Groups Seek Resumption of US Adoptions to Nepal UPDATED
Both Ends Burning….
National Council for Adoption…
Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute…
It doesn’t sound too good, does it?
Well, they released a report “this week challenging the rationale for the suspension and issued an open letter to Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday seeking his help.
“We believe hundreds, if not thousands, of Nepali orphans have wrongly been denied their right to a family as a result of the U.S. Government’s suspension,” said the letter. It contended that the State Department had provided “misinformation” about the extent of adoption fraud in Nepal.[
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“Susan Jacobs, the State Department’s special adviser on children’s issues, said the department remains skeptical of the Nepalese government’s willingness to be accountable. She noted that other Western countries also had halted adoptions from Nepal; the U.S. was the last to take that step.
“There were countries that never saw an adoption they didn’t like, and even they pulled out because they were so appalled at what they were seeing,” she said.”
“Both Ends Burning has called for congressional hearings on the matter” [Oh, please!]
“In Nepal, authorities have sought to regulate adoption more closely, saying they will allow international adoptions only of children in 18 government-approved orphanages and shelters.
“We have some U.S. nationals applying with us for adoption but because of the restrictions from U.S. government we are not able to proceed,” said Mahendra Shrestha, who heads Nepal’s Intercountry Adoption Board. “We have had to return the children back to the shelters, and some of them have returned back to the streets.”‘
“The Both Ends Burning report delves into how U.S. officials handled adoption cases that were pending in 2010. After the suspension, the State Department continued processing the cases of 62 U.S. families who’d already been matched with Nepalese children, but it required 55 of the cases to be reinvestigated by the families at their own expense because of concerns about irregularities.[Oh no!]
Those adoptions eventually were approved, but the report says the delay cost each family an average of $25,000 in extra expenses, plus more than six extra months spent by the children in institutions.”
“”The fact that no fraud was found in any of the adoption cases and yet Nepal remains closed today is simply wrong,” said Kelly Dempsey, the group’s counsel and director of advocacy. “The suspension should be lifted, the Department of State should be held to account for their actions, and reforms need to be pursued by Congress to make sure this does not happen again.””
“Chuck Johnson, the adoption council’s CEO, hopes adoptions from Nepal will resume but said steps should be taken to ensure good practices are in place.
“We don’t want fewer safeguards,” he said. “In fact, opening Nepal too quickly would be disastrous.”[So…why are you supporting this,then?]
Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., one of the leading adoption advocates in Congress, described the new report as “deeply troubling.” She said it reinforced the need for a bill she has introduced — the Children in Families First Act — that would create a new State Department bureau to encourage initiatives, including adoption, to reduce the number of children worldwide without families.” [Oh , good God!]
Groups Seek Resumption of US Adoptions From Nepal[ABC6/4/14 by Daivd Crary and Binaj Gurubacharya]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: DOS releases a notice on August 8. See it http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=notices&alert_notice_file=nepal_7 and is pasted Below:
“Notice: Teleconference Invitation
Teleconference Invitation
Nepal Adoptions Engagement
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
12-1 p.m. Eastern
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of State invite you to participate in a stakeholder teleconference onWednesday, Aug. 13, from 12 to 1 p.m. Eastern to discuss adoptions from Nepal.
On Aug. 6, 2010, USCIS and the State Department jointly suspended processing new adoption cases from Nepal involving children claimed to have been found abandoned. USCIS and State are planning a trip to Nepal to review its adoption process and progress toward reforms.
During the teleconference, we will seek your feedback on:
- Your experiences in Nepal since 2010;
- Recommendations for improvements to Nepal’s adoption system;
- Issues to consider for the assessment trip; and
- Any other concerns.
To join the session
We recommend that you call in 10 to 15 minutes before the start time.
Toll-free number: 1-800-369-3384
Toll number for outside the United States: 1-210-839-8500
Passcode: ADOPTION”
Update 2: DOS released another notice on October 27, 2014.See it http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/alerts-and-notices/nepal14-10-27.html and pasted below:
“Joint Department of State/U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Travel to Nepal
A review team comprised of representatives of the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) will travel to Nepal from November 16-20, 2014. The purpose of the trip is to learn about the Government of Nepal’s progress towards reforming its adoption system, including implementing new intercountry adoption safeguards. The review team will meet with government officials, representatives of foreign missions, and nongovernmental adoption stakeholders to discuss Nepal’s child welfare and adoption systems.
While in Nepal, the Department of State and USCIS will jointly host a public town hall meeting tentatively scheduled for November 19, 2014.
By way of background, on August 6, 2010, the U. S. Department of State and USCIS suspended processing of new adoption cases from Nepal involving children claimed to have been found abandoned because of concerns regarding the unreliability of documents presented in support of the abandonment of these children in Nepal. Cases involving relinquishment by known birth parent(s) were not affected by the suspension.
We will continue to keep you updated as additional information is received”
Update 3: Another US DOS Notice. See it http://travel.state.gov/content/adoptionsabroad/en/country-information/alerts-and-notices/nepal14-12-16.html and pasted below:
“Notice: U.S. Delegation Visits Nepal for Update on Government’s Child Welfare System
Representatives from the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) concluded a four-day visit to Nepal on November 19. The delegation was led by Ambassador Susan S. Jacobs, Special Advisor for Children’s Issues at the Department of State.
In August 2010, the Department of State and USCIS suspended processing of new adoption cases from Nepal involving children claimed to have been found abandoned because of concerns regarding the reliability of supporting documents, and because circumstances of alleged abandonments could not be verified by the U.S. government due to obstacles in the investigation of individual cases. The United States continues to process adoption cases from Nepal involving relinquishment by known birth parents. The visit’s purpose was to learn about the Government of Nepal’s current child welfare system and adoption procedures, and to demonstrate the U.S. government’s support for the Government of Nepal’s efforts to seek permanent solutions for children in need of families and safeguard the integrity of intercountry adoptions. (Note: The United States was the last receiving country to suspend adoption case processing in 2010.)
The delegation met with officials from the Nepalese Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW), the Intercountry Adoption Management Development Board (ICAB) and selected ICAB members, the Central Child Welfare Board (CCWB), and representatives from local District Child Welfare Boards. Additionally, the delegation met with a member of the Child Care Home Monitoring Committee, Kaski District, and co-author of a recent report on monitoring of children’s homes for the Kaski (Pokhara) Office, the board of directors of Bal Mandir children’s home in Kathmandu, the former head of the Pokhara Children’s Home Operators Association, the director of the government maternity hospital, officials from the National Center for Children at Risk, and with senior and working-level officials of the Nepal Police, including the Women and Children’s Services Directorate at police headquarters.
The delegation also held informative discussions with representatives of foreign governments, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
The delegation hosted a roundtable discussion with 15 non-governmental organizations involved in various aspects of child welfare work in Nepal. The delegation also met separately with UNICEF and Terre des Hommes, both of which have been designated by the Government of Nepal to assist in drafting reforms to Nepal’s child welfare system. On November 19, the delegation hosted a public town hall meeting for interested stakeholders.
In these meetings, the delegation learned more about proposals to reform Nepal’s child welfare system, the circumstances under which children enter children’s homes and may become eligible for both domestic and intercountry adoption, and modifications to the country’s procedures for intercountry adoptions. Attendees at the public town hall meeting provided valuable ideas for improving Nepal’s child protection systems, including those related to adoption.
The delegation was encouraged by the Government of Nepal’s interest in partnering with the international community to further reform Nepal’s child welfare and adoption systems. Safeguards under consideration include the establishment of reasonable limits and accountability for adoption fees and services, and meaningful monitoring and oversight of children’s homes. The Department of State and USCIS are exploring next steps, including procedures to document and trace the origin of children in institutional care and how the international community might support the Government of Nepal’s efforts to strengthen its child welfare system.
We will continue to provide updates as they are available. You can also view additional information and past adoption notices and alerts related to intercountry adoptions in Nepal from here.”
They’re taking issue with the U.S. government because the PAPs had to reinvestigate the legality of their referral “at their own expense”? Why the heck aren’t they getting mad at their ADOPTION AGENCIES for being involved with child trafficking instead?
Here’s a thought: Don’t deal with programs so corrupt that independent corroboration is needed to verify that the child you’ve been matched with is legitimately available for adoption!
The more elementary mistake the PAPs are making is failing to note that:
(1) the Government of Nepal is responsible for determining if any given kid is legitimately orphaned AND in need of a new, foreign family — and more or less lacks the will/capacity to do so
(2) when near-identical scenarios played out in Vietnam, Cambodia, Guatemala, etc (country with weak governance was disinclined to investigate whether kids were legitimately orphaned) the US shut down adoptions from those countries for those EXACT REASONS that were communicated to the world at large via adoption alerts on the State Dept’s website. (See EJ Graff’s “Anatomy of an Adoption Crisis”)
(3) that if the State Dept publishes multiple warnings/alerts on fraud/corruption in a given country, alerting folks there may be a shutdown… well, maybe it’s not such a hot idea to adopt from there.
PAPs feel the need to disregard State Dept’s warnings/advice/alerts and then complain bitterly when exactly what they were warned about comes to pass. DRC and the “exit permit” suspensions is a perfect example of this!
Thanks for the heads up! How have I somehow managed to miss encountering the article ‘Anatomy of an Adoption Crisis’ until now?
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http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/09/07/anatomy_of_an_adoption_crisis
“…But as soon as adoptions resumed, these documents reveal, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi noticed a suspicious uptick in “abandoned” infants in orphanages that had contracts with international adoption agencies. “Orphanages and hospitals throughout Vietnam all report that prior to 2005 there were very few abandonments at their facilities, today these facilities may have as many as 15 purported abandonments a month. These abandonments are shams designed to obscure the child’s true origins,” Ambassador Michael Michalak cabled back to Washington in January 2008. “At Hospital A in [redacted location] abandonments are now a weekly occurrence.” Other orphanages continued to host their traditional complement of older and special needs children, with few or no infants and toddlers…”
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You know, when I read about U.S. “safe haven” laws, it occurred to me that they’d be a great way to “launder” kidnapped or babyfarmed infants. It strikes me as naive to think that such things couldn’t be happening in America, too.
Not that devotees of the “Adoption Gospel” want to hear any such things. It’s an article of faith to them that there are millions of “orphans” in the world who need to be adopted and brought up as True Christians™– and they’re inclined to disbelieve anything the Eebil Gubbamint or the supposedly “liberal-biased” mainstream media says to the contrary. The party line is that such contradictory information is generated by Satan to keep God from “setting the lonely in families”.