Waivermania
Waivers have no place in the welfare of children. Either a country has requirements or it doesn’t . You can’t be child-focused and have waivers.
Some waivers are often granted because a country is trying to place older or special needs children. (Think China). Children with special needs require even more care, so to lower or eliminate the standard makes no sense.
Other places have not had a stable government for such a long time that they have outdated rules on the book. (Think Haiti.)
Some countries have very strict guidelines—from PAP weight to education level to religion to years married to age. It is their right to have those guidelines.
We will outline some of the common waivers that we have seen granted in the past year.
China
Weight (BMI)
Assets
Age
Number of children in the home
Income
Singles are waived to complete adoptions from the Special Focus
Agency waives fees for children about to age out. This is suspect since there is a 1 healthy placement for every 5 special needs placement situation. This has nothing to do with serving the need of the child (to be placed in a home that cannot raise the money for the fees, especially in a country that has an income requirement.) This is all about future business for the agency.
Multiple waivers in the above categories for the same referral.
March 2011 added a new requirement–a psychological exam (effective October 2011) for any PAP with an issue related to anxiety, depression, therapy, counseling, or alcohol mentioned in the home study. Now that is being waived already!
Haiti
10-year marriage requirement
Number of children in the home have been waived.
Keep in mind that China is a Hague Convention country and Haiti has signed the Hague treaty but it is not in force yet.
Readers, what other waivers do you see being given and from what country? Please list in our comments or email us at rallyreform@yahoo.com
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Unless the child is requesting a waiver for their would-be parent (Ha!) then there is no place for waivers in the process. That is extremely adoptive parent and adoption agency-focused.
This shows that neither countries nor agencies care about where kids are ending up.