August 2010

August 31, 2010. Rwanda Closed to International Adoption. The government of Rwanda has announced that effective today, August 31, 2010, the Ministry of Gender and Family Protection is suspending all new applications for international adoption. MGFP states that it is taking this step as part of Rwanda's accession to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Any adoption application received by MGFP prior to today will be processed. More Information.

August 30, 2010. Webinar on Haitian Children with Humanitarian Parole. We are delighted to announce that the Center for Adoption Policy is working with The American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, in collaboration with the ABA Family Law Section and Section of Litigation, and the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, on a free webinar entitled "HOW ATTORNEYS AND STATE COURT JUDGES CAN AID IN FINALIZING ADOPTIONS FOR HAITIAN CHILDREN NOW IN THE U.S." to be held on Wednesday, September 8, 2010 from 2:00 to 3:30 P.M. Eastern Time. Please RSVP at: http://www.abanet.org/child/webinarform.shtml to be provided with a Microsoft Live Meeting website link and other information. Teleconference Call in Number: 1-866-903-6197, Passcode: 1532057. Further information, including Webinar faculty, will be posted at: http://new.abanet.org/child/Pages/Haiti.aspx

August 18, 2010. China Announces New Adoption Program and Places New Responsibilities on Agencies. The China Center for Adoption Affairs has announced the creation of a "Special Focus" adoption category, to begin on September 1. In keeping with CCAA's emphasis on placing waiting children (children with identified special needs or older children), Special Focus children are waiting children who have been on the shared list for more than two months. To expedite the search for families: 1) Adoption service providers will be able have Special Focus children uniquely assigned to them; 2) prospective adoptive parents will have six months (rather than three) to complete their dossiers and 3) PAPs adopting a Special Focus child may adopt a second child at the same time or in the same year and the second child may be a non-special needs child, waiting child or another Special Focus child. CCAA has in the past heavily discouraged concurrent adoptions. CCAA has also charged ASPs to take the time to find the right family for these children and to make sure the families are prepared for their new child or children. More Information.

August 12, 2010. Russian boy Returned to Russia Sent Back to Orphanage. News reports state that Artyom Savelyev, the eight year old boy who was adopted by Tennessee woman Torry Hansen and then put on a plane to Russia, is back in a Russian orphanage awaiting another adoptive placement. The information on the new placement comes from Larry Crain, an attorney for WACAP (World Association for Children and Parents), the adoption agency which originally placed Artyom with his U.S. adoptive mother. Negotiations between the United States and Russia on an agreement relating to international adoption between the two countries remain on track. More Information.

August 12, 2010. Travel Warning to Russia. The Department of State issued a travel warning on August 10, 2010 to U.S. citizens planning to go to the Russian Federation. A state of emergency has been declared in Moscow, Vladimir, Ryazan, Voronezh, Novgorod, the Republic of Mordovia, and the Republic of Marii-El. Air travel has also been affected. The continuing wildfires has posed such a severe risk that DOS has authorized the departure of families of diplomats as well as non-critical employees from the U.S. embassy in Moscow. Any potential adoptive families planning travels to Russia at this time should consult the travel advisory by clicking here.

August 10, 2010. Who Will Be Hurt Most by State and Local Budget Cuts? Our newspapers are filled with reports of massive cuts by state and local governments. As the New York Times recently reported, a Georgia county shut down its entire bus system while street lights are being turned off in Colorado Springs. As usual, it will be the children who suffer the most. Some cuts are blatant, such as the fact that schools were closed 17 Fridays throughout Hawaii last year. Some are more subtle, for example, the garaging of a local bookmobile. But the public sector is permeated by children's losses: fewer day care centers, fewer teachers, fewer social workers and care workers, worse foster care and adoption services. It is the children in care who have the least and will pay the biggest price.