A C Menu * Fair Game? * Awkward Issue
Another new UK government report on domestic adoption has only modest comfort for inter country adopters (Social Services Inspectorate/Department of Health, Adopting Changes: Survey and inspection of local councils‘ Adoption Services, www.doh.gov.uk/scg/adoptchan.htm). Our leaders want treatment of inter country adopters by local authority social service departments to improve, and there are ten official ‘expectations’ about adoption services. One of these applies specifically to ICA, and says: "The council demonstrates a positive attitude to inter country adoption, making information available to prospective adopters and assessing and preparing them for the task, applying the same standards as it would to domestic adoption." It is fortunate that the needs of inter country adopters are at least formally recognised in government policy.
The new report has no evidence that the ICA aspects of the government’s wish-list are being fulfilled: "Not all inter-country adopters had the benefit of the group preparation sessions universally available to domestic adopters." Over half the authorities surveyed didn't hold ICA preparation courses. And (some/most/all?) ICA couples who attended preparation courses have found them unsatisfactory.
Inter country adoption is admittedly a minority sport, but LA adoption services should not treat it as a complete sideshow, even though their main focus is on domestic needs and finding adoptive families for children being looked after. It's time that central government stopped its tacit acceptance of this state of affairs. Instead of research on how adoption services are fulfilling the aims of government (laudable as those aims sometimes are), the next step should be to collect data on how the adoption services are serving the needs of inter country adopters. That would be a report worth reading.
All of us in the community of inter country adopted families are at risk from poor standards and sharp practice, wherever they occur. Being asked "Was your child stolen, then?" would be shocking for any parent. And how much more damaging the same accusation would be for an adopted child. Yet even though we know that the vast majority of inter country adoptions are legitimate, voluntary and beneficial to all concerned, the reputations and peace of mind of all of us in adoptive families are threatened by the fact that despicable practices are still carried out on a large scale in one country.
This is much the same as I wrote six months ago. The sad thing is that media reports of massive exploitation of the poor and ignorant in that country are still appearing. This time it was Channel 4 News (22 November). The piece said that "selling babies for adoption is big business - a powerful industry controlled by lawyers". There were said to be dozens of agencies, one of which had done some five hundred adoptions. Legislation to control the situation is repeatedly blocked.
The report featured a couple whose baby had been stolen and then processed for (we can hardly use the term "adopted by") a North American couple. The fact that the fee paid by the unknowing adopters was $35,000 would be unimportant, except that it shows the scale of the benefits from operating a corrupt system. A hidden camera showed us inside an "orphanage" which had 30 babies - rather a valuable cargo at the going rate. Another distraught mother, this time a teenage street-child, had had her baby stolen, and this was said to be a typical occurrence.
Even those of us who have complete confidence in the origins of our adopted children stand to suffer, and our children more so, as malpractice in even one country tarnishes the reputation of all inter country adoption. The point of mentioning this again - and it's getting increasingly hard not to name the country - is to say that the only people with any choices in the short run are potential adopters, wherever they live. Their duty is to research their target country adequately. If it smells, move on.
Personal views by Andrew Gibbons.
Andrew Gibbons
chairman.afaa@pobox.comPlease note that views expressed in these articels are not necessarly those of the Editor or the Webmaster or of the AFAA Committee.
Patron: His Honor Michael Cook
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Last modified: 15 February, 2004