PEAR issues Position on Tuberculosis(TB) Management in International Adoptees

PEAR has issued a Position on Tuberculosis Management in International Adoptees due to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rollout of TB screening for immigrants that now includes adoptees aged 2 to 14 from the high-TB-prevalence countries of Ethiopia, China and Haiti.

This position also addresses a summer petition issued by the Joint Council on International Children’s Services (JCICS) for waiving this TB screening requirement.

This is a complex medical issue that requires an understanding of TB itself, the increasing spread of all versions of TB across the world, and how adoptive parents in the US manage screening and treatment of all forms of TB. The PDF can be linked to on our website at http://www.pear-now.org/PEAR_Position_on_TB_Management.pdf


Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

PEAR Website News

PEAR has unveiled several new pages on its website!

1) Country page
This page has links to posts on PEAR's blog with information specific to each country. In addition there are links to PEAR's statements on each country and 3rd party reports deemed to be relevant to adoption.

2) News & Views from the Triad
This page opens up PEAR's "Blog of Blogs" it combines the content of more than 20 blogs from members of all parts of the triad. This takes about 30 seconds (an eternity!) to refresh when you hit the page each day. However, it gives you a good overview of the news of the day from triad members. The mix of blogs included may change from time to time. If you have dial-up, I would suggest you not access this page at this time.

3) Files
This is an archive of PEAR statements and actions

4) Directories
This lists all the Medical Providers included in PEAR's "Comprehensive Directory of International Adoption Medical Doctors". There are 130+ providers listed from 41 states who are knowledgeable about adoption, institutionalization, and/or prenatal substance use issues. You can find extensive detailed information about each practice by downloading the directory.


Ethics, Transparency, Support
~ What All Adoptions Deserve.
http://www.pear-now.org/

PEAR Announces the Creation of Country Specific Blogs

As part of PEAR's effort to provide prospective and adoptive parents with the resources, information and support to make educated and informed decisions concerning adoption, we announce the creation of a our country specific blog program.

We are starting this program as a test to see how well the blog format works and whether it is consumer friendly. Our pilot blog will be focused on Nepal. The blogs will contain current information from US and Nepalese governmental sources, NGOs, media, adoption service providers, and adoptive and prospective adoptive parents. PEAR hopes to assist families in finding information and discover the root and truth behind rumors. We will also provide updated links to resources for both prospective and adoptive familes.

To make this blog work, we need your help! We invite PAPs and APs to participate by commenting on the posts and by writing to PEAR with information, questions, rumors, and constructive criticism on how we can improve the resource.

Please check out our new blog at:
http://pearadoptinfo-nepal.blogspot.com/

Independent Adoptions under Hague Regulations

PEAR has released its preliminary report "Independent Adoptions: Implications for Parents and Providers under Hague Intercountry Adoption Act and Regulations." You can find this extensive report on our Home page or Files page.

Prospective Adoptive Parent Bill of Rights

Competent Providers: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to an adoption service provider with appropriate high-quality adoption services. Prospective adoptive parents have the right to receive a complete list of qualifications of all providers of adoption-related services. Qualifications include both adoption-related education and training.

Ethical Program: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to an ethical and economical adoption program. Prospective adoptive parents have the right to expect honest and complete program information, full fee disclosure, and fee amounts proportional to the complexity of the services provided. Prospective adoptive parents have the right to expect that all actions and payments by parties to the adoption process are legal and ethical in the United States and any other jurisdiction in which the payment or action is required.

Respect and Nondiscrimination: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to considerate, respectful treatment and communication from all members of the adoption system at all times and under all circumstances. An environment of mutual respect is essential to maintain quality adoption services.

Adoption Service Disclosure: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to receive accurate and clear information about their adoption plans, professional services, adoption options, risks and benefits, and cost implications to make an informed choice of services. Prospective adoptive parents also have a right to know how to reach adoptive service provider personnel and other necessary in-country service providers during and after business hours. Prospective adoptive parents have the right to receive information concerning the process of acceptance and refusal of a referred child or proposed match as well as the effect of refusing a referral or match prior to signing a contract for services. In the event that the adoption service provider challenges the competence of the prospective adoptive parent after a homestudy has been approved, a detailed, written statement regarding the challenge will be referred to the homestudy evaluator and a copy will be given to the clients. Prospective adoptive parents have the right to be free from threats of removing referrals during a challenge. They have the right to be treated in a professional manner throughout the challenge process. In domestic adoption placements, prospective adoptive parents have the right to clearly stated financial risks in case of denial of Medicaid or insurance for the placing mother's medicals bills. They have the right to know at the time of contract signing if delays or denial of finalization are tied to payment of after-the-fact denials of medical coverage.

Comprehensive Adoption Preparation: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to comprehensive pre-adoption education. Adoptive families need to understand the psychological, developmental, behavioral, emotional and medical challenges that adopted children may experience. This information is integral for being to make a fully informed decision about adoption, developing appropriate expectations, recognizing issues and finding appropriate resources to address the needs of the adopted child.

Broad-Based Consultations: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to consult adoption specialists, physicians, attorneys, adoption advocates, consumer advocates and others to help them better understand the process and their options. Prospective adoptive parents also have the right, without fear of retribution or retaliatory actions from the adoption service provider, to discuss their adoption plans and process with family, friends, consumer advocates, internet support groups, adoption advocates, physicians, attorneys, and governmental institutions through any communicative means as long as such disclosure does not violate the law or the privacy rights of a referred child.

Confidentiality of Information: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to communicate with adoption service providers in confidence and to have the confidentiality of their individually identifiable information protected. Information should not be transferred, sold or otherwise utilized without express written consent of the prospective adoptive parents. Prospective adoptive parents also have the right to review and copy their own records, request amendments, and transfer their records and information to other adoption service providers and governmental institutions as necessary to efficiently complete the adoption process as allowed by all jurisdictions involved. In the case of termination of the adoption service provider contract, the adoption service provider shall agree to return or destroy the confidential information and all copies, if so requested by the prospective adoptive parents unless prohibited by state law.

Fair appeal and grievance process: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to a fair and efficient process for resolving differences with their adoption service providers and the institutions that serve them, including a rigorous system of internal review and an independent system of external review. Prospective adoptive parents have the right to receive information prior to entering the service agreement/contract about the methods they can use to submit complaints or grievances regarding provision of services to their adoption service provider, the provider’s regulatory board, and any professional association. Prospective adoptive parents also have the right to be provided information about the procedures they can use to appeal decisions made through the adoption service provider’s internal grievance process. Prospective adoptive parents have a right to a fair and impartial external appeal process.

Provider Accountability: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to expect that adoption service providers may be held accountable and liable to prospective adoptive parents for any injury caused intentionally or through negligence or gross incompetence on the part of the adoption service provider and any of its subcontractors, associates and agents.

Complete Child Information: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to full and accurate information regarding the health, social and familial history of any child referred to them to adopt.

Legally Available Children: Prospective Adoptive Parents have the right to expect that the referred child was not made available for adoption through coercion, fraud, kidnapping, trafficking or other unethical practices from the family of origin or any third party to the adoption.

Lawful Process: Prospective adoptive parents have the right to expect that the process of adoption is in conformance with all applicable local, state, federal and international laws, including those of the child’s native jurisdiction. Respect for the family of origin and the laws of all involved jurisdictions are necessary for the integrity of adoption.

Adopted and Approved by PEAR Board of Directors, 6-30-09
Permanent Link

PEAR Open Records Statement

PEAR supports unrestricted access to birth records for all adults adopted as minors. We do not believe any citizen should be discriminated against by removing the right to obtain their personal, official documents. We oppose the imposition of contact vetoes, court orders or third-party agency interference with an adoptee’s right to access his or her original birth certificate.

Adoption should be about the formation of a family for the benefit and best interests of children, not the destruction of identity. As an organization we will support clean legislation submitted in any state that seeks to achieve the goal of opening records.

Permanent Link

PEAR's National Mental Health Provider and Therapist Directories

Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform's next post-adoption initiative will be creating and providing two new directories to the public in the fourth quarter of 2009. One will be a National Mental Health Provider Directory that will include licensed child/family therapists, camps, respite care facilities and therapeutic day and residential schools and programs that are known to work with adoptive families or have knowledge about adoption, institutionalization, and/or prenatal substance use issues.

The second one will be a National Therapist Directory which will include licensed therapists (such as occupational therapists, craniosacral therapists or others) that are known to work with adoptive families or have knowledge about adoption, institutionalization, and/or prenatal substance use issues.

Both will be updated quarterly.

We are inviting the public to suggest providers for which they have had experience. The following links each have 8 open ended questions to add basic contact information.

Mental Health Provider data collection link

Therapist data collection link

Or you can connect through our website at http://www.pear-now.org/

Additionally, our outcomes survey is still open throughout the summer. We have been pleased with the number of responses to date. Results will be available in the Fall of 2009. You can access that at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228Q6QUGVM6 or at our website http://www.pear-now.org/

PEAR Observational Survey - Post Adoption Services

PEAR invites all adoptive parents to take the PEAR Observational Survey of Adoptive Parents on Success, Satisfaction and Types of Post-Adoption Services (POSitive Study).

This survey is for those who have completed a domestic or international/inter-country adoption from any country. Whether your child has had virtually no issues or interventions or many, we would like your input!

This anonymous survey is in English. One survey would need to be taken per child. It will take between 20 and 40 minutes to complete depending on the amount of services you have used. The survey includes questions about adoption professional follow-up; financial and life insurance; International Adoption Clinic and medical doctor follow-up; early intervention services(US only); mental health/attachment services; faith-based services; school-based services; testing, therapies and at-home interventions.

We seek to address gaps in post-adoptive support and provide free information to adoptive parents. Starting in 2009, we will be sharing explanations of interventions and practical tips.

Our goal is to bring health care sectors together to solve the gaps brought to light in the survey. Ultimately, we want to recommend a healing roadmap that will have an interactive flowchart to assist parents in determining timing and types of interventions.

You can access our survey at the following link http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB228Q6QUGVM6 or go to our website at www.pear-now.org and access it there.

You will also find on our website a free, comprehensive listing of 128 international adoption doctors and other issues we are currently addressing. Click on the Files Pear

PEAR's Fall Newsletter

Greetings to all of our members, followers, and curious folks wondering what we are up to.

Fall Membership Drive

Our Fall Membership Drive officially commenced on November 20, 2008. An e-blitz to over 400 online and offline adoption information and support groups was undertaken in an effort to make the adoption community aware of the missions and current projects of PEAR and to increase our membership. PEAR has great ideas and lots of work to do but we need the help of dedicated members to get the work done. Please read about our projects below and if you are not yet a member, consider joining us. If you are a member, please consider helping out in one or more of our projects or just drop a line in our members only group and let us know what you would like to see PEAR do to help make adoption practices ethical. For more information on the Membership Drive, please contact Pam Veazie at PharmGirl13@indy.rr.com.

Adoption Agency Licensure, Regulation, and Oversight Project

PEAR is commencing a study on the licensing, regulation and oversight of adoption agencies. The purpose of this study will be to better educate prospective adoptive parents, expectant mothers and the general public on the role of adoption agencies, to ensure best practices in adoption, to find appropriate avenues for resolving conflicts among agencies and clients, and to establish the groundwork for a model system that adequately protects the entire triad. The first phase of the study will explore the current laws and regulations governing adoption agencies. PEAR is working with a Pennsylvania Law School to establish a pro bono research opportunity to help us complete this phase by April 30, 2009.

The second phase will explore current systems for resolving conflict, making formal complaints and overseeing the work of adoption agencies. The final phase will analyze the efficacy of the current system, and propose improvements that will better protect the adoption triad. For further information on this project, please contact Gina Pollock: rmprhp @ yahoo.com.

Post Adoption Services Project

PEAR is pleased to announce the creation of a Post-Adoption Service Project. The first phase of this project will be an Observational Survey of Adoptive Parents on Success, Satisfaction and Types of Post-Adoption Services. To date, there has been no comprehensive survey of this nature ever conducted by any other group. This project has three main goals: to identify Post-Adoption support that PEAR can provide to fill in the gaps that currently exist, to lay the groundwork for a joint clinical, randomized study with a larger, well-established adoptive parent organization, and to demonstrate PEAR's commitment as an organization dedicated to wholly supporting adoptive parents. Our hope is that this project will lead PEAR to work with other organizations to provide a comprehensive “healing roadmap” for adopted children and their families. For further information on this this project, please contact Pamela Veazie: PharmGirl13 @ indy.rr.com

Call to Action Vietnam

Last November, PEAR launched the Call to Action: Vietnam in response to increasing concerns within the adoption community over the ethical problems surrounding adoptions from Vietnam. Although we were officially barred from the JCICS Summit on Vietnam, we were permitted to comment on their proposed Standards of Practice. While JCICS incorporated many of our comments into the proposal, there many issues left unaddressed, or inadequately addressed, such as fees, paper trails, relinquishment/abandonment, and other issues surrounding ethical practices. A copy of our comments can be downloaded at our website http://www.pear-now.org/.

Throughout the following year, PEAR has offered support and resources to families with children adopted from Vietnam who are facing the difficult realization that their adoptions may have been corrupted. We have also continued to monitor the situation and have offered our perspective to our government officials in Washington and Hanoi. For further information on Call to Action: Vietnam, please contact Karen Moline or Margaret Weeks at reform @ pear-now.org

Hague Issues

PEAR has been monitoring the transition to the Hague Process for the past year. We have submitted official comments on the Hague regulations regarding the adoption process and I800 which can be downloaded at our website: http://www.pear-now.org/. We also provided feedback and comments to the COA, Colorado DHS and DOS on applicant and accredited agencies and approved persons throughout the accreditation process. We continue to monitor agencies and approve persons, the applicant process, and complaints against Hague accredited agencies.

In addition to the accreditation and I800 issues, PEAR encouraged the USCIS to properly interpret the federal regulations regarding the grandfathering of transition cases and allow the renewals of I600a approvals. As a result of our efforts and the efforts of numerous adoption advocacy groups and adoptive and prospective adoptive parents, the USCIS changed its position in October to officially permit the continued renewal of I600a's in transition cases.

For additional Information on our Hague related activities, please contact us at reform@pear-now.org

Adoptee Access to Records

PEAR fully supports the right of all adoptees to full and complete access to their birth information. Over the past year, we have written to numerous state legislatures and adoption groups concerning our position and encouraged them to support initiatives and legislation in support of open access. For further information on PEAR's work in support of Adoptee Access to Records, please contact us at reform@pear-now.org

Adoptive Parents Bill of Rights and Prospective Adoptive Parents Bill of Rights

In response to a request at the Ethics and Accountability Conference last fall for a written Bill of Right for Adoptive Parents and Prospective Adoptive Parents, PEAR has been busy drafting and refining a version that respects the rights of adoptive parents, families of origin and adoptees and ensures best practices in adoption and post adoption services. Our committees are currently polishing the final drafts, which we hope to release in early January 2009. For further information on these projects, please contact Gina Pollock at reform@pear-now.org

Nonprofit Status and Corporate Issues

In March of 2008, PEAR became a non profit corporation organized under Pennsylvania law. We completed our 1023 application for 501(c)(3) status which was filed in July of 2008 and are currently awaiting our determination letter. Until we receive a favorable determination from the IRS, donations to PEAR are not tax deductible. However, your financial support is still needed to complete our projects and keep our organization viable! Copies of our corporate documents are available upon request by writing to us at reform @ pear-now.org

In the Spotlight

Tidbits of information, resources and articles worth pursuing in the fight for ethical adoptions:

So, sue me! For far too long adoptive and prospective adoptive families injured by unethical practices remained silent believing they had no power to fight the adoption industry. However, a trend over the past two years shows that families have begun to speak up and demand justice. In October of 2006, a civil RICO case was filed against Waiting Angels Adoption Agency in Michigan. Since that time, numerous adoptive and prospective adoptive parents have sought each other out through online adoption support groups, pooled their resources and banded together to seek justice against agencies engaging in unethical and illegal acts. To date, civil RICO complaints have been filed against Waiting Angels, Adoption International Program (AIP/Orson Moses), Project Oz, and Main Street Adoption Services. Further information on these law suits can be found at the website for Fixel Law Offices fixellawoffices.com. Remember, each of these cases began by families sharing stories and reaching out in online adoption groups. Use your voice, you would be surprised at the power we have when we join forces!

The Lie We Love. A recent article written by EJ Graff and published in Foreign Policy, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/, has generated a lot of discussion in adoption groups in the US and abroad. PEAR highly recommends that prospective and adoptive parents read Ms. Graff's article and visit the Brandeis University Schuster Institute website for more information on corruption in international adoption. Prospective adoptive parents should be sure to check out the interactive map available on the website before selecting a country program.

DOS Updated Adoption Site. It's been a long time coming, but the US Department of State has finally updated and revamped its information on international adoption from both Hague and non-Hague countries. Please take some time to peruse the site, especially if you are just starting the process of adoption. http://www.blogger.com/www.adoption.state.gov

Make a Difference - Join PEAR Now!

Gina Pollock
President
Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform
http://www.pear-now.org/
526 N President Ave
Lancaster PA 17603
reform@pear-now.org

BE the change you want to see in the world. - Gandhi

UPDATE: Call to Action Vietnam - USCIS/DOS Statements

Adoptions from Vietnam to the United States Will Not Resume Without a New Bilateral Agreement - Action Taken to Establish Safeguards that Protect Children and Families

WASHINGTON – United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of State (DOS) issued a joint statement with the government of Vietnam announcing that the processing of new adoption cases will not resume until both countries sign a new bilateral agreement.

The governments of the United States and Vietnam are taking this action jointly because both governments recognize the complexity of issues relating to intercountry adoptions and the importance of developing a transparent adoption system that protects all parties. The United States continues to strongly support the Vietnamese government's efforts to establish an appropriate child adoption system with sound safeguards and protections for children and families. Until a new bilateral agreement is reached, USCIS and DOS have concluded it is in the best interest of children and families to not process any post-Sept. 1, 2008 adoption cases. This action does not affect cases where the prospective adoptive parents were matched with a child before Sept. 1, 2008, the date the previous bilateral agreement expired.

USCIS and DOS will continue to process Vietnamese intercountry adoption cases where the child was matched with the prospective adoptive family before Sept. 1, 2008. Prospective adoptive parents, who may need clarification of the status of their case, may verify whether their adoption petition qualifies as a pre-Sept. 1 case by e-mailing the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi at: hanoiadoptions@state.gov. The Embassy strongly advises prospective adoptive parents not to travel to Vietnam until they have received notification from the Embassy that their case is ready for final processing and travel is appropriate.

The United States government is committed to supporting Vietnam in its efforts to establish practices necessary to appropriately process intercountry adoptions. We have therefore expressed our willingness to begin negotiations on a new bilateral agreement with the government of Vietnam that addresses the deficiencies in their current system. We cannot predict when a new bilateral adoption agreement with adequate safeguards for all parties will be concluded.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=fa81be340e10d110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f3beaca797e63110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/4dqxzo

The joint statement between the United States and Vietnam is available in the RelatedLinks section of the USCIS webpage.

Additional information on international adoptions is available online at www.travel.state.gov, or in the Adoptions section of the USCIS website.

Additional printed FAQ available at the USCIS website: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=a805be340e10d110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=f3beaca797e63110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/3vw9aw

UPDATE: Call to Action Vietnam - USCIS Warning

UPDATE: Call to Action Vietnam

On Friday, April 25, 2008, the US Embassy in Hanoi took the unprecedented step of releasing a detailed "Summary of Irregularities in Adoptions in Vietnam" about the adoption corruption their recent investigations uncovered in Vietnam. The text of this summary can be found at: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/irreg_adoptions042508.html

This summary followed an earlier warning not initiate adoptions from Vietnam, which can be found at:
http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/adoption_warning0408.html

In it, the Embassy stated: "On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008". It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, "the DIA will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires."

In news articles widely disseminated on the Internet, DIA angrily denied the charges and stated that the MOU (Memo of Understanding) governing adoptions between the US and Vietnam would not be renewed.

Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform (PEAR) sympathizes with all families caught up in this situation: prospective adoptive parents (PAPs), adoptive parents, birth parents, and children. We know that this news is extremely disturbing to parents waiting to adopt, as well as to adoptive parents (APs) of Vietnamese children, who must now wonder if their children's adoptions had been free from corruption. This is a tragedy effectively ending the adoption dreams of many PAPs, while affecting the future of the legitimate orphans awaiting these families. It particularly puts ongoing humanitarian aid from adoption agencies (ASPs)
to these desperately needy orphanages at risk. It is a position no person should ever have been placed in.

We also wish to support the efforts of the US Embassy in Hanoi, particularly the Adoptive Children Immigrant Visa Unit, who have worked tirelessly for many months, and amid mounting criticism from many PAPs angry at delays affecting their paperwork, to uncover the ongoing corruption that has been presented in damning, incontrovertible detail. Given this report, there can be no doubt about the serious flaws in the adoption process in Vietnam. Adoptions from Vietnam can no longer be defended as free from potential corruption, and they need to cease. A great deal of work on the part of both countries must be undergone before there is any talk of entering into a new agreement.

However, given the lack of transparency; the failure of DIA to adhere to several of the most salient points of the MOU; the licensing by DIA of many agencies known to have engaged in corrupt practices before the first shutdown; the anger engendered by the Department of State's investigations in different Vietnamese provinces; and the staunch denial of wrongdoing by these ASPs (and their clients) who knowingly tried to hide their trafficking, PEAR is not surprised that Vietnam adoptions to the US will cease.

As a result, PEAR believes it is time for PAPs who will no longer be able to adopt from Vietnam, as well as APs who now may have reason to doubt the legitimacy of their child's adoption, to unite. By uniting, we can better demand reform from agencies that have behaved with little government oversight and regulation for far too long.

We suggest the following course of action:

A. For PAPs:
1. Contact your ASP immediately to ask how to proceed with your case.
2. Contact PEAR with any concerns or questions you may have about the proposed procedures from your agency.
3. Contact the US Department of State and or the US Embassy in Hanoi with any suspected illegal or unethical behavior on the part of any ASP.
4. Demand that the DOS dislcose and take legal action against the ASPs that have committed outright illegal and unethical acts in Vietnam.
5. Keep meticulous records of contacts and information provided by your agency. You may have grounds for legal action against the ASP - be prepared with good records.
6. Do not be afraid to speak out. Do not be afraid to demand answers.
7. Consider joining us at PEAR and assisting in our work.
8. Consider donating to legitimate humanitarian aid programs supporting Vietnamese orphanages.

B. For APs who suspect that their completed adoption
may have been unethical and/or illegal:
1. Prepare to take legal action. Review your paperwork, contact your agency, the DOS and the Embassy and request information and assistance in verifying your child's identity and paperwork. Keep meticulous records of contacts and information provided by your agency.
2. Consider an investigation into the adoption through the use of a searcher. PEAR is currently compiling a list of expereinced searchers in Vietnam.
3. Report your concerns and suspicions to PEAR, DOS and the US Embassy in Hanoi. PEAR will be compiling lists of clients according to ASP and province in order to provide families with connections and resources.
4. Consult an attorney who specializes in adoption fraud. PEAR is currently compiling a list of experienced attorneys who may be willing to assist you.
5. Demand that DOS disclose and take legal action against ASPs found to be participating outright in illegal practices.
6. Do not be afraid to speak out. Do not be afraid to demand answers.
7. Consider joining us at PEAR and assisting in our work.
8. Consider donating to legitimate humanitiarian aid programs supporting Vietnamese orphanages.

C. For ASPs working in Vietnam
1. We ask that all ASPs suspend submitting new dossiers at this time, unless they have been assured by the Department of State and DIA that there will be official referrals prior to July 1.
2. We also ask that agencies contact us with their plans and their projected needs for assisting their clients who do not have referrals by July 1.
3. We are calling on all Vietnam ASPs with support of the JCICS to act in a manner that respects the emotional and financial hardship PAPs will be experiencing, and to work in a cooperative manner to find solutions for all families effected by the
pending closure. To assist in this we suggest:
- An effort from all 42 ASPs working in Vietnam to transfer Vietnam dossiers to other country programs within the agency
with minimal financial hardship to families.
- A cooperative effort by the 42 ASPs, with the support of JCICS, in the creation of an inter-agency transfer of dossiers to
other open programs for a minor fee if the original agency does not have other viable options, such as working in
countries other than Vietnam.
4. We ask all APSs currently working in Vietnam to continue with their humanitarian efforts in the provinces and orphanages
with which they work. PEAR will assist in getting the word out to the public concerning legitimate humanitarian aid programs in Vietnam orphanages.

D. For everyone concerned with providing ethical
adoptions in all countries:
1. Write to the DOS and the US Embassy in Hanoi and request the disclosure of ASPs engaged in corrupt activities. While the US Embassy in Hanoi may not be permitted to name the ASPs described in their "Summary of Irregularities"�, we hope they will name the provinces investigated, which will make it easier to identify these ASPs, and for their clients to consider how to respond. The culture of secrecy has permeated the entire international adoption industry, but without naming suspect ASPs, no action can be taken against them.
2. Consider joining us at PEAR and assisting in our work.

Contacts:
US Department of State:
Gerry W. Fuller,
Intercountry Adoptions
202-663-2928
FullerGW@state.gov

US Embassy, Hanoi:
U.S. Embassy Hanoi
Rose Garden Tower
170 Ngoc Khanh St.
Tel: (84-4) 850-5100
Fax: (84-4) 850-5145/850-5026
Email: hanoiadoptions@state.gov

PEAR:
Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform
526 N. President Ave.
Lancaster, PA 17603
reform@pear-now.org

To join PEAR, please visit our website,
www.pear-now.org, and download a member application form. Membership is $20 annually. Completed
applications and payment should be sent to:

Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform
1455 Stoney Creek Drive
Charlottesville, VA 22902

UPDATE: Call to Action Vietnam - USCIS Warning

The US Embassy in Hanoi has issued the following warning for adoption from Vietnam:

ADOPTED CHILDREN IMMIGRANT VISA UNIT

Warning Concerning Adoptions in Vietnam

April 2008
The Department of State continues to urge prospective adoptive parents and adoption service providers not to initiate new adoptions from Vietnam at this time. The 2005 Memorandum of Agreement, required by Vietnamese law to authorize adoptions between the United States and Vietnam, expires on September 1, 2008. In addition, recent field investigations have revealed incidents of serious adoption irregularities, including forged or altered documentation, mothers paid, coerced or tricked into releasing their children, and children offered for adoption without the knowledge or consent of their birth parents.
The United States is strongly committed to processing legitimate intercountry adoptions from Vietnam if possible. Our primary concern is to ensure that the children and families involved in the adoption process are protected from exploitation. The Government of Vietnam shares this concern. Both countries acknowledge that more needs to be done to address deficiencies in the current system.
On April 25, the Government of Vietnam announced that it will allow adoption to be completed in cases where prospective adoptive parents have been matched with a child and received an official referral prior to September 1, 2008. It further stated that in accordance with Vietnamese law, the DIA will suspend the acceptance of new dossiers on July 1, 2008. On September 1, 2008 any dossier that has not received a referral will be closed and returned to the Adoption Service Provider. In view of the processing time required in Vietnam from placement to the Giving and Receiving Ceremony, an adoption process begun now cannot be completed before the current Agreement expires.
Prospective adoptive parents should be aware that documents relating to adoptions in Vietnam, such as birth certificates, abandonment reports, relinquishment agreements, and investigative reports are generally issued by orphanage directors, local People’s Committees, Provincial Departments and the Department for International Adoptions (DIA). The facts asserted in these documents are not verified by the issuing officials. Attempts by U.S. officials to verify the accuracy of these documents have routinely uncovered evidence of fraudulent or inaccurate information. Therefore, documents issued by the authorities listed above, and any other documents containing information not verified by the issuing authority, cannot be considered adequate evidence of the facts claimed. They may be used in conjunction with primary and contemporaneous secondary evidence, or must be independently verified by U.S. officials in Vietnam, before they can be considered valid for immigration purposes. (http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciprocity/reciprocity_3705.html)
Consular officers have routinely completed field verifications of orphan status in over 35 provinces in Vietnam. However, in some cases, Vietnamese officials have prevented the U.S. Government from conducting independent field inquiries into the status of children identified in I-600 petitions. Embassy outreach, as well as support from adoption agency officials, have thus far allowed independent investigations to resume in some areas that were previously impeded. We continue robust efforts to resolve this issue. Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict when we can complete the field inquiries in areas which are still closed to our staff.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the Department of State have instituted procedures to verify that children identified for placement meet the requirements of Vietnamese and U.S. law, before the child has been adopted under Vietnamese law. Information about these procedures is available from USCIS or through their website http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis. The Embassy strongly advises prospective adoptive parents not to travel to Vietnam until they have received notification from the Embassy that their case is ready for final processing and travel is appropriate. Parents should contact the Embassy immediately if anyone, including their adoption service provider, encourages them to travel to Vietnam prior to receiving this notification. The Embassy can work together with adoption service providers, Vietnam’s Department of International Adoptions, and local authorities to resolve issues such as the scheduling of a Giving and Receiving Ceremony.


Source: http://vietnam.usembassy.gov/adoption_warning0408.html

PEAR Announces it's Education Project

Parents for Ethical Adoption Reform (PEAR) announces it's new initiative to develop a model education program for adoptive parents. We believe that all parents should receive a comprehensive and realistic education prior to adopting. PEAR also feels many parents come to adoption inadequately prepared for the challenges of adoption. We hope to create a parent friendly HONEST education program that will give parents what they need and want in order to assist them in this amazing but often taxing journey.

As part of this initiative, PEAR will be collecting the thoughts, opinions and experiences of current adoptive and prospective adoptive parents. We have created a Yahoo group to help facilitate the easy collection of this information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PEAR-ED. If you wish to contribute, but do not wish to join a yahoo group, you may submit your
input directly to PEAR at reform @ pear-now.org. After collecting information, resources, and adoption community opinions, the PEAR-ED project intends to create a model education program for use by adoption agencies and prospective adoptive parents.

Please tell us what you think was helpful or useful about your adoption preparation, what was bad, what could have been better, what you would like to have read, experienced or participated in. Tell us what articles, books, educational materials or programs were best for you and why. Tell us what is needed to prepare parents for the journey of adoption. Review any existing programs you have participated in. We invite you to contribute your own writings and opinions and lists of information (for large articles, please contact the list management via PEAR-ED-owner @ yahoogroups.com) We invite you to REFER us to the work of others you feel are useful - please do not copy and paste the work of others due to coppyright issues.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTRIBUTE UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO HAVE YOUR WORDS AND WRITINGS PUBLISHED at a later date as part of this project. You may contribute anonymously.

Please list your name at the top of your article/list/information *if* you would like to be credited. All materials contributed are deemed to be freely distributable by PEAR-ED.





Click to join PEAR-ED

PEAR Supports Ethica's Letter to the VN Adoption Community

Below is a letter from Linh Song, Executive Director of Ethica. PEAR supports Ethica's call for input from the VN adoption community and encourages all those interested in VN adoption and adoption reform to participate by writing your comments to Ethica. PEAR's Comments on the JCICS Proposed Standards of Practice were submitted to JCICS on December 10, 2007. Copies of our comments are available on our website, in the Files section of our Newsletter Group, or by contacting PEAR at reform@pear-now.org.

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Dear Vietnam Adoption Community Members,

In November I attended the Joint Council on International Children's Services' Vietnam Summit. JCICS is the umbrella organization for many, but not all, adoption agencies facilitating international adoptions. Ethica is also a member as an adoption advocacy organization.

The Summit was convened in order to address the increasingly problematic situation in Vietnam, which included:

- Over 20 NOIDS (notice of intent to deny a child's visa) were issued in October-November 2007; 3 JCICS member agencies accounted for the majority of the NOIDs. Currently there are 26 NOIDs.
- The new I600 procedure that was proposed and implemented in order to verify true orphan status of Vietnamese children.
- The MOU between the U.S. and Vietnam that will be renegotiated in March with renewal in September 2008. However Vietnam has not fulfilled its promise of releasing a fee schedule, a key factor for successful renegotiation.

It was also mentioned that there was evidence of:
- Moving children from unlicensed child welfare institutions into licensed orphanages in order to qualify for international adoption.
- Adoption agencies contracting directly with maternity hospitals and matching children before they are relinquished to the orphanage.
- Paying orphanage and provincial officials large sums of cash in order to secure referrals (children eligible for adoption).
- Paying for travel junkets for orphanage and provincial authorities to tour the U.S.

The theme of the meeting was for agencies to stop illegal activity in-country, stop paying facilitators contingency or finding fees, and to co-operate in creating an agency fee schedule to submit to the U.S. Department of State.

It was obvious to me during the discussion that unethical and illegal activity either paid for or promoted by American adoption agencies, and bidding wars between agencies for young children, were key factors leading to the current climate. Cash donations directly to orphanages were also an issue as more seasoned and reputable agency representatives reminded attendees that one of the MOU's goals was to have agency funding be directed to humanitarian projects and not unaccountable cash gifts.

Some agencies continue to insist that they are not responsible to verify orphan status and that receipts alone are adequate tracking methods. Ethica believes that
this attitude is an indication that adoptive families need to be vocal about putting the responsibility on their agencies to fulfill their obligations in facilitating ethical and transparent adoptions.

Proposed JCICS standards were issued that agencies are currently commenting on. The timeline presented at the Summit has been changed to accommodate a delay due to staff changes at JCICS. The hope is for agencies to submit their fees to the organization and comments on the Vietnamese standards of practice by January 21.

Ethica is preparing our comments on the standards to submit at the end of Friday, January 18th. We would like to hear from parents any thoughts they have on what agencies should currently be doing in Vietnam, but are not currently doing. We will consider adding them to our comments. This is your chance for input on keeping Vietnamese adoptions open and continuing in an ethical and transparent manner.

Please email us at info@ethicanet.org by January 17th. Thank you.


Linh Song, MSW
Executive Director
Ethica, Inc.

Update on PEAR's Call to Action: Vietnam

In early December, JCICS requested that PEAR put together a list of organizations and individuals we felt JCICS should contact for input on their proposed Standards of Practice for Vietnam Adoptions. We submitted the following list to JCICS on December 6:

Vietnam AP groups:
APV (Adoptive Parents Vietnam Yahoo group) and owners
RateYourVietnamAdoptionAgency Yahoo Group and owners
FCVN (Families with Children from Vietnam)
Nicki & Chris from the Voices for Vietnam Adoption Integrity blog

Adoptee Groups:
VAN-Online
adopted vietnamese international
InterAdopt Alliance

Adoptee Groups for APs too:
International-Adopt-Talk Yahoo Group and owners
Global-Adoption-Triad Yahoo Group and owners

Despite their interest in participating in the process, none of the organizations or individuals representative of adoptive parents have been contacted by JCICS for input. PEAR has not received feedback from the adoptee groups and individuals.

PEAR is now highly encouraging all organizations and individuals with an interest in Vietnam adoptions, or international adoption in general, to contact JCICS individually or to offer their input on comments to Ethica www.ethica.net.org. Please let your voice be heard!

Gina Pollock
Interim President
PEAR
www.pear-now.org
reform@pear-now.com