Dear IAN families,
Evidently, this morning the Ethiopian government announced an additional change that will be implemented and will impact all agencies facilitating adoptions in Ethiopia, including IAN.
All adoptive families must now travel to Addis Ababa to be present for their court appointment. There have been rumors of this change for several weeks now, and the change is a direct result of the dramatic increase of "revocation" cases - cases in which the adoptive parents decline to bring their children home after they have passed court. This will mean families will make two trips to Ethiopia to complete their adoptions, which will certainly increase the time and money required for adoption.
On a positive note, if parents see their child before the court appointment, the child will be eligible for an IR-3 visa, thus making the child a US citizen immediately upon arrival in the United States.
There are many unanswered questions and we have no further details at this time. Please bear with us as we await further news and seek further information. Your coordinator will be contacting you as we learn how this will impact your specific case. Please feel free to email your coordinator if you have specific questions, and they will do their best to find out the answer.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
IAN Statement on Ethiopia Updates **UPDATED**
Updated on March 9: We have heard definitively from the US Embassy in Addis Ababa that the current changes in Ethiopia will NOT affect IAN at this time.
We know that many of you are very concerned about the recent news regarding Embassy appointments in Ethiopia. It is always IAN’s goal to keep families fully up to date, but sometimes information is unclear and needs to be sorted through. We have been in contact with the US Embassy in Addis and with our in-country facilitator, and this is what we know of the situation:
The I-604 form is not new, but has always been done in every case. The in-country facilitator generally submits it at the time of your embassy appointment. What is new is that now specific cases will be more thoroughly investigated.
Right now the investigations are only for specific agencies and specific orphanages, not everyone. IAN does not appear to be among the agencies, nor does Sele Enat appear to be among the orphanages that will have their I-604 applications investigated at this time. Therefore, IAN does not expect a change in the time between court approval and embassy appointment.
If in the future these changes do impact IAN, the time frame for embassy appointments does not appear to be significantly impacted. IAN has always followed the policy of insisting families wait for embassy confirmation before travel is confirmed. Now all agencies will be following that policy. The impact we see will be in the amount of notice families receives to plan their travel.
Please be aware that these changes are clearly an assurance that your adoption has been done correctly and ethically. It is very reassuring that the US embassy has moved swiftly and surely in addressing any concerns of improper adoption practice. Although no one wants to see increased wait times until travel, those few weeks are certainly worth it for the health of the program and the children.
We understand your concern and fears in this situation, and we appreciate your patience as we continue to actively pursue additional information and answers. In the interest in getting the information out as quickly as possible, please check the IAN news and updates blog for updates: www.adoptian.blogspot.com. Please contact your coordinator directly if you have further questions.
We know that many of you are very concerned about the recent news regarding Embassy appointments in Ethiopia. It is always IAN’s goal to keep families fully up to date, but sometimes information is unclear and needs to be sorted through. We have been in contact with the US Embassy in Addis and with our in-country facilitator, and this is what we know of the situation:
The I-604 form is not new, but has always been done in every case. The in-country facilitator generally submits it at the time of your embassy appointment. What is new is that now specific cases will be more thoroughly investigated.
Right now the investigations are only for specific agencies and specific orphanages, not everyone. IAN does not appear to be among the agencies, nor does Sele Enat appear to be among the orphanages that will have their I-604 applications investigated at this time. Therefore, IAN does not expect a change in the time between court approval and embassy appointment.
If in the future these changes do impact IAN, the time frame for embassy appointments does not appear to be significantly impacted. IAN has always followed the policy of insisting families wait for embassy confirmation before travel is confirmed. Now all agencies will be following that policy. The impact we see will be in the amount of notice families receives to plan their travel.
Please be aware that these changes are clearly an assurance that your adoption has been done correctly and ethically. It is very reassuring that the US embassy has moved swiftly and surely in addressing any concerns of improper adoption practice. Although no one wants to see increased wait times until travel, those few weeks are certainly worth it for the health of the program and the children.
We understand your concern and fears in this situation, and we appreciate your patience as we continue to actively pursue additional information and answers. In the interest in getting the information out as quickly as possible, please check the IAN news and updates blog for updates: www.adoptian.blogspot.com. Please contact your coordinator directly if you have further questions.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Important Ethiopia Update
Today there was information coming out of Addis Ababa that could potentially impact the wait time to travel for IAN families. Please see the following announcement:
http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html
At this time it is unclear what, if any, impact this will have on IAN families. We are currently in communication with our Ethiopia in-country staff, the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, and the Joint Council on International Children's Services.
IAN is supportive of any and all efforts made to ensure the highest ethical standards for all children adopted from Ethiopia. At the same time, we are very aware of the concern that an additional wait time poses to adoptive families. It is our intent to clarify the changes, determine their impact for our families and post an update as soon as we have further information.
Thank you for your patience.
http://adoption.state.gov/news/ethiopia.html
At this time it is unclear what, if any, impact this will have on IAN families. We are currently in communication with our Ethiopia in-country staff, the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, and the Joint Council on International Children's Services.
IAN is supportive of any and all efforts made to ensure the highest ethical standards for all children adopted from Ethiopia. At the same time, we are very aware of the concern that an additional wait time poses to adoptive families. It is our intent to clarify the changes, determine their impact for our families and post an update as soon as we have further information.
Thank you for your patience.
Referral Acceptance!!
A family accepted their referral for two beautiful children today!! They were on multiple lists, so the following movement took place:
Baby girl list: Everyone below #9 moves up one spot
Baby boy list: Everyone below #3 moves up one spot
Toddler girl list: Everyone below #2 moves up one spot
Toddler boy list: Everyone below #1 moves up one spot
Sibling list: Everyone below #1 moves up one spot.
As always, please contact your coordinator if you have questions about your place on the lists.
Congratulations!!
Baby girl list: Everyone below #9 moves up one spot
Baby boy list: Everyone below #3 moves up one spot
Toddler girl list: Everyone below #2 moves up one spot
Toddler boy list: Everyone below #1 moves up one spot
Sibling list: Everyone below #1 moves up one spot.
As always, please contact your coordinator if you have questions about your place on the lists.
Congratulations!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Referral Acceptance!!
The number one family on the baby girl list accepted their referral for a beautiful baby girl today. Everyone below #1 moves up a spot.
Congratulations to the happy family!
Congratulations to the happy family!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Exciting Announcement!!
IAN is thrilled to announce the start Ethiopian Culture Camp for adopted children!!
The first camp will be August 2-6, 2009. Classes will be held here in Centennial, Colorado at the campus of CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption International).
Classes offered will include language, the arts (music and dance), and for the older children, cooking lessons. All classes will be offered at a minimal cost.
Please note that classes will be held the week before IAN's annual family picnic on August 8, so hopefully many of our out of town families will make a Colorado vacation out of it!
Watch for details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please comment here or email allison@adoptioninternational.net with the following information:
1. Is Ethiopian Culture Camp something you might consider this summer?
2. Are there other classes you would like to see offered?
Thanks for your support!
The first camp will be August 2-6, 2009. Classes will be held here in Centennial, Colorado at the campus of CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption International).
Classes offered will include language, the arts (music and dance), and for the older children, cooking lessons. All classes will be offered at a minimal cost.
Please note that classes will be held the week before IAN's annual family picnic on August 8, so hopefully many of our out of town families will make a Colorado vacation out of it!
Watch for details in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please comment here or email allison@adoptioninternational.net with the following information:
1. Is Ethiopian Culture Camp something you might consider this summer?
2. Are there other classes you would like to see offered?
Thanks for your support!
Monday, February 22, 2010
New Service for Parents of Older Kids - Updated
Updated to Add: the webinar will be March 13th 9:30 MST. To register, please send an email to ianwebinar@yahoo.com
IAN is pleased to announce a new opportunity being offered for parents of older adopted children. Beginning March 13, we will be offering a webinar on Adolescent Basics, designed to give strategies for manuevering through the challenges of adolescence. This unique webinar will offer specialized information for parents of newly adopted adolescent children, addressing the dual isssues of adoption and adolescence.
This webinar will be led by Micheline Brault, a trainer with Denver's division of youth corrections. Micheline has 30 years experience in working with adolescents and their families.
Look for more announcements later this week on more exciting educational opportunites for IAN families.
IAN is pleased to announce a new opportunity being offered for parents of older adopted children. Beginning March 13, we will be offering a webinar on Adolescent Basics, designed to give strategies for manuevering through the challenges of adolescence. This unique webinar will offer specialized information for parents of newly adopted adolescent children, addressing the dual isssues of adoption and adolescence.
This webinar will be led by Micheline Brault, a trainer with Denver's division of youth corrections. Micheline has 30 years experience in working with adolescents and their families.
Look for more announcements later this week on more exciting educational opportunites for IAN families.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)