| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Special Needs Children: Both boys and girls are available and the babies tend to be about 3 months old at referral and about 6 months old when the parents travel to receive the child. While we have a backlog of families waiting for healthy children it is often difficult to find homes for these special needs ones, especially where there are more serious health issues. As such we will accept dossiers of parents right away who are willing to adopt a special needs child. They are not subject to the usual waiting list. However, there may still be a considerable wait time until such a child is identified.
Parental Requirements: Why Children are Available:
Family Background: Children are taken to an international medical clinic for examination and testing, as appropriate to the child's age. Information provided typically includes general health status, length/height, weight, head circumference, and tests for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Infants in Vietnam are now immunized against hepatitis A. Wait Times: In-Country Time Required: Child's Citizenship: Post-Adoption Requirements: Costs:
About Vietnam Although Vietnam is a country with an extremely high literacy rate, the average income is still about $30 US per day. Single parenthood is not accepted, and children are abandoned because of this social prejudice and due to poverty. Increasingly, children are orphaned because of AIDS.
Documents Required
|
|
July
2011:
New law brings changes to reporting requirements for
previously-completed and upcoming adoptions With all the changes happening in Vietnam there has been one concerning the progress reports for adopted children. Effective immediately, families will be requested to submit a progress report every 6 months for the first 3 years from the adoption date (which applies to all children of all ages.) Once it has been 3 years that the child has been adopted there will be no need to submit the reports anymore. Also, families who had previously adopted (under the old law) also need only complete the same 6 reports (2 per year for the first 3 years) and not for the remaining years until the child reaches 18. The progress reports remain in the same format as before. January 10, 2011: Current Understanding of New Adoption Process in Vietnam, by Dorinda Cavanaugh This is a summary of the last few months regarding the adoption process and the last months under the "old" law. To say the very least, in spite of every effort made to prepare all our partners for what was to happen, and for the deadline of December 31, everyone (i.e. Vietnamese authorities in the provinces) had their individual interpretations and prejudices about what would happen, and whether it was wise to present new children before December 31. Many thought that there was no hope to finish, and so they should wait until the new law came into effect before proposing children. Others were faced with the competition among agencies, and the pressure being put upon them from several directions, and the need to "partition" available children among all the agencies they were working with. The end result was that of the 44 dossiers we were able to register by September 30 for Ontario and Quebec, we were able to secure 15 child proposals. Disappointing for us, as I know it is for you as well. The obvious question now is "Now what?" Unfortunately, no one is able to answer that question with any certainty, because the decrees and circulars, which officially explain the new procedures, have still not been issued. What I can tell you is what I learned from my meeting with Mr Binh, Director of the Department of Adoption, Ministry of Justice, in early December. But even this is subject to modification, according to what will come out in the decrees and circulars. As you know, for every new child who comes into the orphanage, there is a mandatory 180 days before the child can be proposed in international adoption. This includes the search for the birth mother (unless the child is relinquished), the search for a local Vietnamese family wishing to adopt the child, and the search for a family anywhere in Vietnam through the national database. In the best possible scenario, if a child was relinquished by a birth mother on December 2, in theory, the child could be proposed in international adoption as early as April or May 2011. For abandoned children, however, it will certainly be a six month wait. The orphanage must then send the list of their adoptable children to the Department of Adoption (DA). The DA will then decide which agencies will be offered children in any particular province. At this point, any agency can be proposed children in any province. The DA will inform the agency and the agency will determine which dossiers may be sent to that province, according to the characteristics of the children and the criteria of the parents. So as an example, if Vung Tau has 15 children available for adoption, DA may decide that TDH can send 10 dossiers, a French agency may send 10, and an Italian agency may send 10. Then it will be up to the orphanage to decide how many children each agency will get, and which family will be offered which child. So if we receive 5 children, the other 5 TDH dossiers will return to DA and wait for the next round of referrals. At this point the medicals will be done, and following this the children will be proposed to the families. It is our hope that during the six month waiting period, the necessary investigations will be done, so that once the child is proposed, the balance of the process can be finished within 2 months. Additional details concern the necessity for each agency to be accredited, and the need for the parent dossiers to be up to date. Within the next few months we will be told how many dossiers we will be allowed to deposit (or re-deposit), which number will be based on the numbers of adoptions we have done during the past years. Our average has been about 35 for Ontario and 35 for Quebec, so we are expecting that our "quota" will be around this number. We will still proceed according to the order on our waiting list, and thus we are hoping that there will not be a significant change in numbers for 2011. As soon as we have details, we will inform you about what needs to be done in order for the dossier to be in correct form. Unfortunately, this may mean renewal once again of documents, new application form. One positive outcome is for those who have requested children who are not in the "normal" age range (e.g. 2-5 years old). Because we will have access to orphanages throughout Vietnam, it will hopefully mean that those criteria can be more easily met. Adoption of special needs children will not be interrupted during this time. We are, however, waiting for the list of what constitutes special needs adoption. I have invited Mr. Binh to come to Canada at the end of March, and he is considering whether this will be possible, especially in light of the fact that the law proposes that the DA visit each country with which Vietnam is working. We are hoping that he would come to the Ontario Gala if he accepts the invitation, and hopefully meet a large number of adoptive parents. We will also plan an event in Quebec if this is the case. I hope this clarifies for you at least a little the current status of the situation in Vietnam. October
13, 2009: Photo Policy and Sensitivities Vietnam in particular is very suspicious of the Internet. Please wait to post photos of the children until they are truly yours - at the moment of their adoption (the Giving and Receiving ceremony). Also, for those in process who have posted photographs please remove them until the adoption is completed. We do not wish to compromise our good relations with the Vietnamese authorities nor jeopardize future adoptions. We thank you for your understanding. August
18, 2009: Program Full The following is a brief description of our Vietnam program. For more in-depth details, contact TDH Ontario. Please note that due to the nature of international adoption the information here may change without notice. Adoptions were suspended as of January 2, 2003 at the moment Vietnam's Decree Number 68 entered into force, requiring any country wishing to effect adoptions with Vietnam jointly accede with Vietnam to an international treaty on cooperation in child adoption. Such a treaty with Canada was signed on June 27, 2005. The necessary accreditation of agencies also came into effect with this new law, and TDH was the first agency in Canada to receive accreditation under the new program. The child must be living in a feeding center (orphanage) legally established in Vietnam. A child living in a family may be adopted if s/he is an orphan, disabled, or kin to the applicant for adoption. However, it is TDH's policy to work only with children in orphanages. The central authority in Vietnam is the Department of International Adoption under the Ministry of Justice. TDH proposes a child to the parents and provides all known information about the child. The parents discuss the proposal with their Adoption Practitioner and have a reasonable delay to accept the proposal of the child. TDH takes the child for a medical examination to the medical practitioner in Vietnam designated by the Canadian Embassy there. At present, adoption does not automatically confer Canadian citizenship on the child. The adoptive parents must make an application for sponsorship of a “child to be adopted” with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. TDH provides guidance and the necessary forms through this process. |
|
Quick
page
links:
Home / About
TDH / Programs Overview / Vietnam Program / Ukraine
Program
/ Honduras Program / Getting Started / Resources / News
+ Events / Articles / TDH Newsletter / Log in to MAP |
|
Vietnam Program