News Alert

March 14, 2011

China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has officially opened the door to single female applicants to adopt from China in a written notice dated March 11, 2011.  CHSFS is accepting single applicants who meet eligibility criteria to adopt through our China Waiting International Children program (China WIC).

CHSFS is seeking clarification on a few points published in CCAA’s written notice and we welcome inquiries to intchild@chsfs.org.  Please participate in one of our webinars to learn more about the children single applicants are now eligible to adopt.

Per CCAA, single female applicants are eligible to adopt from China if they meet these requirements.  Applicant must:

• be prepared and open to adopting a “special focus” child;
• have at least a one-year interval since previous adoption;
• be between 30-49 years of age at time paperwork is submitted to CCAA; may be 50+ years of age provided there are no more than 45 years age difference between the child and the applicant;
• have no more than two children under 18 years of age in the home, and the youngest child must be at least 6 years of age;
• be able to appoint appropriate male role models for the adopted child;
• have a strong social and family network to support applicant and adopted child(ren)
• be willing and able to attest in writing to her sexual orientation as non-homosexual, in order to satisfy CCAA’s requirements which do not allow gay or lesbian individuals to adopt from China;
• submit divorce decree in case of having a history of divorce or death certificate for deceased husband where applicable;
• be in excellent physical and mental health, in line with CCAA’s requirements for prospective adoptive couples;
• have no criminal record;
• have a minimum annual income of $30,000 with net assets valuing at least $100,000;
• have good medical insurance which will cover the medical expenses of the adopted child;
• have experience in child care or have an occupation in a child-related field such as a medical or health professional, teacher, psychologist, therapist, etc. who regularly works with children;
• applicants with successful experience caring for children with special needs are preferred.

Adopt From China  |  Special Focus Children  |  Informational Webinars  |  Single Parents & Adoption

###

March 11, 2011-

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) held a conference call today, March 11, 2011, to share information about the news that came last week indicating that the Ethiopian government would begin limiting the number of adoption cases being processed from 50 to 5 per day.

Notes taken during the call by Joint Council on International Children's Issues (JCICS) are available online.

###

March 9, 2011-

The U.S. Department of State, Office of Children's Issues has issued an alert for Ethiopia Adoptions. 

CHSFS is not yet able to confidently say how this will affect the adoption process for each of our waiting families. The situation is still developing and there are many people working in Ethiopia and in the U.S. to get the clarification that will enable more accurate answers. 

We encourage all individuals to participate in JCICS' Emergency Campaign For Ethiopian Children.

###

March 8, 2011-

On Tuesday, March 8, 2011, Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) launched an Emergency Campaign For Ethiopian Children.

This emergency campaign is in response to an announcement by the Ethiopian Ministry of Women's, Children's and Youth Affairs of a plan to reduce intercountry adoption by 90 percent.The goal of the campaign is to urge the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs to reconsider their plan and to partner with governments, non-governmental organizations and foundations to increase the Ministry's capacity to regulate service providers and further ensure ethical adoptions.

JCICS has created an online petition to present to Ethiopian Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi, and is collecting positive, successful stories of adoption from adoptive famlies.

We encourage you to participate in JCICS' Emergency Campaign.

CHSFS will continue to monitor this situation and will share relevant news at chsfs.org/newsalert. Read CHSFS' position on international adoption issues and join our e-advocacy network.
 

###

March 6, 2011-

On March 4, Voice of America (VOANews.com) published an article which indicates that Ethiopia intends to significantly reduce the number of inter-country adoption it will allow. Various entities concerned about the welfare of children are currently discussing this news report with the Ethiopian government. At this time, the U.S. Department of State has not issued a notice or alert about adoptions from Ethiopia. 

CHSFS is in conversation with our Ethiopian staff and are watching the situation closely.

###

January 24, 2011-

CHSFS is saddened this morning by the tragic news of the bombing at Domodedovo Airport in Russia. Our thoughts are with those affected by this senseless act of violence.

There is currently one CHSFS family traveling in Russia; the family has not been directly affected by this event.

Related Links:

• New York Times: Deadly Blast at Moscow’s Main Airport Seen as Terror Attack
• Russia Today: Deadly blast at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport
   

##

August 10, 2010 -

In a joint statement issued on August 6, 2010, the Department of State and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that they "have jointly decided to suspend adjudication of new adoption petitions and related visa issuance for children who are described as having been abandoned in Nepal."

Prospective adoptive parents who received an official referral letter from the Government of Nepal prior to August 6, 2010, will be able to continue their adoption process. CHSFS stopped accepting applications for the Nepal Program in June 2010 and encouraged anyone interested in adopting from Nepal to read the Adoption Alert for Nepal that was issued on May 26, 2010, by the U.S. Department of State. 

Read the statement: U.S. Suspends Processing New Nepal Adoption Cases Based on Abandonment

Read Questions & Answers: U.S. Suspends Processing New Nepal Adoption Cases Based on Abandonment

###

May 12, 2010-

Today an AP article reports that Russia and the United States have reached a new bilateral accord on adoptions and expect to sign it within two months, a senior Russian official said Wednesday.

Read the full article here.

###

April 29, 2010- 
 
Today a US delegation met with Russian officials to discuss a bilateral agreement or treaty regarding Russian adoption by American families.  We are cautiously optimistic about the preliminary indications, with Russian Commissioner for Children’s Rights Pavel Astakhov being quoted as saying, “We have been heard. Our point of view is understood and accepted by the American side. Today we spoke one and the same language. We understand both sides: Russian children and American families who want to adopt Russian children. We try to work for the benefit of both sides. I hope we could finalize this process as soon as possible, signing a bilateral agreement between our countries.”

According to one source, Michael Kirby, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs and head of the US delegation, stated, “We had very fruitful discussions. We agree that we want to do what’s best for children. We have formed a working group and we will be speaking again, starting on May 12.”
Although a current “freeze” on adoptions is still being reported by the press and mentioned by Russian officials, regional adoption officials around Russia have contacted the Ministry of Education and have been told that no freeze is currently in place.  It is difficult to guess how individual judges will view this situation until an agreement is signed.  We can assume that judges may be hesitant to rule positively until the situation at the federal level is more clear.  So far no upcoming scheduled trips, meetings, or court hearings have been cancelled. 

Russian officials are asking the US to agree to stricter control after adoption with a federal committee controlling the process.  If a family experiences significant problems, representatives of both countries would take into account the laws of both countries when determining an outcome.  Screening for adoptive parents may become more strict with increased requirements.  Independent adoptions (families adopting privately without the assistance of an accredited agency) will be banned (they have been discouraged for quite some time.)

Another meeting is scheduled immediately after the May holidays, May 12.  It is hoped that an agreement will be signed at that time.  It is not likely that any updates will be available prior to that due to the May 1-10 holidays in Russia.

We will continue to update you as we learn more about the implications for the program.  So far, the most noticeable impact has been changes in eligibility requirements in some regions

Links to news stories: 
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8650894.stm
Russia Today: 
http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-04-29/adoption-freeze-russia-us.html?loc=interstitialskip

###

April 21, 2010- Blomberg News is reporting that the Russian Foreign Ministry "may" halt US/Russian adoptions if the two sides can't reach an agreement.  Click here to read the article.

###

April 16, 2010-  Today the chief of our Moscow office called the Ministry of Education in Moscow.  In that call, the Ministry stated that American agencies can continue to work in Russia.  They stated further that if they decide to close adoption to Americans the Ministry of Education will make an official announcement about it.

The information we are posting is the most recent information we have.  We will keep this page updated as we learn more.

###

April 15, 2010 - Please click here for an AP article about the suspension of US adoptions in Russia.  We will share information as it is known.

###

April 11, 2010 - Update  Although it is widely reported that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov has called for a halt to Russian adoptions by Americans, the message from President Medvedev was much more tempered.  As of right now, CHSFS does not know of a suspension of adoptions, and we continue to proceed with our clients' adoptions from Russia.

In spite of the unsettled state of Russian adoptions, it may be comforting and hopeful to know that some CHSFS families left for Russia this weekend.  Our thoughts are with them as they travel.

###

April 9, 2010 - Children's Home Society & Family Services is deeply saddened and dismayed by recent news of a 7-year old Russian boy, adopted by a US family, who was sent to Moscow on a one-way flight and abandoned.  Please read the full text of the strongly worded press release of our colleagues at the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) which aptly describes the shock we are feeling here today.

We understand that there has been a call by the Russian Government for a moratorium on ALL US adoptions from Russia.  We will keep this page and our Russia program clients (via email) posted on news as it becomes available.  Right now we do not know how serious the calls for the moratorium are or how widespread the a ban might be.  We do not know if ban would impact families that are already matched, or if those families would be allowed in.

Please check back to this page or the JCICS newsblog for updates.  Our hearts are with our waiting families in this troubling and concerning time.

###