Armenia to stop adopting their special needs children, encouraging to stay with families Down Syndrome children of Armenia Human Rights watch on Armenia

https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/02/22/witness-wherever-she-i-will-find-her

At her local church in Yerevan, Armenia, Siranush lit a candle and prayed that her daughter would survive the night. Lusine, 22, was hovering between life and death in a nearby hospital after a terrible car crash. As Siranush pleaded for her daughter’s life, she offered up something in return. “If you save Lusine, I promise I will find out what happened to Meri,” she prayed. “Wherever she is, I will find her.” For Lusine was not Siranush’s only daughter.

 Five years earlier, she and her husband, Artur, had a baby girl. But after a long delivery fraught with complications, the baby, Meri, had died. Armenia Orphanage Witness -  After spending the first five years of her life in an orphanage, Meri is enjoying living with her family. © 2016 Human Rights Watch At least, that’s what they told their family. But as Siranush prayed that night, she was also grappling with something heavier on her conscience. The fact that Meri had not, in fact, died at birth. “We committed a sin about Meri,” Artur says. “But now we wanted to find her again.” And so with one daughter fighting for her life, Siranush and Artur began, belatedly, to fight for their other one – the daughter born different who, like many similar children in Armenia, are needlessly torn from their parents and put into institutions.

 The “sin” Artur talks of began on August 12, 2009. Siranush’s labour was not going well. The baby’s heartbeat was weak and doctors performed an emergency Caesarean. After an interminably long wait while Siranush had the surgery, a gloomy-looking doctor appeared before Artur. She explained that while his wife had been saved, their daughter Meri had been born with heart defects and Down Syndrome. Then their trusted family doctor broke even worse news: Meri would very likely die within a few days. She said it was best if Siranush and Artur returned home and left Meri to die peacefully in the hospital. “You have other children already,” the doctor reminded them. Siranush was fiercely against leaving Meri behind, but Artur gently persuaded her to follow their doctor’s advice. 

As small-scale fish farmers, the couple had no medical knowledge or reason to doubt the professionals if they said it was hopeless. And so Siranush and Artur’s secret began. The questions about where their baby was were so painful, Artur says, it was simpler to tell everyone she had died. In the following weeks, the family tried to return to normal. But Siranush could not. Armenia Orphanage Witness -

 Lusine helps to feed her sister Meri. The pair have formed a very close bond. © 2016 Human Rights Watch Even though the couple guessed Meri must have died soon after they left her, Siranush continued to sense her daughter’s presence. As the months turned to years, she began having a recurring, vivid dream that Meri was alive. For his part, Artur had convinced himself that Meri was dead. But Lusine’s car accident quickly unravelled his conviction. “We were at church constantly,” Artur recalls. “My wife began worshipping, promising that whatever happened to Lusine, we will find Meri and lighten our sin.” And so Artur and Siranush set to work. Within days, they discovered that Meri had survived and been moved among various orphanages.


With the help of a relative, they managed locate her in an orphanage in Yerevan, a short drive from their home. Finally, after five long years, they met the daughter they had reluctantly abandoned. “They brought Meri to me, and I was shaking all over my body, I couldn’t help it,” says Artur. “I was hugging the child, I couldn’t speak. My tongue was tied. It was very emotional.” Five years in an orphanage had taken its toll on Meri. She could not walk, and got around by crawling. Artur describes an instant bond with the daughter he last saw when she was just three or four days old: “You can’t imagine it, but she recognized me immediately. Solely on our blood connection she could feel it. It was instinct.” The family swiftly met with the orphanage director, “a good woman,” who agreed to let Artur and Siranush take Meri home just 40 days later. She warned them it would be hard, but their mind was set.

 Five years in an orphanage had taken its toll on Meri. She could not walk, and got around by crawling. She did not speak, and did not even scream to communicate. But she felt instantly at home. “There was an impression that Meri knew all the corners in our apartment,” said Artur. “She accepted us easily. She did not appear upset with us. Either from our warmth, or our common genes, she felt like we are her family.” Armenia Orphanage Witness - Lusine and Meri and her elder sister Lusine. © 2016 Private In the loving care of a warm home, Meri, now almost 8, began to change. She’s formed a strong bond with her elder sister, Lusine, who survived her accident, and now dotes on her newfound sibling with obvious affection. Meri has learned to walk, and can even say simple words like “ma” and “pa.” “The difference is like mountains,” says Artur proudly. “We are hopeful, we believe, that a lot of things will change in her.” She adores music, and has a keen sense of humor. While she can’t do some things other children can, she loves to be hugged, especially as she holds her dad around his neck. Meri’s story may seem incredible, but it’s not unique. More than 3,000 children live in orphanages or other institutions in Armenia. But, as Human Rights Watch found for its report, many of them are needlessly separated from their parents. Sometimes it’s because the child has disabilities, sometimes it’s because the family is too poor to cope.

A staggering 90 per cent of children living in institutions in Armenia have at least one living parent. Institutions are expensive, too. It costs the Armenian government US$3,000 to US$5,000 a year to house a child in a residential unit. Caring for them at home would cost less. Foreign donors who want to help disadvantaged kids have flocked to support the country’s orphanages. While institutions can look clean and decently equipped, they are frequently overcrowded, with up to 15 children for every two caregivers, meaning the children get scant individual attention. Children adhere to a strict daily routine that is convenient for the institution but ignores their individual needs and desires. February 22, 2017 Report “When Will I Get to Go Home?” Abuses and Discrimination against Children in Institutions and Lack of Access to Quality Inclusive Education in Armenia Download the full report in English Ներբեռնեք ամբողջական զեկույցը հայերեն - Download the full report in Armenian Download the "easy to read" version in English Ներբեռնել «հեշտ է կարդալ« տարբերակը հայերեն - "easy to read" version in Armenian Ultimately, even the most well-resourced orphanage can’t replace a home. All children have the right to grow up in a family, where they can get the attention and nurture they need to thrive, as Meri’s story shows. Now that Meri is finally home, her next step is to attend school. On paper, all children in Armenia have the right to attend their local community schools, and the government is supposed to provide inclusive education and support children with disabilities to study alongside their peers. Armenia Orphanage Witness - Meri

 The hope is that one day Meri may be able to join her peers and attend a local community school. © 2016 Human Rights Watch In fact, the Armenian government has committed to provide inclusive education across its school system by 2022. This is an important pledge. But many schools struggle to provide a quality education for children with disabilities. And stigma against these children, while slowly changing, is still an issue. Meri’s parents are anxious about how a school system that is still figuring out how to meaningfully include all children with disabilities will support Meri. So for now she attends a program for children with Down Syndrome. Artur and Siranush feel deep shame for having given Meri up. But they say they would never have done so if their family doctor hadn’t convinced them it was for the best. And they are not alone. Social stigma, poverty, lack of community-based services, and misleading medical advice means hundreds other parents in Armenia are pressed into the same, devastating choice. Despite the grief they still carry, Siranush and Artur say they now feel blessed. “We found our lost princess,” says Artur. “Meri is our happiness and we all love her.” Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world.

Robin Sizemore, fair warning Human Rights Watch and the Armenian Community are working hard to keep ALL Children of Armenia "in" Armenia.  We will provide for all children and make sure that all children have a home in Armenia to stay with their birth parents.  Hands Off Armenian Children you profiteer making $2 million in 5 years is well noted in Armenia. 

FLY group supports vulnerable and orphan children of Armenia, no more orphanages children with families

95% of all children in Armenian orphanages have 1 parent, many are in orphanages while their parents go to Russia for work. Some have special needs and the parents cannot afford them / or there is a social stigma that we will be getting rid of. No more children in Armenia will be raised by orphanages, Michael Sarian executive of Prime Hospitals keeps his promises in Armenia and will make it happen. NO MORE ORPHANAGES, no more ADOPTION OF ARMENIAN CHILDREN TO FOREIGNERS


T 

Hopscotch Adoptions 990 tax returns for 2016, five year snapshot revenues exceed $2 million #RobinSizemore

With a new administration in Armenia, the new first lady is taking on child services.  No Armenian likes the idea of their children being adopted out even the special needs children.  There is a strong drive to close all orphanages and strengthen the care of special needs, education and rehabilitation services with foster care.  Funding was a problem but no longer is for Armenian Families that cannot afford the surgeries and cannot bare the stigma of having a special needs child it's changing. 
Here is Robin Sizemores 5 year snapshot of revenue which exceeded $2 million, it's unclear how much cash she gives Eduard Amalyan and his staff in Armenia as he never declares it in his taxes while military families have to beg for funds.   Hey Bennet we bet you wish you would make this kind of money off of your court scams. 

9 years later 70% of Adoption Agencies closed, and reduction of children trafficked to the USA from 22,000 to barely 4,000 in 2017.  They don't even have a lobbying arm any more it's all done deal at the state department.   Robin is delusional if she thinks if will go back to the days when she was working at Carolina Adoptions - (before she was terminated) 

Hopscotch Adoptions 2016 tax returns $500K + in revenue from Vanessa Kachadurian

Why is Armenia so EXPENSIVE to adopt from? Go ask Robin Sizemore

Local mother: Road to foreign adoption leads to happiness

By Sydney Albert

Siblings Jesse, from left, Rita, Andrew, Audrey, Paul, Natalie and Eddie Homan p. . .

FORT RECOVERY - The adoption process is a long and challenging road that can sometimes end in heartbreak.

A local mother who has adopted internationally five times, however, says welcoming a child in need into the family is well worth the effort.

Alison Homan and her husband, Ted, had always wanted a big family. They had said they wanted four children, and during the first two and a half years of marriage, Alison Homan delivered three babies. However, one child didn't live long after birth, and the back-to-back pregnancies were taking their toll on Homan, who didn't feel she could handle another one.

The couple told themselves they'd be fine with just two children, but they soon felt the urge to expand their family again and decided to adopt.

Now, more than a decade after they adopted for the first time, the Homans have seven children: two biological, four from China and one from Armenia.

The couple have agreed several times that they were satisfied with the size of their family and wouldn't adopt again, she said, but then they would hear about another child in need of a home.

She said they kept adopting because it was "hard to unknow the need" of the children. Even during their first trip to China to adopt Audrey, Homan said they began to understand the full need of the orphans there.

"We knew right away that we would go back. We knew that when we adopted the next time we would probably adopt a child with a mild, manageable special need," she said.

Even if people think they're not ready to adopt, children around the world aren't ready to be orphans either, Homan said. Still, international adoption presents many challenges, and the process can vary from country to country. Over the years as a country's laws change, or even as their relationship with the U.S. changes, the process can become more complicated.

From the time the Homans adopted Audrey from China in 2005 to when they adopted Eddie from China in 2016, the forms they had to complete and the required information were vastly different, she said. Each time, they had to go through the entire process again, too - people who've adopted before receive no shortcuts.  

"We hear all the time, 'Oh, I'd like to adopt,' or 'I've thought about adopting,' but really once you get down to it, not many people follow through because it's a lot of work and it's a lot of money," she said.

The time it takes to adopt a child can vary, too. For the Homans, adoptions took between nine and 14 months, but Alison Homan knows others who have waited or continue to wait for much longer. An acquaintance has been trying to adopt from Haiti for nearly six years. Her brother's family, who has adopted a child domestically through the foster-care system, had to wait two years before they found out they "might" be able to adopt.

International adopters may wait for months for U.S. government approval, only to find out months later that they've been denied by the other country, she said. The Homans never dealt with a rejection from either China or Armenia but know the possibility for prospective parents is very real.

"There can definitely be a lot of heartbreak," Homan said.

The cost of adoption can also be intimidating, and while prices vary, international adoption generally isn't cheap, she said. Audrey's adoption cost about $19,500. The adoption of their daughter Rita from Armenia cost about $36,000. why is Armenia almost $20,000 more than China special needs?  Hopefully Robin is putting extra money into clinics for special needs children of Armenia, but then....that would keep her from "acquiring" more vulnerable children.  

Having money saved up helped the Homans with some adoptions, but for others, they did their own fundraising and received grants. Homan said that when they were trying to adopt Eddie, they raised about $10,000 from the community through fundraisers, cash donations and even a check from the Fort Recovery Community Foundation, and raised another $17,000 in grants.

"It's not user-friendly," she said of the process. "That's why people don't adopt, because you think you're going to adopt, and then you find out everything you have to do. … It's overwhelming. Us as adoptive parents, we won't do it again because it's just too much. It's not an easy process. I'm so glad we have the kids we have, but it's hard."

For all the money they've spent, though, the Homans have become rich in other ways. The family has connections with lifelong friends, both around the country and across the globe. Some of their children keep in touch with friends they've had since they were in the orphanages together. The couple has made friends with other adoptive parents as well as international citizens they've met during their travels. Alison Homan is still Facebook friends with a woman she befriended while in Armenia who worked as a cashier in a store next to their hotel.

"One thing that's been great about our journey is making lifelong friends of people that we would have never met," she said.

Any parents who are considering adoption, whether international or domestic, shouldn't be deterred or discouraged if their family doesn't click from the first moment, either. Homan explained that adoption can be scary for children who are being taken from everything they've ever known. Even if they know they want a mother or father, the change can be unsettling.

"They don't know that they're getting a family. They just know they're getting taken away from what they know as normal. Their normal is their life in the orphanage, so they don't know that it's a good thing. But boy, they figure it out really quick," she said.

When adopting sons Paul and Jesse, both as toddlers, neither warmed up to the Homans right away. Rita, whom they adopted at age 7, "freaked out" when she realized she was being taken from her orphanage on adoption day, even though she'd loved the couple during every previous visit.

In instances such as these, adoption guides from the home country are invaluable. Trained in every part of the rollercoaster process, they aid in communicating with children and calming them in the language they know. Homan said they developed a strong bond with every adoption guide they had, "because they're what makes your family click."

The couple still frequently has issues, but from people outside their family. By now, the Homans have had a "blended" family for years, but Alison Homan said people still ask her and her husband which children are their "real kids." It's frustrating, she said, because they're all her real kids.

"It's something my mother-in-law had shared with me throughout the years, too, because even though she adopted white babies, white infants, people knew that her older kids were adopted, and if she had all of her kids together, people don't have a problem saying, 'Now which ones are your real ones?' But as a mother, they're all - I mean, we don't look at our kids any different. They're just our kids."   https://www.dailystandard.com/archive/2018-03-22/stories/34591/local-mother-road-to-foreign-adoption-leads-to-happiness

Armenian Adoption Statistics for 2017 - 10 adoptions to the USA Crazy Bennet Kelley want to talk facts? HOPSCOTCH ADOPTIONS

Now that Adopt Abroad International has relinquished their license we have it on good authority that the main ASP working in Armenia is Robin Sizemore's Hopscotch Adoptions.  However the days of her getting healthy Armenian babies to sell to odar clients is over and has been over since the adoption by Joel Shepherd and his wife Beth Weinstein-Shepherd.  The special needs children that Robin buys and sells are still commanding $26,000 so by our accounts Robin has made $260,000 off of Armenian adoptions alone.  Lots of money to pay LaLa and Eduard Amalyan, not to mention her trying to be a part of the Armenian community by buying her way into various relief societies.   It's over Robin, you need to face the facts.  Bulgaria, Serbia and other countries that you work your magic$$$ in will soon close down like Russia, Ethiopia and the rest.  The new prime minister of Armenia wants to eliminate orphanages in Armenia as a way to care for children instead create jobs for families, and assistance to those in need to keep their families together.   IT'S OVER and you have your behavior to thank for this barely 4,600 adoptions to the USA last year, over half the agencies have closed down or relinquished their licenses and no more lobbying arm for the abduction industry.  Its a dead industry that has contempt from the general population, all the stories are coming out the mothers looking for  their children that were whisked away some 18 years by you and your filthy white clients.   You thought you could silence the truth by harming me with Crazy Bennet Kelley and you only hurt yourself and brought more attention on yourself in Armenia and trust me when I tell you that you are the most hated woman in Armenia but your money is wanted.  So here is the facts.

Most of Hopscotch Adoptions children are coming out of the Special Needs Orphanage of
Gyumri, an economically strapped area that has never recovered from the 1988 earthquakes. 

Armenia is one of the most expensive countries to adopt from

Its unclear how much of the charges are for the 3rd party mediator and "translators" 

aka paying people off at the Armenian Ministry of Children and Women services. 

Proud of yourself Bennet Kelley?  You got conned by a smooth operator with money

How shocked you were to see Hopscotch Adoptions financial 990 tax returns.  While

you lied for Hopscotch Adoptions declaring that myself or my friends hurt Hopscotch Business

they made a profit year after year off of the flesh of my people you vile filthy white trash.  Is'n't it

great you get $209K to harm me, my family and my community (epic failure) but at the same

time destroyed your entire career .  ha ha ha ha For harming my family you will NEVER know peace

in California NEVER... You and Wanda J. Rudd the skank. 

MEANWHILE 83 AMERICAN CHILDREN WERE ADOPTED OVERSEAS

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/NEWadoptionassets/pdfs/Annual%20Report%20on%20Intercountry%20Adoptions%20FY2017%20(release%20date%20March%2023%2020.._.pdf

The overall number of adoptions to the United States in FY 2017 was 4,714, a decline of 658 from the previous year. This decline is primarily attributable to changes in two countries – China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The drop in China, to 1,905 intercountry adoptions, mostly stems from changes in Chinese domestic laws related to the governance of non-governmental organizations. These laws were not targeted specifically at adoption, but have had a detrimental impact on the partnerships between U.S. adoption service providers and specific provinces that were designed to improve opportunities for children with special needs. Ninety-eight percent of the intercountry adoptions from China involved children with special needs. We are actively engaged in dialogue with our Chinese counterparts on this issue. The decline from the DRC stems from the fact the country no longer issues exit permits to adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the country with their adoptive parents. The Congolese government has indicated it is working on legislative changes regarding adoption. However, until the Congolese government provides further clarity, the Department strongly recommends against the initiation of new adoptions in the DRC. In FY2017, 83 children were adopted from the United States to seven countries, including Canada (41), Ireland (12), and the Netherlands (20). 

**Alert** Adoption Notice: Japan how will this effect Across the World Adoptions everyone's "favorite" adoption agency SNICKER

Adoption Notice: Japan

Last Updated: April 13, 2018

The Department of State is currently reviewing Japanese law regarding the transfer of custody of a child without a court order, which may affect a child’s eligibility for an adoption-based visa under the Immigration and Nationality Act.  The Department urges families with pending I-600 petitions and immigrant visa applications based on the transfer of custody of children - if such applications do not involve a court order - to consider deferring their travel to Japan to complete the visa process at this time.  The Department also urges adoption agencies not to make new referrals to U.S. prospective adoptive parents in such cases until further notice.

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information.  For questions about this notice or adoption related visa processing, please email the Office of Children’s Issues at adoption@ate.gov 

Long overdue, the rates they were charging were huge and they dealt with Mamas and Papas single mother home where supposedly the mother got to pick the portfolio of the adoptive parents for her child.  

Across the World Adoptions are nasty lying people, who have harmed a lot of people needlessly

with their DIRTY filthy gossip and that nasty lying director with a bad plastic surgery and gastric bypass surgery Lesley Siegel,  It took 13 years but we won't stop until this industry is closed down for good.  You should have thought about that before you treated me and my family like filth and was not transparent.  Lesley Siegel you and Cara both have spoke about me to Bennet Kelley who is going down in California.  

It's clearly over for your business, time to activate your law license so you can actually practice law instead of buying and selling kids.  

Meanwhile 83 American children were adopted overseas 

The overall number of adoptions to the United States in FY 2017 was 4,714, a decline of 658 from the previous year. This decline is primarily attributable to changes in two countries – China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The drop in China, to 1,905 intercountry adoptions, mostly stems from changes in Chinese domestic laws related to the governance of non-governmental organizations. These laws were not targeted specifically at adoption, but have had a detrimental impact on the partnerships between U.S. adoption service providers and specific provinces that were designed to improve opportunities for children with special needs. Ninety-eight percent of the intercountry adoptions from China involved children with special needs. We are actively engaged in dialogue with our Chinese counterparts on this issue. The decline from the DRC stems from the fact the country no longer issues exit permits to adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the country with their adoptive parents. The Congolese government has indicated it is working on legislative changes regarding adoption. However, until the Congolese government provides further clarity, the Department strongly recommends against the initiation of new adoptions in the DRC. In FY2017, 83 children were adopted from the United States to seven countries, including Canada (41), Ireland (12), and the Netherlands (20). 

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/NEWadoptionassets/pdfs/Annual%20Report%20on%20Intercountry%20Adoptions%20FY2017%20(release%20date%20March%2023%2020.._.pdf

80% drop in international adoptions, agencies are asking Trump to intercede.Children's Hope Int'l went from 800 a yr to only 24 adoptions last year 2017

ST. LOUIS (KMOV) -

   Adoption agencies and hopeful families are sounding the alarm on the plummeting number of international adoptions. The reasons are varied and complex, but the impact is clear.

According to data from the U.S. Department of State, in 2004, 22,989 children were adopted from abroad into U.S. homes. By 2017, that number dropped to only 4,714, nearly an 80 percent decrease. At adoption agencies in the St. Louis area, the drop is even steeper.

“Our peak was 2004 when we have more than 800 adoptions,” said Nicky Losse, adoption services director for Children’s Hope International. “And last year in 2017, we just completed 24 adoptions.”

Each number represents a family, like the Roussin’s from Jefferson County.

“Due to some health things, I had to have a hysterectomy so adoption was the only way we could have a family,” said Jenna Roussin, who adopted two sons from China with her husband. “We didn’t want to go through Missouri and be a foster parent and deal with heartache of losing children again and again. We weren’t ready to take on any more that could possibly cause more heartache so international adoption was the best choice for us.”

Losse said that’s a common reason hopeful parents turn to international adoption, as domestic adoptions can fall through if a birth mother chooses to keep her child at the last minute.

“Also, we have a lot of Christian families and missionary families that go overseas and see these kids in impoverished countries and want to help,” said Losse.

But, that is becoming more and more difficult.

“The U.S. ratified the Hague in 2008 and that was to promote ethical adoptions and all the adoption agencies were on board with that and wanted ethical adoptions but it also caused a lot of blocks for families, a lot of paperwork, a lot of additional requirements,” said Losse.

The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is an international agreement to safeguard intercountry adoptions.

Losse also faults the director of the Office of Children’s Issues and the State Department revising definitions and reinterpreting parts of guidelines.

“We are all for ethical adoptions. We believe in the standards and follow them. We follow the guidelines of the foreign government as well as our government but it seems to be they are pushing the envelope a little bit too much and imposing regulations that aren’t always necessary,” said Losse.

She is particularly concerned with banning soft referrals, which are when a child is matched with a family before the family’s background check is complete. This can especially impact children with disabilities. Losse said in the latest guidelines, soft referrals are still allowed if agencies continue to advocate for that specific child and if another family that is home study ready comes forward then the agency must put forward that application as well. That means a family that is non-home study ready has to understand that they could be matched and the referral taken away if another family comes forward that is further along in the process. 

“As you can imagine this is not good for families and they are not happy with this. Once they see that pictures of a child and decide that child is meant for their family it’s a very emotional process.  Then losing that child is another loss for some families that have already struggled with infertility.  So it makes families nervous to move forward with this type of adoption,” said Losse.

News 4 reached out to the U.S. Department of State, which overseas international adoptions, to inquire about the changing regulations.

A spokesperson said the main reason for fewer international adoptions is because of changes in other countries.

“In Russia, the government stopped intercountry adoptions for political reasons. In China, a rising middle class has allowed more families to provide homes domestically - tens of thousands of children are now placed with families in China each year. And in Guatemala, fraud concerns have led to the Guatemalan government’s long-term suspension of adoptions.  In many other nations, changing cultural attitudes about single mothers and domestic adoption have resulted in fewer children being eligible for intercountry action,” said an official with the Department of State.

The official continued, saying “Proposed regulations were withdrawn last year.  There have been no recent changes to the regulations governing intercountry adoption, the Accreditation Entity (AE) role, or the performance standards for accredited/approve ASPs. The Department continues to operate with the accreditation regulations in place since 2006 and subsequently extended through the Universal Accreditation Act of 2012.  The IAA, UAA, and the implementing regulations provide that the Department oversees the accreditation process for ASPs to ensure intercountry adoptions are safe and ethical.”

However, Losse, who was adopted as a child and has an adopted daughter of her own, says the damage is already done. She, along with other agencies across the country, are asking the Trump administration to take a look at the Office of Children’s Issues and see if the change in regulations are legal and justified.

“It’s hurting the kids,” she said.

It’s the kids the Roussin family worries about, too. Now at home with their two sons, Asher and Adam, they still keep tabs on the conversation about international adoption and want others to know why they feel it’s important.

“Even though they are on the other side of the world, they still need homes. Location shouldn’t matter when it comes to a child needing a family,” said Roussin.

http://www.kctv5.com/story/38127500/missouri-adoption-agency-sounds-alarm-on-plummeting-international-adoptions

MEANWHILE 83 AMERICAN CHILDREN WERE ADOPTED OVERSEAS

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/NEWadoptionassets/pdfs/Annual%20Report%20on%20Intercountry%20Adoptions%20FY2017%20(release%20date%20March%2023%2020.._.pdf

The overall number of adoptions to the United States in FY 2017 was 4,714, a decline of 658 from the previous year. This decline is primarily attributable to changes in two countries – China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The drop in China, to 1,905 intercountry adoptions, mostly stems from changes in Chinese domestic laws related to the governance of non-governmental organizations. These laws were not targeted specifically at adoption, but have had a detrimental impact on the partnerships between U.S. adoption service providers and specific provinces that were designed to improve opportunities for children with special needs. Ninety-eight percent of the intercountry adoptions from China involved children with special needs. We are actively engaged in dialogue with our Chinese counterparts on this issue. The decline from the DRC stems from the fact the country no longer issues exit permits to adopted Congolese children seeking to depart the country with their adoptive parents. The Congolese government has indicated it is working on legislative changes regarding adoption. However, until the Congolese government provides further clarity, the Department strongly recommends against the initiation of new adoptions in the DRC. In FY2017, 83 children were adopted from the United States to seven countries, including Canada (41), Ireland (12), and the Netherlands (20). 

12 best countries to adopt children from?

Ethiopia has been closed down to adoptions since January 2018

This list of 12 best countries to adopt from internationally will help you on the way to becoming parents.

Every year, many people start the long and complex process of adopting a child and starting a family. Becoming parents through adoption is not easy at all and sometimes it takes a while before you are allowed to take the child into its new loving home. There are laws you have to deal with before the adoption becomes final but in the end, it’s all worth it. Many future parents decide they want to adopt from another country. Americans who want to adopt a baby internationally have to deal with U.S. federal law, individual state laws as well as the laws of the country the child is from. That means a lot of paperwork and a lot of waiting.

If you are thinking of adopting and you’re wondering what countries are open for international adoption, you should familiarize yourself with the Hague Convention which applies to all adoptions by U.S. citizens adopting a child from another country. The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is an international agreement concluded in 1993 in the Netherlands establishing international standards of practices for intercountry adoptions. 90 countries are party to the Hague Adoption Convention, including the United States. What this means for potential parents is that you may receive greater protections if you adopt from a Convention country. However, some of the most popular countries to adopt from are actually not parties to the Convention.

Read rest of the article here

12 best countries to adopt from

NEW ASP acrediation IAAME report unethical adoption agencies

If you are a victim of a lying adoption agencies that is suggesting gifts for people in country, or attaching suspicious fees you should report it to IAAME.  Also watch for those agencies working in small poor niche countries that skirt around ethical practices by giving a "referral" to you prior to the baby being born (baby mills) promises a muslim child in a country like Morrocco via a Kefala ceremony or other far out promises.  Remember telling you  and having something in writing is 2 different things.  IAAME report here https://www.iaame.net/

             

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Ethiopia bans all international adoptions

Americans want to BUY another person's child but not put that $40,000 into building clinics, schools, and training centers for the people of Ethiopia to dig their way out of poverty and corruption.  Americans are the most selfish of people on the planet.  

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ethiopia-adoption-ban/ethiopia-adoption-ban-may-curb-trafficking-but-poorest-families-need-support-idUSKBN1F427L

NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A ban on the adoption of Ethiopian children by foreigners could curb child abuse and trafficking, but more support is needed for vulnerable families within the impoverished country, experts said on Monday.

Ethiopia is one the biggest source countries for international adoptions by U.S. nationals, with about 20 percent of all adopted children coming from the east African nation, according to the U.S. State Department.

Hollywood celebrities Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are among those who have adopted children from Ethiopia.

Child rights groups cite cases of“child harvesting” where adoption agencies unethically recruit minors for adoption by fraudulently altering paperwork to cast children with families as orphans whose parents had died or abandoned them.

In many instances, parents who cannot afford to look after their children consent to foreign adoption under the mistaken impression that it is like boarding school and they would maintain contact with their children, only to find out later that this is not the case.

Amid concerns that overseas adoptions fuel a trade in children from poor families and put them at risk of abuse, or being trafficked into slave-like conditions, parliament passed legislation on Jan. 10 banning inter-country adoption.

“Ethiopia has negative experiences with foreign adoptions, particularly in regard to child laundering, child harvesting, and children taken from families primarily due to poverty,” said David Smolin from the Center for Children, Law and Ethics at Samford University in the United States.

“Ethiopia’s ban on foreign adoptions is a reasonable response to past problems and to the need to focus efforts on assisting vulnerable children within Ethiopia.”

While many Ethiopian children have thrived due to inter-country adoption, there have been cases where they have faced abuse, and even death, at the hands of adoptive families.

In 2013, a couple in the U.S. were convicted of killing an adopted 13-year-old Ethiopian girl. The crime sparked debate about foreign adoption in a nation where families are forced to give children up due to a lack of money to care for them.

But under international law, poverty should not be a grounds for international adoption, and efforts instead should be made in assisting families to stay together, say experts.

The revised law encourages local adoption, family reunification and reintegration to enable children to grow up within the country, said the state-run Ethiopian News Agency.

Adoption experts emphasized that Ethiopia will need to follow-up the ban with increased efforts to assist vulnerable families within the country, and provide them with the resources to adequately care for their children.

“The most important thing is for the children involved to have permanency, in families,” said Adam Pertman, president of the U.S.-based National Center on Adoption and Permanency and author of“Adoption Nation”.

“The first choice is within their own family of origin, their own community and their own country,” he added.

Reporting by Nita Bhalla @nitabhalla, Editing by Ros Russell. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.