Info from agency

Below is an email  from AAI - about a 6 hour teleconference they had this week.  from other things I've seen the ET government is also making some changes.  I personally think they will make things easier in the long run - but they are trying to work with everyone to make sure ethical adoptions are happening - that's key. So here is the latest - I'll try posting things we get from AAI as I trust that first - all other info are emails I get in groups and I"m sure they are valid - but I want to hear it from our agency.
Gail


Dear Families~
There was a 6 hour conference that took place yesterday organized by the Department of State. There were adoption agencies,government agencies, and other organizations that were invited to call in to participate.

The title of the conference was "Ethiopia Adoption: Solutions into Action" and the purpose was to discuss the current status of adoptions in Ethiopia and come up with solutions as to how to move forward to ethically and transparently better protect children, birth families, and adoptive parents.

The presenters in the morning primarily talked about statistics and issues with the current process of adoption. The way in which some children come into care, unethical practices in some cases, and lack of care provided to children in some of the orphanages. Because of these issues, along with others, some orphanages are being investigated at this time, by the Ethiopian Government and the U.S. Embassy. It should be noted that out of approx. 200 orphanages in Ethiopia, only 77 are licensed for adoption, so many of the orphanages that are being investigated are not currently involved with adoption. Most of this is not new information and was posted on the Department of State's website on December 6, 2010. (http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html)

On a side note, regarding referrals: This perhaps explains why agencies across the nation, including us, have experienced a significant slow down of referrals over the last few months. The Ethiopian Government plays a large role in the referral process. It is not until the government gives the orphanage the legal authority to refer children to agencies that a referral can take place. If the government is somewhat skeptical about some orphanages in general right now, it would make sense that they wouldn't be too quick to give any orphanage this authority. 

The focus in the afternoon was more about trying to come up with solutions. One thing that was mentioned was the possibility of having the embassy give pre-approval for a case prior to the case even going to court. This would make for a longer process in between referral and travel, but it would reduce the chances of issues at the end of the process. Other things talked about were to have ongoing trainings with the local government, and the judiciary branch, in addition to the training already provided foradoption agency staff in Ethiopia.

Even though we did not feel like we walked away with a lot of new information, one thing that was apparent is that everyone appears to be committed to finding solutions to these problems. Determining the best solutions will be an ongoing discussion.

Please be assured that it has always been and will continue to be top priority to Adoption Associates to complete adoption cases with integrity and transparency. 

Sally, Mary, & Laura