JCICS Update

We are using a non-accredited agency and things are very scary right now. IF only Hague agencies are allowed to work in Vietnam, then many smaller, very ethical agencies will have to shut their doors. And what will happen to their waiting families is anybody's guess. Vietnam is not a Hague country yet, but the U.S., which is now a Hague country, is strongly advising VN to only use Hague agencies. The cost for an agency to become Haque accredited is very expensive and very time-consuming. Most large agencies have a full-time staff member who handles just Hague-related issues. It would be terrible if smaller agencies, that have been providing aid and supplies to the orphans in VN for many years, would be forced to close without consideration for all their past deeds. Many agencies with excellent reputations would suffer. Another issue is....the families left waiting. Will they be allowed to finish their adoptions? Will they have to start over, using an accredited agency? What of the families that have already received their referrals? Will they lose those referrals? This is a very scary time. While those families using a Hague accredited agency might be "out-of-the-woods", there are still a lot of families deep in the forest.

Sue, I thought of you when all this started. My fingers are crossed that all of this will work itself out in the end.

This is a scary time. The JCICS statement is poorly worded. Surely Viet Nam would give more notice than April 1 to only except hague agencies? I am with a hague agency, but I feel for PAPs who are not. Please keep us posted on what comes of all of this.

Apparently the Vietnamese DIA asked the US consulate for a list of Hague accredited agencies. There were 22 on the list out of 42 that are Vietnamese licensed. Looks like the DIA are only going to work with the 22 from 1st April, no official announcement yet. Keep checking the JCICS and Ethica sites for updates. Brendan

Update from Tad Kincaid who is currently in Hanoi. Tad works for Orphans Overseas and runs a blog: [url=http://www.adoptionbuzz.org]Adoption Buzz: Vietnam Adoption Overview[/url] **Quote from recent JCICS statement, "Joint Council understands that the MOJ, as part of aligning practices with Hague standards, will permit the continuation of adoption licenses for agencies receiving Hague accreditation by the U.S. Central Authority." (Listed under the 2nd March 7, 2008 update, 2nd paragraph). My comment: If the JCICS leadership is correct in their perception of the Vietnam position from the recent meetings, it is possible that the relevant authorities may only seek to license Hague compliant agencies from the United States in the near future. But I would also emphasize that a lot more information will need to surface before we will be able to determine the impact this will have on families with agencies that have not elected to seek Hague compliance.

I don't want to alarm anybody -- but the JCICS statement that everyone who has a referral by Sept. 1st should be able to complete the process is not actually BINDING on the CIS/DOS. They're advocating strongly for this to be the case but I don't think the CIS/DOS has issued an official statement yet saying that this will be the case. I certainly hope the DO -- it would seem pointlessley cruel NOT to but who knows?

Just want to let you know that you are all in my prayers as are all the children waiting. We adopted our older two from Vietnam through IMH right before all of their difficult struggles started back then. I wish the best for you all and hope your children get home safely and quickly!!

Whew . . . . . I'm glad I got clarification on all this in the last week otherwise, I'd be a basketcase after reading all this right now. Here is what I know to be a fact: 1. The initial list was only of 1/3 of the agencies in the US as a whole. This isn't because other agencies are not approved, it is because the sole licensing agency, while it has approved MANY agencies, hasn't been able to keep up with the demand of finalizing the approvals and issuing certificates. This is a rolling list to be updated continually and no one should be alarmed if your agency isn't in the first 1/3 published. 2. The DIA DID NOT ask for a list of accredited agencies. An official at DOS in Hanoi issued a letter to the DIA outlining that licenses of non-accredited Hague members should be revoked and adoptions ceased. Once the DOS on mainland USA got wind of that, a retraction was made by the "official" in Hanoi and described as a misunderstood communication. IF DIA stated that they would only work with Hague agencies, then it is solely b/c of this idiotic letter submitted by the "official" in Hanoi. This has since been corrected. DIA has made no such assertion that they would only work with agencies that were accredited. 3. Both DIA and the US have stated at regular meetings with officials at most of the 44 licensed agencies in VN that their commitment is to complete all adoptions with referrals by 9-1-08. 4. Some of us are working hard at uncovering discrepancies in stories between the US and VN and the agencies and there have been MANY. To date, what my group has learned is alarming. Yesterday, a Senate hearing on the Bilateral agreement was held and we are working to get a transcript. In addition, a very high official in the US administration has now joined the push for answers as to the delay in approving children. So far, no NOID has been issued that hasn't been overturned with the exception of 1 that is still pending. 5. Spending your time writing to your Senators and Congresspeople about your concerns would prove more useful than just being scared. In particular, Sen. Boxer in CA. 6. Don't take this crap lying down and don't let internet "news" scare you.

I'm sure I've posted this on a bunch of the other threads but, as Cybermom said -- Don't take this crap lying down! Write to your elected representatives & get other people to write also. Go to [url=http://www.bringourchildrenhome.org]Bring Our Children Home[/url] for sample letters and to get the names & addresses of your senators and congressmen! If you work in a big office, pre-print a bunch of the letters & stick them in your co-workers' mailboxes with a coversheet explaining the situation & asking them to just fill in their name, signature & home address on the letters (3 for each person -- 2 senators & a blank congressional one). Tell them that if they'll just stick them in your mailbox you'll take care of sending them out. I had a GREAT response doing this at my workplace (my husband too) & have sent out a few hundred of them within the last couple of weeks. The more letters the politicians get the more likely it is that they'll pay attention. Even if you've already written to your representatives, get as many other people to write to them as possible also. I'm not much of a political activist myself but this time it's personal!!!