May 1998

Why Are We Waiting?

Comedians, at least, know the importance of timing. The official target for completing a home study is six months, which some would regard as a generous schedule. Why then in my case have thirteen months elapsed between first writing to the local authority and a completed home study going to the Department of Health?The short answer is that the 'six months' clock only starts ticking around the time the social worker first knocks on your door. Before that there can be an array of bureaucratic pre-qualification hurdles to surmount, administered with that spirit of condescending timelessness found only in those dealing with people whom they know have no alternative option.Clearly, intending adopters should not be misled into taking the six months figure at its face value, and I hope to discuss the details of these delays at a later date. Meanwhile, in the interests of getting a representative picture of how long it can take to get a home study prepared, I would like to hear from AFAA affiliates about how you have fared. Feel free to drop me a note on how long your local authority took to provide the Department of Health with your home study. More detailed consumer reports on the experience would also be welcome. All confidences respected and anonymity guaranteed, but it would be useful to be able to establish the kind of performance we can typically expect on this count - and then see how it can be improved. I look forward to getting your views.

* Why Are We Waiting? * Over There * When you've got friends... * Snakes and Ladders * Babel or Quits

Over There

There is a better way. Americans are much more up-front about inter-country adoption, and their government provides positive support for the practice which Britons can only envy. An indication of the general attitude is shown by the masses of useful information about ICA on the web site of the US State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs. This includes a decade of statistics of adoptions into the USA by country of origin, which shows how country trends rise and fall. China has increased 100-fold in six years, Russia has gone from nought to 2,500 in five years, Korea has halved to 1,500, and Romania has generally been in the lower hundreds apart from a spectacular 2,500 in 1991. The site also has useful information on practical adoption subjects such as finding reliable agencies and lawyers. Perhaps of greatest interest to British potential adopters are the country-specific adoption information pages. These give practical, legal, and background information on ICA from over 60 countries. This is particularly useful as it spells out the legal requirements, and comments on local official procedures and the likely attitude to inter-country adopters. It's an ideal starting point both for those at the early stages of adoption who still have to choose their target country, or anyone who wants to establish what the legal consideration are in a particular country. This cyber-cornucopia can be found at http://travel.state.gov/children's_issues.html .

* Why Are We Waiting? * Over There * When you've got friends... * Snakes and Ladders * Babel or Quits

When you've got friends...

Benefitting from others' experiences is of course particularly important in inter-country adoption, when the published or official information about procedures may be out of date or inaccurate. The West London Support Group (no connection with AFAA apart from some overlap of members) has informal gatherings every month or so near Heathrow, where those at all stages of ICA meet to exchange news, share intelligence and generally raise morale. Sounds good. More details from Stevan Whitehead at stevanw@netcomuk.co.uk .

* Why Are We Waiting? * Over There * When you've got friends... * Snakes and Ladders * Babel or Quits

Snakes and Ladders

In the last issue I mentioned the Department of Health's view that independent home studies are illegal. As the result of a legal challenge in the context of adoptions from Guatemala, the DoH has had to climb down and admit they were wrong on this general point. Sadly this may be little more than a pyrrhic victory. Las autoridades guatemaltecas, like many others, seem persuaded that only British couples with UK entry clearance for the potential adoptee should have their cases approved - and we all know what the practical requirement is for filing entry clearance applications.

* Why Are We Waiting? * Over There * When you've got friends... * Snakes and Ladders * Babel or Quits

Babel or Quits

Competition is a wonderful thing, and it's always worth checking that a service you are about to buy can't be found cheaper elsewhere. Translation of documents for inter-country adoptions is a case in point: the work may be cheaper on the World Wide Web. Aleph.com boasts a global complement of translators between almost all conceivable (and many inconceivable) language combinations, waiting for your assignment at the drop of a fax or e-mail. Plenty of choice, and fast turn-rounds are promised. For each language there are three levels of sophistication to choose from, with the cost per word varying accordingly. You choose your preferred translator by name and domicile from the personal details, experience and prices of the individuals listed in the pool. It all looks quite good in principle, but given the issues at stake in an adoption, it always pays to look for the Titanic factor. The most obvious one that might persuade someone to shop locally is the possible complication if either a translator's letter or the translations themselves need to be notarised, as British notaries' jurisdiction doesn't seem to cover individuals beyond these shores. Nevertheless this is another example of a market where globalisation may favourably affect prices.

Please note that views expressed in these articels are not necessarly those of the Editor or the Webmaster or of the AFAA Committee.

AFAA -The Association for Families who have Adopted from Abroad

ADOPTION COMMENTARY