US Department of State Notices/Alerts Vietnam, Guatemala, Ukraine

This past week the US Department of State has been busy with issuing notices and alerts.

Guatemala

On June 14, 2011, they issued a notice for their acknowledgement of Guatemala’s CNA processing of pipeline cases. The notice is  here and is pasted below.

“Notice: Guatemala listserv update June 13, 2011 Letter of understanding delivered

The Office of Children’s Issues announces that it has delivered a letter of understanding to the CNA that confirms the U.S. Government’s role in the CNA’s proposed framework for processing its transition cases to conclusion. We await the CNA’s response and will provide updates as they become available.”

Vietnam

Then, the DOS issued an adoption notice for Vietnam that sounds like a veiled threat against service providers and a heads-up to prospective adoptive parents. Let us know if you know of agencies that are promoting referrals as is indicated in this notice found here and pasted below.

“Notice: Adoption Notice Vietnam

Intercountry adoption is not possible from Vietnam at this time. Adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents should not seek or accept new (or potential) adoption referrals from Vietnam until an announcement is posted that the United States Citizenship and Information Service (USCIS) is again processing new I-600 or I-800 petitions for intercountry adoption in Vietnam.

In June 2010, the Vietnamese legislature passed a new adoption law which took effect on January 1, 2011. The Vietnamese Prime Minister subsequently signed the new adoption decree on March 21 which took effect on May 8. Vietnam continues their efforts to implement the new law and achieve Vietnam’s stated goal ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-Operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention).

Vietnam signed the Convention on December 7, 2010 and has expressed its intent to ratify the Convention in July 2011 which means that the Convention would enter into force (and Vietnam would become a party) in November 2011. Under U.S. law, if/when Vietnam becomes a party to the Convention, the United States Central Authority (USCA) must evaluate whether procedures leading to the adoption of a child in Vietnam conform to the standards established by the Convention and the U.S. Intercountry Adoption Act (IAA).

The United States recognizes Vietnam’s initiatives as significant developments in the renewed commitment by the Government of Vietnam to strengthen its child welfare system and the integrity of its domestic and international adoption process. Nevertheless, adoption service providers and prospective adoptive parents are cautioned that important steps must still be taken before Vietnam completes this reform process and before intercountry adoptions between the United States and Vietnam can resume.

The USCA cautions adoption service providers that they should not offer or appear to offer adoption services in Vietnam until specific adoption service providers have been accredited or otherwise approved by the Government of Vietnam. In addition, under applicable U.S. regulations, accredited or approved adoption service providers may only provide services in a Convention country if the USCA has determined that the Convention country is compliant with Convention standards.

The United States welcomes Vietnam’s strong efforts to create a child welfare system and an intercountry adoption process that will meet its obligations under the Convention. At this time it is not possible to estimate when adoptions between the United States and Vietnam may resume.”

Ukraine

Lastly, they issued an alert about the delay in  case processing due to the switchover to the new Ukrainian adoption authority, The Ministry of Social Policy, found here and pasted below.

“Alert: Ukrainian Family Code Amendments and temporary suspension on adoptions to take effect on July 11, 2011
The Ukrainian State Department on Adoptions (SDA) informed the US Embassy this morning that beginning July 11 SDA will no longer have the authority to process adoption cases. This will likely result in a temporary suspension of adoptions from Ukraine. The Ministry of Social Policy will take over as the new adoption authority in Ukraine, but does not yet have Cabinet approval to create a staff and begin processing cases. The Ministry does not yet know when they will be able to resume adoption processing. The amendments to the Ukrainian Family Code mentioned in the previous adoption alert will also go into effect on July 11.

We will ask the Ukrainian government to resume adoptions as quickly as possible. We will also continue to encourage the Ministry of Social Policy to protect adoptions where U.S. prospective adoptive parents have already been approved by the SDA to adopt a particular child.

According to SDA, there are now 139 U.S. families registered with the SDA, some of them already in-country. We will be following new developments closely to understand how it will affect the families currently in process and will be posting relevant updates. In that respect. we recommend that all American families that are currently in Ukraine or have appointments with SDA during the next few weeks send their contact information to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine’s Adoption Unit at: kyivadoptions@state.gov. Families should contact their local adoption service provider for further updates and details. ”

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