This was the first time the Government had ever explicitly committed to the replacement of large-scale, long-term institutional care with family and community based services and marked a huge breakthrough for both ARK and the future of child-care in Bulgaria

In 2008, ARK closed Nadejda Home for Children Deprived of Parental Care, completing Bulgaria’s first quality institutional closure. In addition, over 60 further children have been moved from other institutions. All children have been reintegrated with their immediate or extended family or found homes with foster carers, adoptive families or in Small Group Homes.

Legislation about egg donation in Europe and in Russia

Legislation about egg donation in Europe and in Russia

Legislation on egg donation in Europe and in Russia

Not all countries give permission to women to donate eggs. That is the strong obstacle for women who want to receive egg donation in Europe. Russia is one of the European countries where the laws are most liberal when it comes to legislation related to egg donation. Donor anonymity is guaranteed, and donors are compensated by clinics. This means that it is possible for us at AVA-Peter to uphold a database of egg donors who are willing to offer their services to childless couples or single women.

The rules on donating eggs

Russia is one of the few countries with no considerable legal restrictions on egg donation in Europe. It allows anonymous egg donation as long as the donor’s age is between 20 and 35 and has at least one healthy child of her own. Donation by a donor you know is also allowed, for example when the donor is a female relative or friend.