National Council for Adoption recommends caution on certain special needs adoptions from Vietnam
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(Created: Saturday, October 11, 2008 8:42 AM EDT)
The statement said:
Although we recognize that the United States held legitimate concerns with the adoption process in Vietnam, this halt in adoptions will result in many hundreds of Vietnamese orphans being denied loving, stable families in the United States.
Vietnamese law allows for the processing of the adoption of children with special needs without a working agreement, but NCFA is advocating extreme caution on the part of international adoption agencies and families matched with a Vietnamese child with special needs after the last agreement between the United States and Vietnamese governments expired on September 1, 2008.
Because the intercountry adoption process in Vietnam is unregulated, Vietnam is not a Hague-compliant country.
The future of intercountry adoption between the two countries is uncertain, and agencies and prospective parents who pursue such adoptions do so without the usual assurances.
More specifically, we are expecting United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to be cautious about processing special needs adoptions in the absence of
an agreement ensuring that there are transparent regulations and procedures in place.
At this time there is considerable uncertainty as to which special needs children as defined by the Vietnamese might actually qualify for adoption.
NCFA urges the governments of Vietnam and the United States to act with all due diligence to finalize a new agreement that will allow intercountry adoption to resume, and to assist Vietnam, where possible, to implement a system that ensures both the safety of Vietnamese children and opportunities for Vietnamese orphans to find their loving, permanent families through international adoption.
When guidelines for best practices are followed and children's best interests are made
paramount, international adoption is a compassionate practice — one through which thousands of orphans from around the world find their families in the United States each year. Vietnamese orphans, like orphans everywhere, should have the opportunities afforded by this amazing institution.
National Council For Adoption
225 N. Washington Street Alexandria, VA 22314
ncfa@adoptioncouncil.org
2008 Oct 11