Recently in International Adoption Category

In response to troubling issues identified by the Office of the Family and Children’s Ombudsman (OFCO) concerning cases of severe child abuse and neglect of adopted children, Washington state Governor Gregoire requested that Children’s Administration (CA) and OFCO convene a workgroup to examine these issues and make recommendations to improve the adoption process and protect children.

Members of the workgroup represent various professions and organizations including: Children’s Administration; private child placing agencies who conduct domestic and international adoptions; the Office of the Attorney General; the court; public defense attorneys; the Governor’s Office; researchers; and medical professionals.

The workgroup conducted a thorough review of the adoption process with formal presentations discussing the following topics: Case Reviews of Incidents of Severe Abuse of Adopted Children & Common Elements; Legal Framework - International Convention, Federal and State Laws and Regulations Governing Adoptions and Child Placing Agencies; International Adoption Process; Domestic Adoption Process; Foster Care Adoption Process; Adoption Home Studies and Post Placement Reports; Medical Perspective on Child Maltreatment including Starvation; and a Summary of Research on Adoption Attachment and Abuse. Additionally, co-chairs Revels Robinson and Meinig met with representatives from private adoption agencies throughout Washington state.

From the Harvard Political Review:

International adoptions have an illustrious façade, conjuring images of couples saving a hungry, orphaned child and living happily ever. While imagining international adoptions as a corrupt business is abhorrent, connections to child trafficking have recently arisen. Accordingly, the State Department reports that though Americans adopted 22,991 international children in 2004, the implementation of The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption brought about a precipitous drop to 9,319 adoptions in 2011.

Over the past decade, Western investigative journalists led by Scott Carney have published on hidden realities. Despite the illusion that there are more orphans available than parents looking to adopt, there is insatiable demand for children from the developing world, particularly healthy infants.

With this enormous market, many opportunities exist for profit seekers. Promises of astronomical adoption fees motivate orphanages to ensure a steady supply of children. This causes orphanages to resort to drastic measures, even occasionally paying kidnappers directly. According to Carney’s reports in his book The Red Market, the problem is particularly rampant in impoverished Asian countries. Malaysian Social Services, located in Chennai, India, has paid about $236 per child, while China’s Hunan Province hosts institutions that openly purchase children openly for up to $350. Western adoption agencies are not immune from temptation either. Notably, employees of Zoe’s Ark, a French charity, attempted to fly 103 “Sudanese war refugees” from Chad in 2007. Police later determined that most of the children had been taken unwillingly from their families in Chad.

The author, Gina Kim, goes on to discuss the limited utility of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, the persistence of corruption and the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. For the full article click here.

Indian girl Kairi Sheperd was adopted by an American woman 30 years ago, but she is now a homeless and a stateless international orphan.

Even though Kairi was legally adopted 30 years ago when she was 3 months old, the United States wants to dump Kairi on India, claiming that she was never properly adopted.

A quirk in US law denies Kairi the right to become a US citizen even though she was legally adopted under US law.

India's robust press, TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, debates the issue with Dr. Michelle Harrison, founder, Shishur Sevay, Anjali Pawar, founder & Director, SAKEE NGO, Ravi Batra, Senior Advocate and Capt Sushil Bhan.

Video 1

Video 2

Update

For more information read Who is Kairi Sheperd? here and at PoundPupLegacy

In addition, here is an in depth profile of Kairi in India America Today.