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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Prayers

Right after my last post, I got bad news about a friend who is in dire need of some serious prayers. She, her husband and her 6 year old are in VN right now. They got a referral for a beautiful baby girl 7 months ago, but CIS would not approve the adoption. After 7 months, and the baby's one year bday, the family went to VN and adopted her. Now they are essentially stuck in VN, possibly for two years (at that point the US would HAVE to let them bring the baby to the US). At first the adoption agency was supportive of their decision to go to VN, adopt the baby and hire a lawyer. Now the agency is saying they should take the baby back to the orphanage b/c it doesn't look good. There have been families in similar circumstances who have been waiting 8 months and still don't have approval. Anyway, they could use your prayers. They plan to stay in VN as long as they can (i.e. as long as they have a valid visa and can afford to live there). And I sit here thinking, "What have I gotten myself into??!!"

Thankful

I am very thankful for all the people who are working hard to keep VN adoptions open and to make sure that they are ethical. Here's the latest updates from the JCICS page:

July 29. 2008

On Friday, July 26, 2008, Joint Council participated in a briefing of over 60 Congressional offices on issues related to international children’s services with particular attention to intercountry adoption in Vietnam and Guatemala.

The panel presented varying perspectives on the issues facing intercountry adoption in Vietnam and Guatemala. Regarding Vietnam the issue of a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), the impact of a potential moratorium, concerns over corruptive practices and the current referral process including those children and families who may not be referred were addressed in detail.

The panel also provided information to the Congressional offices on ways in which Congress can support international children’s services, maintain the viability of intercountry adoption as an important element in providing children with permanent families and advocating for their constituents seeking to adopt a child in need of a family.

Among a variety of suggestions, the panel asked the Congressional offices to advocate via individual letters, with the government of Vietnam to finalize a new MOA by September 1, 2008.

In addition to Joint Council President Tom DiFilipo, Lynn Song, Executive Director of Joint Council Member Organization Ethica Inc., Susan Cox, Vice-President of Holt International and Vice-Chairperson of Joint Council’s Board of Directors, along with Tom Atwood and Chuck Johnson, respectively President and Vice-President of the National Council For Adoption participated in the briefing. Joint Council extends its appreciation to the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Co-Chairs for coordinating the two-hour briefing and to all Congressional staff who chose to attend.

July 28, 2008

As reported in the VietNamNet Bridge, on July 25, the Vietnam National Assembly discussed Vietnam’s participation in the Hague Convention. The article reports that the Ministry of Justice suggested that the country establish a specific office to implement the convention, which would be responsible to the State for protecting children given up for adoption in foreign countries. The full article is posted below and can be found at VietNamNet Bridge.

Joint Council sees this open discussion by high level officials as evidence of Vietnam’s serious efforts to join the international community in adding needed protections for the families and children of Vietnam and as a positive indicator regarding a new and protective Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Please sign

Please go to this site http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Grandfather_All_Dossiers/ and sign the petition. Essentially if the VN government would agree to grandfather all dossiers (which they have said they will do if our government asks them to) then we could complete our adoption. The site asks for a donation, but you don't need to make one. Thanks everyone!

Monday, July 21, 2008

One guess

Here's the latest announcement from the Dept of State and JCICS:

"Prospective adoptive parents who have not received a formal referral by September 1, 2008, will have their dossier returned by the DIA to the adoption service provider

· A referral is considered formal when the DIA and provincial authorities have agreed to the match of a child to prospective adoptive parents and the prospective adoptive parents receive a letter from the DIA confirming the approval of the match

· Any referral formally issued to prospective adoptive parents and subsequently finalized by the Vietnamese government will be processed by the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.

It is also our understanding that as of July 1, 2008, approximately 1,728 dossiers were filed by American prospective adoptive parents with the DIA. The DIA estimates that approximately 780 of the 1,728 dossiers will receive formal referrals by September 1, 2008. The approximately 950 dossiers that are not processed and matched by September 1, 2008, will be returned to the appropriate adoption service provider."

One guess which group we are predicted to fall into. That's right. . .we will be one of the 950 families who have to start over.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Letter

Here's a link to the letter to C. Rice. Thanks again to everyone who made phone calls and sent the letter.:)

http://www.jcics.org/vietnamadoption%20rice.pdf

Thursday, July 10, 2008

And our number is. . . .

Okay, so our agency doesn't usually give out the number you are on the waiting for a referral list. . . probably because people like me stress about it. :) Anyway, they decided to give us our numbers at this time. Mind you, they have been saying they expect to get referrals for 24 more families. Our number? 25 of course! So here I sit cussing like a sailor!!!

Our only hope is that the prime minister of VN changes his mind and says that anyone who has their paperwork in VN on July 1 can complete their adoption. Come to find out, he did this for the French when their MOA expired. I know that the American government is perceived as being pushy and obnoxious, but come on. . .so are the French! If he did it for them, he should do it for us. Keep your fingers crossed!

Remember those phone calls and letters I asked you guys to write? Well, the letter was signed by about 150 congress people and sent to C. Rice. A copy was also sent to the prime minister of VN. Hopefully that will encourage him to change his mind! We should be receiving a copy of the letter soon, so I will post it when I get it.

On another note, I painted the guest room. Tell me the truth. . . is it too blue?