Australia: Intercountry Adoption Support Service UPDATED
“Australia said on Sunday it was simplifying the process of adopting children from overseas, setting up a single body to manage applications while working on new arrangements with the United States, Poland and Vietnam.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said a new “one-stop shop” — the Intercountry Adoption Support Service — will have staff advocating on behalf of prospective families and dealing with local state authorities and partner countries.
Australia has one of the lowest levels of intercountry adoption in the world, according to a government report last year.
“For too long adoption has been in the too hard basket, for too long it has been too hard to adopt and for too long this has been a policy no-go zone,” the Australian leader said in a statement.
“It shouldn`t be that way because adoption is all about giving children a better life.”
The new service — which could start as soon as April — will also seek to reduce the length of time parents have to wait to adopt children, currently an average of five years.
The announcement came just a week after a baby boy at the centre of an international debate about surrogacy was granted Australian citizenship.
Baby Gammy was reportedly abandoned in Thailand by a Perth couple who went home with just his healthy sister.
While commercial surrogacy is illegal in Australia, growing numbers of people are travelling to countries such as India and Thailand to engage women to carry their babies.
Adoption levels have fallen to a record low in Australia, Abbott said, with just 317 domestic and international adoptions finalised between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, nine percent lower than the previous year and 76 percent down from 25 years ago.
Australia has intercountry arrangements with 14 countries, and the government said it was establishing new adoption programmes with the US, Poland and Vietnam, and working on schemes with four other countries.
The four countries were not named by the government, but the Sunday Telegraph said they were Latvia, Kenya, Bulgaria and Cambodia.”
Australia simplifies overseas child adoption[Zee News 1/25/15 by AFP]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: Well, the US is now calling for ASPs to a conference call!
Find it here and is pasted Below:
“Australia
Notice: U.S. – Australia – Call for Accredited ASPs Interested in Facilitating Outgoing Adoptions from the U.S. to Australia
The Department of State is pleased to announce that the possibility of intercountry adoptions between the United States and Australia under the Hague Adoption Convention is under consideration. Accordingly, the Australian Central Authority invites U.S. adoption service providers (ASPs) accredited or approved for outgoing adoptions to submit good faith expressions of interest (EOIs) to the Australian Central Authority. The Australian Central Authority notes that the decision to open an intercountry adoption program with the United States will be made solely by the Australian Government.
Information on Australia’s intercountry adoption system, including the instructions to submit the EOI, can be found on the Australian Government Attorney‑General’s Department website. The registration period to submit an EOI for authorization to provide adoption services is open until Friday, March 6, 2015. Please direct any inquiries tointercountry.adoption@ag.gov.au.
The Department of State will host a conference with the Australian Central Authority and interested outgoing U.S. ASPs to ask questions about the process. Accredited or approved outgoing adoption service providers will receive an invite with the specific details of the conference call. If you have questions about the conference call, please direct your questions to LaTina Marsh at adoptionusca@state.gov. ”
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