Today the State Department posted an official notice confirming some of what we have heard this week–that Ethiopia was planning to cut their adoption program by 90%, approving only 5 cases per day, down from 50.
The full statement is below.
First, keep praying.
Second, I would ask that you visit the “Be the Answer for Children” blog of the Joint Council on International Children’s Services. The Joint Council has launched an Emergency Campaign for Ethiopia that has seen more than 11,000 people join in the past 24-hours. They are asking for help from adoptive parents and prospective adoptive parents to sign their petition and send photos and testimony encouraging adoption to continue.
Please take time to visit and read the following posts:
Emergency Campaign for Ethiopia – March 8.
Statement on Children and Family Services in Ethiopia – March 9
As so many readers have pointed out, achieving a more ethical and above-board adoption program is a commendable goal and DEFINITELY in everyone’s best interests. No birth mother should have their children taken from them to “meet demand” of Americans. That amounts to child trafficking, and is abhorrent and unthinkable.
Pray for mercy, for favor, and for justice. Pray that God’s will, and not ours, would be done.
State Department Ethiopia Adoption Alert:
Adoption Alert
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Office of Children’s Issues
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Government of Ethiopia Plans Major Slow-Down in Adoption Processing
March 9, 2011
Citing the need to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues, the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) will reduce to a maximum of five the number of adoption cases it processes per day, effective March 10, 2011. Under Ethiopian adoption procedures, MOWCYA approves every match between prospective adoptive parents and an Ethiopian child before that case can be forwarded for a court hearing. The U.S. Embassy is working with Ethiopian government officials and adoption agencies to learn more about this change in procedures. We will continue to share information as it becomes available.
Given MOWCYA’s current caseload, the U.S. Embassy anticipates that this change could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90 percent. If this change is implemented as proposed, we expect, that parents who have begun the process of adopting from Ethiopia but have not yet been matched with a child could experience significant delays. It is not clear if this change in procedures would have any significant impact on cases in which MOWCYA has already approved matches.
Prospective adoptive parents should remain in close contact with their adoption service provider to obtain updates on individual cases.
The Embassy’s Adoptions Unit can be reached at consadoptionaddis@state.gov.
Please continue to monitor http://adoption.state.gov/ for updated information as it becomes available.
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