Sent to CHSFS Ethiopia Families (Fraudulent Kebele Letters)

Sent to CHSFS Ethiopia Families on 11/12/08

Dear Families,

In response to the following adoption advisory issued by the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, CHSFS does not expect this change to mean a lengthening of the adoption case processing times for families in our Ethiopia program.

We realize the advisory raises a concern about the current and future processing time for adoptions from Ethiopia in which living parents have abandoned a child. However, many of the adoptions processed by CHSFS Ethiopia have involved a living parent who has legally abandoned a child to an orphanage, CHSFS Ethiopia has been requesting and receiving an authenticated letter from the local child welfare government office for some time, as now required by the Ethiopian Ministry of Women's Affairs. As such, the new requirement described below comes as no surprise to CHSFS. We are in support of this change by the Ethiopian government as we believe it promotes further accountability and will only strengthen the program and protect the integrity of the process of adoption in Ethiopia.

Received on Monday November 10, 2008:
"Dear Agencies,

As many of you are aware, the Ethiopian Ministry of Women's Affairs now requires additional documentation for adoption cases in which a living birth parent or parents has/have abandoned their child to an orphanage. MOWA now requires that the regional social affairs bureau authenticate the letter issued by the local Kebele court that acknowledges the abandonment. We understand MOWA implemented this requirement in response to reported instances in which fraudulent letters were obtained from Kebeles. MOWA believes the new requirement will result in a more secure process because it requires an in-depth investigation by the Bureau of Social Affairs. We understand that this requirement is permanent and that MOWA expects it will eventually be incorporated into the Family Code. We expect that this new requirement will contribute to delays in the processing of cases in which living birth parents have abandoned a child. Agencies should inform PAPs of such delays as they see fit. The U.S. Embassy encourages all agencies to cooperate with MOWA in order to ensure that all intercountry adoptions are completed in a legal and ethical manner. The Embassy also encourages agencies to work together in order to find productive ways of bringing concerns or other issues to the attention of the Ethiopian governmental bodies. Thank you,

Scott Driskel
Vice Consul
U.S. Embassy Addis Ababa"