DOS Alert on Serbia Adoptions UPDATED
US DOS issued an alert on March 29, 2013. See the alert here and pasted below:
“Alert: Serbia Adoption
U.S. Embassy Belgrade has received reports that one or more U.S. adoption agencies may be giving prospective adoptive parents misleading information about the process of adoption in Serbia.
Serbia places a priority on domestic adoption. The only children who are generally available for intercountry adoption are children with special needs. There are no adoption agencies authorized to offer adoption services in Serbia, and families should not seek to work with an intermediary. You are strongly encouraged to read the Serbia adoption country information, which outlines the only way to adopt children from Serbia.
There is no legal alternative to the Serbian adoption process outlined in this adoption country information page on Serbia. If you have received contradictory or misleading information from a U.S. accredited or approved adoption service provider, you can register a complaint with the Hague Complaint Registry (HCR), which is administered by the Council on Accreditation (COA).
To report such activity by a non-accredited or approved agency, you may contact the licensing authority of the state where the agency is located. You can also contact the Office of Children’s Issues via email to AdoptionUSCA@state.gov and have your complaint recorded”
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: DOS really, really wants to verbally admonish US adoption agencies who are still giving out “misleading” information. What an embarrassment that they can’t actually do anything about corruption. Next time they will really, really REALLY ask agencies and ministries to stop giving “misleading information.”
Maybe they need to refer people to the Ukraine DOS page for their correct procedures too.
See http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=serbia_2 and pasted below:
“Alert: Serbia Adoption Reports of Misleading Guidance on Intercountry Adoptions from Serbia
This Adoption Alert is a follow up to the Alert of March 29, 2013.
The U.S. Embassy in Belgrade has received reports that one or more U.S. adoption service providers may be providing prospective adoptive parents misleading information about the Serbian adoption process. Specifically, there may be misleading information as to who is authorized to provide adoption services and which children are eligible for intercountry adoption.
Serbia places a priority on domestic adoption. Generally, only children with special needs are available for intercountry adoption. Adoption services in Serbia can be completed either through direct contact with the Ministry or with the assistance of an authorized U.S. adoption service provider. A small number of U.S. adoption service providers are authorized by the Serbian Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Policy to provide services related to intercountry adoptions in Serbia. Prospective adoptive parents who decide to use an adoption service provider may wish to verify the agency’s authorization by contacting the Ministry at socijalna_zastita@minrzs.gov.rs or by calling +381 11 3631448.
The Department strongly encourages prospective adoptive parents to read the procedures for completing an intercountry adoption from Serbia on the Department’s Serbia adoption information page. There is no legal alternative to the Serbian adoption process. Prospective adoptive parents who received contradictory or misleading information from a U.S. accredited or approved adoption service provider are encouraged to register a complaint about the provider online through the Hague Complaint Registry, at: adoption.state.gov/hague_convention/agency_accreditation/complaints.php.
Prospective adoptive parents are also encouraged to report such activity by an adoption service provider that is not accredited or approved to the licensing authority of the state where the agency is located. A record of the complaint may also be submitted to the Office of Children’s Issues via email to AskCI@state.gov.”
Leah Spring has been blogging about exactly this kind of unethical/illegal behavior by adoption agencies for several months now:
http://serbianadoption.blogspot.com/2012/10/are-you-researching-serbian-adoption.html?m=1
Leah completed her first adoption with rr’s corrupt Serbian facilitator in 2009 (who was convicted of corruption and fired, in part due to Leah’s testimony against her) and her second in 2011 working directly with the Serbian government (the proper, legal way to adopt a kid, that just happens to be more transparent/ethical/faster and less expensive. I believe she’s in Serbia right now, adopting a third child.
(I believe Leah’d also attempted unsuccessfully to convince the Serbian govt to allow several Serbian children with special needs to travel to the US for treatment on medical visas — as Serbian families would be willing to adopt a Serbian child with SN, or better still RAISE their biokid with SN, once treated. Serbia was unwilling to allow orphans to travel for medical treatment, but a new govt was recently elected – and will hopefully be more receptive to allowing kids to be treated – if not in the US, then perhaps in a nearby European country)..
Yes! I was hoping this alert is confirmation that the government is finally starting to look into some of the corruption that has been about for such a long time.
It’s about time they announced this!!! It first came to light in December when several families contacted me, all on the some day, saying they’d been scammed of $40K+ for a “healthy” child from Serbia. Also, a year ago this month a family arrived on the doorstep of the Serbian adoption authority to complete their adoption. Only the ministry knew nothing about them and the adoption attorney they were supposedly working with was nowhere to be found. Neither was the $45,000 they had paid. Surprise, no such child existed.
And, just a couple corrections: Our first adoption was 2010. The corrupt facilitator has been charged but no trial has come about yet. Who knows if it ever will, but she faces charges of child trafficking, among other things. She has been stripped of her license to practice medicine. We are still in the U.S. and have a couple weeks before we travel to complete our last adoption.
The department of state will be making a correction on their statement in the next couple of days. I had known that Open Door Agency had approval to work in Serbia (received back in Dec.) but the DOS apparently did not. I didn’t say anything about it because Open Door hadn’t yet announced it on their website.
Leah,
Thanks for trying to name at least one agency, even if it is not an official announcement. The agencies need to be named, at least for accountability.
Can you email me regarding information about Serbian adoptions?
The Department of State has issued a new alert, now acknowledging there are agencies approved.
http://adoption.state.gov/country_information/country_specific_alerts_notices.php?alert_notice_type=alerts&alert_notice_file=serbia_2