“It was worth every effort”

The path to adopting Lilly from Laos pushed her German adoptive parents to their limits: They had to disclose their lives and financial situation and demonstrate a lot of patience.

By Svenja Ueing |09.01.2014

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The former operators of an adoption agency found to have fraudulently convinced Samoan parents to give up their children are asking a federal judge to reduce their monthly restitution payments.

The money is designated for a trust fund to ensure birth and adoptive families stay in touch. It's unclear how much money has been paid into the fund so far, but one parent said the money is being used in creative ways to benefit parents and children alike.

Scott and Karen Banks, who operated Focus on Children, were ordered to pay $85,000 into the Samoan Adoptees Restitution Fund to help some 80 children —including 66 placed with U.S. families — maintain contact with their birth parents.

The Banks, who now live near Reno, Nev., say in court documents that their financial circumstances have changed since July 2009, when U.S. District Court Judge David Sam ordered them and other defendants to make the fund contributions. The couple are barred from engaging in adoption services, and Scott Banks now works in construction.

By The Editorial Board •  17 May 2023, 10:00AM

The Samoan adoption scam was a story that rocked the nation some 14-16 years ago when it emerged that Samoan children were illegally taken from their families by an American adoption agency and sent to the U.S.

Falealili bus lost control, says passenger

Marilyn Rulyancich's baby was taken from her at birth, but she never gave up hope of finding her — hatching an audacious undercover plot to realise her dream.

Most mothers would do anything to be at their daughter's wedding.

Marilyn Rulyancich was no different — except she had never met her daughter.

Roelie Post

Feb 17, 2023, 4:38?PM (10 days ago)

to SAKKERS

Na ruggespraak met het Huis voor de Klokkenluider kan ik u meedelen dat die strekking zoals u die begrijpt, dat het Huis voor de Klokkenluiders niet overgegaan is tot erkenning van de klokkenluidersstatus, onjuist is:

"De afdeling Advies van het Huis is op basis van de door mevrouw Post aangeleverde

..

In India, children who can be fostered have to be above the age of six years living in child care institutions and having “unfit guardians”.

Doing away with the rule that limited foster care to married couples, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry has now permitted single individuals — including those who are unmarried, widowed, divorced, or legally separated — aged 35 to 60 years, to foster a child and adopt after two years, according to the recently released revised Model Foster Care Guidelines. However, while a single woman can foster and eventually adopt a child of any gender, a man can only do so for male children. Previously, under the 2016 Model Foster Care Guidelines, only married couples, referred to as “both spouses” in old documents, were permitted to foster a child.

Fostering is an arrangement in which a child temporarily lives with either extended family or unrelated individuals. In India, children who can be fostered have to be above the age of six years living in child care institutions and having “unfit guardians”. Minors who are placed in the category of “hard to place or children having special needs” can also be fostered.

Apart from opening up fostering to any person “irrespective of their marital status (single/unmarried/widow/divorcee/legally separated)” and whether or not they “have biological son or daughter”, the revised guidelines have also allowed the foster parent to adopt a child after she has been in her foster care for minimum of two years, as opposed to five years earlier.

In case of married couples who want to foster, the new guidelines state that “no child shall be given in foster care to a couple/spouse” unless they have had a “stable marital relationship of two years”. Earlier, there was no such caveat for couples.

Intercountry Adoption: Regulatory Changes to Accreditation and Approval Regulations in Intercountry Adoption

New State Department ruling makes inter-country adoption harder for prospective parents | Opinion

As an adoptee during China’s one-child policy, I’ve always understood and appreciated the value that international adoption can bring, especially as a response to child welfare crises and changing politics across the globe.

Unfortunately, new regulations from the Department of State on inter-country adoption impose significant burdens on parents trying to provide homes for vulnerable children overseas.

Opinion

This comes at an inopportune time when inter-country adoptions are already at an all-time low. International adoptions declined by 93% from 2004 to 2022. A 2023 State Department report showed that there were only 1,275 intercountry adoptions, down from 1,517 the year prior. Although many factors contribute to this drop, it is clear that the government is not establishing partnerships and pathways to facilitate adoption.

In the financial year 2021-22, 29,331 children were covered by non-institutional care. This number increased to 62,675 in 2022-23 and to 1,21,861 in 2023-24, it stated

The number of children in non-institutional care, including those in foster care, has increased fourfold between 2021-22 and 2023-24, according to government data.

In the financial year 2021-22, 29,331 children were covered by non-institutional care. This number increased to 62,675 in 2022-23 and to 1,21,861 in 2023-24, it stated.

In a recent letter to states and Union Territories (UTs), the women and child development (WCD) ministry said this rise may be because of the government's initiatives in strengthening family-based care to all children in difficult circumstances.