current adoption news
May 2009
latest developments
Philippines update – moratorium on applications for children aged under 3 years
As you may be aware, the Inter-Country Adoption Board of the Philippines (ICAB) recently informed all partner countries that from 1 May 2009, they will only accept new applications for families willing and able to care for children three years and older.
ICAB have advised that this is “due to the large numbers of unmatched, approved applications for children aged 0 to 2, with or without medical/developmental concerns” and the limited numbers of children in need of overseas families in this age group.
ICAB is not able to give an estimate of when this moratorium may be lifted. They have advised that they will resume accepting new applications for children under the age of three once 50% of the existing families currently on the waiting list have been processed.
If you believe you will be affected by this change of criteria, please contact us via email: intercountry@community.nsw.gov.au and let us know when we can contact you to discuss your circumstances.
Baby Bonus and Maternity Immunisation allowance for adoptive parents
There are important changes to some types of families payments that came into effect from 1 January 2009.
If you are the parent of an adopted child, there are changes to Baby Bonus and Maternity Immunisation Allowance that you need to be aware of.
For information about these changes and how they may affect you, visit www.centrelink.gov.au
upcoming events
(Events given coverage in this publication do not necessarily represent the view of the Minister or Director General of the Department of Community Services. The accuracy or currency of information regarding these events is the responsibility of the individual organisations.)
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Jane Brown Playshops & parent sessions: 5 - 7 June 2009
ASIAC NSW and AFA Canberra are sponsoring Jane Brown to Australia to run a series of Playshops for adopted children and parent sessions for adoptive parents.
The Playshops are appropriate for adopted children 5 years through to 12/13 years and for new as well as prevous participants. For more information see: www.asiac.org.au/janebrown.html
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Thailand Nativeland Visit Program: 19-25 July 2009
Thailand has recently announced the sixth Nativeland Visit Program.
NSW families should advise APCS in writing by email of their interest in attending. See www.ag.gov.au for more information. - See a list of all support organisations and playgroups.
country news
China
The China Center of Adoption Affairs (CCAA) has formally advised Australian Central Authorities of changes to the orphanage donations paid by families adopting children from China.
CCAA has notified the Australian Central Authority that they will no longer operate a separate system for Australian special needs applicants. This change is effective immediately. CCAA have agreed, however, to process all Australian special needs applications already logged in to their system.
After waiting approximately 37 months, Family Group 38 received adoption proposals of children needing family placements on 15 April 2009.
Korea
Eastern Social Welfare Society (ESWS) has issued an Australian national quota of 30 applications for 2009. The NSW quota is 9.
This quota must include a minimum of one third of the applications from families approved to adopt children with more complex medical backgrounds.
NSW received 11 allocations from Korea in 2007 and 11 in 2008.
The waiting time to travel to Korea remains around 3 months from allocation. NSW has received 6 allocations as of this time in 2009.
Ethiopia
Applicants considering applying to adopt a child from Ethiopia need to be conscious that once approved, they will wait a substantial period of time before their dossier is able to be sent to Ethiopia.
Families must meet Ethiopia’s various criteria (e.g. age of applicants) at the time their dossier is sent overseas.
The NSW quota of 20 files in Ethiopia at any one time is full and currently there is a waiting list of over 30 approved families.
When a family receives an allocation, the next application off the waiting list can be sent.
NSW received 13 adoption proposals during 2008. There has been 1 adoption proposal received in 2009.
Philippines
23 adoption proposals were received in NSW in 2007 and 15 adoption proposals were received in 2008.
There have been 11 adoption proposals so far in 2009.
See 'latest developments' section for most recent news from the Philippines.
Bolivia
In June–July 2008, a delegation from the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) visited Bolivia to discuss the operation of the Bolivia–Australia intercountry adoption program.
The firm view of the current Bolivian government is that local communities should be able to care for Bolivian children whose birth families are unable to care for them.
Intercountry adoption will be considered as the last option for children who need families. The delegation advised that substantial delays are occurring across most aspects of the intercountry adoption process, including the administrative and judicial procedures.
There has been one adoption proposal from Bolivia in 2009.
Chile
The children most in need of overseas families are six years and older, sibling groups, and older children with health problems or other complex needs.
The current approximate waiting time for an allocation is 24–30 months from the date of entry on the register.
SENAME (The Chilean Central Authority) noted that this waiting time may be shorter for couples seeking to adopt older children (stated as seven to nine years of age), sibling groups, or children with health problems.
Prospective adoptive parents must learn some Spanish prior to travelling to Chile so they can communicate with their child.
Colombia
3 adoption proposals were received, in 2008 and 4 in 2009. Families considering lodging an application for Colombia are encouraged to contact Anjali Russell (Program Development Officer) and Australian Families for Children for more information.
Taiwan
The Taiwanese adoption agency, Christian Salvation Service have a continued need for applications from families who are able to care for children with special needs backgrounds.
Families wishing to adopt a child with no difficult background will have to wait a significantly longer time for placement as CSS advised that healthy infants with uncomplicated social backgrounds are placed with couples seeking local adoption in Taiwan.
In recent correspondence CSS outlined procedures for dealing with applications were one adoptive parent is an Australian citizen and the other is a citizen of another country.
CSS noted that it is advisable for applicants to provide additional information to confirm that the child to be adopted will be made an Australian citizen and that the child is entitled to Australian citizenship.
If this applies to you please contact the Caseworker for Taiwan, Yee Fun Rebecca Lau to discuss the necessary documentation required for your application.
9 allocations were received by NSW in 2008 and 1 in 2009.
Thailand
The Thai Central Adoption Authority issued an Australian quota for 2009 of 40 applications. The quota was divided amongst the States and Territories in accordance with population, with some allowance for smaller jurisdictions.
Two placement proposals were received in 2008. 1 adoption proposal has been received to date in 2009.
Please note the quota does not include applications for children over four years of age and applications for children with special needs. Thailand will accept these files at any time. Families, however should be aware that waiting times may not be shorter and are dependent on the number of children needing families.
APCS is aware of the difficult time families are facing with extended waiting times. We will continue to liaise with the ACA regarding further advice received from Thailand about the program.
India
It continues to be difficult to locate agencies in India that are able to accept applications from Australia.
However, applications from people where one of the couple has an Indian passport or an Overseas Citizen of India passport are given preference and are more readily accepted by Indian adoption agencies.
Overseas Citizen of India is commonly known as dual Citizenship. Since 26 November 2006, Overseas Citizen of India passports and Indian passports are of equal status.
Families who are considering applying to adopt from India should contact Elizabeth Amit and discuss their specific circumstances.
feedback
Your feedback on this newsletter or what you would like to see in it, is welcome. If you have any comments, email them to adoption@community.nsw.gov.au