Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Addis View Q&A


Two IAN boys enjoying Addis View before heading home!
 Many of you have expressed to us via phone call, emails and facebook posts your concerns about Addis View. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to provide answers.


1. Why is IAN limiting approved lodging to one place?

  • First, as a response to the frustrations we’ve all been experiencing with transportation. Our goal is to provide transportation to ALL families and avoid delays and long wait times. When families were spread all around the city, it became an impossible task that was overwhelming the staff and frustrating for families. The more time we can save driving around the city, the more time families will have to visit the children and Ethiopia!
  • Second, having all IAN families in one place will help families get to know each other during their stay.
  • Third, it helps with the communication between families and our in country staff. They can easily contact you with updates. Meetings with the in country staff and meetings for paperwork, information etc. will be much easier.
2. How did IAN Choose Addis View?

There were several factors that were important to us.
  • One, proximity to the court and embassy. As nice as it is to be close to the care center, it’s more important to be closer to the official buildings. It won’t matter much if you are stuck in famous Addis traffic and you’re late for a visit with your kiddo, however being late to court or embassy could have dire consequences!
  • Second, cost. We wanted someplace that would be in reach for all IAN families.
  • Third, attitude of the management toward adoptive families. Obviously we want an environment that is adoption supportive and friendly. The managers at Addis View have expressed their gratitude and love for adoptive families. There are comfortable spaces for children to play, including an indoor and outdoor space and comfortable indoor and outdoor dining areas.
  • Fourth, availability. Many guest houses already have a contract in place with other adoption service providers, and could not accommodate our request to have IAN families as priority.
  • Finally, comfort for everyone. There are some wonderful faith-based guest houses that many of our families enjoy. However, since IAN serves families of all religious backgrounds and beliefs, it would not be appropriate to ask families to stay somewhere that promotes a faith not of their own.
3.  I thought we had to stay at Guest Houses, isn't Addis View is a hotel?

While Addis View is named as a “hotel”, it functions like a guest house. 90% of their guests are adoptive parents. They are adoption friendly and this is the most important piece of the guest house only “rule”.

4.  Does Addis View have play areas/cribs/kitchen facilities/other things I will need for my child?

Yes! The rooms have a sink, fridge and cabinets included. They have nice play areas both indoors and outdoors. Cribs are available for free and extra beds for older children are available for $15 a day. Nannies can also be hired for a minimal cost. 

Did we miss anything you were wondering about?  Please let us know here!  Reviews of Addis View from the parents of the two handsome boys above will be coming soon!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Addis View Guest House!!

We are so happy to announce that IAN has signed an agreement with Addis View Guest House/Hotel to provide lodging for all IAN families!

Beginning May 1, we will be requiring IAN families to stay at Addis View in order to provide the best possible transportation and service.  Until May 1, we strongly encourage families to stay at Addis View if possible, but we will still honor our transportation service to other approved guest houses.  If you do not wish to stay at Addis View, you will need to arrange your own transportation to the hotel as it will be the meeting point for all activities. 

IAN's travel coordinator will be making reservations on your behalf in order to get the best possible price.  You will need to let us know dates, how many rooms/beds, number of people and any other preferences within a week prior to departure. 

Payment can be made directly to Addis View. 

Please visit Addis View at http://www.addisviewhotel.com/ for more information on their services and amenities.  Prices range from $65 - $85 per night, which includes breakfast and all taxes.   A driver is available for a very reasonable price for any activities outside official IAN events.

Friday, March 18, 2011

We thought we should share two more good pieces of news to start the weekend!

First, MOWA wrote 25 letters yesterday! These are letters for all agencies and we are not sure if this trend will continue, however we will take it while we can!

Second, all our families that traveled for court on March 11, 2011 passed!

Have a great weekend!

~IAN Staff

Referral Accepted!

Congratulations to the happy family that accepted a referral for a beautiful one year old little girl!

Everyone below #9 on Infant Girl moves up one spot!

Family's time on wait list = little under 1 year

Congratulations!!

~IAN Staff

Monday, March 14, 2011

Referral Acceptance

Congratulations to the family who accepted the referral of the sweet little boy who had recently been featured on IAN's waiting child site!!  This precious two year old boy so many of you inquired about has found his forever family.

Wait list movement:
Everyone after #10 on the infant boy list..
Everyone after #26 on the infant girl list...
Everyone after #8 on the sibling list...

...all move one spot. 

Family's time on the wait list = 7 months, 6 days. 

Congratulations to everyone!!!

Good News out of Ethiopia!!

We have heard from our staff in Ethiopia this morning, and we understand that MoWA has agreed to process 20 cases a day rather than the 5 cases we had heard recently.

Please know that we are still waiting for the official MoWA announcement on this to confirm it 100%.  There are still many question unanswered and we are watching and waiting to see what develops.  We will keep you posted!!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Another Referral Acceptance!

Wow! What a Friday! We are excited to announce the referral of an adorable 3 year old little boy! Congratulations to the happy family!

List movement:

Everyone below #20 on the infant boy list moves up one spot
Everyone below #3 on the toddler boy list moves up one spot
Everyone below #13 on the sibling list moves up one spot

Family wait time:
4 months, 11 days

~IAN Staff

Referral Acceptance!

We are very happy to announce the referral of a beautiful 4 month old little girl!
Congratulations to the very happy family!

List movement
Everyone below number #22 on the infant girl list moves up one spot

Family wait time:
9 months, 19 days

~IAN Staff

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Ethiopian Adoption Alert

As expected, the Department of State has issued the statement below on the changes in adoption processing in Ethiopia.  At this time, IAN staff in Ethiopia is confident the situation can be resolved quickly.  We will continue to monitor developments, including the DOS conference call this Friday, and will keep you up to date on developments. 

In the meantime, please consider visiting www.jointcouncil.org to sign JCICS's Emergency Campaign for Ethiopia petition.  http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43714.html

*********************************************************************************

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.

Looking at the Bright Side....

As all of you know, the road to Ethiopian adoption has been a bumpy one for the last several weeks.  It has been heartbreaking for all of us as families waited and waited for approval to bring their adopted children home.  We have been promising to do everything in our power to adapt to the new regulations and to return the program to as close to the former time frame as possible - five weeks from court approval to Embassy submittal.

Ten families passed court, on their first appointment, on February 28.  All of those families have been submitted for their passports.  It is very possible they will be submitted to the Embassy next week - two and a half weeks after court approval. 

We didn't meet the former standard - we exceeded it. 

This may sound like bragging - and it is.  Our Ethiopian staff deserves all of this and so much more.  We are so fortunate to have such dedicated men and women working on our behalf. 

This is not to minimize the suffering for those whose road was not easy, nor is it a guarantee that the future will continue to be smooth sailing. 

But today, in this moment, a bright light to be grateful for and to celebrate!!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Referral Acceptance!

We are thrilled to announce the referral of a beautiful 4 year old girl! Congratulations to the very happy family.

List movement
Everyone below #28 on the infant girl list moves up one spot
Everyone below #7 on the toddler girl list moves up one spot
Everyone below #9 on the siblings list moves up one spot

Family wait time: 7 1/2 months

~ IAN Staff

Monday, March 7, 2011

New Guest House

We have found a new guest house in Addis Ababa we would like to encourage our families to use!!  It is called the Mimosa Hotel, but it does function as a guest house.  Liz will be staying there later this week and will report back when she returns. 

If you have already booked lodging at one of the other guest houses, that's fine.  If not, please consider using Mimosa.  Eventually all of IAN's families should be staying at Mimosa in order to use transportation services.


Mimosa Hotel



Tel : ++(251-11)6616690


Fax: ++(251-11)6616691


E-mail: mimosahotel@ethionet.et


Web: www.mimosahotel.com.et

Friday, March 4, 2011

Changes at MOWA

I have read the recent Voice Of America article regarding changes in how the Ministry of Womens Affairs (MOWA) will be processing adoption cases in Ethiopia. I have been in direct contact with my in country representative about the possible changes occurring at MOWA. According to our in country staff, MOWA has posted that they will limit their processing to five adoption cases per day, starting on March 10th. We do not know if this is a permanent change, or how it will affect our current and future families, if at all. Our in country representative is planning to meet with a member of MOWA to gather more information in the coming week. I want to encourage families not to worry, as we do not, as of yet, know the possible ramifications of this change

~ Joan Strauss, Executive Director

Off to Ethiopia

We are happy to announce to you that our Program Supervisor, Liz, will be leaving for Ethiopia next Tuesday for 2.5 weeks. Our in country staff have done a wonderful job adapting to the new changes in the most accurate and efficient way possible. With all of these recent changes, Liz's primary purpose will be to learn about these changes and new processes. She will be observing the paperwork submission process, visiting MOWA, Court and Embassy and making sure everything continues to move forward in a positive direction.

~ Joan Strauss, Executive Director

Another referral!!

A beautiful 3 year old girl found her forever home today! Congratulations to the family!

List movement:
Everyone below #44 on infant girl moves up one spot
Everyone below #15 on toddler girl moves up one spot
Everyone below #16 on siblings moves up one spot

Family wait time: 3.5 months

~IAN Staff

Referral Acceptance!!

We are happy to announce the referral of a beautiful infant girl this afternoon!  Congratulations to the very happy family!

List movement:
Everyone below #6 on the infant girl waiting list moves up one spot

Family wait time: 13 months

~ IAN Staff

Thursday, March 3, 2011

New Waiting Children

Good afternoon IAN Families,

We have added two young children to our waiting child site.  You can see their pictures (with the password) at http://www.adoptioninternational.net/waitingethiopia/index.php

If you are interested in learning more about these children, please contact our waiting child coordinator, Cat at Catherine@adoptioninternational.net by Tuesday at 9am MST.  In order to help bring these children to their forever families as quickly as possible, their information will be given to the family closest to paper ready.

We look forward to hearing from you and helping these beautiful children come home soon!

~ Joan Strauss, Executive Director

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Referral Acceptance!

We are so happy today to announce the referral of a beautiful baby boy! Congratulations to the happy family from everyone at IAN!

List movement:
Everyone below #20 on the infant girl list moves up one spot
Everyone below #5 on the infant boy list moves up one spot

Family's wait time: 9 months, 23 days.

~ IAN Staff

Great referral news!!!!

We are all so happy to announce that one of our waiting boys found his forever home today!! This precious little boy has been waiting for this day since coming into our care in October, 2010. 

There was movement on the list today:
Everyone below #17 on the infant boy list moves up one spot.

Family waiting time to referral: 5 months

Congratulations to the happy family!

~ IAN Staff