UPDATE: Moldova - US DOS Statement - Moldova not Closed

In response to the recent reports and requests for clarification, the US Department of State published the following statement last night:

http://www.adoptions.state.gov/news/moldova.html

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children's Issues

January 30, 2009

Recent media reports that the Government of Moldova is planning to
impose a temporary ban on intercountry adoption appear to be
erroneous. According to a Moldovan government official, no such ban
is planned. The Department of State will continue to monitor the
status of intercountry adoptions in Moldova and will update this
adoption notice when we have any new information.

Liberia, Moldova Halt International Adoptions

The countries of Liberia and Moldova announced bans on international adoptions this week pending invesitgations into allegations of fraud and child mistreatment.

The African News reported the following excerpt from the address of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the National Legislature on Monday, January 26, 2009:

"The gross mismanagement of the adoption program (which aims primarily at placing orphans in homes in the United States), by both Liberian and U.S. personnel in the concerned NGO is the subject of a report by a Special Committee which I appointed for this purpose. Essentially, we have discovered that many of the children in these orphanages are not in fact orphans but children taken from their living parents on the promise of support and a good life in America. Moreover, we found that young children were being sexually abused at some of these orphanages, while others including officials of government, have used the program to extort money from potential adoptors. We have thus suspended the adoption program until laws, policies and proper guidelines have been established and we have asked our concerned friends and partners in the United States to be patient as we try to correct the serious malpractices which exist. We expect the National Social Welfare
Policy and National Adoption Act which will be submitted to you during the course of the year, will provide guidance and prevent such abuses in the future." http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/22858

Acccording to prospective adoptive parents in the process of adopting from Liberia, adoption agencies are informing clients that the suspension is immediate and the US Embassy has been requested to cease processing visa applications for adopted children. There has not been an official announcement by the US Embassy or the US Department of State on the Liberian situation. PEAR has requested clarification from both organizations on behalf of adopting families.

On January 28, 2009, Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin announced his plans to
temporarily ban the adoption of Moldovan children by foreign couples. The announcement was published today by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service. Purportedly, the ban follows the arrest of a Moldovan adoption official,Svetlana Chifa, who is accused of being involved in an illegal child adoption in 2006. http://www.rferl.org/content/%20Moldova_To_Temporarily_Ban_International_Adoptions/1376803.html

Again, there have been no official announcements from the US Department of State or the US Embassy in Moldova. PEAR is requesting clarification and confirmation from both organizations on behalf of adopting families.

Please check with the DOS website: www.adoptions.state.gov, the Embassies and PEAR for further developments.

UPDATE US State Department Issues Statement on Liberia
Government of Liberia Suspends Intercountry Adoptions

The Government of Liberia (GOL) suspended processing of adoptions on January 26, 2009, on the recommendation of the President's Special Committee on Adoption. According to the Liberian President's statement, processing of adoptions was suspended due to mismanagement. The GOL expects to resume adoptions this year after its adoption law, policy, and guidelines have been established.

American citizens are alerted that the Government of Liberia suspended adoption services provided by the agencies West African Children Support Network (WACSN) and Acres of Hope (AOH) on January 22. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare announced that it is investigating WACSN and AOH to ensure that the children in their care are properly cared for and that adoptions are conducted in accordance with Liberian adoption law. American citizens who have pending adoption applications with either agency should contact the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia at monroviaadoptions@state.gov before traveling to Liberia.

Please continue to monitor adoption.state.gov for updated information.

PEAR is a 501(c)(3)

Dear Members, Friends and Supporters,

PEAR is pleased to announce that the IRS has officially determined us to be a 501(c)(3) Public Charity. Donations made to PEAR between March 14, 2008, the date of our incorporation in Pennsylvania, and into the future are tax deductible.

Please consider making your tax deductible donation to PEAR by December 31, 2008 in order to include it in your 2008 tax return.

Donations can be made through our website via PayPal or by check. See our website http://www.pear-now.org/ for details.

Warmest Regards,

Gina Pollock
President
PEAR
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DOS Notice on Ukraine

Adoption Notice

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

December 5, 2008

New Adoption Regulations in Effect

On October 8, 2008 the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved Resolution #905, introducing new regulations for adoptions and the protection of the rights of adopted children. This Resolution cancels the previous adoption Resolution #1377. The new regulations went into effect on December 1, 2008.

The Resolution sets regulations for the registration of abandoned children at the local, regional and central levels. It also describes adoption proceedings for both domestic and intercountry adoptions. Some of these changes will affect the intercountry adoption process. These changes are described in more detail below and in the updated country specific information on adoption from Ukraine. We have also revised the list of documents that should be submitted to the SDAPRC for registration to reflect all of the changes.

Adoption Home Study

Resolution #905 introduces more specific requirements for the adoption home study. The home study should include the following items: home address, living conditions (number of bedrooms, living space and conditions for the adopted child), biographic information of the parents, household members (number of persons residing in the same household and their relation to the adoptive parent, number of biological children, if any); adoptive parents’ approach towards adoption. The home study must also include the recommendations regarding the number, age and health condition of the children that can be adopted by the prospective adoptive parents. The important thing to remember is that the conclusion should clearly state that it is the agency/social worker’s recommendation for this family to adopt this particular child or children, not just the family’s own preference.

Refusal to Register Adoption Dossiers

According to this Resolution the SDAPRC will now have the right to refuse to register your dossier if, at the time of the dossier’s submission to the SDAPRC, the central database of Ukrainian children available for intercountry adoptions will not contain any children complying with the recommendation in your home study. Given the statistics published by the SDAPRC and available on our website at: http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_notice_0119_eng.html, there are currently no healthy children (or children with minor, correctable health problems) under three and very few under six years old. Therefore, if you are recommended for a healthy child or a child with minor/correctable health problems under six years of age, the SDAPRC is very likely to refuse even to accept and register your dossier.

Adoptive Parent’s Commitment to Register the Child and Provide Annual Reports to the Embassy or Consulate of Ukraine

This document must be prepared in duplicate and should include the following commitments:

•to register the adopted child with the respective Consulate or Embassy of Ukraine (indicating the name and full address of the Consulate/Embassy);
•to provide the adopted child with the opportunity to keep their Ukrainian citizenship until 18 years old;
•to submit annual reports on the adopted child to the Consulate or Embassy of Ukraine at least once a year for the first three years after the adoption and once every three years afterwards, until the child’s 18th birthday;
•to provide an opportunity to the representatives of the Consulate/Embassy of Ukraine to communicate with the adopted child;
•to inform the Consulate/Embassy of Ukraine about any change of address of the adopted child.
Marriage Certificate

The SDAPRC will now require two notarized copies of marriage certificate, instead of one.

Proof of income

W-2 forms for the most recent six months or tax returns for the last calendar year, certified by the issuing authority or notarized.

Ownership/Rental Documents

Your adoption dossier must now include a notarized copy of the document confirming the ownership or rental rights of the adoptive parents for their house or apartment, indicating its total and living area as well as the number of bedrooms.

Other Requirements and Notes

The SDAPRC will not accept any notarized statements in place of W-2 forms or other proof of income; neither will they accept notarized statements/affidavits instead of the documents confirming the property rights.

On the date of submission of your documents to the SDAPRC they should remain valid for at least six months. Documents are valid for 12 months from the date of issuance or notarization, except for the I-171H form, which is valid for 18 months.

Priority for Adoptions

The SDAPRC will give priority for submission of documents and scheduling appointments to the following adoptive parents:

•biological relatives of the adopted child;
•those who are applying for adoption of biological siblings of their previously adopted children;
•adoptive parents applying for adoption of the children suffering from one of the health problems posted on our website at: http://kyiv.usembassy.gov/amcit_adoptions_eng.html These children are also not subject to one-year registration term at the central database for intercountry adoptions.

Maximum Number of Appointments with the SDAPRC

As of December 1, 2008 the SDAPRC will allow only three appointments to each adoptive family to look at the children’s files. If you have not chosen any children after the third appointment, your adoption dossier will be returned to you immediately. (Currently, the SDAPRC also limits the number of adoption referrals issued to each family to two referrals.) You need to submit a notarized statement to request a second appointment with your dossier to the SDAPRC and then they officially have ten business days to respond with the date of your second/third appointment.

Please note this information is provided as a general guidance only; all questions involving interpretation of specific Ukrainian adoption laws should be addressed to foreign legal counsel or your adoption service provider.

Source: http://adoption.state.gov/news/ukraine.html

DOS Notice on Sierra Leone: Nov 28, 2008

Sierra Leone
Adoption Notice

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ October 28, 2008

U.S. Embassy Offers Orphan First Program

Due to the high rate of adoption fraud in Sierra Leone, the U.S. Embassy in Dakar is offering prospective adopting parents the opportunity for a preliminary, unofficial review of a child's orphan status. Under the "Orphan First" pilot program, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in conjunction with the Department of State (DOS), will determine whether or not a child meets the definition of orphan prior to the adoptive parents completing adoption proceedings at the parents' request. It is hoped that this program will prevent situations where U.S. citizens find that they have adopted a child from abroad but the child is not able to immigrate to the U.S. because the child does not meet the definition of orphan under section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

*Note: The formal, final determination of whether or not your child meets the definition of orphan still cannot be made until after you have a legal obligation to your child.

Prospective adoptive parents who would like to take advantage of this offer, should fax (011-221- 822-5903) or email (consulardakar@state.gov ) the following documents, if available and applicable, to the U.S. Consul when they request this unofficial review:

1. Completed I-604
2. A copy of the child's official intake form completed at the time the child was brought to the orphanage. The intake form should indicate the circumstances under which the child was brought to the orphanage and any actions taken to confirm the facts.
3. A copy of the child's birth certificate.
4. A copy of a death certificate for any parent who has died.

If the child has one sole or surviving parent, a copy of the statement the biological parent made at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs irrevocably relinquishing parental rights.

If a parent has abandoned a child or disappeared, copies of the police report, the report by Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs detailing efforts to locate the parent and severing parental ties of the missing parent, and/or a court order making the child a ward of the state.

After reviewing the documents, the U.S. Consul will inform you whether the child you hope to adopt is an orphan if all of the documents are authentic, whether the child is not an orphan, or whether it is likely that a field investigation would be required in order to confirm orphan status.
The U.S. Embassy in Freetown is responsible for field investigations. Due to workload constraints, field investigations are not conducted until the U.S. Consul in Dakar receives a copy of a court order from the High Court of Sierra Leone granting either a full and final adoption (IR3) or leave to adopt (IR4) and evidence of orphan status. Field investigations can take between 3 and 6 months, depending on workload and the availability of witnesses to confirm evidence of orphan status.

With addition questions, contact the U.S. Embassy in Dakar or the Office of Children’s Issues.

Source: http://adoption.state.gov/news/sierra%20leone.html