Fwd: Danadopt

Annual Report 2001 of the independent institution DanAdopt

In 2001, a total of 248 children were taken home from six countries in Asia, one country in South America and four countries in Europe. At the beginning of the year we had hoped to attain a higher number of children.

The figures show clearly that the bulk of DanAdopt's adoption work is centred on Asia, where the large cooperative countries, India, China, Korea and Vietnam combined account for more than 80% of all the children we bring to this country. In Europe, the provision from Bulgaria still accounts for more than half the children taken home. 90% of all children were less than three years old when they were taken home. The gender distribution is close to equilibrium, with a small excess of girls.

2001 was the first 'regular' year after the introduction of the new pre-placement procedure as from 1 April 2000. In the course of the year DanAdopt received 239 new applications in total, still significantly below the level in 1999, when we received 302 new applications. There was a minor increase in the number of approved applicants in Denmark, though the level remains about 100 – 150 below the figures for the years up to 1999.

At the office in Birker?e are continuing the effort to keep quality, openness and dialogue with our applicants in focus. In this connection we have reinforced initiatives to utilise the feedback we receive, whether it is of an informal character or sent to us on the evaluation forms we ask all families to complete. We have held follow-up review meetings to have an opportunity to discuss both praise and criticism with our families. The interest in participating has been steadily declining, however.

Open information meetings were given a different placing in the new pre-placement structure, but our information meetings still attracted many attendants in 2001. We held preliminary information meetings in Birker?e first Wednesday each month (except for July) for interested families in the pre-application phase with participation of adoptive families and members of our staff. Information meetings were held about twice every month in Birker?d Jutland alternately for interested families who had entered the pre-placement phase. DanAdopt's social worker and health visitor were normally in charge of the programme for these meetings.

DanAdopt also contributed to the mandatory pre-adoption courses organised by the authority, the Private Law Directorate. We have provided presentations of the agencies' work at the so-called intermediate evening of these courses.

2001 was also the year when we launched country meetings, our new important offer to families on waiting lists, whether they are waiting to have a child assigned or to take home their child. The meetings, held every six months, have a relatively fixed agenda but also include presentations of topical issues by both internal and external contributors.

We are also still invited, to a modest extent, to take part in information meetings held by Adoption & Society and other organisations.

Our magazine Children of the World is published four times a year. DanAdopt's Chairman is the editor responsible under press law, whereas the practical editorial work is handled by Ole Sejer J?sen in cooperation with members of the staff. The magazine is distributed to all active adopters until one year after their adoption case has been finalised as well as to cooperative partners in Denmark and abroad. In general, everyone may take out a subscription for the magazine.

DanAdopt's Chairman was a member of the newly established Adoption Council, which has been discontinued already, however. It got as far as defining its purpose but not much more.

The year's meeting activities also included participation in the work of NAC, the Nordic Adoption Council, where DanAdopt's new Vice-Chairman Sten Juul Petersen is the Danish member of the executive committee. The annual conference in Gothenburg had several participants from DanAdopt.

About 10 contact visits were made to several of DanAdopt's contact countries: The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Poland, Rumania, Bulgaria and India. In December, we went on the first visit to South Africa, signing a cooperation agreement with the organisation Abba Adoptions in Pretoria. In October DanAdopt's three paediatric advisors took part in a trip with members of our staff to Poland and Bulgaria, visiting both authorities and institutions. In addition, we made some combined contact and escort trips, particularly to India.

In April, DanAdopt took part in the Adoption Board's visit to Bucharest and the inspection visit to Bulgaria. Later in the year, we took part in the inspection visit to Vietnam and China in August – September. In addition to these travelling activities DanAdopt also maintained its fruitful and open cooperation with both the Adoption Board and the Private Law Directorate.

As usual, DanAdopt received several visits from some of our contact countries.

DanAdopt's relief work is carried out primarily through our cooperative partners in a number of countries, for example: Korea, India, Thailand, the Philippines, Poland, Bulgaria and Rumania. In 2001, DanAdopt spent a total amount of DKK 1,041,808 on relief funding granted to various projects and purposes in 10 of our contact countries. Altogether this meant that we had to draw DKK 356,337 from our own capital resources.

The financial year 2001 was still influenced considerably by the changes in the adoption procedures in Denmark. We were able to devote more time and resources to continued development of our cooperative relations with our contact countries and new added contact countries and upgrading our information activities.

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