The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced a suspension of all U.S. adoptions of Russian children. According to the Joint Council on International Adoption Services, ”a delegation from the U.S. Department of State, lead by Ambassador Michael Kirby, will travel to Moscow and conduct meetings with Russian officials on April 20, 2010.” For media accounts of this development, see the Washington Post story by Philip P.
Controversy in Russia on U.S. Adoptions
Intercountry adoption was already controversial in Russia, but the issues were heightened by the case this week of a 7-year-old adopted Russian child who was sent back to Russia alone by his adoptive mother in Tennessee. Clifford J. Levy reports in the New York Times that the Russian government has proposed suspending all adoptions by Americans; see “Russia Calls for Halt on U.S. Adoptions After Return of Boy.” From the Associated Press, see Nataliya Vasilyeva and Kristin M.
Caution re Adoption in Nepal
Recent reports from both the U.S.
Families Across Borders: The Hague Children’s Conventions and the Case for International Family Law in the United States
Here’s the abstract for my article, published in the January 2010 issue of the Florida Law Review, and available here in pdf format:
Conditions Deteriorating for Children in Haiti
Beyond the ongoing story of the group from the U.S.
Adoption Policy Conference in New York
The annual Adoption Policy Conference at New York Law School, set for March 5, 2010, will focus on “Permanency for Children,” including panels on the Haitian orphan situation and immigration issues and children’s rights. The conference is presented by The Center for Adoption Policy, The Child Advocacy Program of Harvard Law Schoo
Haiti: Orphans and Trafficking
Lots of media outlets are covering the story of the ten Americans arrested on January 29 for trying to leave Haiti with 33 children they believed or claimed to be orphans. For those following the story, there is useful information in this New York Times story by Ginger Thompson: “Case Stokes Haiti’s Fear for Children, and Itself” and in the NYT news blog (which
More on Haiti
Here’s an interview on NPR with Thomas DiFilipo of the Joint Council on International Children’s Services, called “Where Will all the Haitian Orphans Go?”
UPDATE: Another story, by Deborah Sontag in the New York Times (Jan. 27): “Haiti’s Children Adrift in World of Chaos.”
Hague Conference Statement on Adoption in Haiti
The Hague Conference on Private International Law has sent an Information Note on the Haiti earthquake to states and Central Authorities participating in the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention.
Adoption in Haiti
In response to the recent earthquake in Haiti, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department have implemented a special process to assist prospective adoptive parents with pending adoption cases in Haiti. The Humanitarian Parole policy is described in detail in this Fact Sheet issued by DHS. The policy applies only to children who were orphaned or separate