Taiwan Nationals to Be at Top of List of Adoption Applicants UPDATED
We have discussed how Taiwanese adoptive parents look to adopt healthy, young children as do international adoptive parents. Trafficking issues also have been discussed in posts this year.
Now, as anticipated by adoption agencies since the beginning of 2011, “drafted amendments to the Children and Youth Welfare Act are expected to clear the floor of the Legislative Yuan” on Friday November 11.
“The amendments, which introduce new regulations governing the adoption of children, will make the domestic adoption system more transparent and comprehensive, thereby facilitating efforts to prevent and crack down on human trafficking activities, Chang said.
She noted that currently around 3,000 children are adopted in Taiwan each year. Around 15 percent of them are adopted by foreigners, with half of the foreign foster families hailing from the United States, the official added.
The amendments include new articles that stipulate Taiwan nationals be at the top of the list of applicants for an adoption, and that adoption operations must be handled by non-profit organizations and by public or privately run youth shelters.
Chang explained that the existing law fails to offer a comprehensive system that protects children. At present, people who want to adopt a child need only reach an agreement with the legal guardians of the children and have the adoption papers notarized by a district court. She noted that such a loose system can easily be exploited by human traffickers.”
Law set to be revised to strengthen adoption regulations
[Focus Taiwan 11/9/11 by Angela Tsai and Elizabeth Hsu]
“The government will also have to set out clear fees for handling adoptions, including the costs of assessments and paper translations services.
Any person found to be illegally arranging adoptions could be fined a maximum of NT$300,000.
Currently, there are go-betweens who arrange adoptions. They may charge as much as NT$300,000 for each case, the paper said.”
“The paper said the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) supports the proposed changes that will make the adoption process more transparent, as U.S. citizens have adopted many children from Taiwan.
Last year, almost 400 children from Taiwan found their adopted families in other countries, and 285 of them were adopted by U.S. parents, the paper said.”
Government expected to pass strict laws regarding adoption of children
[China Post 11/10/11]
Gladney discussed possible changes in a blog post on January 13, 2011 here.
“The law under revision is entitled “Children and Youth Social Welfare Law”. This law has been in effect since 2003 and contains 75 articles.
The new proposed legislation is entitled “ The Children and Youth Welfare Rights Protection Act”. The new law contains 115 articles.”
“According to the government in Taiwan, the new legislation will make some significant changes to the adoption systems in Taiwan. To avoid child trafficking, only licensed organizations can process adoptions under the new law. Penalty for violation is NTB 300000, which is about USD $10,000. Another change is that prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) are required to take training courses, undergo mental health and physical health assessments, as well as obtain drug and alcohol clearances, etc.”
“[T]he government has already been very actively making guidelines, and procedures for implementation as of the effective date of the new law. One policy guideline, which is significant for US families planning to adopt from Taiwan, is “domestic adoption first” – placing a priority on considering domestic families first for children, before considering international adoption. Procedures for implementing this policy guideline are under consideration and include the use of a domestic database to list children for a period of time prior to consideration for international placement.”
Update: “The Legislative Yuan passed a set of amendments to the Children and Youth Welfare Act Friday that strengthened laws governing adoption procedures and improved the management of home-based child care services.
According to the amendments, the adoption of children, with the exception of adoption amongst relatives, must be arranged through a non-profit, government-authorized adoption brokering organization.
Those caught engaging in unauthorized adoption brokerage can be fined up to NT$300,000 (US$9,941). In processing an adoption application, the brokering organizations should visit and investigate the applicants to evaluate their eligibility, with local applicants given priority over foreigners. These strict requirements are aimed at preventing human trafficking, according to lawmakers.
Also, before approving an adoption, a court can order a potential adopter to attend parenting classes, undergo a mental health assessment, or receive a drug or alcohol abuse screening test. The amended law also charges neighborhood chiefs, health care workers, social workers, educators and police with the responsibility of reporting cases of child drug abuse, mistreatment and abandonment.
Those who fail to do so can be fined up to NT$30,000.
On home-based child care services, the law stipulates that providers of such services must be 20 years old or over and obtain a babysitting license. Alternatively, they must be a graduate from a child care and education, domestic science, or nursing program, or have received professional training and hold a diploma in babysitting. In addition, child care service providers are required to register with a local government. Failure to do so could result in fines of up to NT$30,000. There will be a three-year buffer period before the amendments are implemented.
The amendments also address after-school care services for elementary students, forbidding those convicted of sexual harassment or sexual abuse and those with mental disorders from taking up the work. Meanwhile, the amendments ban newspapers from publishing content that is potentially harmful to the physical and psychological health of children. Such content includes the excessive depiction of rape, molestation, suicide and drug abuse, as well as words describing and photos showing violent or erotic details. The ban, however, does not apply when newspapers cite an open document issued by a judicial or administrative agency.
In addition, the amendments require all publications to be properly classified according to their content to protect children. Also, those who circulate Internet content that is harmful to children without taking proper protective measures can be fined up to NT$500,000.”
Law revised to overhaul adoption procedures, babysitting services
[Taiwan News 11/11/11 by Central News Agency/Lu Hsin-Hui and Y. F. Low]
Update 2: “In January, the Taiwan Child Welfare Bureau issued an administrative order that requires all adoption cases filed on behalf of U.S. prospective adoptive parents with the Taiwan courts to undergo the U.S. PAIR process. The order applies to all currently licensed Taiwan adoption services providers (ASP), and any ASPs which may be licensed in the future. The administrative order instructs Taiwan ASPs to include a letter issued by the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) located in Taipei, confirming that USCIS successfully completed the PAIR process with each court filing initiated after April 1, 2013. The new requirement will not affect pending adoption cases filed with Taiwan courts before April 1, 2013.
To enable prospective parents adopting from Taiwan to comply with Taiwan’s new requirement, USCIS issued a policy memorandum, effective immediately, that allows prospective adoptive parents to file a Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative, before Taiwan courts finalize an adoption in Taiwan. These new procedures allow USCIS to assess the child’s eligibility for U.S. immigration benefits and make a preliminary determination before Taiwan courts finalize the adoption decree.
After USCIS issues a preliminary determination of the child’s immigration eligibility, AIT will issue a letter to prospective adoptive parents confirming completion of the PAIR process. Prospective adoptive parents, through their ASPs, must include the letter from AIT when filing a case with the Taiwan courts.
To begin the PAIR process, petitioners adopting children from Taiwan should file the Form I-600 petition and supporting documents with the USCIS National Benefits Center (NBC) before filing an adoption case with the Taiwan courts. Please refer to filing instructions for the NBC. USCIS overseas offices and the AIT will continue to accept Form I-600 petitions, but such petitions will be forwarded to the NBC for PAIR review.
Prospective adoptive parents filing their Form I-600 petition should include all available required documentation when filing a Form I-600 petition, except the adoption decree or grant of legal custody. In addition, the following PAIR-specific documentation must be submitted when the child’s country of origin is Taiwan:
1) Evidence of availability for intercountry adoption generated by the Taiwan island-wide database; 2) Signed adoption agreement between birth parents and prospective adoptive parents for use in Taiwan District Family Courts; and 3) Power of attorney appointing the Taiwan ASP to represent the prospective adoptive parents.
The Taiwan District Family Court will make its own determination regarding the child’s adoptability. After completing the adoption and receiving the adoption decree from the Taiwan District Family Court, U.S. adoptive parents will submit their adoption decree and all necessary documents to AIT for final Form I-600 petition approval and immigrant visa processing.”
[USCIS 2/26/13]
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