FacePalm Friday

Welcome to this week’s edition of FacePalm Friday.

This is where your hosts will list their top picks for this week’s FacePalm moment—something they learned or read about this week that caused the FacePalm to happen (you know, the expression of embarrassment, frustration, disbelief, shock, disgust or mixed humor as depicted in our Rally FacePalm smiley).

We invite you to add your FacePalm of the week to our comments. Go ahead and add a link, tell a personal story, or share something that triggered the FacePalm on the subject of child welfare or adoption.

Your Host’s Selections:

(1) Congressional Budget Office Estimation of Penalty Cost on S3331 Bill

We mentioned this Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation bill in July 2012 here. What makes this CBO estimate here a FacePalm is the commentary about

(1) how no extra people would be needed to oversee this program

(2)their estimation that agencies are so great that there would be few penalty costs and

(3) their trust that nonconvention adoptions would decrease.

“The Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services share the responsibility of overseeing adoptions from Hague Convention countries and also have staff to monitor adoptions from countries that are not parties to the convention. Based on information from both agencies, CBO estimates that no additional personnel would be required to implement the bill but that employees currently handling nonconvention cases would need training to implement the accreditation standards under the Hague Convention. Thus, CBO estimates that the bill would have insignificant discretionary costs over the 2013-2017 period, assuming the availability of appropriated funds.

CBO further estimates that under the bill the number of adoptions from nonconvention countries would decline. With fewer people entering the United States through adoption, the demand for government programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid would be reduced. CBO estimates that very few people would be affected and, thus, that enacting the bill would reduce direct spending for such programs by less than $500,000 over the 2013-2022 period.

Enacting S. 3331 also would increase revenues from civil penalties imposed on those who violate the regulations governing international adoptions. CBO estimates that few people would be affected by such penalties and, thus, that additional revenues deposited in the Treasury would not be significant over the 2013-2022 period. “

(2)Colombian woman supposedly raised by monkeys, sold to a brothel and then adopted now has a book about experience

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraphtv/9637693/Family-of-woman-who-was-raised-by-monkeys-speak-out.html

Her daughter believes her story and it may be true. It definitely is worthy of an entry here.

(3)Book Title

Red Thread Sisters.  The story sounds interesting, but the title has got to go…the Red Thread wrong references to adoption continue to spread like the chicken pox

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-10-27/entertainment/bs-ae-peacock-book-20121027_1_orphanages-maryland-born-author-adoption-community

(4)Kansas child adoptions on two-year upswing

http://cjonline.com/news/state/2012-10-29/kansas-child-adoptions-two-year-upswing

Riiight. Flush with “forever family”-speak, Adoption always = happy family and kids never have to worry again.

“Nearly 400 don’t have an adoptive relationship and live with anxiety driven by uncertainty, she said. [Did you survey them or is that your perception?]

“They don’t know necessarily where they’re going to sleep tomorrow [Why would that be…do you threaten to kick them out of their foster home at any time?], or where they’re going to live in five years [Ya know, many of us have that same question.] or who their parents are going to be,”[They likely already have parents even though the rights have been terminated .They also likely have all kinds of extended family members. Maybe those relationships with safe relatives should be nurtured in these kids.] Meier-Hummel said.”

(5) Plenty of Room, Plenty of Room..

I guess this Idaho family feels if they repeat it enough it becomes true. They have 7 children with special needs and of course it is an “adventure”  that they adopted 2  from Ukraine and 1 from Bulgaria out of birth order.

http://www.kmvt.com/news/local/Extra-Special-Family-Has-Plenty-Of-Room-176343141.html