Emailed on Wednesday, December 3, 2003 to <adoptionregs@state.gov> re;
docket number State/AR-**01/96**

U.S. Department of State

CA/OCS/PRI

Adoption Regulations Docket

Room SA-29

2201 C Street, NW

Washington, DC 2052 Re: docket number State/AR-01/96

December 3, 2003

To Whom It May Concern:

[The following comments regarding the proposed Hague Convention
regulations are a composite of concerns of a group of adult
international adoptees and adoptive parents of international adoptees
(whose children are teens and adults).]{.underline} We are a diverse
group, but we are \'experienced\' in the area of International Adoption
(INA) on a very personal level. Some of us are adoptees in our 20\'s,
30\'s, 40\'s and 50\'s and some of us are parents of teens, young adults
and older adoptees who are now parents themselves. We are also community
activists, educators, adoption professionals and a law professor (and
adoptive father who has written extensively about children\'s rights
internationally. All of us want to see the International Adoption
process improve from where it is today. These new regulations offer some
hope for better and more consistent training, accreditation, assessment,
placement, transparency of record-keeping, professionalism, support and
education for all involved in the process. However we have a number on
concerns that we have briefly expressed below. We hope that you will
examine our comments and use them to improve on this positive step
towards a better process for international adoptions.

1.  [Growing up internationally and/or transracially adopted has an
    intense, lifelong effect]{.underline} on both adopted persons and
    the parents who adopted them. Therefore, INA results in complicated,
    [specialized tasks that adoptive parents need to be prepared
    for]{.underline} and fulfill if they are to raise psychologically
    healthy adopted youngsters. It appears to us (today and in the past)
    that no matter how well trained many adoptive parents are they
    usually cannot fully understand the impact adoption will have on
    them and their children. More [adequate pre-and post adoption
    counseling]{.underline} for both the adoptee and the adoptive
    parents is needed. [Race is THE salient issue]{.underline} for these
    adoptees (in self-reporting) and it is important that the
    regulations protect their ability to develop healthy, meaningful
    racial identities. This and other issues impact all family members,
    adopted and not. Society has rarely understood these issues or even
    seen adoptive families as \'authentic\' families. Prospective
    adoptive families\' competence to know how to address this and to
    make an adequate plan for their child so that he/she is not raised
    in racial isolation is critical to assess\-- and is not currently
    assessed by the vast majority of adoption agencies. . Training must
    be by those who themselves have had specialized training in this
    arena. This must be rectified through the regulations that are put
    into place. A [minimum of 20 hours]{.underline} should be mandatory.

2.  There is [no \'right\' to provide adoption.]{.underline} These
    proposed regulations worry too much about the [economic
    impact]{.underline} on small agencies rather than on the best
    interests of the children to be placed or on the families that are
    created through international adoption which is in direct opposition
    to the basic tenets of what the Hague Convention. INA is not about
    keeping folks in business (especially without knowing the financials
    through a very transparent reporting system.) It\'s about kids and
    families. Sorry, that\'s not a balancing act for us, it\'s not a
    compromise. It\'s our priority. There may need to be some sliding
    scales implemented to make sure costs are not unfairly placed, but
    the bottom line is that if accreditation makes it unprofitable to
    run an adoption agency well, then that agency has no right to be in
    business. Accreditation and the relating regulations will cost money
    but they are meant to ensure a quality INA process. There is no
    price tag on that.

3.  The regulations seem to focus on keeping INA costs down. To really
    keep costs down, it is critical to [see adoption as a lifelong
    process]{.underline}, not a single moment in time. One does not stop
    being an \"adoptee\". Keeping costs down would happen with better
    training and education of prospective and new adoptive parents as to
    the nature of the lifetime issues in adoption, not the few months
    prior to the adoption. The availability of on-going support services
    would reduce the costs as it would reduce the crises.

4.  [Training and supervision for agency staff must increase and
    improve]{.underline} Both the adult adoptee community and the
    community of adoptive parents (who have raised transracially and
    internationally adopted children to maturity) have raised a
    multitude of complaints about the lack of knowledge agency personnel
    brought to the task of preparing prospective INA parents. Specific
    training for agency staff and adjunct/consulting staff is lacking in
    Social Work and related programs. Training guidelines are needed to
    ensure competence and skill in this specialized arena.

5.  [The Federal Government should set and oversee the regulation of
    INA.]{.underline} A key issue is that the USA\'s interpretation is
    to [defer to each of the 50 states]{.underline} for key issues in a
    variety of areas, such as the meaning of the \'best interest of the
    child\". This creates a states\' rights vs. federal government issue
    which minimizes a key goal of the Hague Convention which is to
    create consistent standards for improved adoption practices. As INA
    is a Nation-to-Nation process, it is inappropriate to allow
    individual states to create their own regulations, procedures, or
    policies that may create detrimental inconsistencies for the
    children involved.

6.  There appears to be an inconsistency with [not having public
    entities]{.underline}, which we assume means government sponsored
    adoption agencies, [comply]{.underline} with the same credentialing
    guidelines as private agencies. It would be hypocritical for the US
    Government to set one set of rules for private agencies and a
    different set for state or county run adoption agencies. If INA is
    to benefit from these policies and procedures there is no reason to
    allow one group of providers to avoid these guidelines.

7.  One worrisome \'loophole\' is the idea that \'individuals\' who
    don\'t meet the accreditation guidelines may do homestudies and
    provide services if they are under the supervision of an accredited
    organization. There is a possibility that unscrupulous agencies
    could [out-source services to non-credentialed people]{.underline}
    as a way of not having to meet the standards. Agency staff have not
    been held accountable for what adjunct staff does allowing for
    misinformation and failure to provide essential information and
    services by these \'consultants\' leaving families to bear the brunt
    of an inadequate practice. .

8.  [Transparency]{.underline}, specifically in fiscal matters, is
    missing. Every adoption service provider must be required to provide
    clear and detailed information (not in a complex or burdensome way)
    as to where the money goes. Prospective adoptive parents must be
    given, in writing, an accounting of what the fees will be and how
    these revenues are used.

9.  There is some [confusing information on showing how the cost of
    providing services for INA]{.underline} is now low and would be low
    in the future. This avoids the likely additional costs of bringing
    all agencies up to a more ideal level for adoption services, the
    meeting of new standards, including accreditation standards that
    have not previously existed. It seems a bit odd to base the future
    costs of a new program with more required services on the old costs
    of an inconsistent and unregulated program.

10. We are surprised that the committee did not already have information
    on the costs of providing [training to pre-adoptive
    parents]{.underline}. This is a key issue for us. We feel that
    pre-adoption education and training is seriously missing now and has
    often been the source of educational, behavioral and emotional
    problems for international adoptees when they are older that
    adoptive parents were unprepared for and uninformed about. The yet
    un-named Accreditation Agency must provide specifics about types and
    length of training that will be required.

11. [Performance based standards]{.underline} are an excellent idea.
    Those are tougher to circumvent.

12. Who is doing the [ultimate oversight]{.underline} in the USA? Who
    will handle the Complaint Registry. Will it have any teeth to impact
    change? Will it be able to take away accreditation of staff or
    organizations that fail to meet the new standards? At present we
    hear often about various types of corruption in INA both on the
    sending and receiving end of INA. Much is being discovered when
    adoptees begin birthsearching in their respective countries. PAP\'S
    and adoptive parents complain about certain individuals and, still,
    we see the same individuals and agencies facilitating adoptions.
    This if of great concern to all of us and we feel that there must be
    [ONE specific Complaint Registry ]{.underline}that processes all of
    these complaints to resolution. This is of the utmost importance to
    all of us. Agencies must be expected to provide this Complaint
    Registry upfront to PAP\'s, adoptive parents, and adult adoptees. We
    want to see dishonesty, corruption and trafficking OUT of ICA. It is
    the children who ultimately suffer when this occurs, often for a
    lifetime.

13. One of the six [service areas]{.underline} covered by the
    accreditation process is post-placement [monitoring]{.underline} but
    NOT post-placement [counseling]{.underline}. Areas of service like
    post-placement counseling and pre-adoptive parent training courses
    are not required to be accredited. This leaves these key services in
    a no-man\'s land of being provided but without oversight as to
    quality of service. This is a potential loophole for the
    unscrupulous. \"Many agencies in the business of INA offer little to
    no post-placement counseling services, particularly for older
    adoptees.\"

14. [The assessment of prospective adoptive families]{.underline} should
    include, in addition to what is now done, an evaluation of their
    understanding of adoption as a lifelong set of issues surrounding
    loss of birthparents and connection with country/culture of origin,
    ability to talk about race and willingness to live in a place where
    their INA child will not be racially isolated

15. Adoption agencies should be mandated to provide [low-cost
    post-adoption services]{.underline} to families and adult adoptees
    as well as having information about local service providers with
    expertise in these areas (This is critical for INA families who live
    a distance from the placing agency and for adult adoptees who may
    live away from areas they grew up in.)

16. Adult adoptees often face difficulties and expenses in [obtaining
    copies of their records from adoption agencies.]{.underline} It is
    imperative that local agencies make the information they have about
    an INA adult adoptee available to them at no cost (or at perhaps a
    sliding scale of cost) so that young adults who ask for their own
    records are not blocked from obtaining this basic, most personal
    information. Information gathered from placing agencies in birth
    countries should be made available at minimal cost.

17. It is an [unethical risk for a placing agency to make a referral and
    placement of a child into a home when they have not met either the
    child or the family]{.underline} but are working with paper
    documentation from third parties. This occurs all too often. Without
    such \'face\' contact, it\'s difficult for the agency to know what
    types of training or support services this family will benefit from.

18. There is no current cap for the [fees adoption agencies
    charge]{.underline} and some increase fees during the adoption
    process. Additionally the costs of in-country adoptions and out-of
    country adoptions are often very different, placing an incentive on
    the arrangers of international adoptions to adopt children
    internationally as the fees are higher. The regulations should make
    a clear statement recognizing that in-country adoption is in the
    best interests of the child. In addition, there should be a
    requirement for comparable fees of in- and out-of country adoptions
    which would reflect this preference.

19. The [adoption of older children]{.underline} is significantly
    different than the adoption of babies and young toddlers. Sometimes,
    it is not in the best interest of an older child to be adopted away
    from his/her birth culture or birth country. These children, when
    adoption is being considered, should be carefully assessed to
    determine what is in the child\'s best interest. If there are
    alternative, permanent placements that will offer a hopeful future,
    than an in-country placement should be pursued that includes small
    group living such as the S.O.S. Children\'s Villages as well as
    placement in an individual adoptive family. We would like to see
    adoption agencies pay close attention to what some of the good
    alternatives in each sending country would be and make that
    information known to PAP\'s and all person\'s interested. Sometimes,
    the barriers of language, culture, social, emotional,
    educational, and racial difference are more than an older child can
    successfully surmount.

20. [Follow up information over the course of at least two or three
    decades]{.underline} after placement would provide the adoption
    community a more accurate picture of what works and what does not.
    Not all families are able to care for any child placed with them.
    Documentation of the post-placement period is critical to better
    understand our international adoption policies, procedures and
    regulations. Adoptions (and placements for adoption) that are
    disrupted or dissolved must be reported by all adoption agencies.

21. As there are currently many, many [adult INA\'s]{.underline} who
    [are founding their own effective supportive
    organizations]{.underline}, we would like to see a portion of the
    fees of every International Adoption be set aside, perhaps in
    Escrow, until such time these organizations can go through some sort
    of an accrediting process in order to receive monies for their
    continuing efforts in supporting those who have been transracially
    and/or internationally adopted in the manner that would be most
    helpful to the adult INA\'s. This is something that we would like to
    see happen in the very, very near future.

22. We respectfully request and encourage that [all INA
    organizations]{.underline} and entities [include as many adult
    INA\'s on their boards]{.underline}, etc. as possible. Their voices
    NEED to be heard if we are going to continue to learn more and more
    about their needs and INA in general. They have been neglected for
    far too long.

23. We support the Hague Convention\'s recognition that [the best
    interest of a child is to remain in his or her birth
    country]{.underline}. International Adoption should be considered
    only after it has been determined that no prospective adoptive
    family within the birth country or culture is available. Adoption
    agencies should be prohibited from placing children who are US
    citizens for International Adoption when there are potential
    adoptive families in the USA w ho could adopt them.

We hope that these 23 major comments will provide you with a sense of
what our concerns are about International Adoption in the United States
as well the proposed regulations. We believe these new policies and
rules have the potential to make a very positive impact on the INA
process. With accreditation, standards of practice and minimum
guidelines we hope, like you, that adoptions from other countries will
improve and that the children served will benefit.

We appreciate the opportunity to be part of this process and would
invite you to contact any or all of the people listed below for further
discussion and details of our concerns.

Sincerely yours,

**6 Adult International Adoptees**

**24 Adoptive Parents of teens and adults adopted internationally**

**45 Adoptive Parents of children under age 10 adopted internationally**

Amy L. Mesojedec amylmesojedec@yahoo.com

Minneapolis, MN USA

Adopted from Korea at 18 mos. in 1976.

Now a paralegal in Intellectual Property

Angel Murakami a.murakami@comcast.net

7335 Woodward Avenue #114

Woodridge, IL 60517

Adopted in Korea by Korean family at age 1 month in 1972, family moved
to USA in 1973

BA in telecommunications

Cheri Register chereg@aol.com

4226 Washburn Ave. S.

Minneapolis, MN 55410

Adoptive mother with two adult daughters from Korea.

Author, [Are Those Kids Yours?\" American Families with Children Adopted
from Other Countries]{.underline}.

Cheryl and Bruce Duysen cheryl@duysen.org

325 Persiaran Ritchie Unit C-2

55000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

US citizens & adoptive parents to sons aged 13 from Romania and aged 11
from Korea

Environmental chemist and telecommunications manager

Cynthia Goldberg, M.Ed. <hgpig@dcn.org>

711 Bianco Court

Davis, CA 95616

Adoptive parent of a 15 year old born in Korea,

Active in local Korean American community and adoption community,
vocational counselor

Dave and Kathy Zdon zdon@isd.net

12160 Ilex Street NW

Coon Rapids, MN 55448

763-755-9159

Parents to son, age 22; son, domestically adopted at birth, age 8; and
daughter, adopted from Korea at 6 months, age 6.

Film and video producer; SAHM

Ms Indigo A. Williams indigo.a.williams@uts.edu.au

93/289 Sussex St, Sydney NSW 2000 Australia

Post-Grad. Research Candidate

Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, UTS

2003 Rockefeller Fellow/Project Diaspora, UMASS, Boston

Adopted from Saigon, Vietnam 1972 to Sydney, Australia

Founder AVI - www.adoptedvietnamese.org

Jane A.Brown, M.S.W. <janebrown77@earthlink.net>

10926 North 128th Place

Scottsdale, Arizona 85259

\(480\) 451-9831

Adoptive parent to now-grown, internationally-adopted sons and
daughters;

Adoption educator/social worker

Julie Blackburn blackburnj@worldnet.att.net

1276 Starlite Drive

Milpitas, Calif. 95035

Adoptive parent to daughter age 10 from China and

Biological parent to daughters age 8 and 6 and son age 6

IT business solutions project manager

Kathryn and Larry Kaatz kkaatz@blakeschool.org

209 Penn Ave. South

Minneapolis MN 55405

Adoptive parents to 11yo son born in Korea and bio daughter age 10

Early Childhood Educator, Kindergarten teacher & Purchasing Manager
product wholesaler

Kathleen L. Sullivan-Spedding kick@straitsarea.com

585 Foote Road

Cheboygan, Michigan 49721

231-627-5263

Adoptive mother to now 31 yo son born in India

B.S. Human Services; Retired Alcoholism/Drug Abuse Therapist

Kim (Eun-Mi) Young-Jackson <eunmi38@yahoo.com>

5003 Village Way

San Antonio, TX 78218

Korean adoptee, 1960

Kristi L. Carney kristi76@peoplepc.com

202-C Berringer Drive

Aiken, SC 29803

803-644-9447

Adoptee from South Korea, 27 years old, Seoul, South Korea (country of
birth), 1 biological child

Special Education Teacher, Bachelor\'s of Science Degree, Paralegal
Degree, and will have Master\'s Degree in Education in February \'04.

Letitia Rickards brickards@gis.net

1100 Cornell Avenue

Drexel Hill, PA 19026

610-449-6538

Mom to a marvelous 17 yr. old KAD (Korean Adoptee)

Lynne C. Lucas l.lucas@earthlink.net

1820 Tabor St.

Eugene, OR 97401

Mother to 11 year old daughter adopted form China in 1992

Professional educator and consulting teacher

Mrs. Mary Brooks Tilghman & Mr. Richard A Tilghman Jr. Mbtilly@aol.com

587 Carter St.

N. Canaan, CT 06849

203-972-1107

Adoptive parents of daughter from Korea now aged 17

Creator of \" You Crib or Mine?\" services for newborns and municipal
finance executive

Michael and Cecily McSurdy

3002 Overlook Drive

Nashville, Tennessee 37212

615-463-3120

Parents to a 2 year old, adopted as infant from Vietnam and to a 23 year
old, who joined our family at 17 via state foster care

Director of Foster Care, State of Tennessee & Business Manager,
Vanderbilt Univ. Press

Ms. Sara Joslyn and Dr. Paul Albert (sjoslyn@comcast.net)

15158 Callohan Court

Silver Spring, MD 20906

Adoptive parents to an 11-year-old INA from Korea

Technical editor and biostatistician

Sarah O\'Neill spacebutterfly03@yahoo.com

145 Hanlon Road

Holliston, MA 01746

Adopted in 1980 from South Korea

Sherry Steeves & André Boey

3810 West Sandgate Rd

Sandgate, VT 05250

\(802\) 375-6847

Adoptive parent 4 year old internationally adopted & 3 bios, ages 19,
16, 15

Illustrator/stayhome mom & DAM/Production Mgr/Mac Guru

Susan E.M. Hall shall \@mailserv.gcpl.lib.oh.us

178 Hardacre Dr.

Xenia, OH 45385

937-376-4559

Mom to three teens. My 18 year old is a birth child. My 16 year old is,
adopted from Korea as an infant. My youngest son, 14, adopted from
Vietnam at 8.

Toby Volkman, Ph.D. toby.volkman@nyu.edu

311 1/2 West 20th St.

NY NY 10011

tv10@nyu.edu

Mother to one daughter, aged 9, from China adopted at 7 months

Cultural anthropologist who writes about transnational adoption

Thomas J. Spedding spedding.tj@pg.com

The Procter and Gamble Co.

2 Procter & Gamble Plaza

TN-4 Box 13

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-3314

Adoptive father to now 31 yo son born in India

**[The following people are adoptive parents of younger children who
share our views:]{.underline}**

Dr. Arabella Lyon alyon@buffalo.edu

20 Willowbrook Drive

Williamsville NY 14221

Mother to two children, ages 7 and 2, adopted from China

Professor

Audrey and David Pancoe Audrey.Pancoe@jevs.org

8334 Cedar Road

Elkins Park, PA 19027

Adoptive parents to daughter from China in 2001, 3 yrs old (now)

Accounting Manager

Bob McMahon mcmahon5@erols.com

5651 Phelps Luck Drive

Columbia MD 21045

410-997-3506

Father to daughter; age 8, adopted from China in 1997

Statistician, Associate Professor

Bruce and Janelle Craig

4152 Archwood Drive

Holt MI 48842

517-699-4140

Parents to two bio children - 20 & 17, one adopted child 2 1/2 from
China

Social Worker (Bruce) and Sr. Associate, Sales & Accounts (Janelle)

Dr Cathy Donovan cathydonovan@yahoo.com

40567 Hwy 169

Onamia, MN 56359

Mother to a 9 yo adopted from China at the age of 6 1/2,

Family Physician

Carol and Scott Brookhart cfbrook@hotmail.com

3303 Skylark Dr.

Austin, TX 78757

Adoptive parents to a daughter, 7, born in China and a son, 5, born in
Cambodia

Software developer and middle school counselor

Cheryl and David Dieter clddbd007@yahoo.com

825 Timbercrest Drive

Council Bluffs, Iowa 51503

Bio parents to children (19) and (12). Adoptive parents to children (25
mo.) and (18 mo.) from Korea

Chris & Rick Carter rcrcarter@msn.com\>

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Adoptive parents to one internationally adopted child

Teacher & business owner; International program director

Christopher and Stephanie Reid lucky_mom@att.net

1517 Lamonte Lane

Houston, TX 77108

Adoptive parents to two daughters from China, aged 5 and 2

Senior litigation supervisor (insurance); paralegal (litigation)

Debbie Carr-Taylor carrd@pilot.msu.edu

11808 Beacon Hill Dr.

Plymouth, MI 48170

Mother to 1 child from China, a. at 7 months, currently 4.5 years old

Research social scientist

Dulce Calabia and Jack Machado

P.O.Box 2284

Montgomery Village, MD 20886-2284

301-216-1571

Adoptive parents of twins, 2.5 years old from China.

Accountant & Analyst

Elisabeth Cavalli doublehappi@yahoo.com

4225 S. Bateman St.

Seattle, WA 98118

\(206\) 760-9672

Parent to 1 child from China

Voter, Taxpayer, Sales Professional

Eva & David Atkinson evaa@omuonline.ne

516 West 7th St.

Owensboro KY 42301

Adoptive parents to international adoptee, (age 4,adopted June 2000)
from Xiangtan, Hunan, China and (age 2.5, adopted Feb. 2003) from
Changsha, Hunan, China

Mental health counselor and college instructor; business owner.

James and Regina Finley GinaG818@aol.com

111 North Brown Street

Gloucester, NJ 08030

Adoptive parents to children age 5 and age 2, both from Korea

Police Officer and High School Guidance Counselor

Jenny and Bob Fox <UHFoxes@ameritech.net>.

2317 Canterbury Rd.

University Heights, OH 44118

Parents to 3 children by birth and a 7-yr-old and 3-yr-old born in Korea

Computer professionals with degrees in Chemistry in computer and info
sciences

Dr. Jessica Gerard Jgerard95@aol.com

4349 E. Kensington St

Springfield, MO 65809

Adoptive parent to child, aged 8 from China

Community college instructor and adoption support group president

Julie S. Higginbotham urghiggi@YAHOO.COM

5142 N Lowell Ave.

Chicago, IL 60630

Adoptive parent to daughters aged 7 from China and aged 5 from Thailand

Magazine editor

Kimberli K. and Ben A. Wilson bw68@yahoo.com

424 Williams Avenue South

Renton WA 98055

Adoptive parents to two daughters aged 3 and 6, both from India

Adoption Professional; Software Engineer

Melinda and Ralph Dawley madawley@yahoo.com

1037 SE Wingate Court

Lee\'s Summit, MO 64081

816-246-0849

Parents to a 5 year old adopted at 1 year of age, and a 5 year old
adopted at 3 1/2 years of age from China

Patricia Chadwick & Stephen Dias pchadwick@internews.org

1424 D Street

Eureka, CA 95501

Adoptive parents to daughter, age 6 from China and dossier in China for
older, disabled child

Webmaster and stay-at-home dad

Pierre and Terri Veragen veragen1@comcast.net

60 Zephyr Street

Lakewood, CO 80226

Adoptive parents to a son age 5 and a daughter age 4 from Korea

Computer analyst and former ESL teacher

Richard and Tracy Janecek jnck@southslope.com

1604 Deborah Drive, NE

Solon, IA 52333

319-841-8691

Adoptive parents to children, age 5 yrs, home from India at age 19
months

Technical Service Engineer; Senior Radiation Therapist University of
Iowa

Ron and Karin Gillett, MBA karinjg@cfl.rr.com\>

534 Pauma Valley Ct.

Melbourne, FL 32940

Parents to two daughters adopted in China 6/97 and 6/99.

Sue and Rich Cairn scairn@ties.k12.mn.us

3715 45th Avenue South

Minneapolis, MN 55406

Parents to children age 5 and age 3, adopted from Korea.

Self-employed consultants working in education and policy

Tina and Phil Wuorinen philtinaw@juno.com

9038 Fontainebleau

Cincinnati, OH 45231

PhilTinaW@juno.com

Adoptive parents of two children who were born in Korea, now 4 1/2 and 2
years old.

Computer programmer/analyst and registered nurse and youth director

Usha Rengachary Smerdon, Esq. and Edward Smerdon <DaziChain@aol.com>

3 Laconheath Avenue

Novato, CA 94949

Adoptive parents to a young child born in India

Attorney