Adoption from other countries is down 80 percent since its peak. Why do we make this hard? America is pro-adoption; the State Department should be, too.

The State Department’s current anti-adoption polices are preventing Americans from becoming parents by opening their hearts and homes to orphans from around the world. These children are in desperate need of loving families, and tens of thousands of Americans are ready to adopt them. Yet intercountry adoption has fallen by nearly 80 percent since its peak in 2004.

This is not what was supposed to happen.

In April 2008, the United States joined the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, and the U.S. Department of State was given the mandate to improve the ability for the U.S. federal government to assist with intercountry adoptions. Unfortunately, the State Department’s mismanagement of its obligations under the convention has yielded disastrous results:  Children are far less safe, American parents are poorly served, and the Department of State has fractured relations with nearly every adoption stakeholder.

Why has intercountry adoption collapsed?

Simon and his husband are withdrawing from adopting another Danish child. This is based on the Supreme Court's decision in another adoption case.

It was the dream of creating a family that led Simon and his husband to apply to adopt a Danish child back in 2020. 

Barely two years later they had their son, who was one and a half years old at the time. 

- When it finally worked out, and we could find a way through how we could have a child together and be a family of the three of us, it was a feeling of happiness beyond compare, says Simon.

Simon is not the adoptive father's real name, but out of concern for the family's anonymity, TV2 ØST calls him Simon in this article. TV2 ØST knows the man's real name.

While cancelling the bail granted to thirteen accused persons in several cases involving inter-State trafficking of minors, the Supreme Court criticised and expressed its disappointment with how the State of Uttar Pradesh did not challenge the bail granted by the Allahabad High Court despite the matter involving crimes of a serious nature. We are thoroughly disappointed with the manner in...

Hi Jay
InterCountry
I think you might be a Colombian adoptee?
InterCountry
lovely to econnect! You sent me a friend request. I'd love to hear a little about yourself and why you might be reaching out to connect to me as a fellow intercountry adoptee? My website has a ton of resources www.intercountryadopteevoices.com
My name is Lynelle Long and I'm adopted from Vietnam to Australia and I've been providing a space for intercountry transracial adoptees for 27 years. Looking forward to getting to know you ..
Cheers
Lynelle
Tue 17:12
You sent
Hello Lynelle, yes, I was adopted from Colombia, the orphanage Los Pisingo's, I have started recently to deal with my adoption and want to connect with other intercountry adoptees and share experiences.
You sent
Wow! Your website is impressive!
Tue 18:49
InterCountry
Happy to help support you in whatever way you need
InterCountry
And to listen and reflect
InterCountry
if you want a more "ease into adoptee spaces" group for you right now .. I can recommend some .. ICAV might also be a bit much for you straight away

American couple adopt orphan girl: A ten-year-old girl who was taking shelter in a children's home in Hanumakonda was adopted by an American couple. The childless couple said that they would share the love of their parents with the child. The girl was handed over to them under the supervision of the District Collector. Officials said that many children have been adopted by foreigners in the past. The Collector called for the protection of orphaned children. In the past, many celebrities have similarly taken in orphans.

I don't know if the parents became too heavy.. or if they turned their eyes away and became orphans. Whatever the circumstances were, the little girl ended up in the orphanage as an orphan. She cried for her parents for many days. She yearned for her parents' love. The orphanage provides food.. supports her but.. doesn't caress her like a mother.. doesn't make her cry like a father. The little girl had the same worries in her mind. She didn't have parents.. She worried about why she and everyone in the orphanage were orphans without parents.

She was worried that no one would love her and take her in. And the one above must have heard the pain in that child's heart. He brought a couple to her to give her the love of her distant relatives. An American couple adopted the girl, who was far from her relatives' love , and came forward to raise her as their own child. With that, the child traveled from the orphanage to America. Those details..

An American couple has adopted a girl who is taking shelter in a children's home . The couple has announced that they will become parents to the girl and provide her with the love they have always had. The girl was handed over to the American couple under the supervision of the District Collector. The details are as follows. A ten-year-old girl is taking shelter in a children's home in Hanumakonda. The girl's details have been added to the Central Adoption Resources Department. The girl's details have been uploaded online with the intention of someone adopting the girl.

In this regard, a couple from America applied to the Central Adoption Resource Authority to adopt a child. The Central Adoption Resource Authority, which examined their application, agreed to the inter-country adoption according to seniority. With this, on Friday, the girl was handed over to the American couple under the supervision of Hanumakonda Collector Praveenya.

Speaking on the occasion, the Collector said that childless couples should adopt legally. DWO J. Jayanthi said that so far 10 children have been adopted to Italy, Malta, London and America as part of inter-country adoption. They say that the child waiting for the love of his/her parents will no longer have that pain. They say that it would be good if more people come forward.. take these orphaned children in their arms .. give them a family. They are praising the couple who adopted the orphan.

TBIJ led legal bid to identify couple whose adopted children suffered emotional abuse, physical attacks and racism

Content warning: This story contains references to child abuse and racism.

A primary school teacher smashed their adopted children’s heads together, forced them to swallow soap and called one of them a “black bastard”.

The Korean government is committed to reforming the system on adoption that presents a whole new world for a child

- The ministry held a ceremony to celebrate the 19th Adoption Day -

- The MOHW reaffirmed its commitment to reforming to a public adoption system,

Completion of legislation for implementing reform of public adoption system centered on national and local governments
- Enforcement Decree and Enforcement Rules of the International Adoption Act and the Domestic Adoption Special Act are enacted and revised, and are scheduled to take effect on July 19 -

  The Ministry of Health and Welfare (Minister Cho Kyu-hong) announced that following the promulgation of the Enforcement Decree of the Special Adoption Act (renamed the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Domestic Adoption), the Partial Revision Decree of the Enforcement Decree of the Child Welfare Act, and the Enforcement Decree (enactment) of the Act on International Adoption ('25.5.7.), it has enacted and revised the related enforcement regulations* ('25.5.14. promulgated), which will go into effect on July 19. 

   * Enforcement Decree of the Special Adoption Act (renamed as the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Domestic Adoption), Enforcement Decree of the Act on International Adoption

  This is a follow-up measure to the revision of subordinate statutes in accordance with the revision of the law in July 2023 to strengthen national responsibility for domestic and international adoption of children in order to implement the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption*. 

NEW DELHI, Apr 15: The Supreme Court on Monday warned parents in the country about the dangers of child trafficking and asked them to be extremely vigilant with their children.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan, which took a stern view of the inter-state child trafficking rackets, said long delays in the adoption process had led to an increase in the demand for children declared legally fit for adoptions, giving rise to children being trafficked for adoption.

“We want to convey a message to one and all, more particularly the parents across the country that they should remain extremely vigilant and careful with their children. A slight carelessness or negligence or laxity on their part may prove to be extremely costly,” the bench said.

The verdict went on, “Over the years, demands for the adoption of children have increased and there is a significant waiting period for prospective parents to adopt. At any given point in time, there are parents waiting for at least 3-4 years to adopt. Even after being processed and children being matched, the necessary verification processes also take a long time.”

New Delhi, Apr 15 (PTI) Taking a stern view of inter-state child trafficking rackets in the country, the Supreme Court on Monday cancelled the bail granted to 13 accused and said the "cry of the collective for justice, its desire for peace and harmony" couldn't be trivialised.
     "We direct the state government to ensure that the trafficked children are admitted in schools in accordance with the provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and continue to provide support for their education," a bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said.
     The top court noted trafficking in India had taken diverse forms -- each prevailing across states.
     "An overall analysis of trafficking patterns across states reiterates the prevalence of trafficking in large numbers with the number of cases sharply rising with time. What is of concern is the rapid spread of the problem with previously unknown factors getting embedded in the web of traffickers," it said.
     The bench said the changing trafficking patterns also brought "changes in the traffickers, their modus operandi, their manipulation of the victims and their understanding of the limitations in the criminal justice system".
     It found fault with the Allahabad High Court orders releasing the accused persons on bail.
     Considering the serious nature of the crime, the bench said the high court should not have ruled in favour of the accused persons.
     "We are sorry to say but the high court dealt with all the bail applications in a very callous manner. The outcome of this callous approach on the part of the high court has ultimately paved the way for many accused persons to abscond and thereby put the trial in jeopardy," it said.
     The "least" the high court could have done was to impose a condition on each of the accused to mark their presence once a week at the police station concerned, the bench added.
     The bench said the life of an individual living in a society governed by the rule of the law had to be regulated.      Such regulations which were the source in law, subserve the social balance and function as a significant instrument to protect human rights and security of the collective, it added.
     Laws, the top court said, were enacted for the collective's obedience so that the society's members lived peacefully.
     The accused were stated to be a "big threat to the society" for exhibiting a tendency of committing child trafficking wherever they went in the country.
     The top court was critical of the Uttar Pradesh government conduct saying, it was "thoroughly disappointed" with the manner in which the situation was handled.
     "Why did the state not do anything for all this period of time? Why did the State not deem fit to challenge the orders of bail passed by the high court? The state unfortunately has exhibited no seriousness worth the name."
     The top court directed the accused persons to surrender and expedited the trial against them in three FIRs registered against them in Varanasi.
     "We direct the chief judicial magistrate district Varanasi and the additional chief judicial magistrate court number 5, District Varanasi to commit all the three criminal cases…of this judgment to the sessions court, within a period of two weeks from today without fail," it said.
     The bench said as all the criminal cases were being committed to the sessions court, the trial court concerned should proceed to frame charges within a week from then on.
     The trial court was ordered to take immediate steps to secure the presence of the accused in case it found that the accused persons had absconded or there whereabouts were not known.
     The 95-page verdict was authored by Justice Pardiwala, who said once charges were framed by the trial court in individual cases, the trial court should proceed with the recording of the evidence, preferably on a day-to-day basis and complete the trial within six months.
     The bench directed the state to appoint three special public prosecutors for conducting trials and said police protection should provided to the victims and their families.
     The police was granted two months to trace the absconding accused persons and produce them before the court concerned at the earliest.
     The bench said at trial's end, the trial court concerned should pass appropriate orders on compensation to the victims under the provisions of the BNSS 2023 including under the Uttar Pradesh Rani Laxmi Bai Mahila Evam Bal Samman Kosh managed by the Land Welfare Committee.