July 2018

July 23, 2018. Head of National Council for Adoption Asks: "Why does the State Department make it hard to adopt children from other countries?" Chuck Johnson, CEO of the National Council for Adoption (NCFA) poses this question in a strongly worded column written for USA Today. Johnson points out the international adoption has plummeted by 80 percent while the number of children who need permanent, loving homes has only grown. Johnson believes that "The [State] Department's Adoption Division needs new leaders who value and champion the human right for every child to have a family. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo needs new leaders who will collaborate with adoption service providers, community stakeholders, and other nations so that more Americans can become parents to these children." More Information.

July 19, 2018. Arizona Enacts First in the Nation Law on Embryo Disposition. Arizona's new law which requires that embryos in disputed custody situations be given to the person who intends to "develop to birth" these embryos is a controversial solution to a very difficult issue. With millions of embryos now in storage, various state courts have dealt with the question of to whom to award frozen embryos when the couple which created the embryos have divorced and now disagree as to the disposition. At the same time, pro-life groups have used this issue to work toward establishing the personhood of embryos. In the opinion of Rich Vaughn, chair of the American Bar Association's committee on fertility technology and founder of the International Fertility Law Group, this "new law is in fact an end around aimed at establishing the 'personhood' of unborn embryos." More Information.

July 18, 2018. Where is the Outrage Over Institutionalized Children Denied Adoption Homes. In the eloquent article linked to below, Professor Elizbeth Bartholet asks two vitally important questions: why do so many people actively to obstruct unparented children's access to permanent, loving parents through international adoption and why do so few people raised their voices to help these children? As Professor Bartholet points out: "The Trump administration has set itself to undo all things Obama. But oddly it has to date opted not to change the State Department adoption policies so desperately in need of change" while very few of the Democrats who decry the administration's migrant children policy have supported legislation which has been introduced to help unparented children find international adoptive parents. To read the article, please click here.

July 17, 2018. Co-Head of Congressional Coalition on Adoption Introduces Federal Faith-Based Protection Amendment. Representative Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.) successfully introduced an amendment to the House Appropriations Committee bill that will fund the Department of Health and Human Services Department for fiscal year 2019 that "would permit federally funded providers to refuse to recruit, train or support same-sex or unmarried couples interested in fostering or adopting children." In the last four years nine states, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Michigan, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia, have enacted similar laws. More Information.

July 16, 2018. Tree of Life Adoption Center's Accreditation Expires. The Department of State has notified adoption stakeholders that the "the Intercountry Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance Entity (IAAME) reports that on June 9, 2018, the Hague Accreditation for Tree of Life Adoption Center (Tree of Life) expired. They did not re-apply for accreditation." Tree of Life is the eighth adoption service provider to cease international adoption services since April 1st. Please go to the link blelow to learn about case transfer procedures for in process families or post-adoption families who are required to submit home studies. Click here.

July 12, 2018. CAP Endorses Intercountry Adoption Information Act of 2018. We are proud to endorse the Intercountry Adoption Information Act of 2018, sponsored by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and is co-sponsored by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH). In the words of Senator Burr, "this bipartisan bill will help remove some of the frequent informational challenges families face when trying to learn the status of intercountry adoption policies. It will also shine a light on unnecessary and detrimental barriers some countries have put up to thwart adoptions, and require the State Department to provide information on what they are doing to address those barriers. I hope the Senate will work to pass this commonsense legislation as soon as possible." We agree. To read the text of the bill, please click here.

July 11, 2018. Post-Adoption Reporting is a Must-Do. Many countries of origin require adoptive parents to send post-adoption reports about their child on a regular basis. But once home, it is easy for adoptive parents to neglect this obligation. However, not only have adoptive parents agreed to this requirement but the failure of compliance with post-adoption reporting requirements is one of the top reason countries cite for banning international adoption. More Information.

July 10, 2018. Battle Over Foster Care. Catholic Social Services in Philadelphia is no longer providing foster care referral services in Philadelphia. As a result, Catholic Social Services is taking the City to court over the termination of its role in foster care. According to spokesmen for Catholic Social Services, the Philadelphia Department of Human Services took this step because of Catholic Social Services' religious beliefs regarding marriage," specifically LGBT marriage. What Catholic Social Services calls religious freedom issues, others believe to be the freedom to discriminate. More Information.