Adoption Alert
U.S. 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.
We have not heard from our agency as to how this will affect our case, but things are looking very bleek.
Please continue to lift our daughter and our family in your prayers.
Here is the link to the announcement.
We DO believe that our God is bigger than all of this. And we do know that this has not come as a surprise to Him.
We believe that He is in control, He sits on the throne, and He is good ALL the time!
1 comment:
Sending you a big hug from Houston. My heart aches for families that this change is affecting. I loved your post about trusting in God and His plan for your family and your daughter waiting in ET. I hope there will be a resolution to this change very soon, as the orphans waiting for families in ET deserve to be with them as soon as possible.
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