An April 28, 2009, article by Time magazine writer Kayla Webley reports that adoptions of Chinese children by U.S. parents have declined dramatically over the past two years.

Webley attributes this decline to heightened standards that the Chinese government put into effect in May 2007:

The stricter guidelines, intended to limit the overwhelming number of applicants to China's well-regarded adoption program, have been effective -- adoptions of Chinese children by U.S. citizens have dropped 50 percent, according to the U.S. State Department.

The new regulations require, among other things, that adoptive parents be married, under 50, not classified as clinically obese, not have taken antidepressant medications in the past two years, not have facial deformities and meet certain educational and economic requirements.

Webley's Time article noted that the number of children who were adopted by U.S. citizens through the state-run China Center for Adoption Affairs fell from 7,906 in 2005 to 3,909 three years later.

Labels: international, adoption rights

The Florence Crittenton League of Lowell, Massachusetts, has been approved to handle international adoptions with countries that observe the Hague Adoption Convention.

The Lowell (Mass.) Sun reported that the accreditation was issued by the Council on Accreditation in New York, which since July 2006 has been the only national accreditor that is recognized by the U.S. State Department.

The Florence Crittenton League also holds accreditation from the Russian Federation, which is required in order to facilitate the adoption of Russian children.

Labels: international, adoption_agencies, accreditation

Pop star Madonna has appealed a court ruling which denied her request to adopt a three-year-old girl from Malawi. A Malawian court official said Monday that Madonna's appeal will be heard in early March.

Joseph Chigona, Registrar of the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal, said the case will come before three judges from the Supreme Court of Appeal on May 4 ...Malawi requires prospective parents to live in the country for 18 to 24 months while child welfare authorities assess their suitability.(Source: The Associated Press)

A lower court judge denied Madonna's adoption request based on the residency law, citing concerns that ignoring the law could put other children at risk of being trafficked. Madonna's appeal will be heard in a closed-door session that she is not required to attend.

Labels: international, adoption rights, malawi

Five years ago, before Angelina Jolie brought international attention to the African nation, the Blome family adopted a six-year-old boy from Ethiopia. Since then, adoptions of Ethiopian children have soared from just 289 in 2004 to more than 1,700 last year.

Fraud concerns put a halt to adoptions from Guatemala and Vietnam in the last several months. The Kazakh Embassy has ceased processing adoption dossiers -- the inches-think binder of required home study and family background documents. ... China poses challenges as well. ... Ethiopia, by contrast, allows both married and single parents to adopt, and the process typically takes less than two years. (Source: The Contra Costa (California) Times)

The adoption agency chosen by the Blomes five years ago had an intriguing requirement -- that the couple commit to giving something back to Ethiopia. So every year, Erik Blome returns with crates of art supplies and runs workshops at eight orphanages.

Labels: international, adoption rights, ethiopia

The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled that a man who adopted twin girls from a surrogate mother in South Carolina didn't follow the requirements for interstate compacts.

Indiana child-welfare officials originally said the two girls, who were born in April 2005, were not eligible for out-of-state adoption because state law restricts such moves to cases where the children are considered 'hard to place' due to factors such as race, ethnic background, or disability.

The Supreme Court also ruled that the girls will stay with their adoptive father until the matter is settled.

Source: The Courier-Journal (Kentucky)

Labels: adoption rights, court, fathers, indiana

In Colorado, it costs about $20,000 for the state to care for a child. Adoption agencies can place the child in a permanent home for a fraction of that cost, at great benefit to both child and adoptive parents.

Emma is one preschooler who's definitely benefiting from the love and guidance of adoptive parents. ... She was born drug positive and suffered neglect as an infant. "She couldn't hold herself up. She couldn't hold anything in her hand. She had no cognitive skills ... just kind of laid there in her own little world," [Emma's adoptive mother] explained.

Emma's adoptive parents, Liz and Mike, learned how to draw her out so that she would engage with them and others. She's now an active toddler whose abilities surpass her age, they said.

Source: CBS Channel 4 (Denver, Colorado)

Labels: parenting, benefits, inspiration, influences

A Missouri woman has been charged with felony child abduction for buying a baby. She is accused of paying $6,000 to a couple in Wisconsin in exchange for their newborn.

"Washington (Wisconsin) County Assistant District Attorney Peter Cannon says [the woman] has not officially adopted the child or filed a birth certificate. [She] is also charged with unauthorized adoption."

It has not yet been determined if the couple who sold the baby will be charged with any crime. Source: TMJ4 News (Milwaukee)

Labels: crime, abduction, unauthorized