Creating Permanency Through Family

The 2008 Joint Council Business Meeting

Joint Council

&

The Network

July 12, 2008

Welcomes

Members of The Network

Colleagues representing France, Italy & Spain

Representative of the U.S. Department of State

Agenda

• Review of Joint Council Meetings in Ethiopia

• MOWA Capacity Grant

• Standards of Practice (SOP)

• Cultural Sensitivity

• Agency Assessment

Joint Council Meetings

• 17 Meetings – MOWA - 2– MOJ - 3– MOFA - 3– First Instance Court– U.S. Embassy – Consular Officers (France, Italy, Spain, U.S.)– The Network – 2– Child Welfare Agencies - 4

Reality

Perception is Reality

Education +

New Reality

New Perceptions

Change

Review of Meetings• Strong interest in capacity building at

MOWA & MOJ

• Significant concerns regarding “legal child-trafficking”

• Criticism by International NGOs

• Concerns over Cultural Insensitivities

• Complaints from Ethiopian Citizens

• Concerns regarding “Adoption” Agencies

• Concerns about the “numbers” of children being adopted

Child Welfare

Child Welfare NGO

vs.

Adoption Agency

Reality

• Child Welfare NGO– Provides a broad range of family & child

services• Family Preservation• Domestic Adoption

– Public Education

• Intercountry Adoption• Family & Community Development

– Provides child protections

Reality

• Child Welfare NGOs do not provide Humanitarian Aid

• Do provide Programs & Services

“Adoption Agency & Humanitarian Aid”

Vs.

Child Welfare NGO

Reality

• Adoption Agency– International Adoption– Humanitarian Aid

• Child Welfare NGO– Programs & Services

• Family Preservation• Community Health Care• Child Education• Domestic Adoption• Intercountry Adoption• Institutional Support

These can be collaborative efforts

Perception

• Adoption Agency– Viewed as providing only International

Adoption – Seen as “taking children for profit”– Negative impression on Government and

Public

• Child Welfare NGO– Viewed as serving families & children– Seen as protecting children– Positive impression on Government and

Public

MOWA Capacity Grant

• Collaborative effort between Joint Council and The Network

• $220,000 USD– ½ from Joint Council– ½ from The Network

• Partnership between the Child Welfare NGOs and the government

• Increase MOWA’s capacity to regulate Child Welfare NGOs and process adoptions

MOWA Capacity Grant

• Computers

• Desks

• Cabinets

• Staff Training

• Transportation

Standards of Practice

• Principles– Child Welfare NGOs must provide a broad

range of programs and services, not just intercountry adoption

– No incentives to “create” orphans– Legal, Ethical & Best Interest of the Child– Accountability– Transparency– Intercountry Adoption as the next to last

option (institutions are the last option)

SOP

• Documents to be filed with MOWA, Embassy, Joint Council– Policy Statements– Annual Budgets– Memorandums of Understanding

• With MOWA• With 3rd Party Child Care Centers

– Compensation Schedules– Fee Schedules

Intake Procedures

• Family Preservation– Birth Mother Counseling– Short term financial assistance– Medical assistance– Job training– Why is the parent relinquishing and what can

be done to prevent it?

SOP

• Birth Family Counseling

• Recent survey showed 6 out of 19 did not conduct birth mother counseling– No information provided to birth mother

informing her of the consequences of relinquishing her child(ren)

Cultural Sensitivity

• “Baby Hotels”– Use guest houses

• Public Travels– Children should not leave the care center unless

• At Guest House or• For Embassy appointments

• International Travel– 75 children each week– Limit group travel

• Public Discipline

Agency Assessment

• Committee of MOJ, MOWA, MOFA & MOLSA

• Assessing all “agencies”– Are they “adoption agencies” or “child welfare

NGOs”?– Are they protecting children?

• Procedures to support orphanages

• Procedures to place children domestically

Action Items

• Joint Council Country Representative

• SOP – Internal implementation– Filing of documents with Joint Council

• Use appropriate terminology

• Changes to adoptive family housing and travel

• (Assessments)

Questions & Answer Period

The Face of Joint Council